Hey everyone,
I'm 19 and currently drive a 1998 Nissan 240sx with 70,000 miles. I've had this car for two years but it left me stranded twice and the previous owner crashed it but when I purchased it he told me it's never been in an accident. (I found out recently from a friend in body work my fender isn't original and have some rust developing on the frame). I've put more than 30,000 miles on this car and loved every bit of it. It's a very fun car to drive and for those of you that don't know much about it, here are some specifications. The engine is a 2.4L inline 4 producing 155hp and 160 torque. The car weights 2800 lbs and factory handling is .88g's. I can get 30mpg on long highway trips, or 23mpg with constant heavy throttle. The best part: there are only 5000 of these cars in america which means I turn heads whenever I take it out. The car however is loaded with plastic and the it doesnt feel as rock solid as some of the german cars I've been in. I'm planning on selling this car this winter and getting something german but what I'm looking for in a car goes like this:
safety>reliability>puts you in your seat
I've been in the back seat of a friends 2002 BMW 325i automatic and theres something about those BMW I6 engines that I love, some special feeling in the powerband when it pulls you. I've driven a 1986 bmw 325e and though it's slow and not powerful the inline 6 still had that special feeling, though not as obvious as the 325i. I'm kind of set on BMW because I love their I6 engines. I'm unsure if the 540i has that same special feeling because the engine is not an inline design. I love the looks of E30s, but they aren't safe. My 240sx is more safe and getting an E30 would be a step back. I want to get the most safe car out there for my budget of $10,000 but it has to be very reliable aswell. Maybe my Nissan is a lemon because for a japanese car that is kind of new it's totally unacceptable. I want to stay away from SUV because I really don't like them. If I go with a Porsche I could probably increase my budget to $15000. I was also thinking a Boxster because they are extremely safe cars. I'm unsure if the 968 has the first generation of dangerious airbags that hit you full power, but the 6 speed and reliability is a plus. I've been using
http://www.crashtest.com/bmw/ie.htm to help judge if a car is safe and they showed the E30 and E36 BMW to have done poorly. This leaves me with 99+ 3 series or 97+5 series. The 1995-1997 audi A6 is also looking good but have heard horror stories about Audi reliability. Mercedes are safe aswell but reliability is poor. It just seems like if I want something reliable I have to go with a japanese car, but give up safety. If I want a safe car I have to go with something german and give up reliability. Is there are car out there with both? Does anyone know a better source to research used car safety?