Quote:
Originally Posted by porsche4life
C'mon?! Seriously? We had a '98 M3 and it had been pampered all its life and it still had little issues. Nowhere near the same league reliability wise as a corolla or camry. We are talking about a car for his daughter, she won't give two hoots if its soulless if the radio works! 
And easy DIY? Kiss my ass... The M3 was by far the biggest pain to work on car we've had. Don't get me wrong, I loved the car, but I would in no way recommend a BMW or a 944 in this instance, and I love them both.
Like Matt said, go find a japanese econobox and be done with it. I've flogged my '07 Corolla for 60k and its been truly flawless. Not the most fun car but it gets me from A to B easily and gets 33-34mpg doing it... |
I guess we had different experiences.
Just for clarification, I owned an E36 M3 but recommended an E36 3-series... not an M3. Also, I wasn't the one who recommended a well set-up 944. Although, I had one of those too and it honestly didn't really cost that much to own (not talking twin cam or turbo versions here). However, I recognize my recommendation is somewhat unconventional and probably won't be considered, which is totally okay... I'm not the one that has to live with it.
Since the consensus seems to be Asian, I would consider Mazda over Toyota or Honda due to price and (hopefully) some commonality of parts with similar Ford models. Someone also suggested an '06 or up Hyundai as well, which I would also consider if a good one can be found in the price range. Starting about '06, Hyundai started to get better and now make pretty decent, inexpensive cars.