Hey Guys, Well I am looking at getting a Lancer and was wondering if I can get the skinny on whether it is a good car or not for performance as well as reliability. I am working on getting financing right now so... maybe within a few days or so. Right now I amconsidering a 2003 OZ with the moonroof and spoiler for $17,333. Good deal? They also have a 2002 OZ in the Thunder Grey with a ultra nice leather interior for $14,500. What do you guys think?

Anyway, I really like the car a heck of a lot better than the Civic and would just like to get some word on their reliability. What is your guys experience?

 

I love the ride. Not much power, but crazy handling. Some people has been having problems with clutch and breaks after a few thousand miles(do a search). I personally haven't had any problems yet. Like I said, I love the car. Wouldn't trade it unless it was for an Evo

 

the deal on the thunder gray is good, the 2003 is kinda high...what is the difference between the two? If one is 2002 and the other is 2003, go with the cheaper....

 

The 2003 has a full cloth interior but has a moon roof.
The 2002 has some miles, and a leather interior but no moonroof.
I am angling towards the 2002 but I have not driven it yet. The other thing is that it is stick and I was hoping to get away from that because of So Cal's insane traffic and so my girlfriend could drive it. I will try and post pics of the two later on.

 

Mechanically speaking the cars are identical. I'd go for the '02 out of pragmatism if I were you.

 

I got my 2002 when the 2003's just came out. I was able to get my 2002 for the invoice price. They were not going to give me a 2003 for no less than the MSRP. I'd second Hobie's opinion.

 

I am leaning towards Hobie's thoughts too. Talking to my parents who are helping me pay for the vehicle, they don't like the idea of it being a stick shift though. I am going to Europe for 2 months this summer to study, and for those 2 months my sister gets to use the car until they get her a car over the summer. She can't drive a stick, let alone a car worth crap. But if I gots to do it, I gots to do it. Hopefully this will be me tonight: My parents are coming down to check out the cars since its their money. If they like the finance plan and the cars themselves, its a go.

 

There's no time like the present to learn to drive a stick. The Lancer is a very forgiving and easy to drive manual tranny. Plus for pure driving fun you can't hardly go wrong in a standard.

 

Bingo.

 

It's an awesome stick to drive. Coming from a car that practically had no clutch left and needed a ton a repairs, this was like driving a dream

 

It's an extremely forgiving 5spd. There's a lotta room for sloppiness before a stall, and well...I just don't like autos. Not enough pedals.

 

one more thing to consider, or for you parents to consider, is whether the extra money spent on the OZ is worth it. If you're planning on adding aftermarket pieces to your car, I'd suggest looking into getting an ES and saving a bundle. If you look on this forum alone, there's plenty of people selling their OZ body kits and spoilers. Only thing you can't get off the OZ owners and install onto an ES is the wheels.

 

Yeah, but, for the sake of aestethics, the OZ is the "prettier" car, which, if I was going to leave it stock, I'd go with the OZ. My ES... love it, and it wouldn't have been worth the extra cheese or wait for an OZ, but, the stock steelies do get on the nerves. As for performance, I think that the 5spd is the way to go, in that it pretty much makes use of all available power (if you can dig it) and that the auto has less parts to use, and requires 45 minute drivetime before it starts acting "sporty."

 

Your point is well taken streetlancer. I really never looked at the ES because I guess I was blinded by the beatuy of the OZ. Do you know if they have some stock alloy rims for the other models? I cannot stand hubcaps.

 

They don't. The LS has alloys, but, shares the same lug pattern as the OZ, so, swapability is nil. However, the ES has the lug pattern of the Civic, so, no lack of aftermarket wheels.