It's true, everyone has a little buyer's remorse on either their entire purchase or just on a option pkg or whatever. But the best advice I can give you is to figure out your budget for this car (pymts, insurance, gas, up-keep). Then look at ALL available cars in that price range. Then narrow down to what you'd personally like to see yourself in. Leaving no options out of the equation will leave you with a more fulfilled, overall buying experience.

 

But with the cost of repairs and upkeep (which seem to be a lot from what I read on these forums), plus that fact that it seems the VIII's are a lot less reliable than the IX's, spending the 20-25k on a used Evo VIII doesn't seem to be as smart an investment as the new GTS, regardless of HP and the 'fun to drive' factor.

 

It seems like most people dont have any regrets, except to buy a more expensive car or evo. Since I cannot afford more then ~23K it seems like the Lancer is for me. I think the car looks great, and it was comfortable when I test drove it.

I was just double checking that people didnt buy their Lancer and then find another car in the same price range that was a better deal. ie bought the Lancer and then thought, I should have gotten the G6 or Sentra or Corrolla etc.

I didnt mean you guys regret getting a Lancer (they are awesome) just that something else in the SAME price range would have been a better deal.

 

I kind of regret not buying a Subaru impreza since it has about 20 more HP and AWD for the same price I paid for my lancer. But I like the looks of the Lancer more. So im not deeply regretting the lancer, but I kind of wish I went with the Subaru. I also wonder if it would have been a good idea to wait half a year until the Rallyart version comes out with 2.4l turbo awd, or to see the 09 Lancer GTS has a 2.4l engine.

My price limit was around $15k-$16k but i stretched it alot to get the GTS fully loaded. And of course i wish i had a 350z, or a BMW M3, but those are out of my price range.

 

Back when I bought my 03 I was actually in the market for an EK (late 90's) Civic hatch. Looking back, I'm glad I got the Lancer because that hatch would be so worn out by now with the extra miles of it being older. Plus, I would have probably wasted money on more body pieces than I have on the Lancer.
If I where trading my Lancer today, I would consider the new Lancer GTS, the Civic Si Sedan (possibly Mugen), an Evo IX if I could afford it (but I can't), or if my girlfriend had a car and I didn't have to worry so much about reliability, an S13 or S14 240SX.

If I where you, my main things to look at would be reliability (scratch the domestics off your list), crashworthiness (forget all the cool old japanese cars), transmission (I now have an outdated transmission since it seems that everything now comes at least with paddle shifters), and of course price. I'd vote to go with the GTS. It'll take a while to pay off, you can modify it little by little, and by the time it's almost paid off you won't worry about things like a warranty and you can go turbo. The only other one I'd seriously consider would be a Civic Si. More horsepower and now available in a 4 door. It would be a tough decision for me because I like the Lancers, but the new Civics are very nice too. I probably would actually wait a few months because the last time I bought the Lancer, the RalliArt came out as soon as I drove my car off the lot. That would probably be my one regret, that I couldn't wait another few months for an RA. I do like my Lancer, but a little more horsepower and a manual transmission would be nice. The other car I had at the time was totalled so it was either buy a car immediately or risk having to pay out of pocket for whatever the body shops didn't see in the estimate and still have a car that I was tired of.

If you aren't as devoted to only buying from the Japanese as I am, look at the Volkswagen GTI. If I had to drive a euro car, that would be the one. I think it's in the same price range.

Think it over a lot. Test drive multiple options. Just don't make any quick decisions and you should end up with something you like.

 

im somewht regretting buying my lancer, i was gunna get a csx type s instead even though yes i would have had 2 pay a tad more and yes insurance would have been a bit more expensive, but i think i would have been more satisfied with the power, cause rite now my biggest regret is the power and available of mods out there rite now. also i regret trading in my integra for it, i loved that thing, and i had so much plans for that thing, but it wasnt the safest thing on the road in the winter time. but i guess other things in the end were more important 2 me like saftey issues and i guess a nicer interior, but still this car lacks the power, if it had more power i dont think id regret it and also the number of available mods, i mean i understand its a new car and i have 2 wait a bit i guess.... i think in time ill learn to love the car, i mean i do like the shape and everything, except for the rear, not really feeling for those angry eyebrows

 

Yeah when looking at the car the only thing I can see not to like is the lack of power. However, like I said I am always in traffic or its a short trip and I am getting older and not into racing anymore, so although the lack of power is a concern it isnt a crazy concern (i have a 1994 Ford Explorer thats on its way out so I am not use to speeding around anyways =). I was drawn to the Lancer because I like the look of it the best and it seems to have alot for the money (Nav, great sound system, bluetooth, paddle shifters, fast key, hard drive etc). I just wanted to make sure there wasnt something out there that offers all of these things in the same price range that would be better. Is there?? If not, I am gonna buy my lancer tomorrow and join the family ;-)

 

I have no regrets because I look at the potential this car has. Its a great platform to build on and that excites me.

The other car I was looking at was a MazdaSpeed 3.

 

I don't really regret getting a Lancer but I probably should have gotten a civic for the daily driving I do. However once my 08 is paid off I was thinking about moving up to a Subaru WRX STI.

So in that sense do I regret it? No. But I should've probably gone with the civic for the better gas mileage and would like the STI but can't afford that right now.

 

I regret not getting a lancer with less miles on it because I bought mine for 10k with 75000 miles on it!! I see oz's and ralliarts for about the same price with a little bit more power with the ralliart, and more style with the oz. If I could buy another car I would get a 2004 ralliart manual transmission.

 

I was looking to buy new in this segment which of course limited my options. When I was looking, the Lancer hadn't come out yet and for what I could afford, I thought I was gonna have to get a Mazda 3. I don't like Civics (although I considered that as well) because it seems like everybody has one, and even though I liked the 3 ride-wise, I was disappointed that I would probably get another car that a ton of people have. Before I took the plunge though, I saw an ad for the Lancer in Road & Track, took a test drive, bought it, and haven't looked back. I'm very glad I did too, especially since there aren't many Mitsu dealers around here and it makes the car a bit more rare.

 

Very true, the Mazda 3's are shockingly common these days. I had the same feeling when I was shopping around myself. And for now, the 08 Lancer is the complete opposite of that scenario

 

Thats actually pretty close to my story. I was looking at the usually cars in this price range and was going to go with a Mazda3 ... then I was looking at the MazdaSpeed3 but it was a little pricey. I was then debating on the Civic, Mazda3, Jetta/Rabbit, or G6. A buddy of mine said to take a look at the new Lancer and when I did I liked it alot. I test drove it last weekend, and....

Well, lets just say I went out and bought one last night lol. 2008 Black Lancer GTS fully loaded which I can pick up Saturday. I hope I also wont regret it.

 

My criteria: 4 doors and 4 cylinders and around $20k or less. I test drove the following cars before getting my Ralliart:

Civic EX, Corolla XRS, Mazda 3s and 3 hatch, Altima 2.5, Cobalt LS, Vibe GT

The top contenders were the XRS and the 3's (dead last was the Cobalt...wow, what a horrible car). I guess the factors that finally made my decision were 1) the feel of driving it (I like torque ) and 2) the "rare" factor.

Just be sure to do your homework and compare the cars on paper, then go compare them on asphalt. P.S. I also drove the new GTS with the paddle shifters, and I just don't get it

 

The paddle shifters are gheyyyyyyy.