It won't start rattling the first yaer because theres no power under the hood (repectfully) to shake it. If it gets hot or humid where you live don't get the VW because zee Germans use ****ty-*** school glue to hold the interior together and it melts in the heat! Ask anyone in AZ that has had a VW in the past 5 years if their headliner peeled and fell off.

The neon on the otherhand is ugly and has always proven to be unreliable. Have fun if those are the only ones you're interested. My suggestion: keep lookoing.

 

I would get the Neon srt-4. I don't feel you could go wrong, lots of power and knowing Dodge there will be aftermarket for it.

 

what kind of rex? and what is a rex?

 

i take the neon. jettas are borring.

 

IMO, don't bother with VW or Dodge. There is always the talk about big problems VWs have, and getting people to fix them. Then Dodge... It's still a Dodge!


If you can afford a rex, go for it!
Just be careful about buying a used one. You'll wanna make sure it was owned by a good owner, and not some lunatic kid who beat on the car.

If you get a new one, you can probably get a sweet deal if you can find a 2003 laying around! Also to note, I understand that World Rally Blue as of 2005 will no longer be available for the WRX, and will be an STi color only. Might be only a rumor though. If not, I see the value of my 02 WRB WRX going UP!

If not, get your hands on a 2001 RS2.5 or if you like the newer styles, a 2002/03 RS or 04 RS. I would go with 2001 RS2.5 though! Somebody I know drives one, and it looks sweet! If I wasn't driving a WRX, I'd have an 01 RS!

If I was getting a new car though... It would be a white EVO VIII!


~ Dan (Zapix)

 

going for speed = SRT4 (but the FWD will always be limiting)

going for looks = Jetta

 

bah, you got it all wrong!

Going for impressing your friends = SRT-4 (FWD sucks though!)

Going for impressing the ladies = Jetta

Going for making women think you're one of 'those guys' = Subaru

 

I do not think that I have seen a Mini Cooper S listed yet. I drove one all day last Sunday and I have to say that it is a pretty cool little car. Supercharged with a 6 speed and the handeling was very good. Maybe you can find a 03 in your price range, and they are nice inside as well.

 

get the jetta because with a smooth 1000 extra you can upgrade that turbo and be runnin 250 to the ground. so i heard then youll be smokin neons. pluss they are fookin oogly. id wait for the RX-8 but i think they may be a couple thousand more though.

 

SRT-4, FAW SHAW!

With the right body kit, and nice drop & tuck, wheels, and some perf mods watch out now!

But then again ... you may be over $25K when it's all said and done.

Ehhhhhhhhhhhh ... only do it if you plan to put some $ into it. Stock SRT-4 suck! Wheels are frickin fugly! Nice boost gauge dough.

 

If it's a pick between those two cars, I'd say it's a toss up. I worry about the longevity of the SRT-4 because the Neon hasn't been known for it's stellar reliability. The 1.8T is a good car but I like having 4 doors (I'm assuming a Golf hatch is the choice). I think the SRT-4 has more potential if done right given it's larger displacement but the 1.8T is a proven and well accepted platform already with toooons of various mods. Last point I guess is the suspension...the SRT-4 has that 0 camber setup going for it and that's no good at all and a non-reinforced chassis to cope with the oodles of torque the car has, however a lot of that can be made up for with a really nice coilover kit. Oh I wish I could be making decisions like this and actually be able to buy one.

 

zee Germans, god I love that movie.

 

1.) A VW should never cost $20,000.......It goes against the company name and I hate them for that.

2.) The Neon SRT-4 is everything you have ever wanted in a cheap production car, but it is still a Neon. Why didn't they offer the 3rd gen Eclipse in a performance model like that?


My advice would be to shop around and try to find a used Evo, seriously. I saw on www.autotracer.com a 2003 Evo that the guy was selling that I guess he couldn't make payments on. He put 10 grand down on the thing and then couldn't make the payments after that. He was letting the Evo go for $20,000 and it only had like 1300 miles on it. I just checked it and the car has already sold, but it just goes to show that it will be a possibility. There are lots of people out there that buy a car like this and then they can't afford it because of various reasons. I would start looking around and keep your eyes open. It is very possible to get an Evo for near 20 grand within the first year of sales.

Wouldn't you rather have an Evo than a VW or a Neon, anyway?

Josh

 

THANK YOU CAPTAIN IGNORANT

My input: Get the jetta. I used to own one, but not a 1.8t, i had the 2.slow.

It is a comfortable car, and reasonable for performance upgrades. I personally beleive it is a much more worthwhile platform to put money into than the SRT-4. But this is just my bias towards VW, as anyone who knows me can tell you.

There is a host of performance products already available for the 1.8t at decent prices that make it seriously disgusting. The power you can extract from that 1.8 is pretty stupid for what it is.

Also, "stuck with a new car"? dont feel bad! You are not stuck! its a privelage! be happy man when you get a new car you have the potential to keep it for years and years. If you get something you love, and something that can hold your interest, you are set.

I personally believe that if you got the SRT that in 2-3 years you would be sick of it, even though it is a MUCH better performance platform.

 

get the golf aniversery addition with the 18's and the bodykit, that car looks really nice from the factory, much better than the jetta, and the dodge, is well...another ugly dodge