Help making a choice between these cars?

[toyrota mota]

I need help making a choice between these cars. Ive got about $20k to spend on a new car. And ive narrowed it down to 1999 200sx spec-r(turbo 6 speed)perferably standard, 99 commodore VT 5.7l auto but its set-up as a duel fuel system so you can flick onto lpg to run it cheaply when you dont need all the power, has exhaust, performance chip and sports springs. Or 1999 BMW 540i 4.4l 32v V8 triptronic.
The beamer beats the other two in all round performance, g/box better than the commy's slush box, attracts the least attention from the cops and you get alot more kit compare to the others. However proably gona cost the most to maintain. The 200sx is proably the one thats going to depreciate the least and be the cheapest easiest to get more power out off. And the commodore is proably gona be the cheapest on fuel(surprisingly). Sorry no toyotas theres nothing in this price range that interests me. Some opinions and advice would be appreciated from you guys on the advantages and diadavantages of these cars. Illd like to know somethings about these cars like whats the 200sx going to be like on fuel, which is going to be the cheapest to insure, running costs etc. Please no bull sh*t, perferably opinions from people with 1st hand knowlegde or fimiliar with all these cars. Havnt driven a s15 yet, but doubt its going to compare to the 540.

P.S. this is to be a daily driven car, mostly town driving. And feel free to mention any other cars that could interest me. I want something quick, both straight line and in the corners, fun, trouble free and abit different.
Cheers

[Leon]

Nissan all the way.

Build quality on the Holdens is generally absolute rubbish, and I haven't heard that they've even got up to where most of the Japanese cars have been since the early 1990's.

BMW will cost you an arm, and leg, and your left nut the first time something goes "bang".

[EVL20V]

(serious reply, )

Firstly are u RWD or FWD inclinded?

Considered an Integra Type-R? pick one up for $10k-$15k and with a couple basic mods, you will eat many a turbo (have driven a 96 and a 98 spec Type-R and you wont b dissapointed.

random

[toyrota mota]

BMW will cost you an arm, and leg, and your left nut the first time something goes "bang".

Do you know this for sure. Have you had experince with a BMW or is this just what you have heard? How likely is it that the BMW will go bang?

EVL20V if you hadnt notice from the above cars i have choosen im very RWD inclinded. The type-r is a amazing car, but its just not me sorry.
Thanks

[d1 mule]

id say the S15 for reliability and ease a nd cost of parts if somethin does happen to break they are like lego any other RWD nissan (silvias skylines laurles cefiros) pretty much everythin bolts on, would prob be the quickest and handle the best too. as for fuel how long is a piece of string? how hard ya gonna drive it? id say the s15 as has less than half the capacity and a danm side less weight.

S15 all the way!!!

[Jdawg]

....Build quality on the Holdens is generally absolute rubbish, and I haven't heard that they've even got up to where most of the Japanese cars have been since the early 1990's.

What does this mean, did yours fall apart?

Owned a 2000 LS1, 6 speed for 6 years.
Only items that needed replacing was the front universal, idler bearing and several rear tyres. Do not buy an early LS1, thay have a design fault with the rear suspension which creates severe toe out under load and causes rapid wearing of the inside rear tyres, especially if you lower them. Camber kits only do so much. VX series 2 onwards have this issue fixed. Also at least half early LS1's suffered an oversize no1 cylinder requiring a warranty rebuild, Holden fought like hell not to honour any warranty claims on these vehicles so not all of them were repaired. There is a punch mark on an engine pad by no 1 cyl to show it has been repaired.
For me the biggest issue with being a Holden owner was the atrocious service by the dealerships, I will not buy GMH brand new again.

Having said all that, this car was a hell of a lot of fun to own. More than enough power, esp in the 3 years of ownership when I upped the power past 300 KW. They are heavy and can be nervous on poor road surfaces, no giving a lot of confidence in how they will react at times.
My car was an executive specced up to SS thru the options sheet, later called the SV8, received improved brakes, cam, ecu tuning, headers and suspension over the years. The interior was pretty basic but nothing stopped working.
The 6 speed was as economical to run as my mates V6 auto when cruising at the posted speed limit.
I would consider $20k top dollar for a 99.

[toyrota mota]

Thank you Jdawg very helpfull, if there where more posts like yours this would be a much better forum. So the commy could be abit of trouble. I wouldnt consider paying 20k for this commy if it didnt have the lpg set-up, cost about $5k or so to get a lpg set-up.

Everyone else the above post is the kind of reply I want, not a I heard or my friends friends uncle had a so and so etc.

[Leon]

BMW will cost you an arm, and leg, and your left nut the first time something goes "bang".

Friends with BMW's have put me off owning them. Sound like they're nice to drive, but too expensive to work on. Good parts support, but pricey.

From the Commy owner a couple of posts up ... that's about what I was told about the build quality. That said, the modern Fords sound the same too I'm amazed that the aussie mags all reckon the local product is gods gift to cars, when you then talk to dozens of XR6 owners with blown head gaskets, stuffed auto's etc. It's a worry. It's also why I like the Toymota's so much, they put up with huge amounts of abuse.

[malc]

Thank you Jdawg very helpfull, if there where more posts like yours this would be a much better forum.

Everyone else the above post is the kind of reply I want, not a I heard or my friends friends uncle had a so and so etc.

thanks for clearing that up

[TRD Man]

BMW will cost you an arm, and leg, and your left nut the first time something goes "bang".

Friends with BMW's have put me off owning them. Sound like they're nice to drive, but too expensive to work on. Good parts support, but pricey.

Not so Leon. We've had all 3 of our BMWs serviced at the BMW dealer who you would expect to be expensive.
But the cars have needed little, if any, work and any parts required have generally been cheaper than an equivalent Japanese part.

I guess it's that golden rule - buy a good one, maintain it correctly and it'll give good service.

[darkwolf]

Freinds car is a S14 Silvia, uses it mainly for drifting (not seriously but enough to put it through a bit of hell). From my experiences having to help fix it, airflow through the grill is an issue, diffs need more strength, and the front suspension can be awkardly unreliable. If it helps any its still running the SR20DE and it makes a fair bit of power with simple basics.

Though from your car choices I dare say that you have a leaning towards V8s if thats the case I have no information to really offer you except if you are looking for something a bit different the 200sx shouldn't even be there, too many of them around, least parts are cheap tho.

[Leon]

As with all cars, your experiences will vary. But, we all knew that anyway.

I wonder if jdawg is interested in sex and travel?

[blackie]

From the Commy owner a couple of posts up ... that's about what I was told about the build quality. That said, the modern Fords sound the same too I'm amazed that the aussie mags all reckon the local product is gods gift to cars, when you then talk to dozens of XR6 owners with blown head gaskets, stuffed auto's etc. It's a worry. It's also why I like the Toymota's so much, they put up with huge amounts of abuse.

Falcons seem reliable as f*** ?
i was in one the other day that had over 500 000kms..
and it was original engine etc..

my dads BA has about 70 000kms on it.. they felt exactly the same, smooth as..

[toyrota mota]

Though from your car choices I dare say that you have a leaning towards V8s if thats the case I have no information to really offer you except if you are looking for something a bit different the 200sx shouldn't even be there, too many of them around, least parts are cheap tho.

Im not leaning towards V8, im just leaning towards power. Only other powerfull car really in this price range was a rx7 batty but nah! 200sx spec-R is abit different f*ck all of these round.

[pjay]

20k on a beemer? get a 7 series!! 740i... leather, v8, mega style car..

but personally id go for the sx.. my fave car behind the rx7 savanna.

theser a shit hot 180sx on trademe atm! ex D1 drift car from jappa. forest metallic green

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... 15.htm?p=2

[Quirky]

At your sort of price range dont get a BMW, they're not particularly reliable, dad owned a v8 facelift 5 series, had cost him about 7,000 USD to fix, and still breaking down, so he got rid of it and got them Lexus RH things...(i reckon they're ugly)

[B1NZ]

Do you want room, if so forget the Nissan, they are built for tiny Japanese people!

I have also known people to get stung when it came time for servicing on BMW's, Like get your standard water pump and quadruple the price for a BMW part for instance

I'd go for the Commodore out of those 3 personally, but that's just me

[Al]

If you are concerned about BMW parts prices ring the dealership and get quotes for general items like water pump, clutch master cylinder, cambelt, tensioners and so on. You may be pleasantly surprised. I did the same when I owned my Alfa Romeo, people said "parts prices will make you broke". Toyota parts ended up being more expensive, I could buy new parts cheaper than rebuilding some parts (master cylinder)

The e39 540i is a fantastic car. Don't let people put you off with hearsay. Get it checked at your BMW dealer and go from there.

[Lloyd]

Falcons seem reliable as f*** ?
i was in one the other day that had over 500 000kms..
and it was original engine etc..

my dads BA has about 70 000kms on it.. they felt exactly the same, smooth as..

So your dads BA feels like a Falcon with half a millions kms on it?


What sort of age BMWs were you talking about TRDMan?

Toyrota, the final choice will have to be your own. They are very different cars in many respects. Cant say I've ever owned any of the cars you're talking about, but I can tell you the above mention of the cheaper feel to the Commodore is correct and they have always been like that. Having said that the VTs are a nice car to drive.
Buying a BMW that sort of age you shouldn't really have too many expensive issues if its low kms and has been looked after. Having said that, BMWs do nothing for me in either look or the feel to driving them. Something with the 4.4 in would be fun, but for me its always nice to give BMWs back to the people who pay for them. And when it does start having issues, its time to get rid of it because when they start costing money it only gets worse.
200SX would make a great toy and I would imagine the cheapest on gas. Really comes down to what you are wanting or like the look of. Don't expect the LPG to do much for you in the way of mileage.

Personally I'd say Commodore would be nice though not cheapest to run or the nicest to be in. BMW I wouldn't even consider, partially because every one I look at I assume the driver to be a wanker. They're a status symbol only recognised to be anything special by other people with the same bad taste in cars. Nissan would be my pick for reliability, fuel costs and styling and driving feel.

But as I said, I'm not the one who has to live with it

[TRD_ZERO]

^ Now that was a good write up.