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      11-28-2018, 11:52 PM   #1
CachacoF80
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Help me choose a (fun) daily

Folks,

While I do my best to daily drive my SMB F80, I've started to get anxious about leaving it all day long at the train station. The area around the train station has scene some crime lately and homeless population in the area and NorCal in general is increasing (it's a real issue in CA). Parking is not covered. I've noticed that SMB plus Amaro brown combo is quite noticeable and I'm not feeling comfortable about leaving the car there 4 days every week. Maybe here an there I can take the car but don't want to be seen as "the guy with the nice car".

I have a Jeep G. Cherokee that I planned to sell. I could keep it but it's big and meh. So...I need a fun daily/beater!

-My commute would be 10miles each way of highway miles (4 days a week).
-My budget is ~12k (whatever the cost of my Jeep is essentially).
-I love hatchbacks...but I'm 6'1 and 210lbs so can't be TOO small. Plus I'm recovering from back injury.
-2 or 4dr
-Not a fan of most Japanese tbh
-Not too unreliable!

I'd like to try an Abarth (concerned about size). Other options could include a Golf GTI (I had one and I think it's great), but something different would be fun.

Any ideas?!

Thanks.
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      11-29-2018, 12:01 AM   #2
CachacoF80
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pheerIx View Post
MT? Focus ST, Civic Si, FRS/BRZ. GTI does the daily driver the best though.
Thanks!

Yes MT even better, I'm loving the 6MT in the F80.

I'll look into the Ford. How is the build quality?

The FRS/BRZ seems quite tight for my size. I guess I should try anyway!
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      11-29-2018, 12:17 AM   #3
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Fiat otherwise known as 'Fix It Again Tony' may be the least reliable car sold in the US. I would steer clear of the Abarth. GTI would get my vote.
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      11-29-2018, 08:02 AM   #4
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Mini Cooper S if you liked the GTI and don’t want another one.
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      11-29-2018, 09:15 AM   #5
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I used to commute in a 2016 spark EV which I got for $12k

Amazing car for your use case. 327ftlb of torque and reasonably sporty suspension so it's pretty fun.

I sold it because I do 50 miles per day on the freeway and wasn't comfortable with the small size anymore (e.g. Traffic going 65 to 0 on 92 bridge and pickups needing to go to the shoulder to avoid hitting me) but for a short, low speed commute, I think it's the perfect car

Any of the lightly used 80miles range class electrics are cheap and should be considered for this use case

Or honestly, keep your Jeep. Especially if it's 4x4... perfect stuff hauler and Tahoe car
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      11-29-2018, 10:18 AM   #6
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keep the jeep, drive that thing till the wheels fall off. the true secret of a DD is not having to care when you get door dings and bumper trash, plus you get to pick the open spot that's closest to the train station.
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      11-29-2018, 11:05 AM   #7
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gti is prolly one of the best cars you can get for price
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      11-29-2018, 11:15 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yaymitch View Post
Fiat otherwise known as 'Fix It Again Tony' may be the least reliable car sold in the US. I would steer clear of the Abarth. GTI would get my vote.
I'm certainly worried about Fiat's reliability. For such a little thing one would expect less things t break down.
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      11-29-2018, 11:17 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nicknaz View Post
I used to commute in a 2016 spark EV which I got for $12k

Amazing car for your use case. 327ftlb of torque and reasonably sporty suspension so it's pretty fun.

I sold it because I do 50 miles per day on the freeway and wasn't comfortable with the small size anymore (e.g. Traffic going 65 to 0 on 92 bridge and pickups needing to go to the shoulder to avoid hitting me) but for a short, low speed commute, I think it's the perfect car

Any of the lightly used 80miles range class electrics are cheap and should be considered for this use case

Or honestly, keep your Jeep. Especially if it's 4x4... perfect stuff hauler and Tahoe car
I'm too old school for EVs...2019'resolution will be to be more open about the inevitable shift to electric!

Unfortunately Jeep is not 4x4...and it has one of those 5.7 HEMI engines. Every time it drizzles it scares me much more than the F80 coming out of a turn!
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      11-29-2018, 11:18 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Poiseuille View Post
keep the jeep, drive that thing till the wheels fall off. the true secret of a DD is not having to care when you get door dings and bumper trash, plus you get to pick the open spot that's closest to the train station.
Fair point
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      11-29-2018, 12:44 PM   #11
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I had a similar need a bit ago - my budget was higher ($20K), but the same cars should still be applicable, albeit with higher miles or a year or two older - and here was my finalist list:

1) VW GTi
2) Mini Cooper S
3) Mazda 3s
4) Chevy Camaro
5) Ford Mustang
6) Audi A3

All of these other than the Audi are available with a manual, which was important to me.

The GTi did everything great, but I had one in the past, so this was a bit of a boring option. The Mini was the most fun car by a long shot, but reliability data is pretty bad and the closest dealer is 70 miles from me. The Mazda 3s was a fantastic car, but slooooooooow. The Camaro and Mustang were both very quick and fun to drive, but in the more base form (which they were at my price point) they just felt so cheap. I was worried I would be bored of them with them quickly. The Audi checked every box other than the manual transmission.

In the end - the Audi was the winner - with a piggyback, the HP jumped up near 300 and the car became fun enough to overcome the lack of a 6MT.
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      11-29-2018, 01:38 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by usshelena725 View Post
I had a similar need a bit ago - my budget was higher ($20K), but the same cars should still be applicable, albeit with higher miles or a year or two older - and here was my finalist list:

1) VW GTi
2) Mini Cooper S
3) Mazda 3s
4) Chevy Camaro
5) Ford Mustang
6) Audi A3

All of these other than the Audi are available with a manual, which was important to me.

The GTi did everything great, but I had one in the past, so this was a bit of a boring option. The Mini was the most fun car by a long shot, but reliability data is pretty bad and the closest dealer is 70 miles from me. The Mazda 3s was a fantastic car, but slooooooooow. The Camaro and Mustang were both very quick and fun to drive, but in the more base form (which they were at my price point) they just felt so cheap. I was worried I would be bored of them with them quickly. The Audi checked every box other than the manual transmission.

In the end - the Audi was the winner - with a piggyback, the HP jumped up near 300 and the car became fun enough to overcome the lack of a 6MT.
Thanks, that's helpful.

Does anyone have experience with Fiesta ST?
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      11-29-2018, 01:40 PM   #13
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My fun DD is a Cobb tuned 135i.
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      11-29-2018, 01:42 PM   #14
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'05 matrix xrs.. revs to 8200, just like the m3!
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      11-29-2018, 02:02 PM   #15
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Why not a 128i sport with 6MT?
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      11-29-2018, 02:07 PM   #16
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Ford Fiesta ST.
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      11-29-2018, 02:49 PM   #17
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There's a thread about the Fiesta ST one thread under this right now. Cool little car, if a bit spartan.
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      11-29-2018, 03:11 PM   #18
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'09 135i  [10.00]
Autotrader shows a 2001 BMW Z3 3.0i Roadster in the bay area for 6995...
and nice looking 128
and a crap ton of boxters, a few gti's, couple of two door 335's, even an old 300zx twin turbo and even has a supra turbo, tho it's got well over 200k miles...
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      11-29-2018, 03:47 PM   #19
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You want a "fun" DD for a 10-mile freeway commute? AND you have a Jeep with a hemi?

Something is not computing IMO.
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      11-29-2018, 03:57 PM   #20
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M3.
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      11-29-2018, 03:58 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Efthreeoh View Post
You want a "fun" DD for a 10-mile freeway commute? AND you have a Jeep with a hemi?

Something is not computing IMO.
What's not computing is that you make assumptions about people. I am a car guy that suffered a MAJOR back injury. I could not get in or out of a regular sized car for 3 years. I had to sell a Lotus and a GTI. I bought a Jeep in a rush so I could fit and get to places. After a long but partial recovery I can get into smaller cars. So, I bought an M3 and now want to sell the Jeep.

Hopefully that computes. And if it doesn't, don't add to the thread. And don't assume, ask.
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      11-29-2018, 04:00 PM   #22
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Quote:
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Why not a 128i sport with 6MT?
Exactly what I was thinking. A few bushings/struts/mods later you will have an awesome little traffic weapon.
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