help finding a car
 

Here are the criteria:

sub $5000
Manual
30+ mpg highway
leather
reliable

This should be easy but I am having difficutly finding a car. I was thinking the older 95 or so integra, what do you all think?

a 01-05 civic manual would be great (avoid the time bomb auto trans) or a 03+ corolla stick (with high miles tho) i see them on craigslist for a tad bit over 5000, but after negotiating you can bring it to around 5.


your criteria and mines are almost the same, mines is

150k or under
japanese (honda or toyota)
stick has to average over 30 mpg, auto over 28
rounded shape (not a box)
$5000 or less
has at least dual airbags
4 cylinder
1.9 liters or under
little rust/sun damage
seats 5


i'm really towards japanese cars, its just that i had really bad experiences with domestic cars. im not hating on domestics though :)

Infiniti G20 is a possible candidate..

If you drive reasonably they are quite good on gas although I'm not positive the offical mileage figure is over 30..

Does the civic have leather?

I am really leaning towards something with a little luxury. The problem with new luxury cars is they are huge and heavy, I mean even the new 1 series BMW has a curb weight of 3500 pounds!!!

I will look into the G20, that might be up my alley...

Why leather?
There are so many cars to choose from that get over 30mpg, a friend just picked up an '88 Acura Integura and was impressed to find that it gets 36mpg with the automatic, no leather in that model but I think it was an option.
I just looked at a 2001 Saab 9-3 turbo that was for sale for around $4,000 and the 5 speed model has an epa highway rating of 27-29mpg depending on year.

I think MX-3 Precidias came with leather seats.

Leather really narrows your options down...you could probably get:

BMW 318 i/is/ti
Mazda Miata
Acura Integra
Honda Accord (4-cyl, avoid auto trans)
Nissan Altima (4-cyl, questionable reliability)
Nissan 240SX
Infiniti G20 (hard to find manual)
Toyota Camry (4-cyl, hard to find manual)
Subaru Legacy (4-cyl, hard to find manual)

A lot of the above cars almost get >30 mpg highway, and probably could with a few mods.

...or you could get a non-leather car and replace the seats with leather seats. Just find someone who has leather but, like me, hates leather...they'll be happy to trade.

That's a good idea. Most Civics can accept leather Integra seats. These will run you about $300 front and back if you buy them on honda/acura forums. You could have a real "luxurious" civic vx getting 50+mpg.

That sounds like a great idea.

I just want a small lightweight car with a small engine but that actually has some interior luxury. It does not seem like any new cars have this to offer so I am looking at the old ones...