What could I get used between 20-30G? Sports sedan-wise?

[C4S]

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CTR has grown on me and limited audience gets why that car is so so good. As OP drives GLK/370Z, I'd try to tailor my advice accordingly. I owned G35 once and it was the most horrid experience. I think a mix of both of these cars if you want to maintain summer fun is as following:
- Audi RS4
- B8 S4
- E90 M3

Drive em and see what works for you.

Me too, I couldn't believe I like the Civic R, I didn't like it at first, but ride in few of them, and they are nice! $45K for a 300+ HP mid size 4 door sedan made in England quite a bargain! Being an old fart born in the 70's, had 4 or 5 civic when I was young, then numerous of BMW ... older 3 series are just not cool anymore ..

And most Civic Type R I have seen, not driven by kids, nor chicks anymore, but ~30-40 yr old men! *_*

[bjstare]

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My 2011 Honda Fit was more engaging to drive than my 2008 ISF.

Interesting perspective. As a DD I'd have a tendency to agree. I know my ISF is pretty engaging when I drive at 8/10ths though, and delivers something more (IMO).

[Graham_A_M]

You can get a nice older Buick Regal GS. Some came with 6speed manuals, (up until 2016) factory 14" Brembros, 20" rims. 2.0 turbo four cylinder (stock 270hp with 295 tq) Their fast and fun cars. Here's mine. (2012 GS with the 6speed manual). I've had this car since new,
No problems. With a bigger turbo, I take and tune, 400+hp isnt hard to achieve with the stock internals.

[CMW403]

If that's your budget I wouldn't go near a 335... I have actually lost count how many times I have taken my moms 335i in for service. Purchased brand new and BMW maintained for its entire life, absolutely babied and hardly ever driven. She's on her third set of injectors and she hasn't even broken 150k for god sake...

Sure, you can get one in your price range, but the scheduled maintenance after 100k will break you (and that is without even factoring in the NON scheduled maintenance that will CRUSH you). In other words, a 30k 335 is actually a 50k 335.

I think you need to re-think your brand whorish attitude, or increase that budget.

[Misterman]

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If that's your budget I wouldn't go near a 335... I have actually lost count how many times I have taken my moms 335i in for service. Purchased brand new and BMW maintained for its entire life, absolutely babied and hardly ever driven. She's on her third set of injectors and she hasn't even broken 150k for god sake...

Sure, you can get one in your price range, but the scheduled maintenance after 100k will break you (and that is without even factoring in the NON scheduled maintenance that will CRUSH you). In other words, a 30k 335 is actually a 50k 335.

I think you need to re-think your brand whorish attitude, or increase that budget.

This why I laughed when a few people were like "Audi S4 is junk and costs a fortune to maintain", while simultaneously mentioning the 335i, that will need water pump, injectors, turbos replaced, etc. After 4 different 3-series BMW's, I'm unlikely to ever own another BMW again.

[03ozwhip]

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If that's your budget I wouldn't go near a 335... I have actually lost count how many times I have taken my moms 335i in for service. Purchased brand new and BMW maintained for its entire life, absolutely babied and hardly ever driven. She's on her third set of injectors and she hasn't even broken 150k for god sake...

Sure, you can get one in your price range, but the scheduled maintenance after 100k will break you (and that is without even factoring in the NON scheduled maintenance that will CRUSH you). In other words, a 30k 335 is actually a 50k 335.

I think you need to re-think your brand whorish attitude, or increase that budget.

What year is that? Because that's an anomaly as far as I'm concerned. I've had 4 N55 BMW's (2011 and up) and I only had a oil filter gasket replaced out of all of them.

The N55 BMW's are one of the most reliable out of all of them. I wouldnt have had this many if they weren't solid cars.

The E90/92 M3 is supposed to be pretty reliable as well but OP doesnt want RWD I guess.

[killramos]

Just don’t buy an N54 based 35i and you will be fine as has been mentioned.

[Mitsu3000gt]

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If that's your budget I wouldn't go near a 335... I have actually lost count how many times I have taken my moms 335i in for service. Purchased brand new and BMW maintained for its entire life, absolutely babied and hardly ever driven. She's on her third set of injectors and she hasn't even broken 150k for god sake...

Sure, you can get one in your price range, but the scheduled maintenance after 100k will break you (and that is without even factoring in the NON scheduled maintenance that will CRUSH you). In other words, a 30k 335 is actually a 50k 335.

I think you need to re-think your brand whorish attitude, or increase that budget.

N55 and up you're fine barring any really bad luck. Just like you don't buy a DSG B8 S4 before 2013. At least when buying used you have the luxury of knowing which years had more problems and which didn't - the harder part is finding a really good sample and one that isn't a lease back, because tons of these cars are leased.

[rx7boi]

Just my personal opinion but I still think the Q50S is a strong contender even though OP said they're a big too big and a bit slower than he thought.

Judging by OP's responses, he wants reliability but honestly it seems like it's the bottom of the three criteria (AWD, Fast, reliability).

[Mitsu3000gt]

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Just my personal opinion but I still think the Q50S is a strong contender even though OP said they're a big too big and a bit slower than he thought.

Judging by OP's responses, he wants reliability but honestly it seems like it's the bottom of the three criteria (AWD, Fast, reliability).

Many Q400 Red Sports sold for just under $50K due to the massive discounts, which will presumably make them a bargain on the used market. Might still be too new though. I don't know why anyone would buy a Q50S when the Red Sports were the same price for so long. That would at least solve his "too slow" problem, but not if if they're too big.

[scboss]

I used to be in a similar situation wanting a 4 door after owning a 350z. I went with a Lexus is350 and TBH most boring car I've ever owned. Then I hoped over to infinity and it felt like a heavy gutted Z.

I bought an evolution gsr for 19k and never looked back. If you can get over the shit interior (amazing seats) it's such a sick car. You can still get it in manual and it's mod hungry. I use to go through cars like crazy and I'm going on 3 years now. Only cars I would give this up for are 100k plus.

[jaylo]

Like the OP, I have been to many situations where I wanted a sports sedan and what a lot of people saying here holds true. For $30K I would look into these vehicles.

A responsible adult should consider the logic of finding one under Extended Warranty, or save up and account for stupid amount of $$$ for brakes, tires, (consumable which are more expensive than your average Accord or VW), and maintenance.

2013+ Audi S4 or S5 DSG or 6MT with active/sport differential ($1500 option back then, included in the Technik package)
I have test driven this when I was cross-shopping this between 2013 BMW 335i.
My two friends own both transmission choices and the only issue arise was that annoying wheel bearing, which he was told is within the factory tolerance.

2013+ BMW 335i xDrive
Great vehicles. Reliable N55 (twin power turbo is single turbo). The F30 generation proves to be very reliable vs the old E90 N54 so most of the horror stories you hear in the Internet is from the old setup.
These vehicles are a blast especially on a small tune from RaceChip or Burger Tuning.

2011 Lexus ISF with new updated suspension and "mechanical" limited slip differential
These are fun to drive in straight line, reliable, but that's it. It is not a car you would toss into turns, there's something weird and heavy feeling about this vehicle in spirited driving. If you enjoy a lot of straight line driving, this is the car.

Runner-up:

Mercedes-Benz GLA45. Mercedes sometimes holds CPO at 0.5% like last month. With a 7 year warranty (factory plus extended), these are fairly a good value if you're worried about reliability. Canada-wide, I've seen some good ones around $35,36K without negotiating.

Infiniti Q50 Red Sport. They are closer to $40s but if you can swing it, test drive it and I think it has enough of what you need.


"No" for me:

Any STI. Way too pricey for what people is asking. Seems to be the Halo car of Alberta, everyone asking $5K-$10K beyond book value. In demand and always going to be expensive. Most are bagged.

Golf R. Too small, does not look like a sports sedan or a sports vehicle. Tiny. Many girls drive it.

Civic Type R. Top performance but too ricey for a 40 year old.

[civicHB]

Bumping this up - what are the opinions on the 2015 C400? especially the reliability part. I've looked at some youtube videos and the performance should be ok. The C300 is a bore, but the C400 might just be enough.

[370Z]

I believe what's been said is that the C400 sucks too in terms of driving dynamics and isn't much cheaper than a C43.

I took my Z off the market. Im waiting until I'm 40 in a year and half to revisit this. Good luck in your own search

[hurrdurr]

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I believe what's been said is that the C400 sucks too in terms of driving dynamics and isn't much cheaper than a C43.

I took my Z off the market. Im waiting until I'm 40 in a year and half to revisit this. Good luck in your own search

I quite enjoy driving my C400 daily. $25,000 less than most used C43 on the market too

[370Z]

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I quite enjoy driving my C400 daily. $25,000 less than most used C43 on the market too

Sorry, I think they were actually talking C450 vs C43....hmmm, I just read a couple reviews of the C400, seems like a decent car!

[Kloubek]

So if the q50 was too big, I imagine the m56x would be far too big? I never felt like my m37 was too big (personal preference) and the m56 goes like snot.

[heavyD]

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What year is that? Because that's an anomaly as far as I'm concerned. I've had 4 N55 BMW's (2011 and up) and I only had a oil filter gasket replaced out of all of them.

The N55 BMW's are one of the most reliable out of all of them. I wouldnt have had this many if they weren't solid cars.

The E90/92 M3 is supposed to be pretty reliable as well but OP doesnt want RWD I guess.

The N55 couldn't be any more reliable if it was made by Toyota. Easily one of the the best overall high volume engines from any manufacturer over the last decade.