Chicagoland area members?

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AHTOXA
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Re: Chicagoland area members?

Post by AHTOXA »

True, true. It just depends on what her wants. My first few cars were beaters but I would have rather bought something better maybe even from the dealer, as I didn't have much cash on hand. Even though I know my way around car and am mechanically inclined, I would still prefer something a little nicer. It just all depends.
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Re: Chicagoland area members?

Post by PAULH »

wow guys that was a lot of useful info :) thank you so much!! i'm gonna work my ass off this summer to try and buy something. How are Nissans nowadays?
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Re: Chicagoland area members?

Post by AHTOXA »

PAULH wrote:wow guys that was a lot of useful info :) thank you so much!! i'm gonna work my ass off this summer to try and buy something. How are Nissans nowadays?
New NISSANS are rather uninspiring, unless we're ralking Z or skyline. Sentra finished pretty far back in it's class. Maxima's nice but CVT... meh.
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Re: Chicagoland area members?

Post by Leedeth »

Yeah pretty much everything built from 2000 + is bland.
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Re: Chicagoland area members?

Post by potownrob »

AHTOXA wrote:
PAULH wrote:wow guys that was a lot of useful info :) thank you so much!! i'm gonna work my ass off this summer to try and buy something. How are Nissans nowadays?
New NISSANS are rather uninspiring, unless we're ralking Z or skyline. Sentra finished pretty far back in it's class. Maxima's nice but CVT... meh.
you can definitely tell they've cut corners on the newer nissans - even on my 98 Maxima there were many corners cut compared to the older 4th gen Maximas (95-96 versus 97-99), and especially compared to the 3rd gens, and then the 5th gens (2k-2003) were even more cut-down in many ways (though better in some) and then the 6th gens were boats despite their improvements...My sister and I test drove a 2002 Sentra GXE and Altima GXE (slush of course - sister won't drive stick and neither will mom who she was planning on selling the car to down the line). They were both quite uninspiring and cheap feeling. Our old 93 Sentra at least had some soul to it. What many of you will find sad is that we found the 98 Corolla we ended up getting much more fun to drive and comfortable than the two Nissans we tested out :roll: .
ClutchFork wrote:...So I started carrying a stick of firewood with me and that became my parking brake.
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Re: Chicagoland area members?

Post by potownrob »

PAULH wrote:wow guys that was a lot of useful info :) thank you so much!! i'm gonna work my ass off this summer to try and buy something. How are Nissans nowadays?
if you're looking at the big 3 (nissan, honda and toyota), i'd take a year-old honda over most anything new nissan or even toyota puts out these days. i'd also consider mazda and subaru for some more character (and options), if you like the japanese cars.
ClutchFork wrote:...So I started carrying a stick of firewood with me and that became my parking brake.
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Re: Chicagoland area members?

Post by Leedeth »

potownrob wrote:What many of you will find sad is that we found the 98 Corolla we ended up getting much more fun to drive and comfortable than the two Nissans we tested out :roll: .
That's not surprising since that Corolla is rocking the ZZ-Top engine. :wink:
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Re: Chicagoland area members?

Post by potownrob »

Yeah the engine was nice and much smoother than most any Nissan engine (other than the VQ of course), but it wasn't mainly the engine that made it better; the car just felt more solid yet fun and comfortable than the Altima and Sentra. I was surprised since I was expecting the Sentra to be more like our older Sentra but better and the Altima to be a lot like my friend's 94 Altima GXE (even though that was a 5-speed - nice ride btw), but they were nothing like either of those older cars. The 98 Corolla, on the other hand, felt a LOT like the 91 Corolla we used to have, despite corners obviously having been cut for that generation (98-02) and the latter half (96-97) of the previous generation of Corollas (93-97).
ClutchFork wrote:...So I started carrying a stick of firewood with me and that became my parking brake.
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Re: Chicagoland area members?

Post by AHTOXA »

My dad's got a 2000 maxima SE loaded to the gills. It seems to have every GLE option minus the wood trim, which I hate anyway.


I love that car. I've driven it almost daily maybe 5 years ago or so and it was a sick car and still is. Then again, it's a slush... I drove a very similar maxima with a manual and man, what a difference!

I was a big Nissan fan until the time to buy a new car came around this past November. I've owned a Sentra, my dad had the Maxima and then I had my '02 Xterra, which I loved for almost 4 years.

When the time to buy new came around, I was in the market for a hatch. I wanted utility of the rear hatch and the cargo capacity it has with a smaller size and engine for better fuel economy while still being fun to drive. I looked at the Nissan Versa and came out of the showroom with a little vomit in my mouth. It's a god damned shrunken minivan - a Quest for that matter. The grill is quite the same and body likes are so similar. That and it's as ugly as sin.

What esle is there, the Sentra, Rogue, Murano, Maxima? Nope... didn't like them all that much. No soul, just meaningless transportation.

Let people say VW is crap and has poor reliability (although the new gen is probably the most reliable ever) but it's still got soul. Arguably less soul than the MKII or MKIII but it still does and it makes it that much more fun every day.
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Re: Chicagoland area members?

Post by AHTOXA »

So....um....anyone wanna do a Chicagoland meet? Maybe spend a day hanging out, waxing cars, shooting shit?
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Re: Chicagoland area members?

Post by 94Corolla5Speed »

I'm in. :D
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Re: Chicagoland area members?

Post by AHTOXA »

Yeah, we're a bit think in the ranks here in Chicagoland.
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Re: Chicagoland area members?

Post by AeroKid »

Hey i'm from Chicago! i feel so much better that there are some others here...
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Re: Chicagoland area members?

Post by .insane »

possibly
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Re: Chicagoland area members?

Post by AHTOXA »

Good. Now we have 4 active members in the immediate Chicago area.

We should do a meet!
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