+1 for a bmw 3 series. but dont get the lame ones. get a 328i or a 330i.
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ONE TREE HILL ADVICE

 

What about a twin turbo Audi S4. You could get one of those with decent mileage for around $20k.

 

i recently just bought a 2005 325i for my dad. its the cheapest new beamer there was hehe. its not fast, its not slow its a cruiser car. its not meant for performance but the tranny in the auto shifts are so refined. you feel laid back driving it. unlike a wrx where u get that feeling that the boxer engine wants to be pushed. it has good handling capabilities in spite of its weight. not near a wrx though. there are a few things you should take into mind though.

1- maintainence pricing
2- repair costs
3- upgrade pricing

honestly he loves it. its not a race car and it doesnt want to be. its safe and efficient. looks good too
if i had to pick between an auto wrx and an auto beamer
id take the beamer, also because its harder to control turbo lag w/ the auto trans

 

S4 works from the performance perspective, but a 20K S4 is going to be well off warranty, and they're not cheap to fix at all.

New Legacy doesn't work for this guy, he only wants to spend 20K, a new legacy GT is at LEAST 25, and the base legacy is nowhere near 6 seconds 0 to 60.

 

iNfEk in the HIIC forums has a 12 second auto wrx.