So yeah, Only a few months ago I was looking for a new car to get. So I asked a friend whats a sports type car thats just good all around and has some horse power in it. Since I do not know much about cars really. He told me the Mazda 6 which runs just under $30,000
Do you know of any other great cars for around this price?

I had a Mazda Miata years ago ... they are great little cars. I never had any problems except I broke the clutch (learning a stick). And it was near 10 years old when I got rid of it. Mazda is a good company IMO.

I own this car (4 cyl, fwd, manual, "fully loaded), bought it new '04 and its been fantastic to me, for all the miles and crap I put it through it has held up fantastic (one minor issue regarding a sensor around the 3rd year of ownership, but this was fixed in a day and was covered by the warranty).

Dont expect a fantastic amount of power though, in my opinion it looks faster than it is (160+ HP i think) but for it being considered a "family car" its great, and a benefit of a small 4 cylinder engine is the gas mileage ( which if i keep the revs under 3k, i can get close to 28 mpg) .

Mazda is great. If your looking for more HP and performance, check out the Speed version of this car (which I am considering to be my next Mazda), it has the same great luxury for the price (around 30k) and packs a fantastic 270hp, turbo, 4wd.

I would hate to recommend other cars because I don't have enough experience with them and am totally biased toward anything else, but if I must, you might want to check out the Nissan family. Altimas and Maximas might be around the same quality and maybe a BIT more costly.

Maybe look into a mazda3 as well.

hope this helps.

Awesome thank you for all the input so far

I'm partial towards Subaru. If you live in an area that gets a lot of rain and or snow, Subaru is as safe if not safer than anything else you can buy. I have owned one for 6 years now and understand why Subaru owners are Subaru owners for life in most cases.

Back in the 80's and early 90's, Mazda had problems with their automatic transmissions.

Yeah i did hear something about the new rotory engine in the RX-8 that its no good in cold weather like you cant even start up your car half the time. This true?

Is Mazda still making the rotory engine?

The 2007 Nissan Altima coupe is just around $25,000 for the 270HP v6 model. I've known quite a few people with Nissan cars that have driven them well over 100,000 miles with minimal issues.

A new Honda Accord coupe, fully loaded, will be around $30,000 (with a little haggling). They are really nice cares. Compared the the Nissan Maxima, it's around the same price but has more power, comes in 6 speed manual, and has a few nicer features. You could also check out the Civic SI coupe or sedan. Both look sporty in styling (look much better than the first generation of SI) and pack a little more powered compared to the Altima in that price range.

And yes, they still make the rotary. It's a remodeled design that holds up longer, but I believe it's only available in the RX-8 (you're pretty much at the mercy of only one body style and set of options). I, would personally stay away from the Mazda3 or 6 simply because of the turbo. That is just another small thing that can create a big problem.

But I supposed what it boils down to is three things...

*What feels most comfortable driving
*What gets the best gas mileage
*Which dealer can get you the cheapest price and best warranty