Update:

I still love it. Turns out there's a load of aftermarket crap I can get done thru TRD to my Yaris without having to dirty my own knuckles in grease and grime.

And it's under warranty! I'm prettying sure there's a TRD supercharger available for the US Scion brand, which works with the Yaris engine... ;)

Nope, that is for the tC, which shares an engine with the 4cyl Camry. The 1.6L Scions/Yaris get no forced induction TRD love.

Well, Mr and Mrs Smarty-Pants, what TRD love do I get?

Lists! I want lists!

Mwah!

Any info on the Ford SVT Contour?

We never got the Contour SVT up here to my knowledge, so no. The Focus SVT was a great machine, though. Most of Ford's SVT offerings, in fact, are said to be pretty good.

Edmunds reviewed it pretty well and it looks decent, but I think they might only have been produced 98 - 00 so one in good condition with low miles might be hard toc ome by.

I think I'm really looking mostly for Mazda 3s, 6s, P5s, and MSPs (my first choice) under 13 k.

Other options I've still got set to the side in case of good deals are Galant ES or GTZ, Maxima SE, and TL & RLs.

A Maxima with a 5/6 speed is a great car. TL is also good, especially with the 6 speed. Avoid the autos. The RL is a big car and you've been looking midsized or smaller. The Galants, I don't know too much about (except for the early 90s ones) and I've heard they're electrically iffy.

Since I hijacked this thread for asking all my car questions I guess I'll also use it to announce my new purchase.

Finally wound up getting a 2004 Mazda6 S hatchback from a private seller for 13,250. KBB was close to 15,000 with all the options included (literally every option available for the 6s that year minus side impact airbags). It's a 220 hp V6, red, tinted windows, 17 inch alloy wheels, spoiler, body skirt, black leather, power everything, Bose speaker system, sunroof, and all kinds of other goodies.

Edit: Here's a link to some pictures of one thats the same model and color.

I feel like a got a pretty solid deal on it and I'm very happy with it so far.

Thanks for all the advice guys.

It should be good, reliable, enjoyable transport for a long time to come.