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Ultimate cheap driver's car?

pabster

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OK, folks. This thread may require you to think outside of the Mopar comfort zone. If you can't do that, read no further.

For those who are a bit more open minded, I'm starting to look around at getting another car. What I'm looking for is a drivers car. When I say that, I mean a car that is designed primarily for handling in conditions that involve curves, braking, accelerating.

Now before you say "You've got a classic Mopar! Why don't you just trick it out more and make it better?" My '74 is just the way I like it. It handles like a boat, it cruises effortlessly. It doesn't win any races with a stock 318, but that's fine. I use it to go for cruising style drives, which puts a huge smile on my face.

But I'm starting to get the itch for a car that I can push a bit. A car that I can throw around corners on my favorite country roads. A car that handles great, that has enough power to whip around. It doesn't need to be faster than everything, but it certainly needs to be fast enough to drive hard.

So the parameters are:

- a manual transmission.

- a used car in good shape for under $10K.

- common enough that parts and service aren't completely insane.

- the garage space I have for it means it can't be longer than 168 inches. :)

First thought that comes to mind... a 90's BMW M3. Something like that. But hey, I want to hear your ideas.

Thanks!
 
Cheap,plenty of aftermarket parts........fox body Mustang.
 
Hey Pabster I had a 1996 mustang GT 4.6 V8 for several years. Bought it with 96,000 miles on it drove it up to 215,000 then the odometer went out drove it two more years. I only sold it to buy 96 Dodge truck from a friend Great truck. Mustang was a 5 Speed had some good sounding after market mufflers. Was really a fun car to drive. Got a constant 24 to 25 mpg. that was around town.
 
I agree an older mustang fox body or the next gen mustang can be had rather cheap another of my personal favorites is Nissan 240SX we had one it was loads of fun handled great and was no slouch.
 
Mitsubshi eclipse GSX 95-99, Subaru WRX, I realy liked the WRX that was a fun car. Also the SRT4 was a fun car but the AWD in the GSX and WRX made them the best bang for the buck.
 
I really liked the way the old 70's Camaro's and Firebird drove, low and quick. Agree, the Fox bodies are solid performer for cheap plus there are so many parts available it's ridiculous.
 
my immediate thought was an older M3 too... Secondly (and staying Mopar) I had some serious fun times in an older Stealth Twin Turbo... No sure what they would go for
 
i would stay away from german cars that are up in mileage...they'll cost you an arm and a leg in repairs...

i have to agree w/ foxbody mustangs...super cheap, easy to mod...and pretty quick- i have had an 89 GT w/ mods and 5 spd...as well as an 86 GT convertible pushing 400 hp and a Tremec 5 spd I picked up for $6000.
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A "minor" repair on an M3 will be what it cost to buy a fox body Stang
 
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....ok, so I'd get a 78 MG Sprite, and cram a Chebby 350 in it......."tight"
 
I've owned 4 fox body Mustangs, 3 5-speeds, one auto, one convertible. Tough to go faster for the money...watch out for the lower arm control box in the rear. Abused cars will tear up there and its a tough fix if they are torn up. Search the Mustang Forums on the web and you'll get some info on them.
 
Wow, things have changed a lot in the last 15-20 years. At one time, a man would be tarred and feathered for praising a mustang on a mopar site. Lol. There is one car left out of the above scenario that is a mopar by name only, but built by Mercedes and amg. The crossfire srt-6 is an awesome car for the money right now and will almost certainly be a collector car in the future. Around 2,000 made, 350hp 2 seat German engineered, supercharged screamer with LOADS of upgrades available and the crossfire forum is about as helpful and knowledgeable crowd as you will find. The only real common issue with the coupe is the intercooled pump sucks, causing only one real good supercharged boost in hot weather before it goes limp. An easy and cheap fix for that is a ford lightning pump swap and your golden. Very fun mopar and will most likely handle better than anything most of us will ever drive. 140 feels like 60 in that car. Glass smooth in the interstate. Add a supercharger pulley swap and a tune and be prepared for some real fun! I paid 13k for mine 2-3 years ago, had to sell after only 3 months because my wife thought I got too much attention in that sexy beast. Lol. Btw, it is new enough and originally expensive enough that most have 40k or fewer miles on them still. You can add a bumper to bumper warranty on them from a Chrysler dealer that will go to 100,000 miles for around a grand too. The only down side to that, the body parts are so hard to get/expensive that if you wreck it, even a little, it is most likely totaled. Good luck on whatever you choose!
 
Fox body Mustang is a good one. Or basically the same car as a Fox body Mustang is the Fairmont. I'm referring to the boxy 2 dr models, and when fixed up they look kind of cool. You might find one of those a bit cheaper and in better shape. How many used Fox body Mustangs haven't had the crap beat out of them?

The late model Camaros like a 1995 are also good drivers. My neighbor had an SS 6 spd and it hauled ***.

Another really nice driving car is the late 80's T bird SC (supercharged 3.8 V6). My buddy bought one new back in 89 and it was a great road car. Those engines had head gasket issues but by now I'm sure there is a fix.

I had an 87 Supra turbo and it was also a nice driving car. Unfortunately mine was an auto but it ran well with that 7MGTE straight 6. Japanese Mercedes!

I'm also a fan of the 240 - 280Z. Rock solid cars but you really need to find one that isn't all beat up. If I wasn't so full I'd consider another 240Z as a commuter. You might go newer and look at the 300 ZX.

The 72 Porsche 911T I had would blow your $10K budget but those are a lot of fun.

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Now, if you want to save a few bucks and build your own state of the art ride, may I suggest this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b61f6bAuytw
 
Mitsubishi Evo, Subaru STI, Nissan 240sx, Nissan Skyline (r32), Mazda Miata, Honda S2000, Mazda RX-7, 240/280z, Datsun 510, the list goes on and on.
 
Go for an 83-88 Thunderbird or Cougar.

They get great mileage in stock form, You could even get a Turbo Coupe reasonably cheap.
They also have basically same aftermarket performance options as a Mustang, Which is massive. But without having what everyone else has.
I swear I see at least 5 mustangs every time I go out...
Junkyard performance swaps can even be done easily and effectively on the cheap.

Also, The online Fox T-Bird/Cougar Community is great. None of the drama of the Mustang Forums.
 
10G ain't exactly low-buck in my estimation, that'll get you a lot of car. The Porsche 911/912 may be too high, but you could get a very nice 944 and have $$ left over. Honda's S2000 still command fairly high bucks even tho they stopped making them years ago, but a decent one under 10G is find-able. I love the M3, if I could afford one it'd be my daily driver. The Lexus SC400 is a good handling coupe and I've heard the SC300s with a 5-sp (rare) are even more fun. C4 Vettes are pretty reasonable and easy to live with, the C5s are still kinda spendy. The later model Audi S5 and RS models are getting more affordable as they age, but as with any semi-exotic they're expensive to fix. I guess my vote would have to be be an M3, get the most car you can, research the problem areas and avoid those models. The E36s are the most affordable M series right now: older ones have cache', and newer ones are, well, newer. A nice 2002 or 80s 6 series would be cool too.

Those are all rwd cars, the VW Golf GTI and MazdaSpeed 3 would be my top picks in fwd. Subarus can also be speedy, but you have to watch for amatuer tuner butchery.
 
Nobody said 87-93 C4 corvette?

Lots down here under $6,000
 
I had an 85 Z51 suspension package targa top that I picked up for $5000 w/ a new motor...I threw a set of C5 rims on it and sold it for quite a bit more...but it was fun, quick, but if you're tall..forget it...I am 6'4" and it was tough getting in and out of her


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Nobody said 87-93 C4 corvette?

Lots down here under $6,000

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there's a local fiat spider with a 350 crammed in it !
....ok, so I'd get a 78 MG Sprite, and cram a Chebby 350 in it......."tight"
 
Outside of the Mopar realm, i would have to say middle to late 90's Camaro for size, a little 4-speed fun and fairly easy to find parts...
 
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