Fun, Cheap, RELIABLE car

[D_Eclipse9916]

Ryan F had one of those back in the day, it was kind of a basket case but the car had a ton of charm and character - it had a ported motor and went brapbrapbrapbrap, and stunk up our 33W drives something fierce, but I could tell he had a lot of fun driving it. I'd totally rock one of them...but probably as a 2nd car just due to their age.

Edit: DJ beat me to it, and I'm pretty sure that was your typical mechanic attire back then

Holy crap, it was 2006 (talk about making me feel old), I found one of your videos goodspeed:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.streetfire.net/video/2006-madison-motorsports-cruise_47553.htm">http://www.streetfire.net/video/2006-ma ... _47553.htm</a><!-- m -->

[Senor_Taylor]

Well, my mistake guys. Disregard everything I've said. Sorry

[*insertusernamehere*]

1985?! HEELLL NAW

[SlimKlim]

As someone who has owned one, I still think an E30/E36/E46 is a pretty bad idea.

They are "reliable" cars in the sense that if buy one and overhaul the cooling system and suspension you probably won't have any major issues, or you can pay a premium for one that has been well taken care of, but you're still going to need to have cash/time on hand to keep up with any future issues that arise.

Like someone said earlier, if you don't worry about the little things and just drive it into the ground they become "more reliable," but that's true of anything. Seems like a better idea to drive an N/A Honda or Mazda into the ground than a BMW with self-dissolving gaskets and factory water pumps with built in grenades. :dunno:

I guess it really means what your personal definition of reliable is. Ifyou need a car that has the highest probability of requiring only regular maintenance during the time he own it then go with something Japanese and dead simple. Miata, Mazda3, CivTegLude, etc.

If he doesn't mind having to throw a part at it from time to time, then your options really open up, and maybe an E30/36/46 or something with a turbo isn't such a terrible idea.

Whatever you do decide to buy, like Sully said earlier, make sure you get a clean example. It's better to pay $5k for a car that retails around $5k and get a good, well maintained, lower mileage example. It'll cost you far less in the long run than something that typically goes for $8k but you found one for the deal of a century at $5k. They're usually cheap for a reason.

Case in point I paid $7k for my M3 back when typical market value for a nice one was closer to $10k. I've now spent like... wayyyyyy more than the car is worth on it. I wonder how much better off I'd be now if I had spent $10k for a well maintained one from an enthusiast seller.

EDIT: Also never spend your max budget. If you're holding $5k cash spend $4k on the car. There will always be something you need or want to do on a car right after you buy it, and it's good to have some cash left over. And if you end up not needing to do any repairs after a while, you have some pocket money for nice tires or new shocks or brake pads to liven it up a bit.

[Senor_Taylor]

Ryan F had one of those back in the day, it was kind of a basket case but the car had a ton of charm and character - it had a ported motor and went brapbrapbrapbrap, and stunk up our 33W drives something fierce, but I could tell he had a lot of fun driving it. I'd totally rock one of them...but probably as a 2nd car just due to their age.

Edit: DJ beat me to it, and I'm pretty sure that was your typical mechanic attire back then

Holy crap, it was 2006 (talk about making me feel old), I found one of your videos goodspeed:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.streetfire.net/video/2006-madison-motorsports-cruise_47553.htm">http://www.streetfire.net/video/2006-ma ... _47553.htm</a><!-- m -->

Why'd y'all meet at Rockingham? Kind of crazy to think they're knocking that down this year.

[Jake]

It's better to pay $5k for a car that retails around $5k and get a good, well maintained, lower mileage example. It'll cost you far less in the long run than something that typically goes for $8k but you found one for the deal of a century at $5k. They're usually cheap for a reason.

So much ^ that.

I paid a premium for the Miata when I picked it up. I paid something like $5500, and at the time, I could have found some decent examples for $4k all day long. BUT... mine was owned by an old man who took it to the same local shop for every noise he heard, it was he and his wife's third car so it only went out on weekends, and it had 72k miles on it. It was more or less a "needs nothing" car for the first few years I had it... only did routine maintenance on it until the mod bug bit me.

How willing are you to work on stuff yourself? How much do you know now, and how much do you want to learn?

[D_Eclipse9916]

How willing are you to work on stuff yourself? How much do you know now, and how much do you want to learn?

Bam! Here is the thing, fun, reliable, cheap: pick 2. If you expect to be cheap, expect to a bit more heartache. That is just the way the world works. I guess I had a bit more of a DIY attitude then I feel many of the current students have, and that is fine. Just don't tell me "you can't". (Hint: I can't is a pet peeve of mine I just associate with "I don't want to do what it takes"). You can, it's just harder. I didn't even know what a cold air intake was when I was 17 years old and owned an Eclipse non-turbo automatic. Dive in, you'll make mistakes, it is what makes us human.

Or take the easy route and go used OBD2 honda up to 2001.

Anything bad ass is going to be tough, that is why it is bad ass. Not everyone is willing to do what it takes.

[Jake]

I learned, quickly, after buying the Miata, that I would have to learn to wrench myself.

Let's see, I bought it in June 2008 (?) and before I made it back to school, I had paid to put a new top on it ($500), new rear brake pads/rotors ($350) and a new clutch slave cylinder ($300). All of those shop bills added up suuuper fast.

DJ and D'Amico taught me how to change my oil and trans fluid in the Squire Hill parking lot once the semester started. My parents bought me that $100 Craftsman tool kit from Sears for Christmas that year, and I Googled and forum'd the shit out of everything I did from then on. It works, but you have to be willing to search, ask questions, try, ask more questions, and so on. I learned a TON from all the wrenching we did in Pheasant Run... David's WRX and STI, the Miata, other David's IS300, Joey's M3, my friend's E34 525i, etc etc.

[SlimKlim]

Why'd y'all meet at Rockingham? Kind of crazy to think they're knocking that down this year.

I believe he and Mikey lived there their freshman year. I was there for my first semester at JMU too. Place was a shithole.

[Ken]

Why'd y'all meet at Rockingham? Kind of crazy to think they're knocking that down this year.

I believe he and Mikey lived there their freshman year. I was there for my first semester at JMU too. Place was a shithole.

Yeah, then you fell into what was arguably the best-case living scenario thereafter you SOB.

[Senor_Taylor]

I can't believe they had Freshmen in that door. It's only upperclassmen nowadays. Convenient if you have a car, I guess.

[SlimKlim]

Dude I miss Charleston. That spring was the best semester I had at school. I wish we could go back for just one night.

[SlimKlim]

I can't believe they had Freshmen in that door. It's only upperclassmen nowadays. Convenient if you have a car, I guess.

That's been the case since right after DJ and Mike's time. I think they realized having freshies across the highway from campus and right next door to Party Corridor on Port Republic was not a good idea. I was there as a junior and I had my car with me which made getting around a lot easier, but I still rode my bike or walked to class, usually would only drive off campus or to eat at E-hall, otherwise it wasn't worth the trouble.

The place was seriously awful though. Our room was musty with a nice dark brown carpet to go with the ancient wallpaper. Felt like living in a cave. They didn't have a community kitchen or anything, and they had removed the mini stoves from the rooms (because it used to be a hotel with tiny little suites or something) after some kids almost burned the place down, so all your food options sucked unless you hoofed it across campus or went to Dave's Express.

Do you know what they're going to build to replace it?

[Goodspeed]

Why'd y'all meet at Rockingham? Kind of crazy to think they're knocking that down this year.

It was easy access for us to just hop on 81 to go to wherever, gas station next door, etc etc. We were always inevitably late because we had to wait for DJ to wake up hungover at 7:13 for a 7am departure, and then for him to put $4.87 in gas in his GSX.

Though I made us all late for a Skyline cruise once because I asked him to replace the head unit in my Supra in the minutes leading up to the drive. I think that was also the drive where I thought I blew up my motor but it turned out that the #6 spark plug had exploded and running on 5 sounded like rod knock.

SO MANY MEMORIES.

[Jake]

Haaaaah, I remember that "OMG Supra is Poopra" cruise. And then we were all very glad that it wasn't actually blown up.

[Senor_Taylor]

I've got a buddy who lives in Rockingham now. I have no clue what they're replacing it with. Too bad everyone in MM is spread so far apart. At least we'll have 3 people in MM here in Copper being Neighbors and the rest in Pheasant and North next year.

[D_Eclipse9916]

Why'd y'all meet at Rockingham? Kind of crazy to think they're knocking that down this year.

It was easy access for us to just hop on 81 to go to wherever, gas station next door, etc etc. We were always inevitably late because we had to wait for DJ to wake up hungover at 7:13 for a 7am departure, and then for him to put $4.87 in gas in his GSX.

Though I made us all late for a Skyline cruise once because I asked him to replace the head unit in my Supra in the minutes leading up to the drive. I think that was also the drive where I thought I blew up my motor but it turned out that the #6 spark plug had exploded and running on 5 sounded like rod knock.

SO MANY MEMORIES.

Bahahaha. It wasn't ALWAYS my fault. MM is just historically on it's own time.

It was a bad idea to put us Freshman in Rockingham. Out of us 4 drinking buddies freshman year, 2 got kicked out freshman year, 1 got 4 strikes and got lucky to stay. I accumulated only 2 by insisting I didn't drink. :lol: Our RA was a trooper.

[SlimKlim]

I've got a buddy who lives in Rockingham now. I have no clue what they're replacing it with. Too bad everyone in MM is spread so far apart. At least we'll have 3 people in MM here in Copper being Neighbors and the rest in Pheasant and North next year.

We were all over town too, that hasn't changed. Jake, the Davids and a few other guys were in Pheasant. I was in Rockingham and then Charleston my junior year with Ken, then we were in Sunchase. Cabel was in a house downtown, and the rest of us were randomly sprinkled across town or on campus.

[.RJ]

lol, all over town...... harrisonburg is what, 3 miles across?

[Jewels]

lol, all over town...... harrisonburg is what, 3 miles across?

Have you been here lately? Place is a lot bigger then when you lived in Ashby!