help Scott find a whip

[ScottyB]

fellow MM'ers, i come to you seeking wisdom! here's the deal. once i get the audi back i'm going to sell it. it's too complicated, too heavy, too needy and too tan. i tried to love it but it's killing me. i'm in my mid 20's, i have my whole life to drive heavy sport-luxo cruisers. right now, i want a FUN, SIMPLE, TOUGH car that will get me to work and back every day and travel well but something i can also wrench on with regular 'ol tools and take to autocrosses (maybe track days) to beat on.

this won't happen next week, or next month. probably before '08. but i want to start getting decided on something now so i have plenty of time to immerse myself in the communities and forums of these cars and find out every single thing to look for and what cool parts to buy :lol:

here are the requirements:
- $10,000 bucks or less. i'm already paying off the Xterra and my car won't net more than 8k at best.
- MUST have dual airbags. atlanta is a crazy place and as this is my DD i can't risk things.
- MUST have a back seat. even if it's small, i will need to carry people from time to time. probably a dog too!
- 25 mpg or better on the higway. i'll be spending alot of time there.
- must be simple, easy to get parts for, and easy to take to another level if i wish.
- lets try to cap the weight ceiling at 3000 pounds. every car i've owned has been a hoss and every time i look at cars i say, man i wish mine was lighter. i want to make it happen.
- no flappy paddle bullshizzle. 5 or 6 speed.
- toughness. i don't want to have to worry and stress. i'm sick of that, i want to beat on a car all day, put it away and drive it again the next day with no worries.
- feels funny saying this...but no AWD. i'm sick of the complexity, weight, and cost to work on.
- no live axles. i don't care, i have my reasons.


here are cars i am considering in no particular order:

- 240sx. the veteran of some of nissan's better years. needs to be a late S14 or S15. can go turbo later, proven truck engine goodness.
- Focus SVT. great handlers, great price point for comparatively low miles. simple, american, cheap.
- EK Civic Si. plentiful, honda tough and i have very, very fond memories of Jay's Si. i really loved that car, just plain fun.
- 4th gen. Maxima. unbelievably tough drivetrain, very simple, very cheap. quite light and big inside. surprisingly fast.
- DC Integra. pretty hard to beat for overall fun. vast aftermarket.
- Probe/MX-6 twins. fantastic engine, pretty sporty overall. cheap. harder to find good examples though.
- Contour SVT. pretty hardcore for the value. harder to find.
- 5th gen. Accord. sure, why not. pretty much everywhere, can be modified to do some pretty cool stuff. bulletproof. a little boring.
- VW MkIII GTI VR6. good all-rounder, fantastic engine. monster aftermarket. Blair's GTI is a bit of an inspiration here.

cars i've given half-assed thoughts towards are volvo 740's and also saab 9-3's. i'd rather not though, unless someone can convince me otherwise.

so that's it guys. give me you thoughts. what do you like and why? how realistic am i being? i want to hear everything you have to offer and point me to all the reading i should be doing.

and for the record...if anyone is interested in an A4 with a fresh engine, you just let me know :wink:

[.RJ]

BMW 328is? Can be had for $7-8k in good shape... fun to drive, all issues are known and not hard to work on.

[ScottyB]

BMW 328is? Can be had for $7-8k in good shape... fun to drive, all issues are known and not hard to work on.

how about the water pump and cooling issues? and the shock mount/subframe stuff?

edit: also, when you sold yours, why did you and what didn't you like about it? PM me if it's something you don't want to post

[.RJ]

Cooling issues are fixed with updated parts, if they havent been done already. Figure ~$300 for everything. New set of shocks (bilstein, koni, etc) and rear shock mounts are ~$600, again if this hasnt already been done. The rear subframe issues, while they exist, *I* think are largely propogated by forum fanbois and are a much smaller issue for 99.9% of the car owners.

The things I didnt like about mine was the early (2.5L) cars had this awesome self destructing interior feature - kinda cool, but it drove me batshit, it was just falling apart. The later (2.8L) cars seem to be less prone to this - i dont know if BMW made changes, or they're just generally newer. Also, the bushings were pretty much toast at 120-130k miles. What I did like was the drivetrain... really smooth. Cruise at 85-90 on the highway all day and get 30mpg, comfortable but still handled well.

I had a chance to drive a 325is that had fresh shocks/bushings, camber plates and an interior that wasnt falling apart in Atlanta while I had mine - night and day difference - it was really nice. I had made an offer on the car but it sold before I got my shit together to go put a deposit on it.

[Sijray21]

stay away from pre 2001 hondas and 2002 acuras unless you like your car broken into :-P

i'd recommend the DC2 teg for a fun and CHEAP daily, but man i really hate feeling and knowing that my car was probably broken into when i leave it in one spot for a long time or if i leave it in a bad area of any town for any amount of time. Most of them are raped by ricers too :-P. These cars are very tough to beat for reliability, overal cost of ownership, and fun factor for a FWD.

Actually looking by your requirements the DC teg actually fits all of them. Let me know if you're considering one! I can help you with specific things to look for.

MKIII vr6 wouldn't be a bad idea! Perhaps an e36 in good condition! Or dare i say a good conditioned e30 with you pocketing the rest of the money for possibly something nicer in the future?

[ScottyB]

yeah i hear you on the theft issue, Jay. i'm in a good area though, and work in a good area too. you can bet your ass i'm putting a good alarm system in it too (maybe a doberman pinscher that shoots bees out of its mouth?)

i love E30's but i really need the driver/pass. airbags

[ScottyB]

I had a chance to drive a 325is that had fresh shocks/bushings, camber plates and an interior that wasnt falling apart in Atlanta while I had mine - night and day difference - it was really nice. I had made an offer on the car but it sold before I got my shit together to go put a deposit on it.

that's good to hear RJ...definitely changes my opinion. i'd def. be cool with buying a slightly busted car but then immediately investing in a nice refresh for the whole car.

[Sijray21]

oh - what about a Miata? i've been influenced by the fag-car owners since i live (sort of) with two of them. They're great cars, plus a drop-top roadster since you already have an xTerra hauler - you'll just need to add a roll-bar.

you could get a hard-top too

[ScottyB]

oh - what about a Miata?

considering the sexual orientation of the place i live, yeah i've thought about it :lol: i like miatas but i need that back seat and luggage space. i'm too practical, i know...

[CaptainHenreh]

You need to drive a Contour SVT. Hell, drive a manual trans V6 Sport. I doubt you'll regret it.

You'll have a hard time finding a Focus SVT that hasn't been beat to shit and back for your budget.

You'll have a real hard time finding an S15 "240", considering they dont' exist. I'd also take a long look at a 4th Gen Maxima, and also consider a 5th Gen. I know in '02 you could get a 5th gen with a 3.5 and a six speed, but that's probably beyond your budget. But a 5th Gen 3.0 + 5 Speed is *maybe* doable.

Also, I can't believe you're even considering a VW after the fiasco you've been through with your Audi.

Edit: also maybe add SC300 to your list?

[Mike]

240 - i don't care much for them unless they're done up.
focus svt - not a bad choice.
civic si - no way, theft.
maxima - too soft.
integra - no way, theft.
probe/mx-6 - cool cars, but as you said, finding one in good shape would be tough.
accord - too vanilla.
vdub - not a bad choice, but aren't you afraid?

my ideas:
ep civic si - cooler (imo), and low theft
mazdaspeed protege - enough said
wrx - older examples can likely be found around your budget
volvos - they're cool and way safe
contour svt - very neat, but reliability? (that is a question... i don't know)

[PDenbigh]

I've had a lot of fun with my BMW. It's a great feeling car and they can be purchased well within your budget. It's RWD too (=more fun). Comfortable, good creature comforts like the OBC, 4 doors and a good trunk, stops well, steering feels great, and will get-up-and-go, even with 220k miles. I get between 25-30mpg highway.

[BLINGMW]

I guess I 2nd the all alum engine 328. A nice car. Your dual airbag requirement takes out E30s, otherwise I'd recommend a real nice E30 (of course). My only additional warning is that they're not really well suited to autocross unless you get a LSD. It's just an overweight, one tire fire.

[ScottyB]

the VW's i'm thinking of are entirely different animals than the B5 chassis VW/Audi cars. especially considering my particular problem revolves around the 1.8T engine.

Rex - yeah, S15 is something i think i made up, ha. not enough coffee this morning.

Mike - Mazdaspeed....very good call, can't believe i let that slip my mind. my roomate had/has one, drove it once and loved it.

so basically until i have a garage, the honda choices i made are off limits due to theft? that sucks, stupid thieves.

[ScottyB]

I guess I 2nd the all alum engine 328. A nice car. Your dual airbag requirement takes out E30s, otherwise I'd recommend a real nice E30 (of course). My only additional warning is that they're not really well suited to autocross unless you get a LSD. It's just an overweight, one tire fire.

yeah, i fell in love with the E30 after driving yours! they are really cool cars.

how did you like your E36, Chan? wasn't it a 328?

[BLINGMW]

no, mine was a 95 325. Perrsonally I'd prefer one of those if I had to do E36 again because I don't care about interior falling apart and prefer OBD1. But I think those E36 325's are single airbag too if I'm not mistaken. I did just remember however, that a 328 is over your weight limit. Heck, the 325 is pushing it, I think 328 is like ~3200 lbs.

[ScottyB]

whoa they're that heavy, huh? for some reason i always thought they were light cars.

i have no problem at all with the 325, i was just going off RJ's recommendation. and interiors...meh. as long as the tach and gas guage work....

[BLINGMW]

Holy crap I got it. 318ti :!: I THINK it meets all of your requirements. I didn't check to see if it has dual airbags, but late nineties, I would think it does. They're cool IMHO because there's not that many of them out there, but all the parts are common. The hatch would be good for dog maybe? Looks E36, drivetrain is E36, but the suspension is all E30! It's like the perfect frankenstein car IMHO. :lol:

I've been trying to find one for Jess.... that's the only problem, finding a nice one takes a while. Selection should be better in ATL. Find one for us too while you're looking. :wink: We passed on a really sweet chilli-pepper red one because it was overpriced and far away, but damn I wish we had it now.

[ViPER1313]

Steer clear of the Contour SVT unless it has already had a 3.0L Duratech swaped into it. They like to spin rod bearings like its their job (~60-70k miles usually.)

If you want something really practical that is tons of fun to drive, check out a Protege5. Just like this one. Not all that quick in a straight line but great in the corners, and really nice examples can be had in your price range. And its a Mazda so it won't break.

On another note, who the hell recommends a BMW to someone looking for a reliable car :?:

[BLAIR]

- VW MkIII GTI VR6. good all-rounder, fantastic engine. monster aftermarket. Blair's GTI is a bit of an inspiration here.

buy mine.. :lol: