Another good ole' what car thread

Hellcat, or 96 viper coupe.

Start with this, and build the e36m3 out of it.

2009 up Cayman S. They fixed the IMS problem in the 09 and up cars. Much better daily then a lotus.

Or buy a higher mileage Cayman. It seems that the IMS failures mostly affect the lower mileage examples.

Rusted_Busted_Spit wrote: I would go with one of these: Lotus Exige.

You know I did forget about those. Need to learn more.

BoxheadTim said: Or buy a higher mileage Cayman. It seems that the IMS failures mostly affect the lower mileage examples.

This does seem to be true, especially after 07. But if I wanted a Cayman I could just get an 09 with the new engine, like the guy below you said.

carbon said: Start with this, and build the e36m3 out of it.

These are actually still quite expensive after looking some.

G_Body_Man said: Hellcat, or 96 viper coupe.

Hellcat would be fun, but handle like crap. 96 Viper I had asked earlier, are these really driver cars? Genuine question, havent driven a Gen 2.

amg_rx7 said: corvette is the answer imo

Then I must be asking the wrong question

I loveove love the exile. But holy hell are they insane to get in and out of. I wouldn't want one for anything dd related

Another option would be an S2000 with a hardtop, if you're willing to consider that. It seems to fit everything you're looking for except for the convertible part. I think the factory hardtop looks great on them, though.

Just to update this thread as I usually don't see these answered, I ended up getting an NSX! 1991 model with a few nice upgrades. Got it for a good deal so figured I would jump on it to try it out. Really, really excellent car. So well thought out. Liking it so far! Sorry about the not so good picture!

Picture attached as well as one of my Unimog since some people might not know what that is.

Well, you got a great classic.

TWO great classics.

With your budget, if you want a light & nimble car, you should get a Lotus Exige or Sin R1 (big budget stretch!), or maybe some kind of Noble. That's what I'd do.

That said, I think you should test-drive a C7, they may be large and heavy and hard on consumables, but they're still nimble and the best deal in performance-for-dollars.

Oh another car to look into: A Superlite Coupe. Corvette power, light weight, awesome handling.

EDIT: D'oh I see I'm too late. An NSX is a nice choice though!

Nice pick on the NSX! I rarely see people pull the trigger on them. I think we have only one other member here with the same thing (that I know of). Unfortunately for poor schmucks like me they're holding their value extremely well, so I doubt you'll take much of a hit on it if you keep it in good condition.

Nice on the NSX. That's one I would like to drive one of these days.

Mmmmffff.. Good choice on the NSX. Need more pics!

I have a friend with a NSX sitting in his garage next to a charged Lotus & a few other toys. He takes the NSX out to play a lot more than anything else in his garage. It's also the one that draws a crowd wherever he parks it.

NSX - great choice!!

I had a HPDE student show up with a yellow one last year. He was a new driver and the car let him make all sorts of mistakes without killing us.

Thanks for the comments guys! I switch cars a lot and try to pick good deals so I can try out fun cars and not lose any money. Been very successful so far

To the guy who talked about a Noble, an M400 will be my next car more than likely, or a 996 or 997 GT3.

About the NSX, they are holding their value extremely well and starting to go up too. The more I drive it I understand why. It truly is a great car in all respects. Ergo's are superb for my 6'2" 180lb frame, the steering feel is phenomenal, and the power is really not as bad as everyone makes it out to be, even though this one is modified.

My wife and I will hop in it to go run some errands without a thought. Actually fairly good trunk space and it doesn't beat you up at all. This one has a few things I will do to bring it back up to spec but it won't need too much. I hope to autocross it pretty soon, but new wheels and tires will be first. Enkei's for me!

Did you ever test drive a Viper? Personally, I only did one auto-x run with a C5Z06, and it was great!

Great choice on the NSX. I have only heard good things about it. It may get a bump in value when the new NSX goes on sale.

So I wanted to ask the collective again what they think! I sold the NSX and am now looking for another fun car! The NSX was an excellent car, and I'm sure I'll have another or maybe even this time get one.

Criteria for the next one is still a drivers car, but I want mid or rear engine, and I'm pretty sure only naturally aspirated. It's just too fun. Anything else y'all can think of I should look into? Have I pigeon-holed myself into an NSX or Porsche with those criteria? Anything I'm missing?

SpeedAddict502 wrote: NSX...Unimog...6'2" 180lb frame...

Kinda wishing I was a hot babe right now...

Back to the Elise/Exige I'd think. If you don't need it for DD duties, light weight and good power is the recipe for happy track days.

You can go with a MR Spyder, Elise, maybe a Ferrari 360.

Ferrari 360 maybe, but I have driven them several times and wasnt super impressed and they are still 70k plus really. Elise/Exige are nice for sure, but I really want NA, and an NA Elise is not going to cut it.

Any other thoughts?

FF 818 with an H6?

With your budget,you could even pay someone to build it, though making money on your cars would have to take a break as a criterion...

In reply to bradyzq: I wanted to suggest a Factory Five 818 too, I can't think of any other mid-engined cars that aren't really expensive exotics.