Best cars under 5k

Welcome from Raleigh too! Lots of lemons out here. Don't buy a car in the Capital BLVD area, that's for sure! Best of luck. I vote on finding the lowest mile cleanest car at that price, there's a lot of options but paying $4k for a car that already has 250k miles on it makes no sense to me.

In reply to kanaric: I would definitely drive that. Looked for a while and can't find one around here though.

My daily driver is a '97 BMW 328; it currently has 216,000 miles on it. It's been fairly reliable, but get one with maintenance records, don't let it overheat, and if you don't know when the radiator was replaced, be prepared to do this ASAP.

A Mustang would also be a good choice; you can find these on any budget. Or fourth generation Camaro / Firebird, although those are a bit harder to climb into and harder to wrench on with the engine halfway under the windshield.

There is an older All-Trac out there, but it worries me and I run a halfway house for hooptie rides.

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/4136818902.html

Brett_Murphy wrote: There is an older All-Trac out there, but it worries me and I run a halfway house for hooptie rides. http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/4136818902.html

Those are cool, but the rarity of parts etc turns me off of them.

DD/play car for cheap and fun? I recently picked up a twin cam 5spd saturn SC (I'm pretty sure SC stands for Super Cheap) that fits all of those categories. I autox'd it last weekend and had similar times to many much nicer, and should've been faster, sports cars. I beat a few mustangs and many frisbee cars that had more money in exhaust mods than I do my whole car.

You could probably do the same with your camry and some sticky tires.

gofastbobby wrote: You could probably do the same with your camry and some sticky tires.

Truth!

Mazda3

Mazda Protege MP3

Mazda Protege5

Even those depend on condition and history for reliability reasons.

SVT Focus or Focus hatch and extra $$ to throw on SVT suspension kit.

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/ctd/4087647243.html

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/ctd/4170935856.html

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/ctd/4177021378.html

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/4173509354.html

Any favorites out of these?

The answer is P71

92dxman wrote: SVT Focus or Focus hatch and extra $$ to throw on SVT suspension kit.

why wouldn't you skip the zetec's and go straight for a duratec 2.3L if going focus. they're down to $3500 range up here, which would even allow for the trick cosworth intake manifold and coilovers if wanted all within the $5000 range

rhgore wrote: http://raleigh.craigslist.org/ctd/4087647243.html http://raleigh.craigslist.org/ctd/4170935856.html http://raleigh.craigslist.org/ctd/4177021378.html http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/4173509354.html Any favorites out of these?

They're all likely to be cars that will need money sunk into them...both initially and on an ongoing basis. Yes, all cars need that, but these will have greater potential. Of the ones you listed, I'd go with one of the Saabs. But honestly, I'd take none of the above. Get the most well cared for Civic or Protege you can find. Drive. Enjoy. Be happy.

5th generation or

6th generation Civic EX sedan

Reliable as gravity, the sedans are less likely to be abused, EX gives you a D16 with VTEC, massive aftermarket support (and junkyard swaps), incredibly easy to work on and fun to drive.

In reply to captdownshift:

Are the duratecs the better motors in the Focus world?

Alfa Milano Verde.

92dxman wrote: In reply to captdownshift: Are the duratecs the better motors in the Focus world?

Better in terms of the base zetec. They're a wash with the SVT. The duratec has more low end torque, but the SVT has more high end. I think the duratec is a better starting point if you want to mod, since the SVT motor is essentially already modded and has similar performance. I've owned both a ZX3 duratec and SVT. FWIW, the SVT is a much better driving car. While the suspension is easily swapped, the steering and brakes are both different. The standard Focus is still a very good driving car so unless you drive an SVT, you probably won't notice.

I'm also buying another SVT for my DD next month. To show you how much I like the car, I could buy a car worth 6 times as much. Nothing out there is doing it for me at the moment, especially when an ST is $25k. I drove one and felt "detatched". I may buy a couple more SVT's to put away for when this one dies. I just can't bring myself to buy a car that has more computer code than the matrix.

rhgore wrote: http://raleigh.craigslist.org/ctd/4087647243.html http://raleigh.craigslist.org/ctd/4170935856.html http://raleigh.craigslist.org/ctd/4177021378.html http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/4173509354.html Any favorites out of these?

The Thunderchicken if you can get it for dirt cheap, second IMHO would be the Focus.

I'm selling my beat 2004 nissan sentra for about 2,400$ in the Raleigh area. At 148k miles and should make it to 200k without any troubles. Past that who knows!

but the rarity of parts etc turns me off of them.

Parts are not as rare as you think they are just expensive at times. ST165 and 185s are, I think, among the most beautiful cars Toyota has ever made that they sold here. Sad the beige they sell today... ^ I really like the looks of that car quite a bit. Where I grew up you NEVER saw a celica of this generation in any shape but rust so I haven't started to appreciate them until recently.

And the one they never sold here.....

I hate todays blocky/blob cars the 90s had a lot of great looking cars from foreign companies aside of just the FD RX7s people always cite.

Well if you are open to any style of car $5k makes for an easy to create list of awesome cars. I wrote this earlier as notes for myself when I was trying to decide a car for a 2nd ride for hpde events at the same price range and i'll modify it for this post. Some of this is my personal taste.

Alfa Milano Verde.

Not finding for $5k anymore. They have shot WAY up and are around 944S2 prices now whenever I see one. ($6k+) I live in the south west where you can always find one of these for sale as well if you look in Socal. http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/search/?sort=rel&areaID=104&subAreaID=&query=milano+verde&catAbb=sss GTV6 for $10k Milano Verde for $15k+!

In no particular order: All of these cars you can find in good or better condition at $5k or less and are fun to drive enthusiast rides. I'm only going with 80s or later cars here. I'm bored, at work doing nothing right now in the middle of night, i may miss some things or skip past them but these are all cars i've researched over the years for buying for myself.

Alfa - it used to be that you could find Milano Verdes and GTV6s for less than $5k all the time. Now I can only find 2.5 Milanos for around that and I wouldn't recommend them over anything below.

BMW

Lighter cars

E36 BMW (318ti, 325i, 328i) - M3s in this price range might be too bad. - Better or worse than E30 depending on who you talk to.... apples/oranges IMO.

E30 BMW - nothing much needs to be said aside from this. One of the basic answers for cheap enthusiast car and for good reason, hits all checkboxes aside from power which much be built into it with aftermarket.

E28 BMW (535i) - M30 is a good engine, reliable, can make decent power, but gets bad MPG but no worse than my 350Z got at highway speeds. Weighs less than the average coupe or sporty car today. Larger cars - i wouldn't rally them but it would be funny if you did.

E24 BMW (635csi) - E28 is better IMO but this car is not bad and you can get one with the better later M30. Awesome highway cruiser/DD. I think they even come with a cooler for drinks as standard as i've only ever seen them with one.

E34 BMW - never looked but I would guess you can get a 535 for this price, probably weighs the same as a E24 around.

All the M30 cars have a cheap to acquire engine that is impossible to destroy and are way overbuilt in every other way.

*A E36 318ti is an undermentioned car here. It's about the same weight as a 240sx with a bit less power but usually unmolested. Any BMW E36 engine bolts in so you will see a few with swaps.

Nissan:

Z31 300zxt - can be had for pennies, can be made to handle decently, GT car, easy to upgrade, reliable. Facelift models look better, 80s styling is an acquired taste. Someone here rallys them and I think recommended it last page. Less than desirable aftermarket.

240SX - most 240s you see at less than $5k are drift machines or owned by kids and have been severely abused. Go to any enthusiast forum and 1/2 for sale have welded diffs, lol.

S12 200SX - interesting car in concept, looks like an ae86, shared many parts with Z31. No vg30et and the turbo engine it did have is a ca18et (not ca18det) which is garbage. Lots of engine swap options, if you want to do a project it would be a cool idea. One of the most 80s looking cars there is.

Lots of FWD cars like Sentras SE-Rs that I wont mention because i'm assuming RWD or AWD is preferred.

Mitsubishi -

Starion - Z31 300zx/RX7/Supra competitor. Galvanized body, have been seeing lots in good condition lately. Same aftermarket as Z31 about, except there are a couple of specialist sites as this car has a following. If you want to mod it for power if you want more than 300whp you will need to change the entire EFI system. Doesn't have rack and pinion steering but still handles well. Engine revs like a diesel, lol, but has VERY strong internals and with head work you can fix that. The heads on these cars are the Achilles heel as much as the TBI where a car like a Z31 out of the box has no comparable issues. They crack, have terrible flow, and generally if you want to mod the car you should replace them with a non-usdm or rebuilt unit that can be bought on sites like tep. Can fit MASSIVE tires for this era underneath those fender flares MUCH wider than any of it's competitors, it's almost surprising.

Galant VR-4 - People call this the EVO 0. AWD, 4G63T, etc. Far better than the later DSMs in terms of reliability. Family friend owned one of these for YEARS and it was an excellent car. Rare, like the Celica Alltrac I mentioned. If you like EVOs or rally cars try to find one.

DSM - can be found at this price. Eclipse, Laser, Talon. Generally will have been touched by a young person or modded. Drifters don't buy them because of the AWD or FWD so you may have better luck finding one that isn't beat to E36 M3. Earlier cars are more reliable, my first car was a 1G Talon TSi turbo with AWD and it was a fun car and it didn't let me down. Lots of aftermarket, probably would make an amazing "rally" car and I would love to see that. Not up to what you think of as Japanese levels of reliability but no worse than American cars.

Toyota -

Celica Alltrac - of course, either gen. The 2nd gen "ST185" has more support than the 1st gen "ST165". As you said you can't find any but they could appear at ANY time.

AW11 MR2 - midship rally used to be the in thing before AWD I have no experience with rally at all so I won't comment on that. Fun car, engine with lots of support, sky is the limits with powerful builds. Poor aftermarket but you can find everything you need meant for the car unlike Z31s or Starions. Enthusiast sites like matrix garage offer lots of support. Toyota was going to actually rally this car before rule changes too.

W20 MR2 - may be able to find one for less than $5 in turbo form. Weighs more than AW11, more powerful than AW11, more support as well.

W30 MR2 - inching towards $5k and you may be able to find one for that price since i'm seeing them for $6k now. More like AW11, lighter, and more powerful. Asking around people generally say they handle better. Probably the best aftermarket so far aside from E30. People not in the know think they are the worst MR2 just because all they care about is HP numbers and the fact it looks like a hairdressers car. It is, however, equal or better than the AW11 in terms of what the AW11 was intended for.

MK2 Supra - cool car as a cruiser/gt car. Not powerful at all. If you want 80s cool the styling on this car hits that mark but other than that you probably don't want one. At the celicasupra forum you can find ones with 1jz, 2jz, and 7mgte swaps which make them far more interesting and I think inches them above a MK3.

MK3 Supra - Can be found for this price, can be built to monster power, re-torquing the head fixes any major issue with reliability, comfortable GT car almost like what today would be a Lexus. Extremely heavy car for it's era almost like a modern Mustang GT so if the weight of modern cars doesn't bother you this wont. Plenty of aftermarket and a popular car.

Mazda -

Miata

SA22/FB RX7 - can find a GSL SE for this price, not a rotary fan and I think many of the previously mentioned cars are superior to this car in almost every way. You probably only want fuel injection so GSL SE is your only choice of trims. No offense SA22 fans but you know your car isn't everyones cup of tea.

FC RX7 - like I said not a rotary fan, friends have owned this car and ALWAYS had problems with it so I wouldn't own one myself. If you can find one with a recently rebuilt engine and is a turbo it might be worth it because they handle amazing and are an excellent chassis.

323 GTX - I list this here because someone may tell you to find one. Avoid it. The car you would want would be the Familia GTR or the GTX a gen AFTER this that wasn't sold in the US. Rare parts, easily breakable, not a modern AWD but more like 4wd with a differential lock switch as opposed to center limited slip.

Ford -

Fox Bodies/ANY - if you want to rally i'm not sure they would be the best choice, lol. If you want a find to drive beater when I was in high school/college from 1996-2002 this was the favorite choice of the Chicago city kid. Best aftermarket, been there done that for everything, best support, cheapest parts, etc. Mustang (including SN95), Thunderbird, Lincoln Mark VII, etc. I am not a fan but you have to mention them. Mustang would be the best choice for you, Thunderbird Turbo Coupe might be an interesting alternative as well as a Mustang SVO but best to stick with the most popular one. SVO has unique parts that are NLA.

P71 - people recommend these all the time here and idk why, they are massive super heavyweights with auto only trans for police and taxis. Would not fit what you want at all.

GM - not a fan of GM products at this price, wont recommend them. To make a GM car as fun or interesting as anything above you have to spend a lot of time and money to make it that unless it's a Corvette and i'm not going to suggest a corvette under $5k. I think some might disagree but there is a chance most will agree with me here. AW11, W20, Z31, RX7, E30, E28, Starion, Supra, etc ALL are > Camaro, Fiero, and Firebird in terms of what you get for the money UNLESS they had engine/trans swaps and a lot of work done. A Fiero can be AMAZING with the right engine and modifications. As the average car you would see? Nope, these are better.

Chrysler -

Chryslers thing at less than this is either badge engineered cars covered by mitsubishi or mostly turbo dodge, which is all FWD cars. I have not looked much into them.

Merc -

When you could find 190E 2.3s for less than $5k I would of listed this, I think that ship has sailed though like the Milano Verdes. Blame Top Gear for the Alfa and 190E price increases, lol.

Porsche -

944 - Can find for less than $5k. Kinda of a why would you when the 944 turbos competitors are the same or less money and have cheaper parts? If I was considering this I would go na FC RX7, Starion, or Z31 turbo. Might be able to find a S at this price (not a S2). Avoid it, more difficult to maintain for little to no benefit.

924S - Rare. When I see them for sale they are the same price around as a AW11 MR2 and in better condition than a 944 at the same price and so becomes far more a better buy than a regular 944. Faster due to same engine + lightness. Shares all parts. I would only consider a "944" at less than $5k if it was this car and at like $2500 or less.

Subaru -

2.5RS is popular, especially if you want to rallycross. Lots of support for this car, and subarus in general, for this kind of motorsport. I would almost go as far as to recommend it above anything else listed before aside from the Galant VR-4 and this car would be more reliable than that.

Legacy Turbo - in the early 90s we had a SOHC legacy turbo available here. It isn't a bad car but it's not up to the Galant VR-4s level. The problem is that before 2000s era Legacy GT non-sti Subarus had WEAK transmissions and this is one of those cars. If you want above stock power levels price in a STI or more recent Legacy GT trans swap as well.

SVX - a quirky car that is auto only but on NASIOC they commonly have 5sp swapped cars for sale. H6 engine, heavy AWD car. Regular people sometimes are confused at the sight of it because it is odd looking.

Oddities/Other -

Turbo Volvo or "turbo brick" - huge following and everything that goes with that in terms of support and parts.

Merkur XR4ti - europeon built car with ford 2.3 pinto turbo like from a turbocoupe. Has a europeon cousin that is extremely popular so i'm betting parts would be possible to find despite rarity.

Isuzu Impulse - people mention these on this site often. parts/aftermarket probably is non existent so I would avoid.

JEEP - Fun "car"? Rally? Offroading? You might want to consider a Wrangler or Cherokee. I6 cars are PENNIES cheap. I've even seen people road race them though probably any of the above would be better. Sporty here is more or less if you consider offroading and rally capabilities. Aftermarket and support for that in these cars is unlimited and they probably would be more reliable being beat up in dirt than any of the cars above.

FWD cars - LOTS of good front wheel drive cars but that would more than double the size of this list. Why FWD when you can have 4wd, awd, or rwd? For any FWD car a RWD or AWD is better and available at the same price aside from cars that are more expensive like ITRs.

Probably plenty of other similar cars I did not mention for less than $5 simply because I don't know they are less than $5k or they are too rare combined with being unreliable or other issues like ZERO support (ie. Pug 505 turbo)

All this said if I wanted a rallycross car that was reliable, had plenty of aftermarket FOR rally, has plenty of forum support FOR rally, etc I would go with a Subaru 2.5RS or a Jeep of some kind.

At this price those cars would be the best buy for that. If you want to do autocross or HPDE plenty of cars above are better but if rally is your goal just pick up a Subaru or Jeep Cherokee and call it a day. If you want something slightly less reliable but a good deal faster then go for Galant VR-4 or DSM but keep in mind you can probably find a perfect 2.5rs or cherokee for less than $5k.

http://eastnc.craigslist.org/cto/4136187590.html

Going to look at this in the morning. Anything in particular I should be looking for?

Great looking car!!! Major bonus that it doesn't have the factory sunroof. Look for rust in the front around the Strut tower, although you probably don't get much of that down there. Give it a good hole shot and see if the factory trac lok is still in good working order. Check for odd tire wear and exhaust leaks.

If you are seriously considering a fox chassis mustang, it'd be wise to hold out for a car with the 5 lug conversion. Either that or make that your second mod, right after sub frame connectors.

edit: FWIW, I've owned 5 mustangs, 91, 95 and 99 gt's and 81 and 88 notchbacks.

So a guy walks up and tries to sell me a "restored" Alfa Milano Verde for $19,500......

In reply to Vigo: Are you saying it is not a good deal?