Daily driver dreaming.

I"ve been commuting in my E21 for a year and a half now. It's a great car to drive and I really love driving it. However it's also a project and to bring the car from where it is to where I envision it to be I'm going to need to take it of the road. I've been thinking about what to replace it with for a while now and want to bounce some ideas off of like minded people.

If I where in a position to get a new car without a doubt it would be an Abarth. Not being in that position I have an initial buy in cap of 2K.

My commute is 60 miles round trip and is in the sweet spot for getting the best fuel milage out of a car. About fifteen minutes on a 55mph interstate and about fifteen minutes on a 50 mph highway with no stop lights.

The only objective for the car would be for it to get me back and forth to work with rock like reliability and to do so with better fuel milage than the BMW (30mpg). Also I would like it to have a sporting edge to it but I can build that into it with wheels/tires alignment and so forth.

So on to my initial thoughts. I've had someone else in the car exactly zero times in a year and a half so I don't need a large car or four doors. Back seats are a must just in case I ever need to pick the kid up or something. I also have a thing for small hatchbacks, having never owned one they really interest me. I would love for it to have A/C but it is not a necessity.

I also have never owned a Japanese car and those would be low on my list. Only thing I've been able to come up with is Metro and Festiva. What other small hatchbacks are out there? It seems like the USA got the short end of the stick when it comes to this class of car. Of course I'm not stuck on a hatchback so what other possible candidates are there?

Recap:

Under 2k

Reliable

30+mpg

Two door

Saturn SC2. That means the twin cam motor but also find the manual trans version.

Reliable as gravity gets good MPG. cheap.

Decently fun

318ti?

CRX? Or 89-90 civic

I like the idea of the Saturn.

The BMW I would be afraid would become another project.

Hondas do not interest me in the least.

Jaynen wrote: 88-91 Civic hatchback

FTFY

My second suggestion is an SC2. Not my cup of tea, but a handful of forum members swear by them as DDs.

I'm not a brand loyalist so don't take this the wrong way but why do you not like Honda's at all? Based on your criteria I just don't see a Saturn being close to as good as a car

And to be clear I am not expecting it to necessarily be anything but you simply just don't like them

The biggest thing with the Hondas I've seen around here is the only ones that come up for sale have all been riced out pieced together butcher jobs. On the very rare occasion one turns up that hasn't been molested they have either been rusty or overpriced or both. Plus I just don't like them

My list of Japanese car likeability would go; Nissan>Toyota>Mitsubishi>Subaru>Honda

My list of cars from based on where they are from would go; USA>Europe>Korea>Japan

Not for any logical reason, thats just the way I see it.

I was kinda hoping someone would come up with an off the wall small hatch that I haven't thought of yet. If I could find a decent Justy I believe that would be my choice.

Where would be a good place to find out some more information on the Saturn?

escort lx 5spd swap cold air intake exhaust and springs and shocks away from alot of fun and close to 40 mpg

I still remember the hondas before they got all riced out and I live in Socal. But I've seen some really nice ones autocross so I know they are out there

I doubt you're going to get into a clean Civic for less than $2000.

In this price range, I think you need to set aside your dislike of Japanese cars simply because they're Japanese. Take a look at Mazda MX3s. $2000 buys a lot there. That amount also buys a pretty nice 86-89 Honda Accord hatchback. I know it's a Honda, but it's decidedly not a Civic. I'm not sure you'd call the Accord small, but it's about the same size as a current Civic.

Yeah, other than those that two that are normally off the radar, I can't think of much. We really did get the short end of the stick when it came to hatchbacks.

Speaking of Mazda, a Protege might be a decent option too.

fWIW, the festiva is Korean. It may have a Ford badge on it, but it was totally done overseas.

Escort ZX2 with ZTEC is a pretty nice car, and are cheap now. Early Focuses are also cheap- my buddy has a SPI motor and gets great mileage. Used to autocross it for fun.

I think with careful looking, you should be able to find an early Focus with a ZTEC and manual. I liked them when we had them to work on. Would have to compromise and get 3 doors, though...

Can't help with other makes- don't know much about them.

manual 7afe 90s Corolla...err, you dont like Japanese steel...sooo...uhhh....manual 7afe 90s prism

Looking at the market these days, it'll be tough to find any decent used car for $2000 or less that isn't a project on some level.

My suggestion would be the worst, floaty, terrible car you can find. Something you hate. Gives you motivation to get the BMW back on the road and get out of the POS you bought for in between. If you replace the E21 with something you like, it may slow or altogether stop the process, usually after it's already apart.

Thats what happened to me, I like my nissan so much, the camaro project has gone downhill fast.

Ian F wrote: Looking at the market these days, it'll be tough to find any decent used car for $2000 or less that isn't a project on some level.

Guess it would depend on what would be considered a "project". I agree that lots of stuff in that range is junk, but look carefully and you'll find a few gems. I bought my '96 Volvo 850 wagon 1.5 years ago for $1400. I've put 32k miles on it in that time. It's needed: brake pads, 2 tires, MAF. That's it. Oh, I do have to recharge the A/C every 6 months with one of those cheap-o cans from AutoZone. But it's been a really good car. Just now starting to have some issues with it...cracked exhaust, whining tensioner(?). Even if I don't fix that stuff and just sell it now, I'm happy with what I got out of it.

Shame you don't like Japanese. The Civic would be a great choice, and there are a few non-riced ones out there. Other choices would be Protege, Prizm (yeah, I know they're 4 doors), Altima, Sentra, Mirage, Corolla, Tercel. If you want American, Escort wouldn't be bad.

I really like my Saab 9000 Turbo 5-door. It can carry absurd amounts of stuff, gets 35MPG if you don't drive like a maniac, is really comfortable, and they are pretty cheap now that Saab is an orphan brand. Parts support is still great, too, from eeuroparts, thesaabsite, genuinesaab, etc etc...the "where will you get parts" schtick is a myth to scare people away from the phenomenal deals; this is my third Saab since the company went under and I've never had trouble getting anything.

alfadriver wrote: fWIW, the festiva is Korean. It may have a Ford badge on it, but it was totally done overseas. Escort ZX2 with ZTEC is a pretty nice car, and are cheap now. Early Focuses are also cheap- my buddy has a SPI motor and gets great mileage. Used to autocross it for fun. I think with careful looking, you should be able to find an early Focus with a ZTEC and manual. I liked them when we had them to work on. Would have to compromise and get 3 doors, though... Can't help with other makes- don't know much about them.

The second Festiva, at least... the first one was a Mazda. Second one a Kia. And Kia at the time period was using a lot of Mazda designs anyways.

Klayfish wrote: Guess it would depend on what would be considered a "project". I agree that lots of stuff in that range is junk, but look carefully and you'll find a few gems. I bought my '96 Volvo 850 wagon 1.5 years ago for $1400. I've put 32k miles on it in that time. It's needed: brake pads, 2 tires, MAF. That's it.

You don't want to know how much we've dumped into the g/f's '96 850 wagon... far, far more than $1400... it's depressing... right now, it's at the mechanic getting the timing belt replaced. I ran out of time and patience trying to work on that car. I dislike working on that car more than I dislike working on my Cummins.

SlickDizzy wrote: I really like my Saab 9000 Turbo 5-door. It can carry absurd amounts of stuff, gets 35MPG if you don't drive like a maniac, is really comfortable, and they are pretty cheap now that Saab is an orphan brand. Parts support is still great, too, from eeuroparts, thesaabsite, genuinesaab, etc etc...the "where will you get parts" schtick is a myth to scare people away from the phenomenal deals; this is my third Saab since the company went under and I've never had trouble getting anything.

+1

Ian F wrote: You don't want to know how much we've dumped into the g/f's '96 850 wagon... far, far more than $1400... it's depressing... right now, it's at the mechanic getting the timing belt replaced. I ran out of time and patience trying to work on that car. I dislike working on that car more than I dislike working on my Cummins.

I've heard stories all over the map with the Volvo's. Some have been major headaches, others have been reliable. Like most cars, probably has a lot to do with prior owner maintenance. I've been very lucky with mine. I can't say for sure, but I think it was always well cared for. The issues it's starting to have now aren't major, but I don't have the time/ability to fix them myself. Not sure if I'm going to fix it or move on. Very tempted to fix it, I really like the car.

In reply to Klayfish:

Well, here a list of what we've replaced/fixed on it since she bought it:

radiator (broke 10 minutes into the drive home)

front and rear springs (to replace stupid lowering springs)

front rotors & caliper brackets (to replace factory BBK so the OE 16" wheels would fit again)

tires (sold the aftermarket 17" wheels and the tires on the OE wheels were shot).

rear hatch struts

trans computer thing (trans fix repair attempt #1)

trans shifter sensor thing (trans fix repair attempt #2)

transmission (third time's a charm...)

Both axles (boots failed and puked grease all over the place...)

timing belt (don't trust when it was done last)

Probably a few other things I'm forgetting and she still has a stereo she bought and needs to install. She gets to do that project herself...

This car broke me. I work on cars partly to save money and partly because I enjoy it. When I'm not enjoying it, the money saved isn't worth it. This car ranks higher than my E30 and my Cummins when it comes to, "not enough fun to be worth the money saved" equation. After ripping it apart, I finally swallowed my pride and called the shop that repalced the trans to finish the timing belt and axles. I'm done with it. Oil changes and maybe brakes are all I'll do to it from now on. Anything else and it goes to the shop.

In reply to Ian F:

<----- Fingers in ears: La, la, la, la...I'm not listening to you. My car has been reliable.

Ouch, I feel your pain. That sucks. I've only done brakes an oil changes on it (though it burns enough oil that I put fresh stuff in it frequently anyhow). Have no intentions to try to fix anything more serious myself, it's beyond my skills.

I really like the MX3, added to the list

I could see an early Accord hatch, whenever I see one they catch my eye. Added to the list

I have not ruled out Japanese cars entirely, mainly just Civics.

There is always a couple ZX2's in my price range for sale locally. They are on my radar as well. I also saw a nice Probe GT the other day but I'm not sure on the gas mileage of those.

So far I've got;

Small hatch

• Metro

• Festiva/Aspire

• Justy

• Swift GTi (unicorn)

Non small hatch

• SC2

• ZX2

• MX3

• Accord hatch

• Cavalier Z24

• Sunbird>Sunfire

• 200sx/sentra

• Celica

To be honest I fully expect to have to do some catch up maintnence on any car in this price range. And the car will recieve a small amount of mods to suit my tastes.