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Coldsnap
Coldsnap Reader
7/14/15 3:59 p.m.

Not really sure what to recommend my friend as he's looking for a new car. He has no family, dogs, etc so a coupe is in order. He's not setup to do any repairs on the car so something with lowish mileage (50k?) would be best. That also crosses out expensive cars to get work on.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker
Giant Purple Snorklewacker MegaDork
7/14/15 4:15 p.m.

OK, lets just name all the 2 door cars that are reliable and under $6k.

How about a little more info? Is he a car guy? (probably not or he wouldn't ask what to buy).

Can he drive a stick?

Does in need to be butch like a Mustang or can he rock a Miata with a hardtop?

Otherwise... just say pretty much any car with under 50k and under $6k that isn't bent. They all work.

Coldsnap
Coldsnap Reader
7/14/15 4:19 p.m.

Were about to leave to test drive some mustangs. He shares my taste, so dreams about 70s muscle cars instead of sports cars.

In true GRM fashion I showed him a two door tbird v8 I've been eyeing. He laughed though.

Matt B
Matt B SuperDork
7/14/15 4:22 p.m.

If he's willing to let go of his mileage cap then you can find an early 350z in that range. I've also seen some RSX's around $6K if he wants something more economical & reliable. There's always Mustangs and Miatas of course, though pickings are going to be slim with those criteria for anything interesting imho.

edit - ok, you guys beat me to it. I'd look at the pony car then.

nokincy
nokincy Reader
7/14/15 4:47 p.m.

Drop the mileage requirement. A car that has been driven and maintained will be better than one that has just sat (which is what you will be looking at to get a car with that mileage in that price range)

Coldsnap
Coldsnap Reader
7/14/15 5:00 p.m.

Alrighty. So what mustangs should we look at in the 6-8k prix range that wont need a lot of work

JohnRW1621
JohnRW1621 UltimaDork
7/14/15 5:12 p.m.

Sort of 70's muscle but current, cheap, reliable.

Answer: fwd GM 3800 Supercharged. Coupe options would give you Grand Prix's and Monte Carlo SS's.

For rwd, the traditional Monte Carlo SS.
These were sold through '88 so they are old but many well preserved examples exisit which could be reliably daily driven. Repair is simple. Parts are super plentiful and upgrades are endless.
Prices on these are starting to rise but I still think they represent a great value since they are essentially '70's muscle cars built into the late '80's.

captdownshift
captdownshift SuperDork
7/14/15 5:15 p.m.

Another ditch the mileage vote, and enjoy your MR2.

rcutclif
rcutclif Dork
7/14/15 5:23 p.m.
captdownshift wrote: Another ditch the mileage vote, and enjoy your MR2.

Much like this one that just came up on the open classifieds: 1991 MR2 Turbo!

From Ad:

1991 MR2 Turbo!

From the googles since that is a weird angle:

Coldsnap
Coldsnap Reader
7/14/15 5:25 p.m.

We looked at a few mustangs now. Wow I guess there's a mustang tax because they are expensive. That rwd is great though.

Furious_E
Furious_E New Reader
7/14/15 5:45 p.m.
Coldsnap wrote: We looked at a few mustangs now. Wow I guess there's a mustang tax because they are expensive. That rwd is great though.

Pretty similar to what I was shopping for a bit over a year ago.

What year Mustangs is he looking at? From what I recall from when I shopped them last year, $6k got you a pretty decent New Edge Mustang.

Has he looked at 4th gen Camaros? That's what I ended up with instead, paid $8300 for a 98 (first year of the ls1) with 73,000 miles. $6k should get you a pretty minty LT1.

Seems like a decent E46 can be had for that price, but Bimmers can be (relatively) expensive, even when doing your own work.

I liked the MR2 I drove a lot, but that particular car had issues and I had a hard time finding anything that was any better close by.

Miata is really hard to beat here, honestly. I think if I fit into one a little better (I'm a skinny 6'3) that's what I would have ended up with. LOVED it on the test drive, but I don't think I could have lived with it as a DD.

amg_rx7
amg_rx7 SuperDork
7/14/15 5:48 p.m.

Infiniti G35 is my suggestion. On the more mundane side, perhaps a Mazda3 or Mazdaspeed3.

Coldsnap
Coldsnap Reader
7/14/15 6:24 p.m.

Test drove some cars. Mustangs way out of the picture now and also probably most sports cars, "I think I'm car sick for the first time ever, I felt like I was an inch off the ground driving in a go-cart". Monte Carlo SS is actually the best REC so far, which is funny because I'm shopping around for an F Body 80s car.

I'm sort of laughing because he's in the exact same position I am. Has drove big V8s with bench seats or seats with no bolsters that sit high up, no trucks. And wanted something similar that's more modern / reliable than a 30 year old car. Unless I'm missing out on a car / model, that just doesn't exist.. I mean even in v6s.

espz28
espz28 New Reader
7/14/15 6:36 p.m.

P71? Charger?

Furious_E
Furious_E New Reader
7/14/15 6:36 p.m.

P71?

Coldsnap
Coldsnap Reader
7/14/15 6:39 p.m.

Charger coupe would be something to checkout.. I'll look into this. (nvm they didn't make a coupe!?)

He has a p71 actually, well his girlfriend drives his. That's how I met him, we both drive crown vics.

mblommel
mblommel HalfDork
7/14/15 6:40 p.m.

in the P71 vein; Mercury Marauder?

Coldsnap
Coldsnap Reader
7/14/15 6:42 p.m.
mblommel wrote: Mercury Marauder?

These don't exist in this area. I shopped for 8 months before I gave up and bought a Crown Vic LX sport. The ones to buy are now priced $12-13k rest are basket cases owned by rich idiots.

failboat
failboat UltraDork
7/14/15 6:44 p.m.

You should be able to get a real clean late model P71 with low mileage for that budget. Unless he's tired of those already

Coldsnap
Coldsnap Reader
7/14/15 6:47 p.m.

That legit seems like the only option, unless he wants to buy something from the 80s.

As I've said before, why didn't they make a crown vic 2 door :( well probably because it would have outsold the mustang. They sort of did with the Thunderbird, but I find it not as good looking as the vic.

Will
Will SuperDork
7/14/15 6:49 p.m.

LS1/T56 F-bodies are in that price range now.

They kind of suck as cars, but they're a lot of fun.

Coldsnap
Coldsnap Reader
7/14/15 6:51 p.m.
Will wrote: LS1/T56 F-bodies are in that price range now. They kind of suck as cars, but they're a lot of fun.

OR a G body with F body parts. Which is actually what i'm in the process in shopping for but failing at it because there's nothign in the area at the moment.

espz28
espz28 New Reader
7/14/15 6:55 p.m.

JohnRW1621 hit the nail on the head. Maybe Lexus LS 400 or Buick RegAL LS/GS? That low mileage requirement is going to make it tough.

pres589
pres589 UberDork
7/14/15 6:56 p.m.

Here's an ugly URL; http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?zip=67203&endYear=2016&vehicleStyleCodes=COUPE&modelCode1=3_SERIES&sortBy=mileageASC&showcaseOwnerId=0&startYear=1981&makeCode1=BMW&maxMileage=100000&searchRadius=0&maxPrice=6000&showcaseListingId=0&mmt=%5BBMW%5B%5D%5B3_SERIES%5B%5D%5D%5D&listingId=401670723&Log=0

'04 325i two door sedan with an automatic and 85k miles from a private seller. Everything looks presentable. I don't like the wheels but at least they're sort of factory appearing on the car. This is a nation wide search but this is just a thought exercise.

chandlerGTi
chandlerGTi UltraDork
7/14/15 7:00 p.m.

Lexus LS430

Infiniti M45

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