Fun DD for ~10k

Bobzilla wrote:

dooodstevenn wrote: In reply to Bobzilla: Sounds like a perfect car, but i just don't like the forte

well you just suck.

Should we start an appliance thread for you to play around in, Bob?

rotard wrote: Actually, above $12k, and I'd start looking for a C5.

I have that day-dream once in awhile... the killer for me would be in the consumables - mainly tires. I drive 30K+ miles per year. On average, I go through a set of tires on my TDI (winter & summer, alternating) each year. This is tolerable at $500-ish a set. Tires for a C5 are more than 2x that. Unfortunately, that's not quite in the budget yet...

I don't know what you guys are talking about, turbo miata's are the BEST road trip cars! Especially with body kits! (if anyone remembers that thread)

dooodstevenn wrote: I don't know what you guys are talking about, turbo miata's are the BEST road trip cars! Especially with body kits! (if anyone remembers that thread)

Nah mang... you need an M3 body kit, some 18x8.75's poked.

In reply to Bobzilla:

You also have to stretch 165 treadwidth tires on those 8.75's......

Exactly...That's the only way you get the proper hella flush stance, bro.

I feel kind of bad now...

dooodstevenn wrote: I feel kind of bad now...

I wouldn't.....

In reply to yamaha:

Just a little, i'm sure it'll pass

A Saab 9-2X. Remember Saab? Nobody else seems to with their residual values. It has a much nicer interior than the WRX and you can spend the money you save on go fast parts.

Tha Jaaaags are tempting, but not as DD. Far to unreliable.

Early RX8s can be great if you buy one that has already had its engine replaced.

MKVI VW GTIs and MKV GLIs would also be good, especially with APR ECU programing.

You could also buy a used 3 series.

But personally, I'd buy a 350z in your position.

LSx RX8? One would think that would be really reliable. Right? $10K should get you in the ballpark.

In reply to Bobzilla:

That is something that I could get behind.

If you stretch your budget a bit or hunt hard, you might be able to get a '99-'00 M Coupe.

Mmadness wrote: Tha Jaaaags are tempting, but not as DD. Far to unreliable.

That isn't true at all. The Ford built Jags are more reliable IMHO then the BMWs that have been mentioned before.

I third the RX-8. Get a compression test before you buy. If it passes you are golden. I paid $9k for mine and have been daily driving it for over a year.

I thought the seals went bad in rotaries.

350z sounds fun though

I've been seeing 2007 RX8's with 30-40k miles for $10-11k. That strikes me as a phenomenal bargain. I need to learn more about these cars....

so i looked into it a bit, a rotaries are pretty reliable if taken care of, oil change every 3k miles no matter what. Also need to be taken to redline occasionally in an attempt to burn off carbon deposits if any?

also ive read some weird rules that you can't turn your car on, then off right away. if you do it will flood? also if you flood it, there is a special way to start it again, and you'll have to run it and wait until it reaches good temp then turn it off?...seems like a real pain...

Which is probably why you can get a 5 year old, 240ish hp sports car with 30k miles for $10k. There are no free lunches, and I can learn not to flood it.

I don't think it's for me...I know very little of rotaries and all the things i mentioned above kinda suck...

This is the shutdown procedure on an RX-8: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Plj4DW8rT2s. Many of the older cars are on their second engines now. You can get a 2004 Grand Touring model with a nearly new engine for about $7,000! Make it a habit of parking downhill (so you can bump start if necessary) and if it gets cold were you live, you may want to invest in an engine block heater. You may also wan't to get an engine oil analysis from Blackstone labs, they're actually not as expansive as you may think ($25). They also do other fluids as well such as transmission fluid. If you ever flood it just pull the fuse for the fuel pump. From what I gather, RX8s aren't low maintenance cars from but they are very reliable (unless you flood it) and fairly inexpensive to fix. I'd like to get one as my first car but they're outside of price range.

I just picked up my NC Miata for 10k its the higher mileage NC's that will be in that range. It's the lower milage garage queens that will command more.

I did everything right with mine, and it lost compression at 60k miles. Mazda replaced the engine and I sold it with a quickness and bought a Z06.

My list has dwindled down to the following (in no particular order)

-m3 (probably 2000 and older) -WRX (hawk-eye version) -350z -NB Miata -Evo 8 (will have to stretch the budget for this)

At first I was really looking for something with 4 seats so i could fold them down and have more room, or take people with me. But I realized 95% of the time it's just me. And when i'm with other people they have 4 door/4 passenger cars

In reply to rotard:

Sounds like im not getting a rx-8