Here it is... ANOTHER "What car?" Thread

You guys know the run down... The car will be the daily driver as well as a weekend toy. The daily driving part is the priority.

My budget is around 6 thousand dollars. I want something I can drive right off the bat (e.g. no 5.0 + volvo swaps). Reliable. Good MPG. Somewhat good on insurance. Would prefer something that can eat up a highway but that's not as important.

A good aftermarket is a must. MUST be offered in manual. Must handle well (or can be made to). I also really need to avoid 2 seaters, sorry! And please.. something that is not played out by the GRM crowd.

So right off the bat, Miata is NOT the answer.

E36 BMW, 240sx, Sentra SE-r, Focus SVT, RSX, Civic SI

The nicest 3 series BMW your money will buy of any generation, likely e36
I enjoyed my old Volvo 850 as a highway car. Is it possible to find a Volvo S60 in your price range? That may make for a good highway car.

2004-2007 Focust ZX4 ST 2.3l 5-spd

May have to watch and act fast to get one for 6k though, they seem to be a bit higher right now but it depends on your location and such too.

Better yet, find an 06-07 that also has the Street Apperance Package for (IMHO) better looks.

Volvo w/ a V8 Swap! Oh wait....

Im in the same boat and have been looking for a while since I have to wait for my 4Runner to sell, I'm looking at e36s now, and have previous thought about mk4 GTI, and an Integra, and for a tiny bit some Mazdaspeed Proteges. All of these have a strong aftermarket following and can be made to perform pretty well, except maybe the GTI, but you sure can make some power from that 1.8T pretty quick.

2001-2003 Mazda Protege or Protege 5. Not very quick, but holy wow the handling. Plenty of suspension and other upgrades available. I own a 2000 and it hasn't given me a lick of trouble in the four years I've had it. It does really well on the highway. I even have a trailer hitch on mine. And Proteges are most definitely not played out by the GRM crowd.

In reply to fastEddie:

I am surprised at how these cars are holding their value. No one thinks resale for a Focus but I think the gas prices have helped push the Focus pricing. I really wish they made the ST in the hatch, but I might opt for one of these after my SVT. That appearance package is a huge improvement.

Great suggestions, guys. Please keep them coming.

I'm located in Southern California and car prices here are a bit awkward. The price of your typical "popular" japanese sports cars are ridiculously inflated... everything else is probably cheaper here, but I'll have a hard time finding a clean one because Californians don't seem to know how to take care of their vehicle.

What do you guys think about MKIII Turbo Supras? So far, the Focuses look like they're good buys.

Nothing to add here, but I think we need a "what car?" forum board distinct from the GRM general forum.

vincephan wrote: Great suggestions, guys. Please keep them coming. I'm located in Southern California and car prices here are a bit awkward. The price of your typical "popular" japanese sports cars are ridiculously inflated... everything else is probably cheaper here, but I'll have a hard time finding a clean one because Californians don't seem to know how to take care of their vehicle. What do you guys think about MKIII Turbo Supras? So far, the Focuses look like they're good buys.

If you are looking at 1980s cars to DD, 6k will buy you a better fox mustang or a z32 300zx 2+2. However, don't necessarily expect a dead reliable car at that age.

Actually, I should probably avoid 80's cars. They're getting a little bit too old to be hassle-free DD's. I just seem to have a really big soft-spot for MKIII Supras.

How about 2003 Maxima's? I heard they came with a 6-speed, 260hp, and an LSD... sounds promising! Wonder if I can get one within my budget though...

you can just barely get a 2003 maxima for that. You'll have to be watching carefully for it, though, because thats on the very low end and it would go quick.

Acquire F-body, grow mullet. I keed. Loves me some f-bodies.

The Sentra Spec Vs are pretty cheap right now. Some known issues with cats and throttle body screws, but I would expect it to be a fun torquey DD. Go back further for a B15 Sentra SE. Or, not much in power but a fun car - Protege ES. R/T Neon?? Contour SVT which is starting to get hard to find with under 200K on the ODO.

twisties, 4 seats, 6k? You need a Protege. Or a Mazdapseed Protege.

In reply to conesare2seconds:

I have a reverse mullet (longer in the front and shorter in the back), does this mean I am only allowed to drive an F-body in reverse? Ricky Bobby, here I come!

Haha, I love me some F-bodies too! But I'm an Asian guy with Asian friends and they're going to give me so much sh!t if I were to ever bring home a sn95 or an F-Body...

I think I'm going to keep my eyes out for a Maxima.

vincephan wrote: Haha, I love me some F-bodies too! But I'm an Asian guy with Asian friends and they're going to give me so much sh!t if I were to ever bring home a sn95 or an F-Body... I think I'm going to keep my eyes out for a Maxima.

And then you give them e36 m3 right back in the form of an LS1. We'll see who laughs then.

vincephan wrote: Haha, I love me some F-bodies too! But I'm an Asian guy with Asian friends and they're going to give me so much sh!t if I were to ever bring home a sn95 or an F-Body... I think I'm going to keep my eyes out for a Maxima.

Scotty Nguyen can rock a mullet, so you can too. It's all in the swag. LS1 swag is pretty unbeatable.

I actually wouldn't mind a fourth gen F-body... I like the way they look. My dad had a 3rd gen Z28... although he wasn't ever really a car guy.

How well can you make an F-body handle competitively? Probably not "miata" competitive but competitive enough?

In reply to vincephan:

Hotchkis makes a full kit that uses stock pick-up points and greatly improves the handling. 275/45 tires on 17's also really help and have been said are the biggest you can fit without modifying the wheelwells.

vincephan wrote: I actually wouldn't mind a fourth gen F-body... I like the way they look. My dad had a 3rd gen Z28... although he wasn't ever really a car guy. How well can you make an F-body handle competitively? Probably not "miata" competitive but competitive enough?

Fourth gens can handle quite well. No, not like a comparably modified Miata or S2K, but pretty well. Talk to Sam Strano for a plan of action.

And competitive enough to do what?

MX6, Celica, Sentra, 626, Saab 9000, E36....

Road-Race with a little bit of autocross thrown in the mix aside from it being a daily driver. The only thing that turns me off from F-body's is their weight...

...which of course leads me into considering an SN95, which is a whole 'nother can of worms.