I guess I'm just getting older, even grumpier and impatient

Got a track day booked in three weeks and still have trouble fitting into the Miata, so I went shopping for a replacement with ergonomics that suit me better. We just bought a 500SL for my wife that needs recommissioning so I'm a little short of funds, which means I'm shopping in the dreaded sub-6k category. Big mistake, by the looks of it.

First one was an older 944 (old style dash) in nice condition. Well, apart from an interior in pretty bad shape, a dash with more cracks than a dry lakebed and a busted radiator, it was in nice condition. Especially as the engine made a heroic effort to run on 3 1/2 cylinders from cold as well. Wonderful, I didn't have anything better to do with the 3h driving time anyway.

Next up, an MR2 that's been for sale locally off and on for a while. Looks good in the pictures, has a recent engine rebuild. Oh, and a dead battery, but we at least managed to get is started using jumper cables. It also has a cheap paint job, a thick layer of dirt on in and a very tappety sounding engine. When I tried to increase the revs a little, I got the full orchestra of pixies hammering about in the head. Oops. At that point I was getting a little cranky...

Is it just that the amount of digging to find a reasonable car has increased a lot over the last couple of days, or should I just stop looking at cars that appeal to 15 year olds?

Sorry, just had to vent.

I think the issue here is that the cars that you like just aren't readily available anymore, and the current crop considers some of them their dream cars.

So the ones that are available are often the result of failed dreams.

I know that you've been there before, but I think if I were building another track car, I'd probably be looking at C4 Corvettes.

It seems like the cars you could pick up on the cheap just 5-6 years ago have disappeared and now command OMG prices from people trying to sell the few that are left. I was buying 2nd gen RX7 parts cars for $200 and selling pieces off them for $600 and then getting $200 at the scrap yard. Now when I need a parts car I can't find anything other than absolute junkers, I wish I had saved some of them now. Couple that with people that are not honest about the condition of their vehicles and I don't blame you for being cranky, nothing like driving 3 hours to look at a POS. With the availability of people to go look at cars for you that are on this board, maybe widen your search area and ask for help with pre inspections. I have a friend around here who has bought a bunch of cars online and had them shipped. With your time constraint maybe it is better to just deal with the Miata until you find a better ride, or heavens forbid, scrap the track day. (did I say that out loud?) I have to wait for three more months until our tracks open up around here, maybe I could take your spot??? Good luck, do you have a specific car you are looking for?

Miatas are less fun when you don't fit in them.

In reply to BoxheadTim:

You are soooo right. Hell, it wasn't that long ago I bought a flat fender MB for $900. That'd be $5,000 now. Scouts for a grand. Very nice Scout 800 for $600.

I paid $1200, $800 and $600 for rust free Samurai's.

I think crack smoking is rampant on Craigslist. You'd have to practically add another zero in today's world.

Woody wrote: I know that you've been there before, but I think if I were building another track car, I'd probably be looking at C4 Corvettes.

I'm slowly getting over the last C4 so I am actually considering that, however C4s in my price range are about as "good" as the 944 and the MR2 I've looked at. Especially because I've also decided that I'm too old to drive around in a car with a bad matte black paint job that's had the exhaust replaced with straight pipes so it's extra attractive to local law enforcement.

And once we get into the mid-teens I'm getting to the point where I'd rather borrow a few extra grand and buy an a/c 911, provided I can find one. Just missed one at a good price because $"$§")/!%!###!!!!! CL RSS feeds are broken in feedly again, most likely because CL again decided they don't like feedly overly much (happened before).

BTW, I have no problem paying people decent money for a decent car; both of the cars I looked at on Sunday would've been priced right if they had been decent examples. As they were, they were probably worth less than half the asking price.

The few times I've sold cars it seems to blow peoples minds that the car is exactly what I say it is and the price is fair. Nobody has ever felt the need to talk me down because what I offer and what I ask are in line with each other. It drives me bonkers when I can't buy cars the same way.

In reply to mazdeuce:

Yep, seems you're selling cars the way I like to sell them, too. Usually the first person to show up is only too happy to give me money. Guess I need to raise my prices .

Here it seems like you ALWAYS sell at high price, because you expect to come down. Everybody does it here, so nobody expects to pay listed price.

Then you let them walk away. Nobody ever does though. They always seem to be able to ask their buddy for the extra $400 or to actually have it in their truck.

I think the issue is that with CL you can advertise to a much larger audience, and have much higher odds of some sucker paying a silly price.

In reply to mazdeuce:

I recently sold a 94 S10 Blazer 4door, 4x4 Vortec V6, low miles, new tires, ran great, recent tune up. I asked $400.00.

I get the first idiot to come by and try to talk me down to $250!!!

I said "you do realize that I'm selling a running and driving 4x4 that you can drive off my property for $400.00 right?"

Yeah, I tend to get those, too - the ones who phone you up, offer half price over the phone and are massively insulted when you don't take their generous offer.

Another thought - I think some of the cars I'd be interested in if they actually were in one piece instead of half the car residing in multiple garages is that it seems almost inconceivable to some people that a running, well working car isn't the same as a smoke belching, starting-only-on-the-third-tuesday-of-the-month perpetual project, no matter how many expensive but badly fitted aftermarket parts are on the car.

The biggest problem is the internet. While it makes it easy to find things that once were inconceivable (I found a mint LSD diff from an 85 (had to be 83+) E23 745i in Hawaii - limited edition car never sold here), it also makes the same things easy to find for people who don't know what they're worth.

So before, if you drove through some farmland and saw an E30 M3 on some dude's lawn with a for sale sign, it's possible that he's not had any serious offers at all, he has passed and his widow would sell it to you for 5000 bucks. Now, anything that could be remotely interesting to you will also be found by 50 yahoos, at least one of which will fall starry eyed in love with it and beg his dad to bankroll the full asking price.

This empowers sellers to ask ridiculous prices and when you question their sanity, they reference other examples they've found online (I always find it cute how people refuse to reconcile prices things are "for sale" and "sold" for). So don't be afraid to lowball. Go the other way with your search. Forget the price, find the cars that you'd be happy with, and if the price is within this solar system, go and offer your 6k. Bring the cash with you.

I'd be thrilled to have a sub-6k budget. I spend a lot of time in junkyards scrounging for parts for my $1500 mustang gt.

All of the early dashes crack. All of them. I'd Ignore that and the ratty interior because racecar.

The poorly running engine? Yeah, not cool. Could be something simple or something more tragic. That would make it worth a bunch less.

Being in Nevada I wonder if you get a lot of people who overprice everything because everyone seems to try and make money every way they can.

How about this?

http://lasvegas.craigslist.org/cto/4273765672.html

Just a 944 in a slinky dress....

Or a 944:

http://stgeorge.craigslist.org/cto/4242234489.html

turboswede wrote: All of the early dashes crack. All of them. I'd Ignore that and the ratty interior because racecar.

I probably would have ignored a couple of cracks in the dash, but not necessarily one looking like this:

I just tend to have a problem when a car is priced as a nice example and turns out to have a badly cracked dash and a seat that's ripped at every seam.

turboswede wrote: The poorly running engine? Yeah, not cool. Could be something simple or something more tragic. That would make it worth a bunch less.

Exactly, plus I don't really have the time or inclination to fix something like that; given the cost of a decent 944, I'd rather just buy a decent one.

turboswede wrote: Being in Nevada I wonder if you get a lot of people who overprice everything because everyone seems to try and make money every way they can.

The car was in CA . But yeah, it seems that people tend to overprice cars here in the mountains a bit, compared to, say, the area around Sacramento.

turboswede wrote: How about this? http://lasvegas.craigslist.org/cto/4273765672.html Just a 944 in a slinky dress.... Or a 944: http://stgeorge.craigslist.org/cto/4242234489.html

Problem is that they're both at the wrong end of the state, I might as well buy one in Portland . I think I've seen the 924S advertised before, but that's a whole weekend of driving just to look at it. ATM I'd rather go to the Bay Area, at least I can make that round trip within a day.

gofastbobby wrote: I'd be thrilled to have a sub-6k budget. I spend a lot of time in junkyards scrounging for parts for my $1500 mustang gt.

Well, I have a decent job that allows me to have a 6k track beater budget, but said job also puts a limit on the time I can spend wandering around junkyards and/or fixing up my cars. TBH I couldn't afford a $1500 Mustang if I had to be able to drive it in the next two years.

What about finding or making a seat to fit you in the Miata? I was at an autox last month and one of the fastest guys, a regular, was in a Miata. He was 6'5", 250 lbs., and had just lost weight.

If you see any around San Jose or the Peninsula, let me know if you want me to put eyes on it before wasting your time coming out.

$6k can buy a pretty nice e30 325i.....I'm not sure of your size, but I'm 6' tall and still have 3-4" over my helmet when on the track in mine.