Okay, strap in. This is a long one!
I currently don't have a garage. Well, I have a garage that's about an hour away at my old place in Chicago. It's a pain to get there and I have no bathroom access there and the space isn't very nice to work in. I use it for tool and race tire storage, mostly, and occasionally we'll park in there if we have a hankering for brunch in our old neighborhood. Anyway, the point of saying this is that I don't have a place where I can work on my cars myself for anything complicated or time-consuming. Anything longer than a brake job, say, is probably not super do-able. (I did actually replace the trans mount in the Saab in the sucky far-away garage and on the way down there I hit a pothole the size of a moon crater and destroyed one of the wheels. This setup sucks but until Mrs. Lugnut finishes grad school, this is what I'm working with.)
My 997 is in for an engine rebuild. It's not IMS-related. The #1 or #3 rod bearing flipped and shoved the piston into the valvetrain. It had 4 seats.
The Saab ('00 Viggen convertible) is old and rare and mostly worthless. I got an emissions notice for it the same day the CEL came on for a small evap system leak. It also needs the other two engine mounts replaced. There's also a bit of a front-wheel wobble. And the top leaks. But it has four seats.
The Corvette is a two-seater. I bought this car in April and I was totally fine with it being a two-seater because the other 3/4 of the fleet all had back seats. I already have enough money into this car between track stuff and maintenance/repair work that I am not ready to let it go yet. We're looking at adding something, not replacing this one.
So, here's the What Car question. I need a car that's entertaining to drive, that may occasionally see HPDE duty, that can fit two adults and my 10yo daughter. She doesn't need a ton of room. She doesn't need her own doors or windows. She doesn't get motion sick (soooo jealous) and she fits comfortably in the back of the 911. That's an indication of what kind of space we need.
The car needs to be pleasant to drive. The Saab has shakes and wobbles and clunks and leaks when it's raining. I don't want any of that. I want something nice and pleasant and entertaining to drive.
The car needs to be pretty solid, mechanically. I won't have the ability to work on it. Not for anything big, anyway. So I'll need something with reasonable maintenance costs, and whose costs won't drastically exceed the value of the car.
Let's say $7,500 or less in Chicago dollars. I know that you guys find ZL1s for 6k in Atlanta or wherever you guys find these things, but I'm staying in Chicago and my car is coming from Chicago. Unless I can get eyes on a far-away car and a PPI enough to trust a fly-and-drive, I'm staying local.
There must be dual front airbags at the minimum, and preferably more. In the age of humungo SUVs and drivers on cell phones, Mrs. Lugnut is not enthused about being a regular passenger in a car without modern safety equipment. And I don't want to be putting my daughter in that spot, either.
My last criteria, and here's the gotcha. The yeah-but generator. I have a big "been-there, done-that" feeling lately. I mean, I'm 200+ cars into my car ownership career and I kinda have been there and done that. There isn't much left in the car world that excites me, at least, not at my budget level.
So, here's what I'm considering:
A series 1 RX-8. I've wanted one of these since they came out but I've never had one. This satisfies most of the criteria. They're engaging and fun to drive. They're pleasant to be in. The seating is adequate. Safety is adequate. But they're needy and I don't know if I can properly care for one.
A Neon SRT-4. Ditto. I would prefer a Mazdaspeed 3 but they're too expensive around here.
A 1st gen Audi TT. I think they're gorgeous and I've had fun every time I've driven one, but can I even have a turn of the century VAG vehicle if I can't work on it myself? That seems potentially very expensive.
A 944 Turbo. It's no secret that I'm a Porsche enthusiast. Getting it sorted could be expensive, but once they're in shape, they're super solid. I've had every derivation of front-engined Porsche coupe except for a 951 and I do love them a lot. They do have dual airbags but they're old technology.
A Mazdaspeed 6. I've never actually driven one, but the idea of one is appealing.
A Mercedes E500, wagon if I can find one. This would be a delight. They're great. Solid. More fun than you'd expect. And mostly invisible, which is a plus.
I'm not interested in BMW 3s (I've had a bunch), G35s (yuck), Honda Civics (I just don't enjoy them), old Mustangs or old F-bodies (they don't meet the pleasant to drive criteria). Pretty much everything else I can think of, either I've already had it, or it's going to be too expensive. But I figured I'd open it up to you because you always can always surprise me!
tl;dr - 3+ seats, <$8k, needing minimal work at worst, motorsport-capable. Go!
