Just received funds to purchase an automobile for up to$ 10k car(purchase includes any deferred maintenance) Car will be driven about 10k miles a year. As a backup car I have a 2000 landcruiser (landtank). Looking for first hand opinions on daily driving any of the stated vehicles. pros and cons please.

Boxster: beautiful sheet metal and makes nice sounds. 944(turbo): cheaper initial buy in for NA cars, handle great, still look good 928: v8 still considered an amazing GT car e30: cheap, fun, retro cool e24: great looking future collectible e36 m3: fun, prices have come down 540i/6(e39): had one for short time, great blend of performance and practicality 530i (e39): less issues then the v8, 8 tenths of the fun without V8 issues and expense. s2000: reliable and fun with perceived less reliability issues. is300: thinking this is the e30, Datsun 510 of 2000's 300zx turbo: I have heard some amazing things about them have yet to drive one, beautiful shape. Mr2 turbo: contender.

Please don’t take this as an affront to your beloved brands or models. Countless hours have been wasted by me and my friends over my car purchase. I have left many cars off this list, and they could have been left off for several reasons, or maybe I thought they were FUGLY. Why no American cars? The only ones I like that don’t scream Deney Terio , douche or mid-life crisis, are just a wee bit out of my price range. Miata? Wife says NO...nuff said

Inserting a double space after each line will make a list instead of a paragraph. FYI

• Boxster: beautiful sheet metal and makes nice sounds
• 944(turbo): cheaper initial buy in for NA cars, handle great, still look good
• 928: v8 still considered an amazing GT car e30: cheap, fun, retro cool
• e24: great looking future collectible
• e36 m3: fun, prices have come down
• 540i/6(e39): had one for short time, great blend of performance and practicality
• 530i (e39): less issues then the v8, 8 tenths of the fun without V8 issues and expense
• Kia Rondo: amazing all-rounder
• s2000: reliable and fun with perceived less reliability issues
• is300: thinking this is the e30, Datsun 510 of 2000's
• 300zx turbo: I have heard some amazing things about them have yet to drive one, beautiful shape
• Mr2 turbo: contender

Oh, and for a toy, I would be leaning heavily towards the Boxter and S2000 on that list. Everything else is too old or big or odd.

Depends on what 'toy' means. At 10k a year it sounds like fun reliable car to drive daily and not work on much. I'd vote S2000, then Boxter and then move into various BMW's.

From the list I'd say E36 M3 or Kia Rondo, leaning towards the Rondo

In reply to pinchvalve:

What you did there. I see it.

Well played.

• Boxster: You should. Now.
• s2000: If you can't get a Boxster
• e36 m3: If the other two do not have enough utility

In that order. The rest of your list is a mixed bag of redundant compromises and tedious sedans that have no business on a "toy" list. A toy should be great handling, dead sexy and sound like mechanical sex with as many ear-to-ear grins packed in as possible. A is300? GTFO of here with that

I agree with GPS, though I would explore why wife says 'no' to Miata. Easy mods do a lot to give these cars some cahones. Perhaps a previously modified car?

PS: Exocet?

Man....With only 10K and wanting to drive 10K a year that makes it tough.

S2000 will be a good choice if you can get in in that price range. I've only seen trash in that price range otherwise I would have grabbed it myself.

I'm going to ignore all of the germans but the M3 due to price vs what you get for under 10K. Also a lot of those are maintenance intensive models. Putting 10K miles a year on older german cars is not a cheap affair.

Daily driving an MR2 is not bad if you can find a good one. You get the toyota reliability and they are built really well. Down side is finding a good one. They are rare. Mine works great for DD duty when I want to but it's young by MR2 standards at 91K miles and is not riced or a ricer recovery. It's still a 25 year old car and small things do pop up on it.

I have to agree with GPS on the IS300. My cousin had one and as a DD it was good but definitely not exciting. I found it very slow and thirsty. I would take a base 328I either E36 or E46 over one any day of the week.

pinchvalve wrote: • Boxster: beautiful sheet metal and makes nice sounds • 944(turbo): cheaper initial buy in for NA cars, handle great, still look good • 928: v8 still considered an amazing GT car e30: cheap, fun, retro cool • e24: great looking future collectible • e36 m3: fun, prices have come down • 540i/6(e39): had one for short time, great blend of performance and practicality • 530i (e39): less issues then the v8, 8 tenths of the fun without V8 issues and expense • Kia Rondo: amazing all-rounder • s2000: reliable and fun with perceived less reliability issues • is300: thinking this is the e30, Datsun 510 of 2000's • 300zx turbo: I have heard some amazing things about them have yet to drive one, beautiful shape • Mr2 turbo: contender

List is much easier to read this way.

So, let's play that childs game "Which one of these is not like the others". You've got a nice list of sports cars, enthusiast cars, etc... and then the Rondo. Huh? Don't get me wrong, I love the Rondo, we very nearly bought one for my wife's daily. But it's so different than the others. If you want a sensible commuter, that's your hands down choice. If you want a "toy", I think you'll be disappointed with it.

I would get an Alfa gtv6 over most of those if it was just for fun. Plenty reliable enough for 10k miles a year if you get a decent one.

In reply to Klayfish:

Not sure if serious.

I mean the Rondo is the business.

You're kinda in my neck of the woods car shopping wise as I tend to have to go find cars between Sacramento and the Bay Area.

Re the S2k, I've not seen one that I'd deem worth having in your budget. A bit below $10k will mean salvage title or high miles, most likely both. There are a whole lot of bad S2ks out there and good ones (even with high miles) seem to be closer to $13k.

Personally I find Boxsters a bit meh, also keep in mind you're looking at pretty early ones for your budget. You can find a good 'un for that money though, especially if you don't want an S.

944 turbos are quick, but old school turbo cars. They're also really good at emptying your wallet and most of the ones in your budget will need a fair amount of work. A $7k 944 turbo that needs a clutch is going to eat up your budget.

Your budget would buy my low mileage, non-riced MR2 turbo, I'm just not 100% if I want to sell it yet. But low mileage, really nice ones are $8k-$10k cars these days.

928s are only cheap to buy. They cost a fortune to maintain if it is suffering from any deferred maintenance. Keep in mind they were supposed to be upmarket of the 911, they have a ton of electrical gizmos that tend to go wrong and 911 style parts prices.

Mad props to pinchvalve

Blindfold the wife.
Sit her in a Miata for a ride. After she is appropriately impressed reveal that it is indeed a "hairdressers car".
Buy a damned Miata.

Miata Is Always The Answer

Here.

Skip the IS. Cousin had one, it was a nice car, seemed fun to drive. However, they're not really that fast, they demand 93 octane, and they're thirsty as hell for no real reason. Parts seem to be pricey for them, but that just might be my rose tinted chrysler parts glasses.

• Boxster: A great deal if you can do the maintenance yourself. Set aside money each month for the eventual engine replacement or swap. Porsche clubs are very active all over the country with track-days, AutoX, Road Racing, Driving Tours, etc.

• 944(turbo): The NA is very DIY friendly and lots of people race them so parts are readily available. I'm not a huge fan of the engine, it seems to lack the pizazz other 4-cylinders of the period have, but it is more than sufficient to propel the cars just fine. The turbo's are their crazy cousins, but the maintenance is much more demanding and a bit more difficult (packed engine bay) so make sure you buy the best version you can. Hardtop and hatchback makes for a better track-day car since cages won't be required. I find them a bit too heavy and slow to respond, the later cars are a bit fat to be as responsive as a Miata, MR2 or S2000. I'm selling my 88 Turbo S because of the deferred maintenance I've had to do has sapped all of the fun out of the car, so someone else gets to enjoy my efforts and an honest 350+hp street car.

• 928: No. Just no. Too heavy and too slow and most are automatics. Maintenance and parts are still high and expensive. Get an older 911 in the same price range and have more fun for similar money.

• e24/e36 m3/540i/6(e39)/530i (e39): Parts are cheaper for BMW's than they are for Porsches but I'd be concerned about older German cars as they do not suffer fools easily.

• Kia Rondo: wut?

• s2000: Great choice and if you can find one that hasn't been stanced or riced, then you should have a great ride to work with. Convertibles can be a bit tricky to deal with for racing or track-days anymore, so budget for a cage, harness with arm restraints and proper FIA seat if you're thinking along those lines.

• is300: From what I understand they are pretty boring in stock form, but a few have had Supra Turbo parts swapped in to help wake them up a bit.

• 300zx turbo: Fat. Faaaaat cars. Also slightly less difficult to work on than a 3000GT VR-4/Stealth R/T twin turbo, which isn't saying much. I'm not sure I would do that unless it was an old IMSA tube chassis car

• Mr2 turbo: Many have T-tops which can suck for serious track-day stuff but they are great chassis' with lots of potential though they are getting to the age where many need serious maintenance.

BTW, the reason I'm selling the 88 turbo s? Wife and I are tired of broken cars, so once it gets sold (should be about $8K with a hurt transaxle, which is about $2K) along with the E32 740iL that her parents saddled us with they will be replaced with a Miata so we can go out and enjoy our weekends again.
Check out a NB turbo and take the wife for a ride in one and try to compare them back to back with the S2000 so she can see that they aren't very far apart, but that the NB will be easier to maintain in the long run.

thisthreadneedsmoarrondo

I love turbo MR2's and 300zx's as much as the next 90s was the greatest import sports car era of all time guy, but finding clean versions of either is so rare. My vote would be s2k, but than I have to ask myself if the s2k is worth that much more than a miata. so I'm no help to the conversation.

http://baltimore.craigslist.org/cto/4667964339.html this and http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/cto/4665101254.html this

If I were in your shoes, with your criteria, I would be looking for something that was a bit of an "event" when I drove it. So, if it were me. I'd buy an Alfa GTV6.

Hey, I DID buy a GTV6! I drove it once, and have been working on it ever since (some things needed doing, others were just victims of my OCD). A GTV (4cyl) would be a nice backup plan.

People seem to fancy Alfa Spiders (I don't) but that might do it for you.

If I could swing it I'd find a 3rd gen RX-7, but I think your price range is "just shy" of a good clean example (dark green paint, with leather interior has always been my dream).

I agree with what's been said about Miatas.

If I were to pick from your list, I'd probably go with the Boxter, but I'd always be wondering if I'll be able to afford the next repair.

there is a 99% chance this car will Never see a track. I am looking for a fun sporty car. a car that can eat up miles with aplomb, yet if some yahoo behind me in family truckster wants to ride my bumper on a twisty highway... I can leave him in a pile of dust.

Miata... personal thing...she does not care about 99.9% of the crap I bring home. She has issues with Miata, crazy family thing. For the record, I Did not put down Kia Rondo?

pinchvalve:

Has the wife seen the vid of the flyin' miata on track?

There is the answer to your question.

Props to pinchie for trolling the whole thread