Not many $3,000 Subaru competitors out there :(

ebonyandivory said:

Unless I’m missing something (I’d love that to be true)  not many cheap, reliable manual AWD cars to choose from.

Seems like the Suzuki and maybe the CR-V but I’m not looking for a small SUV. Lancer is just fwd until you go Evo.

ARRRRRRGGGGHHHH

Fly and drive.  Seriously.  Get one from somewhere without rust and have a fun trip back home.

I mean, the PNW is littered with them.  Granted manuals are harder to find outside of the turbo models, but they are there and we don’t use much of any salt on our roads.

In reply to Stefan :

I’ve inquired about the fly and drive method. It’s definitely not for me. Too bad about the dearth of manuals, we have TONS in MA but plenty of rust to go along with it

I got my 04? WRX wagon for $2750 at 130k a few years ago.  Original owner, all documentation including the window sticker, all the keys, etc.  Some light mods including a turbo-back exhaust, up pipe, cobb tube, and forester xt suspension and little All Terrains.  

Owner sold it cheap because he had put a new clutch in it and it still "slipped"  Turned out a rear axle was popped out of the diff.  I popped that axle in and it was driving in 30 minutes.  

I did have to do all the brakes, a new center diff and bearings (got lucky on that and got the parts for cheap) and a throwout bearing because it had not been installed well.

Ended up putting 25k miles on it, ended up selling it for $4900 as it was starting to show rust.

I liked the way it drove but it was super cheap inside, tinny, and really thirsty for its size.  Sold it and my F250 and bought a Land Cruiser for daily duty.

If you're looking for something that's $3000 and AWD, a Subaru is about the only way to go.  At the $3000 mark I would recommend an NA model rather than one with a turbo, simply because they last longer and parts are way cheaper.  All you really need to worry about on NA cars are the timing belts and keeping oil in them.  Wheel bearings, CV boots, and shift linkages tend to wear out, but those are all cheap and easy enough to address.  Find a cheap running and driving one, spend a weekend pulling the engine to put in a new clutch, timing belt, and oil seals on the engine, change the fluids, and have a good car for ~$2000-2500.