The search is on

Ok so of coarse, me being me started looking for cars last night. And I came up with two lists of vehicles one I feel pretty sure about and one I am not confident about.

The list of cars I feel good about. Mazda MX3 GS, Honda Civic, 90-92 Toyota Celica, BMW 318TI.

The other list. Porsche 944 (reliablity, parts cost), Pontiac Fiero (fun to drive?, reliablity, two seats), Alfa Romeo 164 (reliablity, parts cost, fun to drive?), Alfa Romeo Milano (reliablity, parts cost), BMW E30 (doesn't really turn my crank), MKIII Supra (doesn't really turn my crank), Miata (convertible, two seats), G-body Elky (fun to drive?), First generation Mazda MX6 Turbo (reliablity), Ford Escort GT (fun to drive?, it is still a Ford Escort), 2nd gen Mazda RX7, Nissan 240SX (drift tax, truck engine)

Anyone own any of these cars? How do you like them? this would be a daily driver. Anything to help in the search would be great.

MkIII Supra has better out of the box comfort and power than any listed, reliability is good, and aftermarket is better than anything listed barring the civic.

Fwiw, 944 doesn't really get me going like most. They are super well balanced, but power is lacking, and I don't find them very comfortable.

Yeah, I'd be liking the Supra from that list as well.

What kinda gas mileage does a Turbo Supra get?

I can only speak of my Milano, but in the year that I've had it, it has been very reliable. Parts cost have been much lower than I anticipated, about on par with the e30 I had. Certainly cheaper than the Mercedes 190E my wife currently drives.

IMHO the 944s I'd consider would be either a 944S2 (the 3L engine does make a massive difference to the feel of the car - it finally has enough power and torque for make the car feel fast) or possibly a 924S as the 2.5L engine suits the lighter body shell better than it does the heavier 944.

I always liked the 924S, but is it really notably lighter than an '87 944?

After driving a stock Civic DX for 2 and half years, I think a 944 will seem plenty fast.

Platinum90 wrote: MkIII Supra has better out of the box comfort and power than any listed, reliability is good, and aftermarket is better than anything listed barring the civic.

How well does it handle?

What about a Toyota AE86?

96DXCivic wrote:

Platinum90 wrote: MkIII Supra has better out of the box comfort and power than any listed, reliability is good, and aftermarket is better than anything listed barring the civic.

How well does it handle?

It does weigh 3600lbs if that's any indication.

z31maniac wrote:

96DXCivic wrote:

Platinum90 wrote: MkIII Supra has better out of the box comfort and power than any listed, reliability is good, and aftermarket is better than anything listed barring the civic.

How well does it handle?

It does weigh 3600lbs if that's any indication.

That is my worry. I like small lightweight cars and I am worried the Supra will seem to big and heavy for me to really love it.

How about this baby?

http://nashville.craigslist.org/cto/2021208869.html

I really liked the MX3 GS and it's a really under-valued car these days. It was a ton of fun to drive (tiny car with a v6 and a 5 spd) and got good fuel economy. Never had any reliability problems. Only downside is the massive front weight bias. But so long as you're not trying to win any auto-x championships it should be a great driver.

Also had several CRX's and if you were looking for a civic hatch from that era I would say that other than being FWD it's a fantastic vehicle.

Don't have much 1st hand experience with the E36 or Celica.

The Nova is not exactly light.

I had an 87 Fiero GT. It was fun to drive, handled well, was sorta fast, and got 28 mpg average.

I've driven a few 944's. They are fun to drive. I like them well enough that I bought a 85.1 as a project car.

Good luck.

In reply to SillyImportRacer:

I was kidding about the Nova. As cool as it is, it is a bit gas hungry.

z31maniac wrote:

96DXCivic wrote:

Platinum90 wrote: MkIII Supra has better out of the box comfort and power than any listed, reliability is good, and aftermarket is better than anything listed barring the civic.

How well does it handle?

It does weigh 3600lbs if that's any indication.

Wikipedia has it listed at just over 3300, which is pretty normal for that size of car. It's also one of the only rwd cars of the era that has sla front and rear. I may just be defending it because I want one.

If you can't find a good selection of MX3s try for probes, mx6s, and escort gt/protege lx. The MX3 is more or less a combination of the two cars.

I don't know why but I don't like the second generation Mazda MX6. I have the Escort GT on my list.

The 318ti is a great little car. The rear suspension is from the e30 which means lots of parts for cheap and evading the headache that is the rear trailing arm bushings on the e36. Plus m/s50s are coming down in price

The poster formally known as 96DXCivic wrote: I don't know why but I don't like the second generation Mazda MX6. I have the Escort GT on my list.

I like the first gen MX6 way more as well. Actually I am on the look out for one as well. Turbo of course. Also I would love a 89 or so 626 GT with the turbo five-door hatchback goodness,but they are super rare it seems.

It could still be a fun ride. Besides, what's a few gallons of gas in exchange for gut wrenching torque?

I've owned like 7 240sx's. I kinda like them. Super simple, sooo durable, so much fun, and soo many parts available.

You only pay the drift tax if you are lazy, desperate, or can't find any thing. A car non running can be free to 2K, and a running car can be had for $600 to 3-4K and up. A decent dohc 5 speed (what you want) is probably $1400-2500 depending on mods/condition. Rust is the biggest issue. Miles don't really matter, parts are cheap, and you will probably upgrade it any way. And my 240K mile coupe feels better bushing/suspension wise then my old hatch with 170K.

I'm about to shove a maxima 3L v6 in mine for 50+HP. Should be fun :) and under 1500 said and done.

My dad and I have a 84 944. It needs more power/aftermarket ecu. I hate the vane type AFM and the stock power. I think its exactly the eruo version of my 240sx. Except the later ones got good decent power engines. And there's tonns more options. I'm poising my dad with the idea of a standalone ecu and a small/low boost turbo. Oh and IMO its super sexy. Has the legitimate P tax. A water pump was like $300 or 400. But its a monstrosity of a pump. Fun car to drive though, lots of potential.