What car? - I'm tired of not knowing what to do.

Yup, yet another what car thread for the forum. 

Here's the back story: I drive 60-220 miles each day depending on what site I am at. I have been driving my 97 miata which was great, but the chassis is shot at this point. I pulled the engine and tranny last week to put into my 94 shell intending to put it together to be the new daily, but it doesn't have power steering or A/C. (Both of which I could technically pull from the other chassis still. BUT, now I might have someone who wants to buy the clean shell I have. And I'd prefer something that I don't really have to worry about working on all the time. 

TLDR: In Jalopnik style:

Budget: Up to $10,000

Daily Driver: Yes

Average Miles Per-Week: 650 miles

Wants: Manual preferred, decent (25+) gas mileage, fun.

Doesn't want: A BMW Convertible, or anything too "bro".

I like to enjoy my drive, so I want something fun. I thought about a 335d, but the carbon buildup scares me a bit and insurance + car payment was more than I really want to spend. An NC miata is a maybe, but I'd want a 2009+ because of the engines. Or just keep my NA, put a little more time and effort in and make it a decent daily, plus no car payment?

A 128i hardtop?

 

BRZ?  They're about $10k for an early car, right?

Newest mazda3 you can afford. 

I've been seeing 1st gen CTS-Vs for $10k recently. Google says they're rated at 25mpg, but fuel economy.gov says just 23.

A MazdaSpeed 3 or 6 could scratch your itch and keep some of the Mazda DNA that you like in your Miatas.

Early S197 Mustang might be an option too. The later V6 versions would be the real ticket, but I think they're generally a little outside of your budget still.

128i hardtop is a consideration, and there was that one that was just posted. Not  sure what the common issues might be on those though. 

BRZ: I do kinda like the looks and all, but my coworker might have ruined them for me.

Mazda 3: I kinda thought about, but kinda meh. 

CTS-V is interesting

Not a huge mustang fan either, though I forgot to mention initially. 

For thw BMW, just typical BMW things. Cooling system,  expensive replacement parts if you go OEM/use the dealer, etc etc. I have a stupid high mileage E61 and besides a starter, it's been great.

The V1, personally, doesn't look all that great and have probably flogged hard. I don't see V2 coming down in price anytime soon, though.

Can always go F-Body if you're wanting a LS. Hell, even early C5s are getting close to your price range. But again, chances are flogged to hell.

Could maybe find yourself a G35/7 with a six speed in your price range. They're getting extremely cheap.

How about a v6 or 4th gen swapped mr2.  Two trunks, toyota reliability, fun, and at bottom of depreciation curve.  I bought my v6 for 6k. It gets 25 mpg on average and is built like a tank.

FuzzWuzzy said:

For thw BMW, just typical BMW things. Cooling system,  expensive replacement parts if you go OEM/use the dealer, etc etc. I have a stupid high mileage E61 and besides a starter, it's been great.

E81?

I do kinda like the 128i. I do like BMWs in general. It looks like either way 335d or 128i and taking off the miata insurance will bump +$40-50/month. 

What kinda of high mileage are we talking? There's the one posted on here with 75k, but there's some for even cheaper online with like 130-150k. If I'm doing 20-30k miles a year, is buying lower mileage going to be worth it?

I can vouch for the 128i. Granted, I've only had mine for ~six months, but there are far fewer issues with the NA motor than with its turbo brethren (I did a lot a research on these for DD use). It's basically a modernized E36 M3. Drive one if you get a chance.

AWSX1686 said:

FuzzWuzzy said:

For thw BMW, just typical BMW things. Cooling system,  expensive replacement parts if you go OEM/use the dealer, etc etc. I have a stupid high mileage E61 and besides a starter, it's been great.

E81?

I do kinda like the 128i. I do like BMWs in general. It looks like either way 335d or 128i and taking off the miata insurance will bump +$40-50/month. 

What kinda of high mileage are we talking? There's the one posted on here with 75k, but there's some for even cheaper online with like 130-150k. If I'm doing 20-30k miles a year, is buying lower mileage going to be worth it?

E61 = 5 series wagon, but the same N52 motor. I bought it at 150k, currently has 152k. I don't plan on doing anything w/ the engine until a LS swap is possible down the road.

Instead of picking up the twin turbo variant (N54), I went with the last NA i6 BMW has released purely for reliability reasons. I avg around 21mpg in my two ton wagon.

If it'll be a "throwaway" kind of car, high mileage isn't all that bad. Just make sure the PO has covered the electronic water pump and the "lifetime" tranny fluid and you'll be good for a bit.

GTO.

In reply to 02Pilot :

They seem nice. I think I'm going to see if there's one I can drive Friday over lunch. 

In reply to FuzzWuzzy :

Ok, gotcha. I was thinking you were talking from 1 series specific, but I see what you're saying now. 

I don't know about throw away. I'd like to get a few years at least. 

conesare2seconds said:

GTO.

Was going to suggest this one, but the MPG and nearly lack of a trunk leave something to be desired.

The plus side is that the seats are oh-so-amazing.

pimpm3 said:

How about a v6 or 4th gen swapped mr2.  Two trunks, toyota reliability, fun, and at bottom of depreciation curve.  I bought my v6 for 6k. It gets 25 mpg on average and is built like a tank.

Now I know why you are willing to part with the C5 that thing is sex

That budget ought to get a really nice E46 sedan or coupe. Or a C5 Corvette. Maybe an 8th generation Civic Si if that's something you would be interested in.

Well, as long as the guy gets back to me today that he fixed the passenger seat (back wouldn't move) and the weather isn't too bad tomorrow, I'll be going to pickup this:

2004 BMW 330i ZHP

167k miles, 6-speed manual, Clean Alcantara Interior, M3 Swapped Rear End (LSD!), heated seats.

Should be a pretty comfy commuter, with enough power to be enjoyable, but not too horrible on gas mileage (hopefully). It's new enough not to have a huge list of issues, but not new enough that I can't fix 90% of anything that could go wrong in my own garage. (Plus one of my best friends has the exact same model and is very familiar with them, so I have a pretty decent source of help in case something does go wrong.)

Needs a valve cover gasket which I have on order, and probably new Projector bowls and bulbs as the headlights are quite dim right now. And the powered passenger seat back didn't move when I test drive it on Tuesday, but he said he'd fix it. 

Unfortunately I will be getting a loan on it, only a 3 year loan, but I still don't like loans. I plan to pay it off in 1 year or less, especially since full coverage insurance kinda sucks on this. 

A car that gets my attention as an interesting commuter is the Volvo S60.  Mostly because Volvos are known for having great seats.  I know I loved the seats in my '95 Volvo 850 wagon.  My 850 was a NA motor with a manual trans.  Not fast and not rocket ship but it was solid feeling and a great way to cover long miles so I might recoomend a S60 in NA form with a manual trans.  

On a quick search I did not find a S60 MT in your area but did find these S40 MTs:  

https://frederick.craigslist.org/cto/d/2005-volvo-s40-t5m/6416518552.html  

C30 too:  

https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/cto/d/2008-volvo-c30-t5-version-20/6414568088.html

I bought a 2006 330i six speed with 98k mi. in immaculate condition this summer. I paid $10k. It is quick, comfortable, and handles well. I am very pleased so far. The 128i was on my radar but I prefer the way the 330i revs. The different intakes on various N52 motors makes a big difference.

I really like the 8th gen Civic Si as a commuter/runabout. They're well below  your price for the early ones, get well above 25mpg, and the motor/transmission is great to wind out at normal road speeds. They're also almost invisible. 

I can vouch for an FRS as a great place to spend time if you like driving. With the inherent better security over a cloth top, it might be a more practical choice than a Miata. Also a bit more cargo space and, IF YOU MUST, a place to stash a second or third passenger.

What you wont be impressed with is the build quality. It is basically just  Corolla with a chassis that can dance and drift, so it is what it is in that department.

You can make up your own mind on the Boxer engine. I don't like it the way I don't like Yogurt: nothing wrong, I just don't. Does its job just fine though. Two heads and four cams for a 4 cylinder engine is stupid no?

2014 and 2015 Fiesta STs are getting down close to $10k now.  It's not the fastest car on the planet, but is fun to drive and gets decent gas mileage.

That ZHP is a great choice, though fuel mileage isn't the best (low 20s for the commute). My son has a twin to that one and I loved driving it enough to buy the convertible version for my wife.. The E46 is comfortable enough for commuting in and the ZHP is very fun when you want it to be (basically as close to an E46 M3 sedan as you can get).

So will I be seeing a for sale ad for your miata?