Lookin for cars, have some questions

  • Thread starter Thread starter sicbeing
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sicbeing
I am 18, but i do have a clean record, but im not old enough.

And no that thing would kill me on gas , even if i dont red line it all the time. At Least compared to my civic.

I was almost positive the SRT4 was a 6 cyl
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Didn't the 4 in SRT-4 tip you off at all? I mean the the number at the end tells you the number of cylinders.
 
Dude, I think you could do a lot better for $10-$15k. You can get a little older (1995) M3 for about $15k on ebay, and a 96-98 328 for between $8 and $12k (80-100k on the odo). RWD, great handling, pretty decent power. Totally upgradable. Yeah, you're looking at something a little older, but not by too much. It would also be a much better track car than most anything you have listed. And as much or more power than anything you have listed except the mustang. It's obviously not a drag car, but if you're looking at a Miata, you're obviously not looking for a drag car. The only real negative (besides the maintenance costs, which chouldn't really be TOO much worse than some of the cars you have listed) is the image, and I'd rather have the BMW "rich boy/snob" image than the Miata "I'm gay" image anyway. Oh yeah, plus back seats/4 doors, even. BMWs are the best 4 door cars on the market, especially the 3 series (below $20k).
 
BlazinXtreme
Didn't the 4 in SRT-4 tip you off at all? I mean the the number at the end tells you the number of cylinders.
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Lol, oh ok, so the MX5 miata is a 5 cyl? jk

Ill look into the corrodo.
 
skicrush
Dude, I think you could do a lot better for $10-$15k. You can get a little older (1995) M3 for about $15k on ebay, and a 96-98 328 for between $8 and $12k (80-100k on the odo). RWD, great handling, pretty decent power. Totally upgradable. Yeah, you're looking at something a little older, but not by too much. It would also be a much better track car than most anything you have listed. And as much or more power than anything you have listed except the mustang. It's obviously not a drag car, but if you're looking at a Miata, you're obviously not looking for a drag car. The only real negative (besides the maintenance costs, which chouldn't really be TOO much worse than some of the cars you have listed) is the image, and I'd rather have the BMW "rich boy/snob" image than the Miata "I'm gay" image anyway. Oh yeah, plus back seats/4 doors, even. BMWs are the best 4 door cars on the market, especially the 3 series (below $20k).
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Ebay is not an option, i will never purchase a car off there.
 
M5Power
$15k is price break on those - even if he somehow finds one under $15, it will barely be under and won't leave much room for mods or (more likely) repairs.
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Actually, an '89 M3 can be bought in wonderful condition for $8K which will totally take the repairs and mods out of the equation that was just confronted.
 
That wasn't all ebay. The $8-$12k for a 328 was IRL, not on ebay. The M3 would be nicer, but a 328 is still better than most of what you have listed. Unless you don't like Bimmers.

[edit] Dude, why not buy on ebay? About half of the M3s listed on ebay are located in Florida. You could justr about test drive anything you find.

[edit] I'm sure not finding many today, though!!!
 
thanks, ill look into that one as well, whatever else u can think of, throw it at me lol, the more options the better
 
Dodge Omni: XXXXXX
Mustang: not another one
BMW: oil filter cost $50 LOL
Miata: chick car
SRT-4: factory tuner, good choice
Integra: cool looking car FWD, tons of aftermarket options
Eclipse: cool looking car, good performance, another good choice, GSX AWD
Anything Honda: not another one!!
240SX: good looks, fair performance, tons of aftermarket options
RX7: awesome car, I'd have one, but I wouldn't touch the engine :scared:
MR2: I love those things, but 2 seater
Lancer: has to be an EVO
Impreza WRX: $$$$$
 
I've said it once before but the foxbody stangs are your best bet with the 302. Twin Turbo upgrades are available and if thats not what you want bolt on a votech supercharger and if that doesnt strike your fancy drop a small head and cam package in it. Sure its a lil on the heavy side but the aftermarket for the cars are so great you can easily fix the handling problem with a good suspension set up. If your looking for something a little more up to date then grab a 99-02 4.6l stang they run 10-15k with a warranty still. Another car I havent seen mentioned is a 1989-1995 thunderbird supercoupe equipped with a supercharged v-6 210hp 315 ftlb of torque factory numbers of course but can grab a 0-60 of 7.4 or better with a good driver that can also run about a 15.3 in the quarter mile not to mention its rwd with a 5speed or auto your choice. The good thing about the supercoupe is their cheap and easy to come by a few simple mods such as intake exhaust and a 5% overdrive pulley for the supercharger could possibly put you in the high 14's for about 800 bucks depending on conditions and driver, thats an overkill price btw. Check out http://www.sccoa.com for more info about it they are a lil heavy also no need for a body kit either the stock one is perfect even though they have a few aftermarket ones. The best part is that its luxury performance :dopey:. I havent seen an lt1 camaro mentioned either alotta aftermarket for those along with the ls1 camaro just think of an STS turbo setup :) and if you dont like those bodies look at the trans ams.
 
JParker
Dodge Omni: FUGLY POS
Mustang: not another one
BMW: oil filter cost $50 LOL
Miata: chick car
SRT-4: factory tuner, good choice
Integra: cool looking car FWD, tons of aftermarket options
Eclipse: cool looking car, good performance, another good choice, GSX AWD
Anything Honda: not another one!!
240SX: good looks, fair performance, tons of aftermarket options
RX7: awesome car, I'd have one, but I wouldn't touch the engine :scared:
MR2: I love those things, but 2 seater
Lancer: has to be an EVO
Impreza WRX: $$$$$
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Your opinion is void because of that statement. Well actually it seems other than the Miata you and the topic creator have similar tastes, so that may be helpful. It seems you are mostly interested in Japanese tuners, sicbeing, so stick with those I guess.
 
JParker
Miata: chick car

Integra: cool looking car FWD, tons of aftermarket options
Eclipse: cool looking car, good performance, another good choice, GSX AWD
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The Miata is a "chick car", yet crapola like Eclipse and Integra are "cool looking"?

Jesus Christ man, buy a ****ing clue.
 
not so sure about the integra, but i like the way the older eclipses look.

Miata's hood ar too waves and lift up too high for me.

But then again, i also like the way hondas look.
 
The only eclipses to my knowledge that have AWD option is the 1st gen eclipse. Why not get a Mitsu 3000GT if you want a mitsu? You ought to be able to find Supras and 300 ZXs at your price range, too. And I said M3, not M5. M5s are 4 doors only, and yeah, they are a LOT more. Try again, and look for an M3 this time. Maybe you got M5 for M5Power's name. They're beasts, but a little much over what you have to spend.
 
The Eclipses came with an AWD option in the second gen. . . too bad they are so rare. . .
 
skicrush
Well, I just found 5 M3s within 100 miles of you listed on autotrader for under $15k. If you don't like them, just say so!
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ah ok, M3, i got confused and thought u said M5 when i read about the number of them u found, my bad :dunce:
 
wow, saw a 95 M3 for 11grand, looked -really- nice. 👍 definatly will put that into my consideration when i get the down payments ready.
 
OK, I just got off the phone with a friend of mine that has a 95 Talon tsi (eclipse GSX). Called to ask about Miata13b's post (you were right, obviously!). She's going to be selling it here in the next little while, if you're interested. 430 hp, new EVERYTHING, 12 second 1/4 mile. Has about $25k into it. She's talked about selling it for between $9 and $11k.
 
Firebird
The Miata is a "chick car", yet crapola like Eclipse and Integra are "cool looking"?

Jesus Christ man, buy a ****ing clue.
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Yep, chicks and old men.

sicbeing
not so sure about the integra, but i like the way the older eclipses look.

Miata's hood ar too waves and lift up too high for me.

But then again, i also like the way hondas look.
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There is a really nice looking Integra near where I work that has a tasteful rear wind, moderate ground effects, slightly lowered, nice wheels, and solid black. Really awesome looking car. Don't get me wrong, I like a lot of the Hondas around town, but you see one at every intersection in one model or another.
I agree with the older Eclipses myself. The new ones look good but I just don't care for the fin side molding. It has that fake Testarosa kit look.
 
JParker
BMW: oil filter cost $50 LOL
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That's funny, they charge $12.95 for an oil filter where I live and that's at the overpriced dealership in my town.

I can buy them all day long for $8.75 mail order. Less if I get a box of 10.

sicbeing
wow, saw a 95 M3 for 11grand, looked -really- nice. 👍 definatly will put that into my consideration when i get the down payments ready.
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Far be it for me to disuade anyone from buying an M3, but as the past owner of two, I feel the need to pass along some advice.

Like with most performance oriented cars, there will be nice, clean, well cared for cars that you will want to bring home. And then there will be the skanks. At this rate, a '95 M3 is an 10-12 year car. That's a lot of opportunities for someone to take care of, or abuse the crap out of the car.

Be very careful.

Tips on buying a '95 M3:

-Get a compression check done. Over-revs were common on the early cars because ham-fisted drivers would pick the wrong gear when the soft tranny mounts flexed enough to move the gates. Uneven compression will show any valve damage due to this. It will also give you a general idea what shape the engine is in.

-Have a good BMW shop spend a lot of time looking at the suspension. Especially the rear. Early M3s are notorious for going through rear shock mounts and toe bushings. Shock mounts aren't bad to replace, but if a worn bushing allows the rear control arms to rub against the metal carrier, this means body damage.

-Make other sure common wear items like the water pump and radiator have already been replaced. Fuel pumps are also problematic on early '95s.

-If the car looks too good to be true, then it probably is. Check for over-spray, bondo and mismatching panels. Each BMW body panel has a VIN number stamped on it. Replacement panels will show a "-R" at the end of the VIN. I once looked into a '95 that had an unbelieveably nice Mugello Red paint job. Upon closer inspection, I discovered it had been wrecked. Twice.

-Follow the same tips you may get for buying any other used performance car. Make sure you get records and books if you can. Do a title search. Have a good mechanic go over it with a fine tooth comb. A GOOD BMW specialist should be able to look at the list I just made and immediately recognize all the troublespots.

-Be weary of "M3 conversions" from 325s or 318s. Done right, they are good cars. Done poorly, they are worthless.

(There's probably a few other little things I forgot.. it's been a while since I made a list like this... I'll add them if I remember any more)

There are lots of good ones out there. You may want to put some money aside to replace the shocks, control arms and anything else in the suspension that has rubber on/in it.

A well maintained M3 is one of life's great pleasures. Good luck on your search.


M
 
///M-Spec
That's funny, they charge $12.95 for an oil filter where I live and that's at the overpriced dealership in my town.

I can buy them all day long for $8.75 mail order. Less if I get a box of 10.


M
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Yea, I know, I was just overstating the fact that maintaining a BMW was quite a bit more expensive than more common Japanese or American automobiles. I can run down to the corner autoparts store and pick up an oil filter for my Toyota Tacoma for $6 bucks.
Personally, I would love to have a BMW, I know several people I associate with at work than own newer model BMW's and they are truly incredible machines. But sic is rather young man, just getting his start in the working world. I'm sure he would also love to own a BMW, but the maintaining part would really rack his checkbook.
 
Wow, those glowing headers are beautiful! And that advice was great! You'll also want to check out how much insurance is going to be with these different cars. That + the monthly payment might put some of them out of your price range. I'd still check some of the older sports cars liekt he supras and 300ZXs, too, but you've got plenty of time to look. Just remember--you can rice most anything. But you can get a lot more mileage (performance wise) from getting a real sports car in the first place.
 
JParker
Yea, I know, I was just overstating the fact that maintaining a BMW was quite a bit more expensive than more common Japanese or American automobiles. I can run down to the corner autoparts store and pick up an oil filter for my Toyota Tacoma for $6 bucks.
Personally, I would love to have a BMW, I know several people I associate with at work than own newer model BMW's and they are truly incredible machines. But sic is rather young man, just getting his start in the working world. I'm sure he would also love to own a BMW, but the maintaining part would really rack his checkbook.
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That's a fairer statement than your first and quite frankly I agree with you in this case.

Sicbeing should be aware that a $11,000 M3 will have a lot of miles on it... most of them over 100,000. ANY vehicle with this kind of milage will require a bit of care. With the M3, having a lot of specialized low-volume M parts on it means typical stuff you may take for granted may be cheap on a Toyota will be more expensive on the M.

A front control arm for a '95 Civic is ~$130. On a '95 M3 it is ~$250. On a 996 Porsche it is ~$400. This is what happens when you sell a Gagillion Civics and less than 50,000 M3s and 15,000 996s. Economies of scale.


M
 
skicrush
"snip"
That + the monthly payment might put some of them out of your price range. I'd still check some of the older sports cars liekt he supras and 300ZXs,
"snip"
But you can get a lot more mileage (performance wise) from getting a real sports car in the first place.
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Yea, that's right, insurance at sic's age will be killer for a true sports car.

I did a little looking around a few weeks ago in the online autotrader for a Supra myself. To my surprise they are still in the $20k + bracket. You can get older NA Supras $10k and under. But the Supras have really held there resale value.

With the 'real sports car' referrence, I agree in part. I always liked Mustang GT's, Trans Ams, and owned an '87 Camaro Z-28 425hp. One of my highschool buddies had a early 80 Vette that was awesome. Believe me the first time I climbed into one of these new tuner cars I was really disappointed. But I still love them, and most of all, most mentioned so far don't fall in the sports car catagory when looking for insurance.
 
Acrtually if you just put the car under your parents name like I did when I was his age it's fine. I didn't pay to much for my other cars.
 

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