Haha! Took Custom878 a while to find something he'd get! (and so revive this thread...)
I went through the process of looking for a car last summer, and came up with a list for under $2500 to look at if I saw them for sale... eventually getting my 1986 300ZX for $2500 on the nose... but I can shave the list down to under $2000, and here's what I would consider:
all in good condition
Acura Integra GS-R VTEC '92-'93 with 100K
BMW E36 325i coupe '92-'95 with 140K
Chevy Cavalier Z24 '95-'02 with 150K
Dodge Neon DOHC, 2 door '95-'99 100K-150K, and get great mileage
Ford Probe GT '92-'97 with 120K
Ford ZX2 '98-'03 with 150K, and also get good mileage
Honda Prelude Si 4WS '94 with 150K
maybe a Prelude VTEC '93-'96 with even higher mileage
Infiniti G20 '90-'96 with 100K
Pontiac Grand Am '92-'94 with 80K if you can find it for $2000, likely higher mileage and under $2K, great engine these years
Porsche 944 - I did find one of these for $2500, but after consideration, I'm poor and it would be expensive to maintain, so it's off the list
Saab 900 Turbo '93 or earlier with 120K
Toyota Celica GT liftback Sports Pkg '93-'99 with 125K
VW Golf GTI A3 '91-'99 with whatever mileage if it runs should be cheap
That's what I constantly searched for on craigslist, but most cars I found were rusty and needed maintenance even so, definitely not easy finding a decent car for under $2K! Honestly, if you find a better car that's not on my list, there's something the matter with it that's making it cheap. Or you have different taste, of course!
