Car suggestions

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motortrend

motortrend

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Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
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motortrend
My friend is getting a new car so I though who better for suggesting than the people of GTP.

Backstory: He's owned an E30,E36, RX-7 FC, VW Jetta(hated it), VW GTI MK3 and VW corrado. The last one was the E36 and he is selling it now primarily because it has no A/C, is spending too much money on it and it's not very comfortable.

So, here's what he's looking for:
-Modern-ish (late 90s+)
-can be an auto trans.
-must have AC
-preferably sporty
-comfortable for DDing
-preferably RWD but open to anything.
-No VWs
EDIT: budget is about $5K
 
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'99-'02 SVT Cobra.

2001_ford_mustang_svt_cobra_2_dr_std_coupe-pic-8110220127412480947.jpeg
 
I was going to say, I think you should post a budget.

Maybe this would be more budget. I know these are a little bit earlier but they deserve a look.

1742d1240607697-1990-mustang-lx-5-0-5-spd-picture132.jpg

1807450096_large.jpg

SC0511-106593_1.jpg

1995_MustangGT_ForSale1b.jpg

1996_Pontiac_Firebird_Formula.jpg




All of these can be had for around $5k give or take, usually with motors anything from stock to decent size strokers with around 400hp.
 
motortrend
My friend is getting a new car so I though who better for suggesting than the people of GTP.

Backstory: He's owned an E30,E36, RX-7 FC, VW Jetta(hated it), VW GTI MK3 and VW corrado. The last one was the E36 and he is selling it now primarily because it has no A/C, is spending too much money on it and it's not very comfortable.

So, here's what he's looking for:
-Modern-ish (late 90s+)
-can be an auto trans.
-must have AC
-preferably sporty
-comfortable for DDing
-preferably RWD but open to anything.
-No VWs
EDIT: budget is about $5K
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Not sure what car prices are like in Puerto Rico, but it sounds like your friend wants an E46.
 
You know what he would like? An E39 M5 :p An E39 would be good, an E46 probably even better. To be honest, though, there are a huge number of cars your friend could get for that budget that fit his criteria.

This seems suspiciously cheap, unfortunately I can't read Spanish. I sincerely doubt that a 2009 E90 328 with 25,000 miles costs only $3k.
 
@Slash those are some good options, he isn't a dan if the mostly plastic interiors of American cars from that time but he has considered the fox, though he ended up not doing it because it was hard to find a good one, again because it is an older car. Maybe a newer mustang or firebird could suit him, maybe even a camaro.
@Doog I think the only way to get an E46 for 5 grand is getting a pretty best up early one, which would be more problematic than his E36 so that's probably out.
@Beeblebrox237 yeah an E39 could be a good candidate but again may bring costly repairs. Yeah there's a lot of cars which is why I'm looking for suggestions but really you gotta get closer to the 10K range if you don't want to start compromising stuff. That ad is for someone selling the title to a car that still owes from monthly payments so that is out of the question.

He has been considering a Volvo S60, that might help suggest other cars.
 
@Beeblebrox237 it's still a little too old and has costly maintenance by now (maybe he could find a good newer one) with the extra cash (his current one cost about 3.5
@Space Dynamics Interesting suggestion, not sure if he'll like but definitely something to consider.
 
MIATA IS ALWAYS THE ANSWER...
Tell him to take a look at ~1998-2001 Impreza RS. Can get a pretty decent one for ~$5k.
You can probably find early 2000s Lexus IS300.
 
@eSZee he doesn't like the miata, guess it's a GTP/Jalopnik thing :lol: I was going to suggest the IS but I'm not sure if those have gone down in value enough. The impreza is a very good suggestion, hadn't even thought about that.
 
motortrend
@eSZee he doesn't like the miata, guess it's a GTP/Jalopnik thing :lol: I was going to suggest the IS but I'm not sure if those have gone down in value enough. The impreza is a very good suggestion, hadn't even thought about that.
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Tell me about it. I just had to do it before someone else did.
BMW 330 could be found for 5k also it seems.
 
@Slash those are stil waaay too expensive for the budget.

Like I said, most cars sigues ted go over budget by a few thousand.

Told him about the miata and surprisingly got motivated. Says He contacted someone and will see if he trades his E36 for it. Will post back with What happens. In the mean time, suggest more stuff if you want.
 
What about an old Police Interceptor? 250HP, RWD, A/C, and you can be sure they've been maintained properly.
 
Soda01
What about an old Police Interceptor? 250HP, RWD, A/C, and you can be sure they've been maintained properly.
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Most of those have been run into the ground.
Never buy an old cop or taxi car.

I have a non-svt Focus and that fits all the categories. Decent to drive and is very good with reliability.
 
Slash
Miata with an LS swap. Insta-win.
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:lol:

Irony is lots of people actually get better MPG with the LSx 👍

Zenith
LS swapped Miata for $5K? Not a chance.

Maybe if he bought an iron block truck motor and did all his own work, but this is going to be his work car. That isn't going to happen.
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Depends. You can get a decent LS1/T56 for around $2000, a beat to hell Miata shell for $1000, rest in fabrication. Very possible to have a POS LS1 Miata for $5000 if you do the work yourself.

But you wanna DD the Miata? haha no. Good luck driving a car that has the power/weight ratio of a ZR1 with stock 20 year old Miata suspension. :lol:


What about this:

DSC_0499.jpg


motortrend
-Modern-ish (late 90s+) Check
-can be an auto trans. Learn Stick
-must have AC Check
-preferably sporty Check
-comfortable for DDing Check
-preferably RWD but open to anything. RWD swap? :lol:
-No VWs Check
EDIT: budget is about $5K Check
Click to expand...
 
@Slash realistically you need 10K+ for a good LS swapped miata with supporting mods.
@GranTurismo916 I'll suggest that as well, though they might be a tad over budget.
@Harry6784 that Seems like a good idea but decent civics and corollas are crazy expensive here. You give me a good idea though, a prelude might actually fit better into budget.
 
Harry6784
Depends. You can get a decent LS1/T56 for around $2000, a beat to hell Miata shell for $1000, rest in fabrication. Very possible to have a POS LS1 Miata for $5000 if you do the work yourself.
Click to expand...

Nope. Cooling, wiring, drivetrain upgrades, fuel, exhaust. Without those in addition to the powertrain and chassis, the car isn't going to work or will break itself the moment somebody tries to push the throttle.

5K LS Miata is not feasible. Hell, 5K doesn't even buy you a particularly good Miata with the standard engine. About 10K is about the minimum for an LS'd MX5.

Here's my suggestion, if your friend can live with two seats.

352441-1000-0.jpg


C4 Corvette. 5K will even get you the Z51 handling.
 
S14 200SX? Fits all criterias, and are really reliable if you find one that is'nt tuned and has not been run into the ground.
Nissan_200SX_S14a_Black_Stock.JPG


BMW E46 is also a good, sporty alternative at the price.
BMW_E46_front_20080822.jpg


And I also have to confirm what @Bopop4 said: NEVER buy a used taxi or cop car! EVER!

edit, reliability wise I'd stay away from corvettes aswell. trust me on that one.
 
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@et_ those are both just over budget, might be able to find one though.
@Zenith that seems like a good choice, need to check up on prices. His father used to have one so he probably knows about them.

He's thinking about B5 A4s. Any info on those? From what I've read they're sort of unreliable.
 

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