disinfected's cars - The new car test driving commences.

Our former second car, the '04 Civic is now gone, and I am looking to purchase something new (well, used really) around January-February time frames as my wife and I are going to start having conflicting work schedules once again. Probably looking at spending under 12,000, but don't want to get something mega-old. Not sure what it should be, though! Looks like I will be driving this one, as I am a lot less picky. ;)
 
Answer is only Miata if it's a recent one--I am always too tall to sit comfortably in the old ones.
 
I would totally do something like this, but the roadster market doesn't have that many additions here in Oklahoma.
 
Long story short, the car's gone. Have something different now. It'll get it's own thread. Still looking for something cheap and fun come February, too.
 
Looks like if all goes according to plan, going to be picking up this '96 Maxima this week for a whole thousand dollars.
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Anyone familiar with these cars?
 
Not sure if I can trust this seller or not. The search for the 1500-dollar and under beater continues.
 
disinfected
Looks like if all goes according to plan, going to be picking up this '96 Maxima this week for a whole thousand dollars.

Anyone familiar with these cars?

Some experience also. I work at a Nissan and Honda dealership and would be happy to ask around if you had any questions about either make.
 
Go for it, I've heard mostly good things about E30s but make sure it's not too beat up because it could become expensive
 
This one is verified in great shape. It has to be the most clean E30 I've laid my eyes upon in awhile. I just don't know a whole lot about them.
 
This one is verified in great shape. It has to be the most clean E30 I've laid my eyes upon in awhile. I just don't know a whole lot about them.

They are pretty great cars, if one can be had for a fair price. I often find people ask too much for them because they are a bit popular.

There is quite a bit of support for them, and some spec E30 races from what I recall. And should have enough power to have some fun with, depending on what tires you put on it.
 
Looks like someone is going to be picking this one up as I've been beaten to it unless this other guy backs out. It is getting more and more complicated for find a car under $3k.
 
Looks like someone is going to be picking this one up as I've been beaten to it unless this other guy backs out. It is getting more and more complicated for find a car under $3k.

Early E36s can probably be had for less than 3k, they are at about the same price of the E30s lately, with the E30s gaining popularity and classic car status
 
There are a few E36s around in that price range, but that puts me driving to Dallas to get a decent one.

This particular one is going for a price in my budget.
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The most problematic thing with E36s is probably that most of them if not all are modded (usually badly and tastelessly) and it's frequent that people don't maintain them as they should, but they are good cars from what I've seen.
 
From what I know, these cars tend to have problems with 1)cooling and 2)the VVT system (VANOS). If nothing has been changed in the cooling loop then everything should go if the car has over 150k or so (not sure abut specifics, read all this on an e36 forum) and all new cooling system should be put in. Not cheap, even if you do it yourself. By a shop? Forget it. Big Money Waster indeed.

And apparently the VANOS system tends to cause valve problems, not sure about the price on those fixes. If you get an early e36 then the motor will probably not have the VVT so you'll be fine there.
 
Going to go see a man about a 92' MR2. Apparently he also has a few other things I'd be interested in. I'll let you guys know what I come up with.

EDIT: The SW20 had to be the scariest sparking paint and yellow accented abomination I've ever seen. 1400 dollars is cheap for a running MR2, and would leave me plenty of left over budget, but I'd be embarrassed to drive it to the paint shop.
 
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Hate to dig this up, but I've been looking into e36's too with high miles (120k plus) for around the same budget and That surprises me. So these are cars to stay away from? It's a shame because they are nice and with gas prices a great sporty choice.
 
I'd be careful with an E30, I have a friend who once owned one and one day it randomly caught fire and was destroyed.
 
My search is over for now, putting this money back to invest in an RX-8 or 350Z this summer.
 
Going to try and convince my wife to let me go look at this sometime this week. They seem willing to negotiate.
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Good luck on the Z. It can be hard sometimes to convince the wife that the car you want is the car you need lol.
 
They ended up selling it out from under me the next day, then tried to put me in something else I didn't want.
 
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