Sporty car for less than 5 grand. Update: see 1st post!

[savage388]

Ok I'll start off saying that I'm 18 and have had my license for a while so I'm confident I won't kill myself. Second gas milage isn't a big issue as I currently get 15 mpg.
Ok now that's out of the way, I'm looking to get something sporty and quick once the snow thaws here in spring but I'm not too sure what to get. I'd like to get something that has cheap parts so an unexpected repair won't break me. I also absolutely hate front wheel drive because there no fun and just understeer, plus traction is an issue. I'm also torn between something that I'd store in winter like a third gen camaro, or a year round daily driver like an impreza 2.5 rs. Any help or suggestions would be nice.
Oh, p.s I know insurance is going to be insane as I already have points on my license for speeding
Update: Thanks to everyone that has contributed and after spending the winter thinking it through I've decided that a 3rd generation camaro is my best option for the simple fact that parts and cars are cheap and plentiful around here, even if finding a standard will be tough. So in that case any further input from owners or other knowledgable people would be appreciated. Local PA owners advice and or tip offs would be exceptionally helpful. Thanks .

 

[-Fred-]

In before the Miata.

However, if you think a FWD car is nothing but understeer and struggles with traction, you're not doing it right.

 

[motortrend]

/obligatory

 

[savage388]

In before the Miata.

However, if you think a FWD car is nothing but understeer and struggles with traction, you're not doing it right.

/obligatory

I was thinking about one but around here there very expensive somehow, and everyone thinks there chick cars even though they're fun little cars.

 

[xNEVER-ONEx]

Get the Mustang.

 

[motortrend]

How about a 240sx, they can go for 2-3k. I do second the mustang idea

 

[Schwartz]

go to coparts.com
There are some absolutely destroyed cars there but if you sort through them, you can find sporty cars in good shape for really really cheap. This may not be the perfect solution, but its something to check out. Also try cars.com
Anyway, maybe look for an older car in the Nissan Z series (240z, etc).

 

[-Fred-]

I was thinking about one but around here there very expensive somehow, and everyone thinks there chick cars even though they're fun little cars.

Anywhere you're bound to find snow, and I mean real snow, in the winter months, Miatas, and convertibles in general, are going to be pricier, because they're generally not used all year long, and as such don't rack up as much mileage, which usually means they're in better condition, usually being the key word here.

I personally think they're a bit over-hyped lately... they're not very practical, not very comfortable if you're anywhere near or over 6ft tall, it's a slow car by any matter, the handling isn't all that, to be honest, there's the whole chick car/mid life crisis stigma...

 

[Keef]

Miatas are cool precisely because big tough guys in their big tough trucks are too dumb and insecure to be seen in a proper sports car.

If you're not brave enough to get a Miata, then maybe you're hardcore enough to get an FC...

...but fair warning, you have to be a pretty awesome dude to hang with a car like that. Most people tend to think they're terrible (and they might be right) but I'll be damned if it's not an excellent sports car that still has some useful amenities, like cruise control. No cup holders though.

 

[savage388]

How about a 240sx, they can go for 2-3k. I do second the mustang idea

I haven't seen a 240sx in months for sale here, the mustang idea is nice, I prefer it's chevy rival if I can font one, but either would be ok

go to coparts.com
There are some absolutely destroyed cars there but if you sort through them, you can find sporty cars in good shape for really really cheap. This may not be the perfect solution, but its something to check out. Also try cars.com
Anyway, maybe look for an older car in the Nissan Z series (240z, etc).

ill have to look.👍

Anywhere you're bound to find snow, and I mean real snow, in the winter months, Miatas, and convertibles in general, are going to be pricier, because they're generally not used all year long, and as such don't rack up as much mileage, which usually means they're in better condition, usually being the key word here.

I personally think they're a bit over-hyped lately... they're not very practical, not very comfortable if you're anywhere near or over 6ft tall, it's a slow car by any matter, the handling isn't all that, to be honest, there's the whole chick car/mid life crisis stigma...

yea plus most convertibles/ sports cars here are owned by old guys Yea I'm looking for something that I could drive daily so a convertible isn't a great option. I'm not super concerned about power, but I want something with a little more torque than the car I learned to drive stick on, a 1.6 Suzuki It drove great but always downshifting and revving it up on hills gets old.
@keef I love the fc! But the thought of doing engine work on a rotary absolutely terrifies me.

 

[Keef]

@keef I love the fc! But the thought of doing engine work on a rotary absolutely terrifies me.

Nothing you might actually work on is any different than any other non-German car. Just change the oil often and pad your fuel budget and you're set.

 

[savage388]

Nothing you might actually work on is any different than any other non-German car. Just change the oil often and pad your fuel budget and you're set.

I haven't heard anything bad about them so I'll keep them in mind. Any things to look for or avoid other than the usual rust, smoke ect..?

 

[jdm0388]

Very European view here, but in the UK right now there are so many nice mid to late 90's BMW M3's for around 2-4 grand (British pounds) and some of them are convertible too

I recently bought a 2002 M3 and it's an absolute dream to drive.

When i lived in Australia a friend of mine had an Impreza, and though i never got to drive it, the thrill of acceleration felt from the passenger seat is enough for me tell you that you will have a good time driving it

 

[disinfected]

However, if you think a FWD car is nothing but understeer and struggles with traction, you're not doing it right.

What this guy said...

 

[RedTransAm]

My vote is for a 3rd gen Camaro, though I'm a bit biased...I have a 3rd gen Trans Am. You can easily get ahold of a nice one for under 5K. They're easy to work on, parts are plentiful and inexpensive. It's pretty easy to make them handle well, go fast, or both. Find one with Tuned Port Injection, don't waste your time or money on anything less. Either a 350 with an auto, or a 305 with a 5 speed. Or put a stick behind a TPI 350 like I did and you'll have one giggle-inducing, powersliding, burnout monster lol.

 

[disinfected]

My vote is for a 3rd gen Camaro, though I'm a bit biased...I have a 3rd gen Trans Am. You can easily get ahold of a nice one for under 5K. They're easy to work on, parts are plentiful and inexpensive. It's pretty easy to make them handle well, go fast, or both. Find one with Tuned Port Injection, don't waste your time or money on anything less. Either a 350 with an auto, or a 305 with a 5 speed. Or put a stick behind a TPI 350 like I did and you'll have one giggle-inducing, powersliding, burnout monster lol.

If you can find one that's not molested for a good price, you're a lucky guy.

 

[Keef]

Don't get one that's been tampered with mechanically, as per usual. Ask the owner about their oil change habits (short oil change intervals are vital to engine life) and ask if they've ever replaced the engine. General maintenance questions, etc. Drive it and make sure it works.

If it's really cold when you test drive one, it might not do the cold-start procedure properly. In moderately cold temps it will still do it, or if the engine is already slightly warm. That is, when you start it the revs should jump straight to 3000-4000 rpm for a short time, then settle down to 2000 or so as it warms up.

With the engine warm, rev it high to see that it doesn't struggle in high rpm. When you drive it, hammer it through the rev range to make sure you feel a VTEC-like power increase at either 4000 or 5500 rpm, depending on if it's an S4 (1986-88) or S5 (1989-1991) version. The S5 is the better version, btw.

Don't rev the engine very high when it's cold. Always cruise at low rpm until the coolant temps get close to normal. If the seller revs it cold showing off and whatnot, that's an indicator that they don't realize that can lead to premature engine wear beyond what any piston engine would experience.

The exhaust will probably smell strongly, and you might be able to smell or even see oil smoke after you start it. That's normal - rotaries inject and burn oil by design, sort of like a 2-cycle engine. Thus why you need to add a quart or so midway between oil changes. Speaking of the owner's habits, ask them if they do this because if they don't, then the engine might be been through low oil conditions even if it was changed at or before 3000 miles. Oil changes should be made no later than 3000 miles despite whatever official intervals you read, because clean oil is vital to the life of the internal seals, since it injects oil for combustion.

There are a few oddities about the the engine's operation, particularly the alarming startup routine, but you get used to it. Besides some funny smells and oil changes every Saturday, it works just like a normal car.

Speaking of normal car, if you want something that is practical and gets good gas mileage, don't get an RX7. My car is a pain in the ass but in the end nobody has anything bad to say about it because its more awesome than what they drive. Honda guys always say that too, but I'm actually right about it. I know this because I used to be a Honda guy, but then I became a man.

 

[savage388]

Very European view here, but in the UK right now there are so many nice mid to late 90's BMW M3's for around 2-4 grand (British pounds) and some of them are convertible too

I recently bought a 2002 M3 and it's an absolute dream to drive.

When i lived in Australia a friend of mine had an Impreza, and though i never got to drive it, the thrill of acceleration felt from the passenger seat is enough for me tell you that you will have a good time driving it

I wish I could find a BMW over here that would be very great.

My vote is for a 3rd gen Camaro, though I'm a bit biased...I have a 3rd gen Trans Am. You can get ahold of a nice one for under 5K. They're easy to work on, parts are plentiful and inexpensive. It's pretty easy to make them handle well, go fast, or both. Find one with Tuned Port Injection, don't waste your time or money on anything less. Either a 350 with an auto, or a 305 with a 5 speed. Or put a stick behind a TPI 350 like I did and you'll have one giggle-inducing, powersliding, burnout monster lol.

Honestly I really like them being a chevy guy, but finding a 5spd that hasn't had every bit of life put of it is much easier said than done. Then there is the whole what to do with all that torque in the winter.
@keef, thanks that is very helpful and I'm not worried about something kind of finicky , it's the sign of a proper older sports car, well a non German one.

 

[Schwartz]

This car looks nice, but I've always had a problem with the front end. It always looked kind of "vague" if that makes sense.

 

[-Fred-]

E30's seem like a good idea at first, they're great cars, great fun, reliable and relatively cheap.

But it's still a BMW, even if it's almost 30 years old. which means BMW maintenance prices should something go wrong. And something will go wrong, because it's almost 30 years old.

 

[RedTransAm]

Honestly I really like them being a chevy guy, but finding a 5spd that hasn't had every bit of life put of it is much easier said than done. Then there is the whole what to do with all that torque in the winter.

Preaching to the choir man, it took awhile to find mine because I originally wanted a 5 speed too. I settled for an auto with the 350 just because it was in nearly perfect condition, (Still plenty of fun to drive though!) then I swapped a 5 speed in later. But if you have to drive it in the snow, forget it, these things are absolutely useless if there's even a 1/4 inch of snow on the ground.

 

[MHPALA]

One of these ...

180SX

 

[savage388]

Preaching to the choir man, it took awhile to find mine because I originally wanted a 5 speed too. I settled for an auto with the 350 just because it was in nearly perfect condition, (Still plenty of fun to drive though!) then I swapped a 5 speed in later. But if you have to drive it in the snow, forget it, these things are absolutely useless if there's even a 1/4 inch of snow on the ground.

That's a slight issue as I've been looking at third gens, I'd like to not have to store it and buy a winter car, as money is tight. Also the t-5 is super weak, how does it handle the 350 in your case?

 

[motortrend]

E30's seem like a good idea at first, they're great cars, great fun, reliable and relatively cheap.

But it's still a BMW, even if it's almost 30 years old. which means BMW maintenance prices should something go wrong. And something will go wrong, because it's almost 30 years old.

This, if you're getting an E30, make sure you get a good one. You can get a good one for around that budget but just don't try to save by getting the one that is a bit worse because in the end it will be much more expensive. I remember seeing someone get an e30 for like 600 bucks, it ran for a while perfectly, but then it had some sort of subframe failure, which is expensive. So, like I said if you do want one of those, make sure it's a good one.

 

[Keef]

E30's seem like a good idea at first, they're great cars, great fun, reliable and relatively cheap.

But it's still a BMW, even if it's almost 30 years old. which means BMW maintenance prices should something go wrong. And something will go wrong, because it's almost 30 years old.

A buddy of mine is having random stalling issues with his automatic 1988.

"Did you check Jupiter's orbit? Sometimes Jupiter's orbit can be out of alignment and cause BMWs to stall randomely."

 

[Schwartz]

A buddy of mine is having random stalling issues with his automatic 1988.

"Did you check Jupiter's orbit? Sometimes Jupiter's orbit can be out of alignment and cause BMWs to stall randomely."

Do you mind if I put this quote in my signature?

 

[RedTransAm]

That's a slight issue as I've been looking at third gens, I'd like to not have to store it and buy a winter car, as money is tight. Also the t-5 is super weak, how does it handle the 350 in your case?

It's handling it just fine for now. It's been in there for a year, and it's probably seen about 10 passes at the track with no issue. And whenever I drive it, I'm not exactly easy on it either. That being said, its definitely not the strongest 5 speed out there, but it will hold up as long as you're not doing 5k clutch dumps on slicks lol. And don't even think about power shifting it!

 

[Cano]

just throwing another option here:

 

[Famine]

everyone thinks there chick cars

I'm sorry, I thought you were after a car for yourself but it looks like you're buying a car for "everyone" instead.

 

[CMvan46]

Go reliable. I think your dreaming a bit thinking your going to find a high powered RWD in good shape. Seems like a big waste of money to me for a summer car. Especially because I agree with with famine in that I think your probably wanting that car to show others.