Ten desirable used cars that are impossible to find

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JCE
And come go think about it my '98 200SX SE-R was rare and desirable. :lol:
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I had a '98 SE-R, but it was an automatic. :(

Then was later totaled. :(:(
 
Dodge Rampage, it is true, I haven't seen one of those in ages.
 
Lmao, the Izuzu Impulse. I have to forward that article to my friend. He bought one for $100.00 in hopes to get it running. Before he bought it, it sat for almost 12 years and didn't move. I doesnt crank, but the exteror and interior are fine.
 
Quite a bargain! :sly:
 
For Nissan enthusiasts, the NX2000 is a pretty sweet car... it had the best brakes of the SR20-powered compacts (there's a big demand for them for swapping into other Nissans), it had a nice body, it had the best handling... but it's not as desirable to the Nisso-philes as the equally hard-to-find pristine B13 SE-R.

Both are rustbuckets, hence the hard-to-find part.

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Isuzu Impulse. Man... rare. I actually saw one a few years back being restored... fancy stuff... Boggles the mind that with billions in engineering resources and the ability to build absolutely impractical cars, the new "MINI" doesn't copy the equal-length axle design that made these cars so unique.

Would probably help with the rampant torque-steer endemic to every MINI north of 120 hp....
 
Is the Impulse really that good of a car? I can consider it for my first car when I turn 16 (all the cars in my home are slushomatics). Especially at just over $2K - even I can pay for that myself.
 
I actually saw an Fiat X1/9 on craigslist not so long ago. The top half of the car was fine but all the metal around the rocker panels was in the process of rusting apart. It wasn't beyond saving though.
 
The Second Gen Impulse was the Impreza WRX before the Impreza WRX was a thing. If you can find a nice one, definitely worth it.




The first gen was basically just "let's find something for Lotus to do since we own them anyway," so it's also pretty nice.
 
Antonisbob
Dodge Rampage, it is true, I haven't seen one of those in ages.
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There's actually a couple on my street who own a red and black one. I'll try and take a picture if I can remember to do so.
 
R1600Turbo
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The Mazda behind is laughing at it...

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1990-1995 Eunos Cosmo. Triple rotor. Twin turbo. 280bhp. Do want.

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A late 90 Subaru WRX Wagon.
At least in North America they would be almost impossible to find in original condition.
And any stock, manual, 240sx.
 
RockRoadKid
Who wouldn't like a girl named Jessica in an X1/9? :sly:

My sister is a big TR7 fan. She was going to buy one (of the very few available around here) about 3 years ago, but a mechanic friend of hers got her all rattled with a bunch of horror stories, so she didn't buy it. Still kicking herself.
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The TR7 is a fine car for a driver. For a resto project....Not so much.
They are entirely too complex, and not as well constructed as the TR-3 and TR-4 that preceded them by 2 decades.

I had a friend that had one back in the '80's. As I recall, it was a nimble, fun to drive little car that, for a sports car, wasn't a contortionist's torture trap to get into and out of.

Found that out firsthand when we had to do a Chinese fire drill, between two cars to get onto the Navy base where I was stationed.

Your sister shouldn't be too disappointed though. Now days it would be interesting to find someone to keep the thing running. And it wouldn't be cheap.

In her position then, I would have gone looking for a Miata.
They get a lot of flak for being a "chick car", but truth is the Miata was styled (looks, handling and performance) after the venerable Lotus Elan.
It is the most raced car in the US, at any level. And the thing is near bulletproof mechanically, and easy to fix (cost wise, and procedure wise) if it does break.

Bopop4
A late 90 Subaru WRX Wagon.
At least in North America they would be almost impossible to find in original condition.
And any stock, manual, 240sx.
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Those cars are both Yetis.
Reputed to exist, never seen.
 
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Gil
The TR7 is a fine car for a driver.
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It's a terrible driver's car. They all need ground up restoration before you can drive them...
 
The BMW 8 Series is starting to get harder to find - a quick Autotrader search only reveals 8 for sale in all of Canada. It's a shame because they're awfully cheap for such nice cars, and I haven't seen one on the road in years.
 
There are dozens of desirable used cars that are difficult to find in the UK, but these two are pretty rare off the top of my head, and both were great cars in their day:

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Top image is the Peugeot 405 Mi16, the bottom is the Citroen BX GTi.

Contrary to what you might expect, French cars don't tend to be rare because they rust away (they tend to be thrashed to merry hell instead and just give up on life), and the two above weren't even renowned for breaking down. Instead, it's because both those cars used a 16v version of the 8v 1.9 four-cylinder found in the Peugeot 205 GTI. It produced about 30bhp more (to 160 from 130) and as such, it proved an easy swap for people into 205s.

So essentially, the two larger cars have been dying out because everyone nicks their engines for the 205.

There are apparently only 39 of the BX GTi 16v left on UK roads (with a few more 8v GTis), and 39 of the Peugeot too.
 
homeforsummer
There are apparently only 39 of the BX GTi 16v left on UK roads (with a few more 8v GTis), and 39 of the Peugeot too.
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Seriously? That few? I can remember my friend's dad had a BX GTi back when I was in high school. My Dad's Granada Scorpio was way cooler back then though.
 
Famine
It's a terrible driver's car. They all need ground up.
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I liked the TR7, but then I grew up...
 
PureAwesomeness
Seriously? That few? I can remember my friend's dad had a BX GTi back when I was in high school. My Dad's Granada Scorpio was way cooler back then though.
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Yup, they've all had their engines nicked for other stuff. It's a shame, the BX was one of the last of the truly quirky Citroens. Designed by Marcello Gandini (Miura, Countach, Stratos etc), which is more than can be said for the Granada :D
 
Euro spec- Supra's, NSX and Rx-7 are really hard to find and expensive

BMW M series
and Impreza WRX sti

not that hard to find, but hard if you want a good one without a chav having worked on the engine (a big number has been overriced or exchange engine, which is not a good sign of treatement by past owners)
 
Saw one of these this morning. Rare? Yes. Desirable? Maybe.

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Saleen... Explorer?


Is that like how people always swap Mustang drivetrains into Rangers?






Edit: Now that I've looked it up, I don't get it. Ford would sell you an Explorer of that generation with the 5.0 in it installed from the factory. What was the point?
 
What your really want is the supercharged Shelby Durango.

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Toronado
Edit: Now that I've looked it up, I don't get it. Ford would sell you an Explorer of that generation with the 5.0 in it installed from the factory. What was the point?
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No idea. Same as the Saleen Focus too, who knows.
 
The Saleen Focus was sold with a nitrous system, which I find rather interesting.
 
I remember the Saleen Explorer from Test Drive Off-Road 2.
 
Toronado
Saleen... Explorer?


Is that like how people always swap Mustang drivetrains into Rangers?






Edit: Now that I've looked it up, I don't get it. Ford would sell you an Explorer of that generation with the 5.0 in it installed from the factory. What was the point?
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The basic XP8 only has another 10-15hp, but the hopped up version has over 280hp.

Of course you can mod a Ford 5.0 dirt cheap.
 
Famine
It's a terrible driver's car. They all need ground up restoration before you can drive them...
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Let me qualify that statement.
If you find one in really good condition, it's an ok driver.
Granted, it's easier to find a gun in a Quaker colony.

The only one I ever drove was in the early 80's.
I was enamored of the girl that owned it. But then, she also drove a Ford Bronco with a 5 liter straight 6. I liked it better.

If I was in a hurry to own a Triumph, It'd be a TR-4. Even with the fussy top.
No it isn't as desirable as a TR2 or TR3, but I like them.
 
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