Title pretty much says all. Need a car, max budget of 15k but probably somewhere around 8-12k.
something thats reliable and fun to drive.
Want RWD or AWD, not a fan of FWD(sorry)
saloon or coupe
manual preferably

Been lookin at e46's and eagle eye STi's and Hawk eye WRX's.


What should i be looking for? cars or manufacturers to stay away?
Suggestions.


Let me know.
Thanks.

Wow, Mr. Baller .. You have a lot of money in hand. That opens a lot of options for you. What are you into? 2-door? Hatches? 4-door?

this rich guys said 2 door or a 4 door.

idk if id want my car to have eyes of its own haha. personally, id spend like 6k on a nice clean swapped S chassis or something and take the rest of the money and save it for oil pans and whatnot haha

Depends if you want a daily driver or your looking for a project to build something. For that much money you can build a pretty nice s chassis. Or you can just pick up a clean daily driver lower it and wheels.

buy a clean 95 240sx se, swap it, slam it, and fit it = track car. and get a bugeye subaru hatch, slam it and fit it = dd. you could have both for less than 15k if you are patient and find the deals. winning combination.

thanks guys. only looking for one car, thinkin more towards a e46 330ci and some new wheels and springs( or coils if i can fund them). what you guys think?

slammed e36 m3s are sweet.........and s2k's are sweet to

really looking into s2k;s now. Feel safer with a jap made car. How reliable are s2k's? any well known issues?

Thoughts on this S2K?

if your leaning to something in the mix of a sti or 3 series, i'd say the legacy gt. they are quick if you get the turbo'd one but are still really nice inside, and not every kid has one. would be unique and they look pretty sleek.

s2k's are awesome. basicaly anything honda you can almost guarantee you're making a good purchase. just hold out, ive been seeing ap1's go for as low as 10-12k.
dunno why you'd want an ap2.

AP2 > AP1 , for sure..

That's an AP1 on that CL ad, pretty good price. S2k's are real good, no major problems at all.. Just keep up with maintenance and use the right octane gas, and you'll be golden.

Edit: Here's a little inspiration on getting one..


Oh and the s2k community is really nice and friendly. http://www.s2ki.com/
Real fun car to drive in as well, it's basically an upgraded version of a Miata.

Edit2: Those two Suzuka Blue S2k's are both AP2, just FYI.

yeah i havent heard of any problems..... my aunt had one and it was such a fun car to drive and they look amazing and she never had any problems with it. the only reason why she ever traded it in was because my uncle owns a construction business and needed a work truck. both my uncle and aunt truly miss it today, seriously lol (hers was an ap2 btw)

I say STi/WRX, I was in the same predicament as you.
I wanted an S2000 but I would hate not having a back seat. A clean bugeye rex can be found for under 8K if you look.
Don't have mine yet since I don't have all dat skrilla just yet, lol

dont be fooled, going to 9 grand rather than 8 makes it more worth it.

I vote S2K. My roommate's was supercharged and it was a ton of fun to drive.

I went to an S2K meet a couple years ago and I've wanted one ever since.

ive driven both & can honestly say that ap1<ap2. ap2 has stiffer suspension, and is way nicer to drive around town w/all the added torque. ntm, that the ap1 just really didnt feel fast until you were @ 5k due to the lack of torque. idk, just my 2cents. drive them both back to back & see which one you prefer

I heard that ap1 has some snap oversteer problems when driving near the edge, but it may just be user error, I'm not sure

Thinking more about an e46 now, really have decided only 2 doors/2 seats would be a drag considering this will be my only car, and my daily.

4 or 2 door?

e46 m3 over anything posted so far.

Thought i wanted one of those until i realized how much maintenance is involved with a high mileage M car. Plus state farm would ass rape me.

BMW e46 is what im on the hunt for. ZHP, Manual, Facelifted...

If it's in the budget, go for it. I like zhps. Just make sure it's LOW haha There was a kid in town who had an imola red one, I thought it looked pretty cool and It was also really loud. Straight pipes on BMW inline 6s is pretty cool sounding. Different for sure.

If it were me with the same budget, I'd opt for an e36M and make it cool. Wheels, a drop and other suspension stuff and it'd be dope, and probably cost less than a a nice stock e46 zhp... but that's just me.

Alright so plans have changed once again. no more ZHP (to rare, and pricey), just looking for a ZSP (sport package) 330i or 325i now. in manual of course.

Im also still open to your guys thoughts, not 100% set on a e46, what ever i end up with must be RWD though

Now im looking in wrx's again(04-05), probably going to either end up with a wrx or an e46 ZSP sedan

350z or g35? NEW MIATA!!!

Not feelin the new miata's and 350z/g35 insurance is a killer. and i really need 4 doors.

the subie is still an option.

check insurance on a legacy gt.. its cheap as hell compared to a wrx or sti
and its 4 doors and awd like you wanted.

Definitely going to look into a legacy gt. how would a gt compare to a regular wrx performance wise>?

The gt is faster in a straight line, also I believe it has the sti 6 speed.(you definitely want this) However the gt doesn't handle quite as well as a wrx, but it can be improved easily. The gt will also be significantly cheaper to insure as well.

I want to punch you right now.

never liked the e46 besides the m3.. stock they feel too heavy and don't have enough feedback in the steering from what I remember. If I were you and if this was my own money I would buy something less than 5k and build it the way you want it. older cars have more character and are more rewarding when you fix them yourself.

never mind, just realized you wanted something reliable...

He has a budget that allows to fix a bimmer when it decides to break. You don't. A $3K bimmer will be $3K quality. Good e36s sell for 7-8 still.

I don't care, I want to punch you.

He sold it anyway, Mike Essa ended up buying it as a DD.

Looked into legacy gt's and they still might be a possibility however i really dont need a turbo and awd. if i find a good deal on a low mileage one then i might go with that.

However, most likely am going to end up with a 3 series, manual, 4 door.

really never saw the appeal of the e36 or e46. when i think of e36 i think of 90's beverly hills bitch with hazed over headlights and old paint. e46 looks alright but so pricey and sound horrible.

Well i'm back and i seem to change my mind everyday or if im lucky every other day.
Here's what i'm thinking about right now:

1. MBZ W203 (don't hate, they are some of the most reliable mercs every produced and there looks have really grown on me, and a friend of mines dad can get used ones at wholesale)

2. E46 sedan (still am a bit hesitant of there reliability, if i do go with a e46 its going to be a face lifted one hands down, pre-facelift are problematic)

3. WRX 04-05 (i just cant get over the bug eyes they just don't do it for me, i really want an STi but insurance would be way to much and there just to pricey)


4. Legacy GT (not the best looking IMO but they seem to be growing on me, plus there cheap compared to a WRX, and its not something you see everyday also seems like somewhat of a sleeper)

5. Mk4 R32 (GTI's have really grown on me looks wise, but i just cant get over the fact that there FWD that why im thinking about and R32 but they are pricey and hard to find, Lets just put it this way if GTI's were RWD i would be driving one right now no questions asked)

6. E30 (i still have a soft spot in my heart for a clean ass e30 sedan or coupe, If it could fine a low low mileage one for a good deal than i might go for that and spent the rest on coilovers, wheels, and other small goodies)

7. MBZ W201 16V (this is a big maybe, if i were to go the old car route i would probably just go with an e30, but the 16 valve cosworth's have really grown on me and i could deff see my self driving one, just worried about problems that would be quite costly to fix because of them being somewhat rare.)

Thoughts? I'm lost and my brain hurts from over thinking this, is there any cars that i'm missing that are obviously what i want?

#5. Don't think about it. Just do it.

dude you want such a broad array of cars i dont think your going to get any vast majority of people agreeing with you on one.

why dont you buy what makes you happy?

Miata NA - $2000
Finding some way to convert that shit to a 4 door - $4000.
Being a boss for pulling it off - Priceless.
Fuck yeah.

So i updated my list after thinking about it for a while. thoughts?

that would be legit

Alright so I've narrowed it down some more, and added one...
Thoughts?

Here's what i'm thinking about right now:

1. E46 Sedan (Still am a bit hesitant of there reliability, if i do go with a e46 its going to be a face lifted one hands down, pre-facelift are problematic)

2. MBZ W203 (don't hate, they are some of the most reliable mercs every produced and there looks have really grown on me, and a friend of mines dad can get used ones at wholesale, would be looking for the NA 2.6L)

3. Lexus IS300 (Always liked these but just never really looked into them that much, the only issue is going to be finding one in manual, there basically non existent)

4. WRX 04-05 (I just cant get over the bug eyes they just don't do it for me, I really want an STi but insurance would be way to much and there just to pricey)

Thoughts?
I'm most likely going to end up with 1-3, only leaving option 4 on the list because I have a soft spot for subbies.

get the benz. theyre sweet and not as many people have done em compared to the rest of the cars you listed. i personally like some of the more square mid to early 90s ones better though. plus if you can get one cheap youll have money for slamming and newer AMG wheels then look brutal and call it a day.

mercedes are nice cars but i HATE trying to work on them.

and there is a reason i HATE mercedes. you ever touch an engine wiring harness and have it crumble on you?

how bout a sensor that makes the tail lights slightly brighter when its foggy, so when that sensor goes out the tail lights are on permanently!

garbage.

i wouldnt tell someone i wished death upon to buy a mercedes.

Yeah that was the plan, might try to get my hands on some LM's or LMR's or c63 wheels, my choices for coilovers are somewhat limited is the only thing. but im deff going to keep my eye out at the auctions for a good deal.



Well yes these are german cars, not japanese made so they do have there little issues, but im willing to work around them, thanks for your opinion.

its the same bosch garbage that VW and bmw use so yeah there are some headaches but whatever. i like old vw's.

vintage mercedes are cool. the old 300 sel 6.3 is one of my favorite cars to be completely honest.
doesnt mean i would buy one to drive around everday knowing i'd have to replace parts on it.

your never going to get people to agree with your vehicle choice so id say buy what you want and form your own opinion.

this thread is really pretty pointless

bump.
Funds will be fully available at the begging of September/end of August.