If you had around $10k to spend on a used car, what would you choose?

[Actaeon]

Originally posted by: TekDemon
Well I guess if you want gobs of power, and some style you're gonna have to either go a bit older to get it under $10K, or have to sacrifice something. Or I suppose you can buy American for the devaluation although I don't really think many of those cars are gonna be all that fun to drive...
*thinks*
LOL buy a CL and rice up the rear with some Altezzas so it looks far worse than it currently does! =)

You're right, I may just go "American Muscle".

Around the $8k range, I get into LS1 F-Body territory. Plenty of them, and 300+HP...

Insurance is just rape though...

 

[boyRacer]

More pics of gregshin's car... or you could go american if you want to play with torque.

 

[Actaeon]

Originally posted by: boyRacer
More pics of gregshin's car... or you could go american if you want to play with torque.

Very nice!

Don't like the exhaust tip though.

I'm still stuck on which car to get .

 

[TekDemon]

yeah I'm not down with the coffee can ricer tip either...but I dig the rims on that car. heh you can tell he curbed the front bumper on the right side though hehe.

The problem with american muscle is that while there's gobs of power, you don't always have all that much handling prowess. And they're usually pretty hefty cars as far as weight goes...so your auto-xing would probably require some modifications to the suspension before you'd get anywhere heh. Of course, if you forget about the auto-x stuff, in daily driving you're probably not supposed to go quite that fast around the corners, but personally that's where I get my driving thrills from, although not so much anymore since I drive a Camry LE now, lol.

Still, I'd probably be able to take a corner better than say, a Mustang. Which is kinda sad.

But then again since you could probably buy american muscle pretty cheap you can probably do some serious stuff for the suspension to get it up to snuff for whatever kind of insane cornering you want to do =p

 

[HiTek21]

Toyota MR2 Turbo

Edmunds.com

 

[boyRacer]

Originally posted by: TekDemon
yeah I'm not down with the coffee can ricer tip either...but I dig the rims on that car. heh you can tell he curbed the front bumper on the right side though hehe.

The problem with american muscle is that while there's gobs of power, you don't always have all that much handling prowess. And they're usually pretty hefty cars as far as weight goes...so your auto-xing would probably require some modifications to the suspension before you'd get anywhere heh. Of course, if you forget about the auto-x stuff, in daily driving you're probably not supposed to go quite that fast around the corners, but personally that's where I get my driving thrills from, although not so much anymore since I drive a Camry LE now, lol.

Still, I'd probably be able to take a corner better than say, a Mustang. Which is kinda sad.

Those domestics arent bad at all really... the idea that they suck at road courses isnt really true... mustangs and firebirds were kicking ass in the speedvision cup against supras, bmws and the like... of course the rx7s kicked more ass... but only if they lasted. It's all about driver is what i say.

<--- RX-7 fanboy

 

[Nocturnal]

I'm into Hondas, so sue me. I'd purchase a 1992-1995 Honda Civic Hatchback Si edition. I'd then purchase a B16 engine with roughly 20k miles on it. The Honda, if I'm lucky, I can score for roughly $2-3k. The engine itself, $2k. Labor and the like, $500.00. I just got myself a used car, with probably well over 100k, and a new engine which will last another ten years for $5500.00. I'd also probably have to replace the water pump and timing belt which would be another few hundred. But I'd have well under the amount given to spend.

I know you aren't interested in doing this but you asked and I replied.

 

[TekDemon]

Originally posted by: boyRacer

Originally posted by: TekDemon
yeah I'm not down with the coffee can ricer tip either...but I dig the rims on that car. heh you can tell he curbed the front bumper on the right side though hehe.

The problem with american muscle is that while there's gobs of power, you don't always have all that much handling prowess. And they're usually pretty hefty cars as far as weight goes...so your auto-xing would probably require some modifications to the suspension before you'd get anywhere heh. Of course, if you forget about the auto-x stuff, in daily driving you're probably not supposed to go quite that fast around the corners, but personally that's where I get my driving thrills from, although not so much anymore since I drive a Camry LE now, lol.

Still, I'd probably be able to take a corner better than say, a Mustang. Which is kinda sad.

Those domestics arent bad at all really... the idea that they suck at road courses isnt really true... mustangs and firebirds were kicking ass in the speedvision cup against supras, bmws and the like... of course the rx7s kicked more ass... but only if they lasted. It's all about driver is what i say.

<--- RX-7 fanboy

lol, I don't think those are stock Mustangs =p or firebirds. I'm pretty certain that the stock suspension setup on a stang wouldn't hold up all that great in a race. If you think a Stock Mustang Cobra can outhandle say, a Stock BMW M3....

Well, I dunno...but I think as far as the car's handling prowess goes I'd give it to the M3. The stang would have gobs more torque though...and the M3 isn't all that light either...but I'd think they'd be pretty evenly matched speed wise actually.

Anyway obviously once you change the suspension out everything changes in regards to handling, so not much point to all this.
Don't get me wrong though, I love a torquey powerful monstrosity of a V8 =p But I just don't think a stock muscle car handles all that great around the corners.

 

[lowfatbaconboy]

Those domestics arent bad at all really... the idea that they suck at road courses isnt really true... mustangs and firebirds were kicking ass in the speedvision cup against supras, bmws and the like... of course the rx7s kicked more ass... but only if they lasted. It's all about driver is what i say.

uh is the speedvision cup allow modification to suspension and such?
or are they all bone stock?

cuz if they were all bone stock id be really surprised at that

but i do know what ya mean about driver skill.....
in autoX ive seen decent 200-220hp cars beat the ever living crap out of a 400-500 hp car almost completely designed for autoX

 

[TekDemon]

Originally posted by: lowfatbaconboy

but i do know what ya mean about driver skill.....
in autoX ive seen decent 200-220hp cars beat the ever living crap out of a 400-500 hp car almost completely designed for autoX

haha...I wonder if the driver of the 400-500 HP car is one of those people who goes out and buys every possible performance mod for AutoX before actually learning to AutoX in a stock/near stock car.
But yeah, if you don't know how to drive it's obviously not gonna let you win any races. I think I saw that silly Japanese video where the two AE86 corollas are racing the Skyline GT-R in a road course and they smoke it by out-cornering it through every turn.

 

[boyRacer]

Originally posted by: TekDemon

Originally posted by: boyRacer

Originally posted by: TekDemon
yeah I'm not down with the coffee can ricer tip either...but I dig the rims on that car. heh you can tell he curbed the front bumper on the right side though hehe.

The problem with american muscle is that while there's gobs of power, you don't always have all that much handling prowess. And they're usually pretty hefty cars as far as weight goes...so your auto-xing would probably require some modifications to the suspension before you'd get anywhere heh. Of course, if you forget about the auto-x stuff, in daily driving you're probably not supposed to go quite that fast around the corners, but personally that's where I get my driving thrills from, although not so much anymore since I drive a Camry LE now, lol.

Still, I'd probably be able to take a corner better than say, a Mustang. Which is kinda sad.

Those domestics arent bad at all really... the idea that they suck at road courses isnt really true... mustangs and firebirds were kicking ass in the speedvision cup against supras, bmws and the like... of course the rx7s kicked more ass... but only if they lasted. It's all about driver is what i say.

<--- RX-7 fanboy

lol, I don't think those are stock Mustangs =p or firebirds. I'm pretty certain that the stock suspension setup on a stang wouldn't hold up all that great in a race. If you think a Stock Mustang Cobra can outhandle say, a Stock BMW M3....

Well, I dunno...but I think as far as the car's handling prowess goes I'd give it to the M3. The stang would have gobs more torque though...and the M3 isn't all that light either...but I'd think they'd be pretty evenly matched speed wise actually.

Anyway obviously once you change the suspension out everything changes in regards to handling, so not much point to all this.
Don't get me wrong though, I love a torquey powerful monstrosity of a V8 =p But I just don't think a stock muscle car handles all that great around the corners.

i dont think the imports had stock suspension either... =P heres what i found... but live rear axles or not... pony cars are still pretty damn good. i'm not a domestic fanboy or anything... since like i said i'm an RX-7 fan... but all these guys spending big money on fast cars... or ricing up their civics... they should really put that money on performance driving school... they'd have a lot more fun... and be a lot faster too.

 

[PeeluckyDuckee]

Take your top 3, or top 5 choices if you can't narrow it down, and take each of them out on a test drive. Get a feel of what it's like in each car, then decide for yourself.

The Prelude is no great performer off the line, but I like it's handling a lot. Hugs the road and corners very well. Turns on a dime.

 

[BigPappaBuck]

Check out www.thirdgen.org the message boards are great reading. With 10,000 dollars and some time and knowledge you would be able to have a great early 90's Z-28. They came with five speeds and there suspensions are very cheap to upgrade compared to other cars. Right now prices are really low on these cars a 91 Z in good shape with 60,000 miles can be had for 4 thousand dollars. With 6,000 dollars in mods this car will easily hang with a new z06 at both the dragstrip and the autocross course. There are guys pulling 1.07 g's on the road corses, the only way you could do that with a civic is to slam it into a wall j/k. That's if you do most of the work yourself and know somebody that can build a mean smallblock chevy for cheap. The 350 horse small block in my 37 chevy was built for 600 dollars. You would need more horespower than that to keep up to a z06 though but 1500 in an engine would do it. The aftermarket for these cars is huge. Plus it has the most popular powerplant of all time dun dun dun .... the small block chevy. C'mon stay domestic man the car is at that age where insurance is really cheap too if you have a good driving record.

www.summitracing.com
www.jegs.com
www.yearone.com
www.globalwest.com

 

[Actaeon]

Originally posted by: BigPappaBuck
Check out www.thirdgen.org the message boards are great reading. With 10,000 dollars and some time and knowledge you would be able to have a great early 90's Z-28. They came with five speeds and there suspensions are very cheap to upgrade compared to other cars. Right now prices are really low on these cars a 91 Z in good shape with 60,000 miles can be had for 4 thousand dollars. With 6,000 dollars in mods this car will easily hang with a new z06 at both the dragstrip and the autocross course. There are guys pulling 1.07 g's on the road corses, the only way you could do that with a civic is to slam it into a wall j/k. That's if you do most of the work yourself and know somebody that can build a mean smallblock chevy for cheap. The 350 horse small block in my 37 chevy was built for 600 dollars. You would need more horespower than that to keep up to a z06 though but 1500 in an engine would do it. The aftermarket for these cars is huge. Plus it has the most popular powerplant of all time dun dun dun .... the small block chevy. C'mon stay domestic man the car is at that age where insurance is really cheap too if you have a good driving record.

www.summitracing.com
www.jegs.com
www.yearone.com
www.globalwest.com

Thanks, I already looked up 3rd Gen F-bodies though. The 235hp version only came in an automatic, and the 205hp was the manual. I figured, if I was to go the Fbody route, I might as well go for an LT1 instead. They are a bit too old for my taste too, something newer is nice.

Thanks for the very detailed response, and I'm considering doing the same thing with the 4th gen fbody though.

 

[BigPappaBuck]

Go for it the 4th gen is even a better platform to build on but the speed parts for the LT1 are a little more expensive than the TPI cars are the prices places want for LS1 speed parts are just insane 400 dollars for a cam!!!!

 

[KokomoGST]

Since you liked the suggestion of the 1G Eclipse/Talon/Laser and someone else suggested the 2nd gens... the natural step after that to make it a 4dr is... well, a preEvo... uhhh... Evo... iow, the Galant VR4. Rare car indeed but has the same 6bolt 4G63T in the other DSMs.

Also, my current picks for good used cars that aren't the typical Japanese sports cars... MR2, 240SX, etcetc are:
The original late 80s/early90s BMW E30 M3... raw, amazing, and classic.
The underdog rival to the original M3, the Merc 190E 2.5 16 Cosworth... it's hyper-rare but if you can find one, it's got Cosworth on it! And it also won German Touring Car championships and goes like stink just like the E30 M3.
Last because it happens to be a VW and thus of shady reliability is the Corrado with a 2.9L VR6, drives great... good aftermarket... excellent car despite FWD. Parts a bit more readily available than a rare Merc or Bimmer.

 

[Siddhartha]

There is a really clean 1995 Lexus SC400 in an used car that is has a $12595 sign in the windshield.

 

[WinkOsmosis]

What is Initial D? I've never heard of him and I have a 240sx.

 

[Actaeon]

Originally posted by: WinkOsmosis
What is Initial D? I've never heard of him and I have a 240sx.

I believe its a racing Anime cartoon.

Not 100% sure though.

 

[boyRacer]

Originally posted by: Actaeon

Originally posted by: WinkOsmosis
What is Initial D? I've never heard of him and I have a 240sx.

I believe its a racing Anime cartoon.

Not 100% sure though.

Yeah it is... its pretty cool... focus on drifting... and since that is the new trend... hell everyone wants to drift now. :frown:

 

[Actaeon]

Holy crap! An insurance quote for a 1998 240sx is more than a Z28 Camaro! (For me at least, but anything I buy the insurance will be high).

Wow, is there any reason for this?

EDIT: 1998 Z28

 

[SuperGroove]

I don't see how anyone can feasibly recommend a 240SX for performance reasons over a Camaro or Mustang because:
A)In order to make 200HP on the stock block, a lot of costly modifications are needed
B)The "easiest" solution to make 200HP, involves swapping in an illegal engine
C)Solution B "should" be a pain to continually put through emissions
D)There is no replacement for displacement.

If anyone says the 240SX is a better performance solution because it handles better than the Camaro or Mustang, that is just plain ignorance. But of course, I like the overall aesthetics and build quality of the 240SX over the Pony Cars.

Paul
-thinks the 240SX, the Supra, and pretty much all Japanese "Sports Cars" are overrated.

 

[SuperGroove]

Oh yeah, if I had 10K, I'd buy a 951 or an E30 M3. I've driven both, and I'm thinking I would take the 951 for the power potential...but I love the way the E30 M3 entices me to push it faster through the corners. The E30 m3 was just a blast to ring through a curvy mountain road...

Anyways, neither are as brutally fast as a Camaro or Mustang, nor as potentially fast as a SR20DET'd car...but I've driven both, and character wins over power for me...at least most of time.

Paul
-then again, my favorite engine is a small block 350...too bad I think the Camaro is too big.

 

[OS]

Originally posted by: WinkOsmosis
What is Initial D? I've never heard of him and I have a 240sx.

It's this anime where a tofu delivery driver in an old skool corolla hands everyone (rx7, skyline, silvia, mr2, evo) their asses in road racing.

 

[Gerbil333]

My mom bought a used 2001 Honda Civic 5spd about a month or two months ago for roughly that price. She had shoulder surgery right before Christmas, which makes driving a stick a bit difficult. Since she can't drive it, I've been driving it instead of my car (93 Eagle Talon 5spd). The Civic drives pretty smooth, and for only 4 cyclinders, it packs a lot of power. It came with a tint, and it's a fairly sharp looking car. I couldn't tell it was used.