Choosing sporting car under $15,000

[msi1337]

Hello car guys!

wondered what the recommendation would be for a good used sporty car for under $15,000. My wife lost her job and I ended up needing a car right at the same time and I ended up in a 2015 Honda Fit (which is fine, but lacks power). I am considering either buying a used sporty car for under $15k, or trading in the Fit and getting a newer (probably not brand new) one. If I trade in the Fit, I will need a car that has access to a back seat (so no 350z)

My interests are:
must be manual tranny
prefer Japanese over American Muscle
Brand preferences are Honda, Nissan, and Mazda (I realize this isn't Japanese)

I have looked at:
RX8, S2000, Integra Type R, 350Z,

I have driven:
RX8, Challenger SXT, Integra Type R,

 

[SSSnail]

Lolwut Mazda isn't Japanese?

Also I'm confused, you said no 350z, then 350z... Huh?

 

[Wuzup101]

You've hit a lot of the options if you want to stay Japanese. Also add the Miata, Evo, WRX/STI, maybe a 240SX. Not Japanese but maybe check out the genesis coupe.

If you want to ditch your fit, the new WRX is very nice and has a very useable back seat. If you keep the fit and go with the 15k budget... s2000 would be my personal choice.

 

[Subyman]

He said if he goes over 15K then he will need a car with a back seat because he would trade in his Fit.

A family member owned a 350Z and I didn't care for it. The manual was clunky and visibility was terrible. The interior felt cheap as well and the engine is unrefined. It howled in the upper rpm range.

A friend has the Honda S2000 and its a great car. Tight, fun to drive. Nice leather. Great transmission and a very sporty engine. The car looks nice too. I'd definitely consider one as you can get a nice used one in your price range without an problem.

RX8 is much like the 350z only better. It is a bigger car and doesn't feel like a sporty roadster. Its more like a sporty coupe instead of a sports car. It is down on power but fun to drive.

Miata would be fun, but they are low on power especially when compared to an S2000. IMO the S2000 is more car.

Japanese vs American is hard to compare. They are completely different. One is lower power but smaller while the other is high power and big. They are different experiences that only you can decide on. I've driven a Viper, C6/7 Corvette, newer model Mustang, and Camaro. None compare to the 350Z or S2000, just a totally different feel.

My family also owned a Porsche Boxster and I really liked that car. The feel was smooth and the power/sound was very satisfying. The Boxster gives you a little taste of that exotic feeling while still being very affordable. You can pick up used Boxsters in your price range, but I'd be very picky. Repairs aren't that bad compared to other sports cars either.

 

[Imported]

You can get a used 350Z for under $15k.. You could also probably get a used G35 coupe for under that as well. Hell, I picked up a 2005 in 2010/2011 I think for $18k.

S2000 or Miata if you want a convertible.

 

[Harrod]

I'd go S2000 or 350z, while Integras are fun cars, the bad attention a type-r would bring isn't worth it.

 

[pauldun170]

Hello car guys!

wondered what the recommendation would be for a good used sporty car for under $15,000. My wife lost her job and I ended up needing a car right at the same time and I ended up in a 2015 Honda Fit (which is fine, but lacks power). I am considering either buying a used sporty car for under $15k, or trading in the Fit and getting a newer (probably not brand new) one. If I trade in the Fit, I will need a car that has access to a back seat (so no 350z)

My interests are:
must be manual tranny
prefer Japanese over American Muscle
Brand preferences are Honda, Nissan, and Mazda (I realize this isn't Japanese)

I have looked at:
RX8, S2000, Integra Type R, 350Z,

I have driven:
RX8, Challenger SXT, Integra Type R,

Late model Pontiac GTO. 6.0 V8. 6spd manual. Australian car.
Owners tend to treat them lovingly.
Confy. Decent back seat.

 

[Kelvrick]

How "sporty" are you going to drive this sports car. How much straight line power do you want? There are totally different power classes in some of the ones you named.

I just got back from Laguna seca and the stable of cars my friends and I switched between was an ecoboost 2015 mustang, v6 2015 camaro, 1995 miata, 1993 miata, 20xx rx8, 2002 wrx. Having driven the 350z before, its a fine grand tourer type, but is way too heavy for real sporty driving if that is the real reason you're buying it. Some fun canyon carving, then fine, but why not just make the step up to a better interior at 95% of the performance with a g35/37? I also think the gas mileage sucks for what you get. Everyone loved the mustang. It had a lot of power and it was confidence inspiring ad controllable around the turns. A little unfair since it was just updated and the camaro was not. Horrible sight lines and even though the times showed it is strangely capable with the times we pulled in, but nobody liked the camaro.

The rx8 can be a minefield maintenance wise. I'd recommend at least 1k worth of reliability mods off the bat such as the separate oil squirter tank and a cobb ap to adjust the amount of oil squirted. The rotary engine drives very smoothly and the transmission is a dream as well. I'd say the back seat is more usable than a 350z or g35 coupe, mustang, camaro, brz/frs. The WRX has 4 doors but I feel the rx8 is still roomier in the back (I don't know official numbers, but that is how it feels from personal experience).

The miatas and s2k's are awesome cars to throw around the corners. You'll be able to get a newer/less miles miata than an s2k in that price range, but I personally prefer the s2k. The chassis and transmission just feels better to me. For 10-15, you can probably get an NC with a hard top. I'm not a top down guy, so I would get a hard top for the s2k or any of the miatas. Obviously, none of these have back seats.

Another option in that price range is a c5 corvette. You should be able to get a pretty good condition one for 15k. Up that a little closer to 20k and you should be able to find a C6, which is way better inside in my opinion.

You really have to drive some of these cars to narrow down the field a bit according to what you want.

 

[996GT2]

I'd be worried about reliability issues and oil consuption with a RX-8. Plus it's just not very fast and there are fewer options for modifying/upgrading it power-wise.

S2000 would probably be the best of that bunch for reliability. I remember seeing a S2000 on BITOG with over 250K miles, and it was still running great. The only downside is the lack of low-end torque on that engine. Great looking car though.

Type-R is going to be stolen weeks after you get it, and when it gets found it's going to be stripped and parted out .

350Z is nice but I'm personally not a fan of the looks of that car.

 

[msi1337]

yeah, I really like the RX-8 and s2000 as the primary options if I don't trade in my Fit. It sounds like the RX-8 can be a little complicated with potential problems though. Is it worth even trying to take an older car and make it into a tuner (like in the 90's)..or is that all but over?

Also, someone asked how fast I am going to be driving..not too fast, I just want something that has 200+ hp to get around in.. I won't be doing street racing, dyno competitions, and you will never see me on Fast and the Furious 11 or 12.

 

[Yuriman]

yeah, I really like the RX-8 and s2000 as the primary options if I don't trade in my Fit. It sounds like the RX-8 can be a little complicated with potential problems though. Is it worth even trying to take an older car and make it into a tuner (like in the 90's)..or is that all but over?

Also, someone asked how fast I am going to be driving..not too fast, I just want something that has 200+ hp to get around in.. I won't be doing street racing, dyno competitions, and you will never see me on Fast and the Furious 11 or 12.

Even though it's not as fast as most other cars on your list, there's something hilariously fun about an 8,800rpm redline. I really enjoy rev-happy engines.

 

[996GT2]

Even though it's not as fast as most other cars on your list, there's something hilariously fun about an 8,800rpm redline. I really enjoy rev-happy engines.

AP1 S2000 is 8800 RPM redline. They increased displacement to 2.2L (for more torque) and dropped the redline to 8000rpm to compensate for the longer stroke.

yeah, I really like the RX-8 and s2000 as the primary options if I don't trade in my Fit. It sounds like the RX-8 can be a little complicated with potential problems though.

The Renesis rotary engine is a pig from a reliability point of view. Some owners needed new engines after 50-60k miles. Apparently Mazda didn't calibrate the RX8 engine to inject enough oil into the combustion chamber compared to previous models, and some owners needed replacement engines after only 50k miles.

Apart from the reliability problems of the rotary, the mpg is absolutely terrible for the pitiful amount of hp it makes. The RX-8 makes 238hp and is rated for 16 mpg city/23 highway. A 911 Turbo S with 560 hp is rated for better mpg than that!

 

[Kelvrick]

AP1 S2000 is 8800 RPM redline. They increased displacement to 2.2L (for more torque) and dropped the redline to 8000rpm to compensate for the longer stroke.



The Renesis rotary engine is a pig from a reliability point of view. Some owners needed new engines after 50-60k miles. Apparently Mazda didn't calibrate the RX8 engine to inject enough oil into the combustion chamber compared to previous models, and some owners needed replacement engines after only 50k miles.

Apart from the reliability problems of the rotary, the mpg is absolutely terrible for the pitiful amount of hp it makes. The RX-8 makes 238hp and is rated for 16 mpg city/23 highway. A 911 Turbo S with 560 hp is rated for better mpg than that!

Which is why I recommended a cobb ap in my post above so the amount injected can be adjusted. It is also recommended to get a sohn adapter (or similar) so that you can have it inject 2-stroke oil instead of dirty regular oil that isn't meant to be ignited anyway. Then you can run synthetic oil (not recommended by mazda because of various reason). Oh yeah, I'd probably go ahead and upgrade the ignition system as well to ensure complete combustion.

Regarding MPG, he has the fit for that!

 

[996GT2]

Which is why I recommended a cobb ap in my post above so the amount injected can be adjusted. It is also recommended to get a sohn adapter (or similar) so that you can have it inject 2-stroke oil instead of dirty regular oil that isn't meant to be ignited anyway. Then you can run synthetic oil (not recommended by mazda because of various reason). Oh yeah, I'd probably go ahead and upgrade the ignition system as well to ensure complete combustion.

Regarding MPG, he has the fit for that!

Yeah, it just seems like lot of work is needed is to make a RX-8 reliable enough to daily drive, and the car's not even that fast, lol

 

[Wuzup101]

Yeah, it just seems like lot of work is needed is to make a RX-8 reliable enough to daily drive, and the car's not even that fast, lol

That's always been my problem with the RX-8. Great chassis / transmission coupled to a non-turbo rotary (slowtary). I feel like it's multiple notches below pretty much anything else that has been mentioned in this thread (probably why they are super stupid cheap).

 

[sze5003]

I would go with the s2000, solid and nice sporty car. I've grown out of sports cars but I still enjoy them. I'm tall so now I prefer more room.

I had a 2009 rx8 5 years ago or so. Grand touring, loved it, rode like a comfy sedan but was zippy and the 6 speed manual high rev engine is a lot of fun. It was always interesting to shift at crazy rpms.

Cons: I used premium fuel, and a quart of oil every other fill up. If I didn't fill the oil every other fill up, the oil light would come on and you could start to see issues in performance. I drove about 50 miles round trip every day to work and gas mileage was horrible. When I first bought it, I only drove about 15 miles to and from work but then I got a new job.

It was horrible in any snow because its a light car and it's rear wheel drive. I actually got caught in many snow storms with it and ended up stuck for hours.

It requires lots of maintenance in terms of upkeep for a daily driver. I'd recommend it for a summer car for fun.

I bought a 2016 Mazda 6 couple weeks ago and I love it, definitely reminded me of my rx8 in terms of smoothness and handling when I test drove it.

 

[996GT2]

That's always been my problem with the RX-8. Great chassis / transmission coupled to a non-turbo rotary (slowtary). I feel like it's multiple notches below pretty much anything else that has been mentioned in this thread (probably why they are super stupid cheap).

They could have kept the chassis, put the turbo 4 from the Mazdaspeed 3 into it, and it would have been great.

 

[tweekah]

Test drive an S2000, you'll love it! Rifle bolt shifter...pure driver's car. If you shift by ear you'll need to ignore the noise as it will force you to shift early.

I sold the s2k AP1 only because of a growing family and ended up getting a honda fit =) Miss it dearly...

 

[Kelvrick]

Test drive an S2000, you'll love it! Rifle bolt shifter...pure driver's car. If you shift by ear you'll need to ignore the noise as it will force you to shift early.

I sold the s2k AP1 only because of a growing family and ended up getting a honda fit =) Miss it dearly...

No, the s2k is horrible. Unreliable, no power, very poor handling. Nobody should be looking to buy them if they want to have any fun. At least not until I can find one to buy myself.

 

[Charmonium]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Civic Si. 200hp, 6.5 sec 0-60 and good handling. The 2008 model retails for around $15k so you should be able to do a lot better from a private owner.

 

[996GT2]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Civic Si. 200hp, 6.5 sec 0-60 and good handling. The 2008 model retails for around $15k so you should be able to do a lot better from a private owner.

He already has a Fit, why would he want another slow FWD car?

In all seriousness though, the Civic Si has 197hp and weighs almost 3000 lbs. That's a pretty terrible power to weight ratio, plus it's front wheel drive. Unlike a GTI which is conservatively rated and puts out 200 whp stock, a Civic Si puts out only about 172 whp...and 122 ft-lbs of torque.

 

[AdamK47]

yeah, I really like the RX-8 and s2000 as the primary options if I don't trade in my Fit. It sounds like the RX-8 can be a little complicated with potential problems though. Is it worth even trying to take an older car and make it into a tuner (like in the 90's)..or is that all but over?

Also, someone asked how fast I am going to be driving..not too fast, I just want something that has 200+ hp to get around in.. I won't be doing street racing, dyno competitions, and you will never see me on Fast and the Furious 11 or 12.

No, it's not over. Today it would be called making it into a ricer. If you do, post it all on here.

 

[Excelsior]

I'm biased, but an S2000 fits the bill for you. Keep the fit, the S2000 is a great 2nd car. Driving with the top down on twisty roads changing through the gears is just bliss. Can't wait to drive mine again.

 

[jlee]

I know you prefer Japanese, but you can get a first gen CTS-V for 15k.

 

[brainhulk]

S2000 hands down. Faster than 350z's, 911's, and M3's on twisty roads