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Help me pick a fun, 4 door manual trans car, 25-40k

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Challenger. Wait. Four doors. Bah.

Charger. Wait. Manual. Bah.

Supercharged, lowered, boosted Toyota Yaris with custom paint job and carbon fiber spoiler?
 
hoorah said:
2007 is going to be a bit on the old side, but possible. I don't have a hard and fast criteria for age, but I'm at a point where I've got one kid and another planned and almost zero time, and a friend and I are considering building a Chumpcar/LeMons car. Now is the time for a DD under warranty (at least powertrain), and in a few years, when its out of warranty, I'll be fine with going back to doing my own repairs.

Also, WTF on the fuel economy for the MS3? I had no idea. Book numbers were 23/24 highway, so I hadnt looked at it seriously. 33? I will definitely swing back around for another look at fitting the car seat in the back.
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Do post a thread when you start doing chump/lemons prep, there are several of us here who run in both and can provide advice if needed.

To be fair, I've only reached 33 a handful of times, on really mild interstate trips with cruise control set at 60-65. Though I did average 30mpg going across Nebraska at 75-80mph... obviously YMMV. Adding a CAI bumped me up 1-2mpg too.

I got curious and checked it out on fuelly: http://www.fuelly.com/car/mazda/speed 3

Not bad results considering the EPA combined rating is 20mpg for my gen (1st generation).
 
JCH13 said:
Do post a thread when you start doing chump/lemons prep, there are several of us here who run in both and can provide advice if needed.
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Awesome, thanks. I will post as soon as we get a game plan. We were planning out what platform we wanted to run (my vote was an E36), when we found a guy selling two already prepped porsche 944s and a spare set of tires, so I think we're going to go the 'buy' route instead of the 'build' route, that is, if we can find a way to get the cars home.
 
nerp said:
Challenger. Wait. Four doors. Bah.

Charger. Wait. Manual. Bah.

Supercharged, lowered, boosted Toyota Yaris with custom paint job and carbon fiber spoiler?
Click to expand...

I did like the Charger, wish it came in manual. I would entertain the idea of the SRT8 if I didn't drive so long to work every morning.

Supercharged Yaris it is.
 
FearoftheNight said:
Gti or focus st?
Or the volvo hatch?
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The focus ST is new to me, I will check that car out.

GTI is a possibility. Not the best for rear seat room but probably comparable to all the other cars I am considering.

I thought the Volvo hatch was a coupe? Or am I thinking of something different?
 
Fmr12B said:
I'll throw out one more car -

1st gen CTS-V - they only came with a manual trans. You can get a very clean low-mileage 2007 with the 6.0L V8 for $25k or less. Later years had the rear diff problem fixed & I think the wheel hop had been fixed too. Only other issue is the plasticky dash buttons which are prone to rubbing off/cracking.


2nd Gen CTS-V with the SC 6.2L will set you back about $40K for a 2009 - with an all new CTS due out next year, prices will start dropping if you can hold out.

Jaguar XF - no manual trans option, but depreciating fast


2002 E39 M5 - 6spd, maintenance is not terrible - before Bangle started designing, and roomy.

Rreally in a tough spot to find the perfect ride - Manual RWD sport sedans are not easy to find these days.
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I looked for a 1st gen CTS-V a few years ago, and never found any potential candidates except for one and it was sold before I could look at it. All the other ones around me are beat with tons of miles. A cherry 2007 would probably work. I wanted something under warranty but for the right low mileage car I could handle it.

2nd Gen CTSV, while I would love one, uses too much fuel for the amount I drive every day. My wife wants to move to a house closer to where I work, and if we do, I could definitely see this being a possibility, but not right now though.

Loved the E39 M5, but I'm looking for something newer than that.
 
hoorah said:
Awesome, thanks. I will post as soon as we get a game plan. We were planning out what platform we wanted to run (my vote was an E36), when we found a guy selling two already prepped porsche 944s and a spare set of tires, so I think we're going to go the 'buy' route instead of the 'build' route, that is, if we can find a way to get the cars home.
Click to expand...

http://blog.caranddriver.com/lemons...ould-dominate-but-dont-camaro-supra-gti—ahoy/

"E36 BMW 3-series

The E36 has reached the 20-year mark, which means we’ve seen a bunch of them in the last couple of LeMons seasons. While its predecessor, the E30, stands as the most numerous single type of 24 Hours of LeMons racer and has shown mere somewhat-below-average reliability in the series, your typical LeMons E36 is heavier, more complex, and less dependable that the car it replaced. The real problem with this car in LeMons, however, is that its increased bulk and engine power make it a spinout-prone, wall-bashing black-flag magnet that has the judges of the LeMons Supreme Court eyeballing every E36 team as a bunch of potential bad-driving recidivists."

"Porsche 944

We’ve already covered the agony of LeMons Porsche racers at some length, so we’ll summarize here: The 944 offers a team an excellent shot at a Most Heroic Fix trophy. No LeMons car manages to combine mediocre on-track performance, horrifically difficult repairs, and expense of replacement parts as effectively as the 944 (and, to a lesser extent, the 924). At the Chubba Cheddar Enduro at Road America last month, it took five-time Le Mans winner Emanuele Pirro to propel a well-prepped 944 to victory over a bone-stock 1971 Simca 1204—and it was close, too."

The whole article is very accurate to what I've seen at my handful of Lemons races.

/threadjack
 
Model Model Description List
Price Factory
D/H(b) MSRP(c) Dealer Price (c) GM Preferred
Price(c) DFC

6AB69 ATS RWD 1SE 2.0T Standard $34,900.00 $0.00 $34,900.00 $31,933.50 $33,520.51 $895.00
6AM69 ATS AWD 1SF 2.0T Standard $36,900.00 $0.00 $36,900.00 $33,763.50 $35,432.86 $895.00

Table doesn't come across very well, but I think you could do better than 34,500 on the ATS.
 
JCH13 said:
http://blog.caranddriver.com/lemons...ould-dominate-but-dont-camaro-supra-gti—ahoy/

The whole article is very accurate to what I've seen at my handful of Lemons races.

/threadjack
Click to expand...

sigh.....it probably is. Granted, that article ragged on almost EVERY car in lemons.

I'm hoping that since we're buying a built 944 that the time-intensive jobs (oil pickup tube, oil pan baffle, maybe rod bearings) have already been done. I know the timing belt has already been done. Chumpcar is a bit different than Lemons as you're allowed to prep the motor for reliability first. Lemons seems to me like its all about running the engine as it is in the car as you drive it off the lot you bought it from. I mean, thats not 100% accurate but if you have to pay for maintenance out of your budget its going to be the bare minimum.

People complain about working on these cars and I certainly hope we don't have to touch the clutch. I hope we're not buying into a whole heap of trouble. I know German cars, and I know buying cars, but I don't really know Porsches. Fingers crossed?

If we pass on the porsche then we'd still have to build a car. Choices.....
 
hoorah said:
sigh.....it probably is. Granted, that article ragged on almost EVERY car in lemons.

I'm hoping that since we're buying a built 944 that the time-intensive jobs (oil pickup tube, oil pan baffle, maybe rod bearings) have already been done. I know the timing belt has already been done. Chumpcar is a bit different than Lemons as you're allowed to prep the motor for reliability first. Lemons seems to me like its all about running the engine as it is in the car as you drive it off the lot you bought it from. I mean, thats not 100% accurate but if you have to pay for maintenance out of your budget its going to be the bare minimum.

People complain about working on these cars and I certainly hope we don't have to touch the clutch. I hope we're not buying into a whole heap of trouble. I know German cars, and I know buying cars, but I don't really know Porsches. Fingers crossed?

If we pass on the porsche then we'd still have to build a car. Choices.....
Click to expand...

ModSquad, the team Black2NA, JLee and myself drive for use MK2 MR2s. Our two main (non-turbo) MR2s, left basically stock, have finished most of the races they started. In the last race we all did together, in the fall, we did not touch the car mechanically for the entire race and finished 3rd in class and 9th overall. There are good platforms out there for Lemons cars, but there's not many cars that can handle the sort of punishment that Lemons and Chump races impart.

The team has done chump races before, and I've driven in one as a noob. The cars are a lot more 'cheaty' and the drivers are considerably more aggressive. I much prefer Lemons.
 
hoorah said:
GTI is a possibility. Not the best for rear seat room but probably comparable to all the other cars I am considering.
Click to expand...

Are you any closer to a decision? The GTI is not bad in the back! I never sit there, but I have had many passengers surprised at how comfortable they are and how space/leg room there is, even with three of them at a time. The rather hard suspension is more of the problem - if they're not used to it they will notice on longer trips.

Even at stock it is very fun to drive. At 23k miles in 13 months I still love it. Sometimes the commute is the best part of the day 🙂
 
Bentley or Rolls Royce or maybe a Maybach... Your selection and arguments are all over the place, I'm not even sure you're serious about buying a car.
 
CTS-V or used 335i JB4 would be my picks.

G37 I'm starting to hate, it's like the most over done douchemobile on the planet, and besides you said fastish. When I'm driving home at night minding my own business and see slammed HIDs weaving and bobbing in my rear view, hellbent on catching up to me, sizing me up, and attempting to gun it past me, there is a 95% chance it's a G and when it is, there is a 100% chance chrome after market cambered wheels and a backwards ball cap are involved. There is also a 100% chance of me dropping into 2nd at 45 and tying their car to a tree and introducing them to the feelings of helplessness and buyers remorse.
 
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exdeath and I share the same views on the G series. Every single owner I've met was a complete douche. Yeah, that 330hp number looks great until you realize they weigh as much as a small house. Especially the convertibles. I don't under stand how they can't figure out that 330hp on a 4,100lb car isn't at all impressive. I mean holy crap, they weigh more than a CTS-V sedan.
 
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