I'm looking for a small yellow convertible

[paulney]

My wife always dreamed of a yellow convertible. Now, she's coming up on her 30th birthday, and I was thinking of getting her a small used yellow convertible car. My budget is about 10k.

I work on our two existing cars, so I'm not afraid of getting a used car and fixing a thing or two in it, but I don't want the parts to be super expensive. Also, it would be nice if the car did not break every month.

My initial search on AutoTrader shows there are a ton of yellow Mustangs sold dirt cheap. There are also a few Miatas here and there, but you have to hunt for them. In general, there seems to be only a few yellow convertibles available.

What are some other brands I should be looking at? How bad are Mustangs and why are they selling so cheap?

Some other makes and models I found:

- 2001-2002 Mercedes SLK (expensive to maintain)
- 2001 Toyota MR2 (know nothing about reliability)
- Mazda Miata
- Mazda Miata MX5
- Ford Mustang
- VW bug (expensive to maintain?)
- 1999 BMW M3 (I have a beamer already, and I would never want another old beamer)

Thanks!

 

[herm0016]

sky/solstice? probably still more than 10 grand used, but would fit as a small fun yellow convertible. they used to make camaro's/firebird convertibles but finding a yellow one may be very hard.

 

[jlee]

If you don't need trunk space, I'd say get the MR2.

But I'm biased.

 

[halik]

Not gonna find any yellow CLKs

 

[paulney]

Originally posted by: halik
Not gonna find any yellow CLKs

Sorry! I actually meant SLK

 

[DivideBYZero]

Mazda.

 

[paulney]

Originally posted by: JLee
If you don't need trunk space, I'd say get the MR2.

But I'm biased.

How's MR2's reliability and maintenance costs?
Trunk space is a moot issue - it's definitely going to be a weekend drive car to cruise along Hwy 1 and the like.

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: paulney

Originally posted by: halik
Not gonna find any yellow CLKs

Sorry! I actually meant SLK

Ah,
yeah those should be easy to find in cali. There are two for sale within 500 miles from detroit, both under 10k

 

[jlee]

Originally posted by: paulney

Originally posted by: JLee
If you don't need trunk space, I'd say get the MR2.

But I'm biased.

How's MR2's reliability and maintenance costs?
Trunk space is a moot issue - it's definitely going to be a weekend drive car to cruise along Hwy 1 and the like.

Comparable to any other Toyota from that era, I guess. Labor might be more just because of the mid-engine layout. Check out MR2OC and read up- I've never owned a Mk3, but I had a Mk1 ('86) and now have a Mk2 ('91 turbo) and I love them all.

 

[MiataNC]

Miata!!!!!

Yellow was a rare color and only used on a couple of model years, but well worth it.

Of all the cars you are looking at none are as cheap, easy to upgrade (suspension, etc) or as phenomenally fun to drive as the wee Mazda.

 

[jlee]

Originally posted by: MiataNC
Miata!!!!!

Yellow was a rare color and only used on a couple of model years, but well worth it.

Of all the cars you are looking at none are as cheap, easy to upgrade (suspension, etc) or as phenomenally fun to drive as the wee Mazda.

Dunno about that...but yeah, probably cheaper to play with a Mazda than a 2.

 

[slugg]

Miata++

And I'd be jealous

 

[thedarkwolf]

I have a miata so I'm a tad biased but mustangs are fine cars too. The v6 mustang verts are cheap because they are v6 mustangs and mustang people want v8s. People that just want a cool convertible to drive around in will be fine with a v6. The other thing is mustang verts don't carry any premium over hard tops if anything the hardtops carry premium over verts.

Honda S2000s are hitting the $10k area now and lots of them are yellow. Might even be able to find a vette.

 

[Imported]

Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
Honda S2000s are hitting the $10k area now and lots of them are yellow. Might even be able to find a vette.

Was gonna suggest the same. When I was looking at them, yellow seemed to be the cheapest color.

 

[MotF Bane]

The first thing that came to mind was a Miata.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: Imported

Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
Honda S2000s are hitting the $10k area now and lots of them are yellow. Might even be able to find a vette.

Was gonna suggest the same. When I was looking at them, yellow seemed to be the cheapest color.

A $10k S2000 is going to probably be a beaten up S2000.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Buy the car you want and then pay a good 2-3 grand on a high quality repainting. Then you can get whatever form of yellow you like.

 

[mztykal]

I love my 03 MR2, wouldn't trade it for a s2000. I've driven both and I like my MR2 better.

 

[jteef]

a late 90s bmw m3 vert in dakar yellow is about 10k

 

[slugg]

Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
Buy the car you want and then pay a good 2-3 grand on a high quality repainting. Then you can get whatever form of yellow you like.

And then ruin your resale value...

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Chrysler Crossfire - too bad its out of your budget. Can be had for about $15K.

The were $40K+ new.

Mustangs will probably be the most comfortable for the wife. If you can find a yellow on white leather/top I'd go with that as its such a classic color combo. Will be very reliable as well.

Autotrader has a 1999 35th anniversary GT Mustang yellow, white/white, Automatic and 73K miles for only $10K - in Missouri though.

Plenty more V6 Mustangs in that combo on Autotrader as well with quite a few in Cali.

 

[SSSnail]

Triumph Spitfire.

 

[heymrdj]

Originally posted by: slugg

Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
Buy the car you want and then pay a good 2-3 grand on a high quality repainting. Then you can get whatever form of yellow you like.

And then ruin your resale value...

I don't know about you but I'd rather have a well done recent paint job than to pay for a well used car that has fading chipping paint as most 7+ year old cars do, especially sitting out in the hot FL and GA sun.

 

[mwmorph]

A MR2 Spyder is as reliable as a corolla. Same drivetrain. There are no problem areas of note. They're simple cars. Ac, radio, motor, manual trans, electric power steering, power windows, nothing superfluous, nothing really to go wrong and the parts used will last. They're basically as trouble free as you can possibly imagine.

The MR2 is as pure a sports car as you can get. Mid engine, RWD. The Miata is more comfortable, easier to drive, but the MR2 I think is more fun.

The Mustangs are nice for what they are. The V8s around 2000-~maybe 2003 had coil pack issues IIRC. Mustangs would come into the dealer all the time for maintenance. I usually saw some mustangs in the reapir bay for small issues, usually coil packs and power window regulators, nothing too big, I'd say average reliability. There was a SVT Cobra in with tire and tranny issues all the time but I believe the Cobra had a different trans from the 4.6L normal Mustang GTs.

 

[drnickriviera]

Originally posted by: SSSnail
Triumph Spitfire.

I think he wants to give her something she can drive, not push into the garage every weekend to work on it