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What's a cheap, fun car

M

mwmorph

Diamond Member
Hey everyone, I'll be buying a car for 3 months or so and then I'll be selling it and I'd like to know your thoughts on any cheap, decent cars.

I have a $3000 budget and I was thinking since I won't have it for long, I might as well get something different.

I was thinking along the lines of a
NA Miata (hard to find in really good shape)
4th gen Prelude (Si probably) (92-96)
97/98 2.2 or 2.3 Acura CL
Acura Integra GSR
240SX
E36 BMW 325 or 323
Ford Probe/Mazda MX-6 V6
Toyota Celica (I really like how the 1990-1993 looks)
Cadillac Seville STS/SLS(270-295hp V8 burble can be fun too, gas will rape me though)
Ford Mustang (manual V6 or 8, again, gas costs)
93-98 Camaro/Firebird (V6 or 8 manual, again gas costs)
Nissan Maxima(?no exprience with it whatsoever, probably a 90-97 year range)
Subaru Impreza

Am I missing anything? Gas mileage is semi-important since I drive a lot and so is reliability at least for the short term(I need it to work, no second car). Also, since it's a summer only car, a convertible would be a huge plus.

Things I have crossed off the list are as of right now, but I'd like owners feedback on this if you have any also.
Porsche 944 (matainence cost, reliability)
DSM Eclipse (reliability)
3000GT/Stealth (reliability)
RX7 (reliability)


Any experiences, feedback?

TIA
 
From that list...

NA Miata (yeah I am biased): Fun easy to fix and keep running. Who cares what the shape is if it is only for 3 months. They hold their value well enough to sell for what you pay when you are done with it. People who own them either leave them stock or do well thought out mods. They are usually not a "ricer" victim.

The Acura's a Prelude are likely to be beaten to death or riced out in that price range. Nothing wrong with that if you are willing to turn a wrench, but it is something to consider.

Tercel, Corolla, Civic, Camry, Celica, Accord etc for cheap, reliable, and decent on gas (not much "fun" though).

 
Miata for sure with that short of time. Shop well and you'll easily get your money back when you sell it.

 
I second the Miata, assuming you find a decent deal. Too cute for ricers, often times a weekend car for reasonably well off grown ups, and really flat depreciation curve by the time they get under $5K. Plus the summer months are great for a roadster.
 
Have to jump on the miata train. Most fun car I have ever had and the next three months are perfect for a vert. You will probably be stuck looking at 90-92s for $3k. I had an 89 mustang coupe 5.0l 5 speed before I bought my miata and I'd say it was my second most fun car so either of those will work and are easy to sell. Might want to add MR2s to the list as well.
 
Thanks for all the replies, but I have a few questions.

Exactly how reliable is the Miata? Are the top seals a problem? The plastic window? The electronics? Also as summer ends, how much does resale value drop?

My friend has a 1989 Mustang 5.0(well, 4.9) automatic and it was less than impressive. It had quite a few performance mods done to it too.

I really would like a Gen 2 MR2 since I've had a gen 3 and loved it but I cant find one for 3K.
 
Best place to ask research Miatas

http://forum.miata.net/vb/

Overall the car is so simple that there isn't much that can go wrong. If you are only going to keep it for the summer months why worry about seals, top or window?
 
If you get one with a top in good condition you won't have any problems. The tops are very well made and unless you just stand there and spray at the seals with a water hose you aren't going to get any leaks. Even when you do that its only a few drops. Just keep the drains clean, miata.net will have that info. Make sure the zipper on the rear window works smoothly. Do read about problems with the zipper jamming every now and again.
 
mk1 MR2.

Cheaper than your budget, greatly reliable, wonderful corner carver. Only problem is that the stock struts will probably be shot by now (It's a 20+ year old car), so handling won't be as great as the car is capable of if this hasn't been addressed.
 
Another vote for the NA Miata. I haven't had any mechanical problems with mine and it's so much fun to drive.
 
Originally posted by: jagec
mk1 MR2.

Cheaper than your budget, greatly reliable, wonderful corner carver. Only problem is that the stock struts will probably be shot by now (It's a 20+ year old car), so handling won't be as great as the car is capable of if this hasn't been addressed.
Click to expand...

Jagec, you bring up a very good point, on the older MR2s and NA Miatas, the struts and springs have to be worn to hell by then. I'm only keeping it for a few months so I don't think a suspension swap would be worth it.

As for the NA Miata supporters, can anyone tell me anything about the NA struts? I'm going to look at some Miatas next week, how much do worn struts affect the car?
 
Just about any car you look at for $3k is going to a have worn struts/shocks unless they have already been replaced. The ones on my $4k miata were replaced at some point before I bought it so I can't help you much there.
 
Originally posted by: mwmorph
Originally posted by: jagec
mk1 MR2.

Cheaper than your budget, greatly reliable, wonderful corner carver. Only problem is that the stock struts will probably be shot by now (It's a 20+ year old car), so handling won't be as great as the car is capable of if this hasn't been addressed.
Click to expand...

Jagec, you bring up a very good point, on the older MR2s and NA Miatas, the struts and springs have to be worn to hell by then. I'm only keeping it for a few months so I don't think a suspension swap would be worth it.

As for the NA Miata supporters, can anyone tell me anything about the NA struts? I'm going to look at some Miatas next week, how much do worn struts affect the car?
Click to expand...

Several Miata owners that I've talked to say the shocks are toast by 60k, some even say 30-40k. The Miata does not have struts, it has a non adjustable coilover shock setup.

With that said, I don't think worn shocks will affect the fun level of this car considerably. Performance yes, but you're only keeping the car for 3 months, no sense on spending 400+ on a new suspension setup...
 
Man I would've bought a Miata in a heartbeat, but I'm just way too scared to drive it around to/from work (50-150 miles/day, depending on where I'm needed) with all those SUV's out there. Hell I used to worry what would happen if I was in an accident with my '99 Civic coupe, but that problem was solved with it was stolen 2 months ago.. 🙁
 
Hmm. Hard to say, the Miatas are very fun and not too expensive to work on really. I'm a Prelude guy, but I much prefer the 3g and 5g preludes (88-91, and 97-01). Problem there is that it's damned hard to find a 3g without a jillion miles on it (and worn interior/paint), or an affordable 5g.

Out of the list, probably the best balance in reliability, adequate/nice power, comfort, and bang for the buck are the Maximas. The '95-'99 style is easy to find in decent shape, and many of the SE models have a very satisfying manual setup. VQ 3.0 6-Cylinder is pretty damned tough, and those cars make it past 200k on original drivetrain all the time. Fuel economy with the manual is quite good, provided you have a light foot most of the time. Shifting at 2.5k will give you low 20s city, and about ~30 highway @ 65.
 
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