So now that I have sent the last payment for the GTI; I have a car to drive to work everyday... and I have been itching for another car...
Ideally I want a sedan and something different from my VW...
I have been looking at cars:
e36 328i
Pros: relatively inexpensive to buy, run and modify. They are fun to drive and have plenty of power
Cons: finding 328i 4dr with sport package and under 80K mileage is proving difficult.

e46 330i ZHP
Pros: awesome car, good power, pretty reliable. Sweet seats, 6spd, sport exhaust and suspension.
Cons: they are at $15-19 price range depending on the mileage, maintenance may be expensive, even if I do majority of the work myself.

now for the fanboi cars:
2009 Jettas 2.5
Pros: new car, with 2010 models coming in they should be priced to sell
Cons: new car, its the same car as mine essentially

MKIII VR6
Pros: VR6 fun, cheapish
Cons: hard to find low mileage and unmolested example.

So... help me expand my horizons... as you can see I am not opposed to FWD or RWD cars. Also, I am not afraid to do majority of the work myself.

E36 BMWs, from my experience, are not the most reliable cars. The big stuff is OK, but there are so many little gizmos, which go wrong all the time in older cars.

That being said though, an E36 325ci was one of the best car's I have ever driven.

save your money?

wow... for a car enthusiast forum we are pretty fiscally conservative

Why don't you buy something fun and great to look at, like a 350Z, an RX8, an S2000, a Z4, or a 90's Porsche or maybe even Rx7 / Supra?! Since you already have 'a car to drive to work'..

If my civic was paidoff I'd probably mod the hell out of a 240sx and make it somewhat of a race/show car. Or a silvia.

mostly because not a single car in that list is worth having as a "fun 2nd car" and being car enthusiast does not mean being broke/ in debt/ having to make for sale thread every month to pay your cc bills.

Not saying you are broke/ about to go broke but wanting have have car payments just because you paid off one car is quite dumb.

I agree. If you are going to get a fun second car, get something wild that couldn't work as a daily. An old Alfa or something.

my car was my last debt.... but dropping that aside...

So I am gathering here that there are NO fun to drive sedans? I think I should have been a bit more clear; I drive fairly far to work, around 70 miles round trip. I am looking for another car so I can split the duty of driving to work back and forth...

I just don't feel like being stuck in some penalty box, like some stripper of a car. Also my g/f has a slush box corolla, and she wants something with a manual but does not want to get rid of the corolla just yet. So essentially, this "second" car will be split between two of us... and I am just struggling with what to get.

Any car with a real roll cage is bound to be fun.

I belong to the 'no roll cages without helmets' camp.

lol I love it when people have full racing harnesses and rollcages in their cars, but yet no helmets and the racing harnesses are "loose" so they can reach for the radio controls

this does not have four doors but...

Is it just me, or is that pretty overpriced?

it has 517 miles....

why do people feel that its necessary to add a LOL in the middle of a sentence like that, especially on a website from which you're trying to sell a car? is it just me or does that make the author look like a complete tool? neat car though, interesting find.

and i wouldnt say that its overpriced.. its definitely a one-of-a-kind and he's selling it less for what he paid for it! according to the U.S. dep. of labor website, $8799 1984 dollars has the same buying power as $18,278 2009 dollars.

Wow, that is a good find. It would almost be a shame to drive that thing.

Get a evo IX and go wild.

You're right, I stand corrected.



This.

I'd keep the GTI as your daily and get something on the side...that's what I'm gonna do, and the reason I'm doing it is because I couldn't really find anything under $30k that was a compelling replacement for my only car. If you've got two cars, they can both be more focused on various tasks, and the GTI is a good car for the practical half of life (while still not being a penalty box) and then you can invest a few grand into some older, funner car and just go nuts with it. Who cares if it doesn't start on monday morning half the time as long as you get it fixed by friday, right?

Too expensive? Older Evo/WRX? Don't get another VW... Sedan-only seems like a crazy requirement, not like you can't commute occasionally in a non-sedan.

I think you guys are missing on what I am trying to get....the car does not need to be 100% toy car... I just want something decently reliable while being fun to drive... like BMW 3 series.

^ If that's the road you want to go down...

- NA Miata
- E30 3-series
- E36 M3 (a friend of mine has owned a couple, and they weren't expensive to pick-up, nor where they expensive to maintain; reliable too)
- Nissan 240SX (I remember you're partial to them)

E39 M5, facelifted, black, with CSL or stock wheels.

Well that's significantly less fun to speculate on.

You could pick up an e30 3 series and have money left to put into it.
a bugeye WRX
e36 is nice

...if you want something "like a 3-series", that basically means you should just buy a 3-series because nobody else is offering up a worthwhile compact RWD 4-door 6-cylinder sports sedans in your budget.

Something which meets your criteria...although I guess if you're looking for a car to replace the GF's Toyota you might just be looking for variety.

What about a new Mini? Or would that be too similar to the GTI?

I drove the new mini, and while it handles better, they are not cheap and it feels kinda too small...

E36 M3 FTW!!!!
You can get a <100k mile example for around 9Gs. My '98 328is had 100k on the odometer and the only problems I've had in a year of ownership were a squeaky fanbelt and a seat that wouldn't electronically recline (both $5 part fixes).

Now, if the new Mini was a VAG prdocut...

it would have been cheaper.... I am not saying that mini is a bad car, I just feel that they are over priced for what you get.

What about the 1-series? It's been growing on me and I like the look, plus it has potential to be modified.

I wasn't expecting you to take the bait so vigorously.

sheesh.

You can get a 04 sti for $15k or so now. Get that or a Evo or go home.

Hey,

Get my car.

lol the more i see this thread the more i see that I should get the 3 series and get it over with.

I'm confused. How are any of those cars drastically different from your current car which would give it that "shit, guess I'll take the Ferrari out for a spin since it's saturday" feel?

This is like owning a Corolla and then buying a Camry cause it was the more "exciting" option to compliment your dishwasher on wheels.

you missing the point... the car is not 100% for me... it will be for my g/f also. I want a car that both of us will enjoy driving. contemporary 3 series should be fine. Also 3 series is N/A RWD while my GTI is a FWD vacuum cleaner

~s

So you're looking for a four-door, compact, sports sedan. I guess your alternatives are the usual suspects then: Infiniti G, Cadillac CTS (maybe you can pick-up a old-model V), Mercedes C-class, and the Lexus IS. If you're willing to sacrifice the rear-doors, you could probably pick-up the Pontiac GTO, and you'd still have plenty of room for a couple friends. And of course there's always the Mazda RX-8, though trunk-space is supposed to be tight at best.

Get a Bimmer and put an exhaust on it, it'll sound cool as shit and have power.

Too much of a wuss to get a proper sports sedan?

are you suggesting STI or EVO? not so much a wuss as I don't feel like dealing with turboed cars.

There's nothing wrong with them if you don't turn up the boost and add mad tyte giganto FMICs. The stock Evo and WRX/STi is a reliable car when left alone.

Well I dunno why bomb3r is not interested in turbo cars (could just be a preference) but if reliability is the issue then, heh, run away from the E36. Run like the fucking wind!!!

Like Strangelove and clarkma said a stock or even a mildly modified (nothing more than a exhaust and tune) are about as reliable as any modern car. Compared to a E36 they are wayy more reliable and cheaper to fix and maintain.

if you lived in canada, you could have an R32 GTR for that money, and then some.

as far I know 3series should be cheaper to insure then the STI o EVO.

Cant comment on that. My insurance with clean record was about $1000 a yr for comprehensive and $100 deductible.

so you want to replace your fun/practical/reliable car with a fun/practical/reliable car?

just pick something that interests you and live with all the glory and problems that come with it, thats what a true car enthusiast is. who cares what we say, youre the one thats gonna have to live with it.