2k Daily Driver...what would you buy?

I would go Volvo 7/900. I love my manual 740 turbo. Up there as one of the most comfortable cars I've ever driven. Super easy to work on and I was getting about 26 mpg with it. It's fun to drive for what it is. They're typically in pretty good shape in this price range.

Why not try to find a unmodified Nissan 240SX, the early s14's aren't that desirable from the yo drift kid point of view so you still see them out there for a fair price.

In the same vein of dculberson's Lexus find, I think some of the best CL deals are when you "play the fringe" and look at some forgotten or less popular choices.
Good samples are Infiniti and Saab

J30 w/138k miles, rwd, only made in auto. Mechanically similar to same vintage 300z. $2,200
http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/3156578663.html

http://greensboro.craigslist.org/cto/3157211410.html

Q45's with their V8 and auto never hold their value but they have all the reliability of similar Lexus.
'97 w/ 145k miles for $4,300 asking price. Sweet hyw cruiser but poor mpg. rwd.
http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/3108094308.html

Storz wrote:

pinchvalve wrote: You know how many cheap, reliable, RWD, 5-speed cars with back seats in the $2-$3K range are out there? None. Accept FWD.

Other than the 740, I know its a hard search. I'd rather have an auto, than fwd for the most part.

1980-1983 Toyota Corolla. Great on gas, uber reliable (avoiding true POS), easy to make handle well, VERY easy to keep affordable.

Decent cars sell for about $500-$1500 if you avoid the sharks. Swaps are easy, and affordable.

If you are willing to come out to rural Nebraska, I'll sell you my 91 745 5 speed turbo for about 2k! It needs brake work ( trust me, they all do) but runs strong with 225k and refreshed suspension.

Alfa milanos aren't bad, they are really easy to work on and most of the parts are easily available. Headlights are really terrible though, and the heater blower motors are dead in most of them, with no stock replacements available. I have a 300sd now which is great, and there are lots in that price range. It's kinda slow and boring, but it does handle farily well.

Saab 9000. Just as cheap, but less problematic than 9-5s. At the upper end of your budget you should be able to find an Aero.

ptmeyer84 wrote: If you are willing to come out to rural Nebraska, I'll sell you my 91 745 5 speed turbo for about 2k! It needs brake work ( trust me, they all do) but runs strong with 225k and refreshed suspension.

I'd love to, but the wifey is 9 months pregnant and due anyday now! Travelling far from home might not happen for a while

Here's a 505 turbo for sale: http://northernnj.ebayclassifieds.com/cars/mahwah/505-peugeot-turbo/?ad=18140534

Well here she is, my 2k daily driver! I had to stretch the budget a bit and got this beauty for $2300

'95 540i

I bought the car from the 2nd owner, he purchased it in 1999 and has daily driven it ever since. Huge maintenance log, block replaced under BMW warranty in '99, new heads in 2009 and on and on. He had a 6 page spreadsheet of every single repair/upgrade/maintenance item that took place on the car.

Wow seems like a good find.
When I saw the first picture my thought was to wonder if this was a actual photo or just a sample photo because I expected a $2.300 5-series to look much worse.

jrw1621 wrote: Wow seems like a good find. When I saw the first picture my thought was to wonder if this was a actual photo or just a sample photo because I expected a $2.300 5-series to look much worse.

Its been well cared for! The previous owners first car when he turned 16 was an 87 325e, he drove that until 1999 when he bought the 540i. drove the E34 until two weeks ago when he bought an 09 5er

Very nice.

You stole it from someone, right?

I love those cars but have always been scared off by the gas usage and upkeep. Hopefully getting a well kept model means it'll be trouble free for you! Keep us up to date on how it works out, they're definitely something the GRM community would enjoy driving I think.

I have a buddy with one of these with a manual, a Dinan chip, intake, and exhaust.

The noises it makes makes wearing tight pants difficult in public.

My brother just bought one of those with a stick for about 3k. Neat car!

Must resist manual transmission snobbery comment.. lol

Looks good......I'm glad that it had the block changed to the newer style, as that pretty much keeps you from it being a PITA

fasted58 wrote: older Mustang GT that hasn't been thrashed by a teener tuner

Haha...ha.

For $2K?

I don't think so.

m4ff3w wrote: Don't forget Alfa Milano. You should easily be able to find a 2.5l for 2k. 3.0l cars are hard to find in that price range. Parts availability is way better than you'd think. I know travis_k had issues with his, but mine was an absolutely excellent daily driver. I did nothing but normal maintenance on it (clutch, timing belt, water pump) with the exception of a failed drivers side motor mount.

To be fair, most of the problems with mine had to do with its life before I got it, not really the cars fault. The only things I really hated were that the heater didnt work (dont buy one to DD if the heater isnt working when you get it, the parts to fix it dont exist anymore), the headlights are terrible (budget $500-$1200 for euro lights), and that clutch parts are $$$ or NLA (may have been solved by now). Other than that, and if you dont mind having like 3 inches of ground clearance stock, its a pretty durable and fun car that drives like a miata that isnt uncomfortably small.

I am in the same situation (well, little less than $2k to mess with) and looking for a daily driver. Here is my list of what I am looking for:

Acura 2.2 CL
1990-97 Honda Accord 4 cylinder/5 speed
P10 Infiniti G20
E30/36
second gen Mitsubishi Eclipse 4 cylinder/5 speed
Toyota MR2
Miata
Volkswagen Golf Mk2 or Mk3
Lexus LS400 or ES300

Since when do 540's change hands for $2,000(ish)?! Well played!

Very nice

The C900 Saab would seem to be THE perfect GRM car. I drove the 91 Convertible 20,000 miles last year. Tonight the top was down and the music was up. I wasn't a FWD or import guy but absolutely positively love my old Saabs.