car choices

hi all, I'm shopping for a new car around the $3500 price range and was looking for some suggestions for a fairly sporty car I was looking at a 91 mr2 and a 2000 eclipse but any other suggestions are welcome.

Welcome to Grassroots!

Have you considered a Miata?
What are your thoughts about '84 to '91 BMW 3 series cars, known as e30's?
What about BMW 3 series cars of '92 to '99, known as e36's?
Would you ever consider a retired Ford cop car, known as P71's?

jrw1621 wrote: Welcome to Grassroots! Have you considered a Miata? What are your thoughts about '84 to '91 BMW 3 series cars, known as e30's? What about BMW 3 series cars of '92 to '99, known as e36's? Would you ever consider a retired Ford cop car, known as P71's?

+1 all good choices

jrw1621 wrote: Welcome to Grassroots! Have you considered a Miata? What are your thoughts about '84 to '91 BMW 3 series cars, known as e30's? What about BMW 3 series cars of '92 to '99, known as e36's? Would you ever consider a retired Ford cop car, known as P71's?

Wow. It's a whole GRM thread in one post.

Actually, I'll add a few, what the heck. Really, it depends on what you want:

• 1989 - 1995 Taurus SHO (You should get a really nice example for $3500.)
• MGB (Lots of years, models, conditions, and variations. That's a thread of its own.)
• 914 (Mind the rust.)
• CRX\Del Sol\Civic SI (good luck finding one unmolested)
• 1984-1996 300ZX
• 1979-1991 RX7
• 1989-1998 Nissan 240SX
• 1984-1988 Fiero (Really, you want a 1988 Formula, but that'll cost you. Just remember that some of what they say about Fieros is false. Sadly, much of what they say about Fieros is true.)

It's always a good idea to know a lot about what you are buying, but the older the car, the more you need to know.

DON'T FORGET THE MX6/PROBE GT!!!

mmosbey wrote: Wow. It's a whole GRM thread in one post.

Often know as the GRM trinity.
The number one 2 seat choice. The number one 4 seat choice. The number one 5/6 seat choice.
Often also seen as the number one 4 cyl choice, the number one 6 cyl choice and the number one 8 cyl choice.

It is not to say that there are not many other great choices as well.

If "sporty" means off-road then Cherokee. If it means some moderate towing then Astro.

What we really need from the original poster is some more details of what he is looking to do with the car, where and what features/functions are most important to him.
To provide him a more direct answer...
An MR2 is a fantastic choice and could easily be top 3 in the 2 seat and 4 cyl categories.
The 2000 Eclipse is a poor choice and would not make top 10 in any category.

I think 95% of GRM was just summed up in 5 posts

The car will be mostly a daily driver though I would also like to get into Autocross. I tend to do all my own work so something that isn't gonna break a lot is ideal. I live in Houston, TX so definitely a road car.

Don't go for the plebian choices, try these instead

• Fiat X1/9
• Alfa Milano/GVT6
• Maserati Biturbo
• Peugeot 505 Turbo
• Rover SD1
• Rover 3500S
• Lancia Scorpion
• Hillman/Sunbeam Imp
• Lotus Eclat

I'm looking for something with fairly high parts availability near-by

Give these guys a shout http://houston.craigslist.org/pts/2739882165.html

2000 Eclipse isn't on the top ten of the resident Mitsubishi mechanic either.

so I'm partial to the MR2 and MX-5, anything I should look for specific to each car?

m4ff3w wrote: Don't go for the plebian choices, try these instead * Fiat X1/9 * Alfa Milano/GVT6 * Maserati Biturbo * Peugeot 505 Turbo * Rover SD1 * Rover 3500S * Lancia Scorpion * Hillman/Sunbeam Imp * Lotus Eclat

We embrace and enable all these bad ideas

Spidey wrote: so I'm partial to the MR2 and MX-5, anything I should look for specific to each car?

The GRM Miata Buyers Guide:
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/mazda-miata/

I previously owned a '88 MR2 SC (the earlier square body) loved it! The '90 and later Mk2 cars are more refined which is both a negative and a positive but they are wonderful cars, just very hard to find one that is not either beat or over priced. Actually, more likely both beat and over priced.
The epicenter of all things MR2 is www.mr2oc.com You will be required to register to enter but it is free, safe and very well worth it. They have a good classified section for both cars and parts.

m4ff3w wrote: * Alfa Milano/GVT6

Those are actually quite a bit less of a bad idea than you think. I had a milano for a while, and it was reliable enough to drive daily for about 40k miles.

I would say the good things are:

Very easy to work on/simple. A bit odd, but nothing in the least bit difficult.

Reliable, only had one mechanical failure the whole time i had it that required a tow truck

Very good handling, the closest you will get to a 4 door miata.

Above average (actually quite good) availability of performance suspension parts, you can still get anything you might want.

Decent power stock, and has the potential for ~200 without spending a ton of money.

Almost any part you could ever need is easily available.

Bad:

Very little ground clearance

Windshelds can be hard to find, and cost around $500-800

Throwout bearing is NLA, although you can find used ones easily, and they are pretty durable.

Headlights are terrible, that was one of the main reasons I sold mine becasue i was scared to drive it at night.

Interior materials are pretty bad (in the milano), like door panels and the hvac components, so having a working heater and non broken door panels is unlikely.

Lots of oil leaks, its italian, so its kinda to be expected.

If my milano had a working heater and better headlights, and less oil leaks that would have required a huge effort to fix i would have kept it, other than that it was pretty good.

Any thoughts on the civic si?

Spidey wrote: Any thoughts on the civic si?

'84 to '91 Si's are great!!!!!

Fox body mustang

G body

F body cars

jrw1621 wrote:

Spidey wrote: Any thoughts on the civic si?

'84 to '91 Si's are great!!!!!

89 si might be the best car ever made

The 92-95 si's are also very good

http://houston.craigslist.org/ctd/2741346854.html

Just sayin'.

jstein77 wrote: http://houston.craigslist.org/ctd/2741346854.html Just sayin'.

No price, but i bet with those superfly fresh wheels, they'll want at least $8k.

Do searches on ebay for max price $3500, manual transmission, and however far you're willing to drive. Do the same kind of stuff on other sites. I used to pick up an RX-7 or Z car every year or so this way.

Ford Escort or Tempo, the awesome Dodge Aries K or a Chevy Celebrity are your best options.

(why do we keep telling people to buy up all the good Miatas?)