Longtime lurker here. I’m pretty sure this group is perfect to help point me in the right direction on this one, so I’m wading in…
Looking for a car to replace my current DD appliance, an ’01 Sentra. For background, I also have a ’01 Dodge Cummins and just picked up a ’93 Benz 400E a few months ago. Absolutely love both of those vehicles. However, neither are what I call a runabout – a small, light, reliable vehicle that gets good mpg and is relatively cheap to operate.
After a few too many hours on YouTube spent watching Swedish and Finnish rally vids, however, I have come to the realization that my life is not complete without starting to do some SCCA rallycross stuff for fun.
So with that, I’ve arrived at the idea that I should pick up a car that can serve double duty as both a runabout and a rallyx car. Looking to keep the purchase price below $3k, manual trans, RWD. I’ve read a lot of the rallyx threads on here, and those have really helped me narrow down my list. Here’s my current list (in no particular order) and a few of my thoughts on each, with a rally car pic to go with each because, well, who doesn’t want to look at pics of rally cars?
BMW E30/E36/E46
Seems the E36 is the lowest price of the BMWs, though I’ve seen some E46s recently at $2k. Always liked the E36. A 318ti might be the best combo of utility, mpg, and cost as a DD. How are they for rallyx? E30’s seem to be on the upswing, price-wise.
Mercedes 190 (W201)
This would be awesome. But with the 400E, not sure I want a smaller version of the same car. And manual cars are rather scarce. As an aside, given the W201’s relatively light weight, slippery body, and impeccable road manners, a W201 with a modern 4-cyl engine swapped in (maybe diesel) seems like the ultimate commuter car to me.
Volvo 240
Required consideration. These would be the most durable of the bunch, right? The thing is, my interest in a mostly stock 240 is precisely 0. I love the modded 240s, but that means it becomes a project, of which I already have too many. They’re so damn cheap though. But they’re lousy on gas mileage and, relatively speaking, huge.
Toyota MR2
Would never have thought of this one until seeing a few reccos on it here on GRM. Intriguing option. Like the size, different than my other vehicles. Not sure if the 1st or 2nd gen would be preferable.
Nissan 300ZX (S31)
Again, never would have considered until saw it on GRM. My dad had an ’85 Turbo that was the most reliable car I’ve ever seen. He bought it when it was a year old, had the entire steering rack replaced under warranty like a month later, and then the next thing to break was the alternator at 185k miles, 14 years later. Engine still pulled hard. Rust was definitely a problem. Somewhat rare these days.
Ford Mustang
Add some American flavor in here. Cheap, reliable, durable, right?
Lancia Stratos
Would have to stretch the budget “a bit”. Not sure about the mpg either.
Thoughts?? I’ve left Subie off. I would consider them, but they seem to hold value well so below $3k gets to be slim pickin’s. Plus, that seems like such an obvious choice…
I’m in DC area, excited to head out to Frostburg and have some fun once I find something and make sure it won’t explode