ideas for of quirky, good handling, decent power, 4-door and cheap cars?

Come on, admit it, it doesn’t get old trying to figure out the “best” car suggestion for a situation!

Okay, sorry for yet another “which car” thread, but the folk here seem to be like minded and I’m hoping can help lend some advice on my next daily driver project.   What I want is a miata, but with kid #2 here, my dreams of a 2 seater are being replaced by practicality.

In the venn diagram of cars, I realize that the intersection of quirky, good handling, decent power, practical, and cheap doesn’t actually exist, so some compromise will need to be made.  For context of things i might like, here’s my history of cars to date:

1968 Cadillac Deville Convertible (7.7L and 4800lbs of America)
1995 Camaro Z28 (fun in college)
1995 M3 (when I realized I liked turning more than just going straight and I couldn’t afford an E46)
1995 Mini Sidewalk (taught me FWD underpowered cars can actually be really fun, pure coincidence i kept buying '95s)
2004 RSX base (free from family member when I moved back from UK, boring, but free, but too boring and no 4-doors = time for a project…)

Target total price is <$10k, but I’m cheap and would love to spend as little as possible (or spend less and eventually spend more with upgrades).  I live in CA, so that means any engine go faster-bits need to be SMOG legal/likely not noticed.  Car will be daily driven.  I know my way around a car and a wrench, but work and family commitments means all work/mods will be done by my mechanic.  We already have a minivan, so major kid hauling is taken care of.  I just need to be able to do 4 residential miles with 2 kids, twice a week.  I’ve got a couple ideas, but am here to get opinions on them and more ideas as well:

• 4th gen civic sedan – very light + decent suspension, pretty cheap, decent quirk, very underpowered.   On paper pretty sweet being so light with double a-arm suspension all around, and seems like lots of cheapish engine swap possibilities.  Might be the closest 4-door analog to a classic mini? But I’ve never driven one.  I personally dig the unassuming boxy late 80s styling.
• E30 – pretty light + decent suspension, pretty cheap, decent quirk, not so powerful though.  I liked my E36 in the past, I think that bodes well for liking the E30.  Could maybe swap in an S50 motor down the line?
• E36 M3 sedan – I liked my old M3 coupe.  Would probably be very high miles and likely expensive to keep up.  Not a ton of 4-doors around.
• Older WRX: probably the classic answer to the “I need 4 doors” question.  I’ve never driven AWD.  Just a bit heavier than my old E36 M3 I think.
• G35 sedan: fast, practical and cheap..  Manual sedans seem pretty rare.  For some reason, having a hard time getting excited on this, although I think it might be the best bang for buck.
• E39 540i: powerful, cheap, practical seating/space.  Would probably be very high miles and likely expensive to keep up, and by far the heaviest of this bunch.  (although the weight of the M5 never put Tiff off: https://youtu.be/bmpf_IJMZ_w?t=2m56s )

thanks for the comments/suggestions!
 

You could make a pretty killer 05-07 Focus ST on that budget. 

EDIT: Was on my phone earlier, now back at my computer so I can elaborate.  I owned one of these when my eldest child was a baby, it was a great little DD.  2.3 Duratec made some decent noises, and it handled pretty well too. Reliability was excellent.  Strikes a great balance between fun to drive and easy to own - I'd buy it again given the chance.

On the quirky and classic end of the scale:

alfa Romeo alfetta sedan

bmw Bavaria, e12, e28

pugeot 505 turbo

04 Forester XT? I have one for sale in the LA area... HERE

I would be looking at a E39 530i over the 540i. There is very little aftermarket for the 540's V8, while the I6 in the 530i has gobs of support, but no V8 noises. You could also scoop up a decent 740i for that price.

My Volvo 850 turbo wagon handled better than it had any right to. Stock springs, rebuilt all bushings and wear components, added Bilstein HD shocks/struts. I loved the handling. Power was good too. They're super cheap, and parts aren't too bad either.

Five door Saab 9-3?  Plenty of budget for that kind of thing.

626 Turbo?  Although I kind of soured on these cars because of the not very strong transmissions they came with.

Cressida. Wagon if you can find it. Plenty of aftermarket. 

f or g-body with a suspension package from ridetech?

suspension packages cost between 2-5k and a good F-body or G-body can cost as little as 2500 for on is decent shape. cheap maint, easy parts, more than decent power options etc

An Infiniti G35 sedan, like my 2008 G35S, is the right answer here. The manuals are out there and totally worth it.

It handles better than the FWD-based machinery, goes faster than a WRX, and for a quirk it's so narrow it barely seats five.

G35 6MT sedan. Fast, sharp, hilariously oversteery, Yakuza-spec reclining rear sets, the gauges move with the steering wheel tilt and telescope, and all the knobs are on the right hand side of the console.

08-10 Cobalt turbo SS sedan. Heavy on the performance, light on the budget, a bit cramped in the back seat, I hear. Mine's a coupe.

• Quirky (in spades) 
• Powerful 
• Surprisingly good handling 
• 4 door
• Always cheap

This one already has a manual trans.

B15 (? I think) Sentra Spec V with the 2.5 can be bought for next to nothing, because everyone fears the oil burning due to cat failure.  They are a cubic boatload of fun, for the cost of a liter of oil every two weeks.

I have a lot of fun with my Fiesta SE.    Not an ST.

I mean technically it has 4 doors. The lack of a b-pillar would make loading child seats fairly easy.

How are the Volvo 850 Turbo's and Saab 9-3's for reliability and expense of parts?  Was reading somewhere that the Saab stuff is getting harder to find these days.  I don't mind stuff wearing out over time, just don't want to spend a fortune finding the replacement.

Why do car guys always forget about the GTI? Mkv or newer only.

+1 for a BMW 540i. Bonus points if you can find one in wagon form. I just helped a friend score one in Denver for $2000! It has higher miles for sure, but it already had the engine rebuilt, along with the receipts for the work that was done. We drove it home 14 hours with zero issues.

And here's my 2000 540it daily driver:

oldtin said:

pugeot 505 turbo

 

 I had forgotten how pretty the 505 was. I had a great aunt who owned nothing but pugs, they were great cars. I wonder how hard it is to get parts today?

SVT Contour or 5 door SVT Focus?

Either flavor of SRT4?

Mazdaspeed3 or 6?

Theres no way baby seats are fitting in an RX-8 is there?

I've seen first gen CTS-Vs in your budget.

It doesn't sound like your last Acura really left a positive impression, but a TL Type S would give you about twice the HP of your old RSX.

Maybe not "decent power", but it has everything else.....

http://toledo.craigslist.org/cto/d/1976-peugeot-504/6270803469.html

Can't believe no one mentioned the Peugeot 405 Mi16. One of the best cars I've ever owned. Certainly the best FWD car I've ever driven...and I include the Integra Type R in that list.

Essentially a 4-door, FWD version of the E30 M3. Amazing steering feel. The shifter and seats were perfect. Buzzy 1.9L twin-cam engine. Genuinely usable rear seats. Huge trunk. Cheap parts. Easy to maintain. Should be able to find a good one for $2000.

Mine was dead reliable: It was still going strong at 270k miles when a buddy ventilated the block with a money shift. 

I came in here to recommend a turbo Volvo. Parts are plentuful, and no more expensive that quality parts for the domestics.