I remember when there were a ton of 510's for $2,500 all day long. Today they are rare and classic.
Besides a Miata (there are three of us) - what is a modern 510 or original style Mini Cooper I can pick up for cheap and have fun plus there are parts all over the place to buy? Old Rabbit GTi concept too.
Newer gti
GTI, Civic, E30/E36, RWD Volvo?. Not much in the way of light RWD cars in the last 20+ years, that's why the conversation tends to default to Miata.
Fox body mustang
R53 MINI Cooper S, Focus STI , I've even wondered about a Kia Rio. They have 138 HP and weigh just a touch more than my 1991 GTI. There's little aftermarket, but adapting sway bars or springs from something else shouldn't be insurmountable.
1992 to 1998 BMW 318 TI hatchback. Bought one 6 years ago on ebay for my step daughter. Lowered...m3 air dam and.17 inch m3 wheels. A little under powered with stock engine busy to upgrade to a 2.5 wngine. Fun tossable simple package. She sold.it to buy an Accord but I loved it and wish I'd kept it for myself
The price of a new datsun 510 in 1970 was about $2500. Late 70s porsche 911s are selling for about what they cost new now. Late 80s porsche 911s can still be had for a fair bit under their new car sticker price. I keed, I keed.
bmw e46, audi 90/a4, saab 9-3/9-5, porsche 944, vw gti, vw corrado, mustangs come to mind
Subscribed, in order to find out what the Hive thinks can/should be done with a Rio (which I drove as a rental and really liked.)
Mr2s man mr2s.
There is the wife and the 14 year old. A 2 seater for an extra car means I drive it to work on Saturday and usually solo. I want to be able to take the 3 of us on a drive.
Define cheap, please.
How about Alfa Romeo Milano? I had one as my only car for a few years, and it was pretty reliable and easy to work on, and parts (both stock and performance parts) were readily available. They are often pretty cheap if you get the 2.5 version (which you should, because the seats in the 3.0 cars disintegrate and you can avoid the unreliable ABS). The only real bad things are the windshields are very expensive, along with the clutch if you need anything other than just a new disc, and the HVAC and headlights are terrible. They also look like they should be lowered but you can't because the exhaust is 2 inches lower than the rest of the car and already scrapes on speed bumps at stock height.
To me, a "modern 510" means a light, boxy, and cheap 4-banger with good handling and low running costs.
Mazda 3 or Protege (I'd start here)
Nissan Sentra SE-R
Golf GTI
Mini Cooper or Cooper S
Ford Focus or Fiesta
WRX
Civic Si
There's a part of me that wants to build an 8th gen Corolla manual. Haven't even looked too deeply into possible upgrades and I can't explain why but seems like the closest thing to a cheap, barebones, 4 cyl car out there nowadays.
A few years ago, when the Mazda2 was released, it generated a lot if buzz around here of being the new "cheap sport" vehicle.
Since then and since their discontinuation we hardly hear anything about them. I wonder if this could mean the are now entering the forgotten and therefore "really, cheap sport" relm?
Real example: '11 with 23k asking $3,950
Here's a nice, mildly aggressive appearance.
B-spec racing generated a lot of performance parts for these little Mazdas.
Last of the Geo/Chevy Metro/Swifts seem like they should fit the bill but I don't think they have much aftermarket parts love. Mazda2 seems likely to work. Saturn Astra? Honda Fit?
Every one of these cars seems perfect to me once I think about the addition of a turbo.
Stable mate to the Mazda2 is the Ford Fiesta.
The Fiesta then offers the ST version which start pricey and seem to remain pricey on the used market.
However, we have discussed here that the traditional Fiesta, especially the trunk version when combined with a manual trans seem to sell on the used market at a super slow rates which translates to super cheap prices.
I may be biased, considering I just bought one a few weeks ago, but I would add the 1st gen Matrix XRS to the list: 2ZZ-GE engine with 8250rpm redline, 6 speed manual, versatile and practical interior, with plenty of TRD and aftermarket performance options available. It's the sleeper car of hot hatches.
I think the closest thing to a Datsun 510 now days is the BMW 128i. Has a bit of the box on top of another box look to it, it's RWD. But not really cheap yet, requires premium fuel, and being a new BMW I don't doubt the CEL comes on every other day. I do like the way they look though.
I had high hopes for the Nissan IDX, but I guess I was one of the few.
While not boxy or RWD, the Fiat 500 Abarth might fit the bill, depending on the budget.
If you want a modern, slightly quirky car that you can enjoy on weekends, has a pretty decent aftermarket, and seats four, then a '05/06 R53 MINI could work for you. If there's one caveat, it's that rear seat room is fairly dependant on how tall the front passengers are.
Regardless, clean examples are getting very close to the bottom of the depreciation curve. Buy a good one and take care of it and it won't lose much value. These cars also have a pretty good social club scene, if that is worth anything to you.
I really wish the Mazda2 had lasted longer in our market.
It looks like the Toyota sedan version of it is relatively popular, though.
Seconding the suggestion of the Toyota Corolla/Matrix XRS. Those are really special cars and will probably grab a similar niche in the future if only because more of them will survive than 02-07 WRXes.
Not sure on the Protege, they're popular in club racing and I certainly love driving them but the rust might even be worse than the 510.
E36
Ford Focus fits the bill.
Mazdaspeed 3 is a freakin' hoot, I tell you what. Stupid amount of power in a FWD, 5 door hatch, what is not to like?
First gen Sentra SE-R. There, I said it.
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