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ebonyandivory
ebonyandivory Reader
4/17/13 9:17 p.m.

You know... At least interesting, and cheapish/easyish to fix. At this point I've swung from LR Discovery to Saab and back again. All I ask is to leave out Panthers for now.

Kenny_McCormic
Kenny_McCormic Dork
4/17/13 9:19 p.m.

What do you consider "fun"? 5 seats for little girls or 6'2" men?

ebonyandivory
ebonyandivory Reader
4/17/13 9:20 p.m.
Kenny_McCormic wrote: What do you consider "fun"? 5 seats for little girls or 6'2" men?

I'm a 6'-2" man, everyone else is much shorter! Great question, thanks!

And I'll settle for interesting. Readily modded? Some kind of following? Heck, I don't even know what I mean!

thestig99
thestig99 HalfDork
4/17/13 9:46 p.m.

Saab 9000.

Jaynen
Jaynen Dork
4/17/13 9:49 p.m.

Less than 3,000 or greater than? Whats wrong with your avatar car protege5 :)

rob_lewis
rob_lewis GRM+ Memberand Dork
4/17/13 9:51 p.m.

Maxima SE. Best condition you can find.

For example:

http://boston.craigslist.org/nos/cto/3718602167.html

-Rob

Javelin
Javelin GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
4/17/13 9:55 p.m.

Thunderbird Turbo Coupe, 83-88 5.0 V8 TBird or Cougar, Lincoln Mark VII, TBird Super Coupe, 97-03 Grand Prix GTP, LT1 Caprice...

SlickDizzy
SlickDizzy GRM+ Memberand UberDork
4/17/13 9:57 p.m.
thestig99 wrote: Saab 9000.

+1.

Mazda 626 GT turbo also a good choice, but rare.

I don't think five 6'2" men would ever fit in a T-Bird, Cougar or Mark VII though.

poopshovel
poopshovel UltimaDork
4/17/13 9:57 p.m.

I'd have so much fun in this thing they'd make a law against it...but WHY would you EVER replace a bench seat with buckets?!?!? Hater of fun.

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/cto/3689882544.html

rebelgtp
rebelgtp UltraDork
4/17/13 10:04 p.m.

I managed to get 5 into my 944 back in high school.

thestig99
thestig99 HalfDork
4/17/13 10:08 p.m.

Turbo brick?

sethmeister4
sethmeister4 HalfDork
4/17/13 10:53 p.m.
rob_lewis wrote: Maxima SE. Best condition you can find. For example: http://boston.craigslist.org/nos/cto/3718602167.html -Rob

I second this. Find one with the 6 spd manual and have even more fun!

Vigo
Vigo UltraDork
4/17/13 11:22 p.m.

Most of the cars ive ever built would fall under this umbrella. But i do have a thing for massively upgraded cheap family cars.

Lugnut
Lugnut Dork
4/17/13 11:32 p.m.
Vigo wrote: Most of the cars ive ever built would fall under this umbrella. But i do have a thing for massively upgraded cheap family cars.

+1

Plus I think you have your operator backwards. >3000, I would vote E55 or M5.

benzbaronDaryn
benzbaronDaryn Dork
4/17/13 11:40 p.m.

Mercedes r107 450slc tough and pretty fast for their time.

Travis_K
Travis_K UltraDork
4/18/13 12:27 a.m.

Alfa Milano if the people in the back are small, or 164 but they are a little harder to work on. Jaguar xj6 maybe? BMW 3,5,7 series, saabs, vw golf and jetta, first gen neon, Subaru legacy or impreza(maybe not always so good for cheap parts), Mercedes w201, 124, 123, 126, maserati 425 and 430, those are all the interesting ones I can think of that I remeber for sure seeing under $3k.

ebonyandivory
ebonyandivory Reader
4/18/13 5:23 a.m.
Jaynen wrote: Less than 3,000 or greater than? Whats wrong with your avatar car protege5 :)

Too small in the rear seating area. With three kids, I can't look at them packed in there and be comfortable that they'll be ok for long.

Maxima is a good one. Can I get a brief (cuz it's been done several times here before) rundown on the pro's and cons of a $3,000 manual BMW? I keep getting the nightmare feeling but I want do bad to hear they're superb, sooooo bad!

icaneat50eggs
icaneat50eggs Reader
4/18/13 5:25 a.m.

I read this nutty article in some crackpot magazine a few months ago that suggested you could get an 2002-2007 generation WRX for that kind of money.

This article sent my hopes soaring, but after many hours of craigslist scouring I don't think these exist.

dean1484
dean1484 GRM+ Memberand UberDork
4/18/13 7:28 a.m.

RX8 but the 3K may be a problem

MadScientistMatt
MadScientistMatt UltraDork
4/18/13 7:48 a.m.
ebonyandivory wrote: Can I get a brief (cuz it's been done several times here before) rundown on the pro's and cons of a $3,000 manual BMW? I keep getting the nightmare feeling but I want do bad to hear they're superb, sooooo bad!

A mid '90s 5 series with the six wouldn't be too bad (I wouldn't try carrying five adults in a 3 series; they feel a little smaller inside than a Honda Civic). Besides normal wear and tear items like suspension bushings, don't trust any part of the cooling system made of plastic. Treat the radiator as a 100,000 mile maintenance item. The water pump and thermostat housing switched to metal in the late '90s, and the metal versions can (and should) be swapped onto the earlier engines which used plastic versions.

Other than that, expect it to leak a little power steering fluid (I just keep topping up my 3 series every couple months) and some minor interior parts to break, particularly if they were glued together.

Tom Suddard
Tom Suddard GRM+ Memberand Intern
4/18/13 7:56 a.m.
icaneat50eggs wrote: I read this nutty article in some crackpot magazine a few months ago that suggested you could get an 2002-2007 generation WRX for that kind of money. This article sent my hopes soaring, but after many hours of craigslist scouring I don't think these exist.

You saw it here first.

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/200x-classifieds/2012-subaru-wrx-in-connecticut/51090/page1/

In reality, we would have spent the same amount had we started with a nice example. Were you shopping for ruined ones like we were?

Boost_Crazy
Boost_Crazy New Reader
4/18/13 1:38 p.m.

I'd say that a Maxima would be the best all around car you would find in that price range. I had a '95 SE, it it was a great car. Comfortable, lots of room, good power, and well put together. My complaint was that it was on the boring side driving wise. I never really loved driving it.

I'd also consider an SVT Contour. Very similar on paper to the Maxima, but much more fun behind the wheel. Not as nice of a car, and I think it's a little smaller.

There is also the Mitsubishi Galant VR4. For 3k you may be able to find a decent daily driver, but it would be a search and you would have to cast a wide net. A 3k car would need some work, but no more then any other 20 year old car. I've been using mine for a commute car for the last year, and it fits a rear facing car seat and two booster seats. The trunk is a bit on the small side.

Guerilla
Guerilla None
4/18/13 2:23 p.m.

Well I hope my newbish status dosent hinder my answer but I love my MX83 cressida, yea there are some quirks but i think the potential for big fun is very possible. I'm 5"10 all torso (I look like a pig with tiny little hooves) and my head has about 3-4 inches from the roof(if you want more room and less sporty try an ls400) The ls400 I could see as a mean street sleeper while the cressida has potential to be just about anything under the sun, if you were thinking a stick trans stock, then how about an escort wagon/hatch variant?

The_Jed
The_Jed Dork
4/18/13 3:16 p.m.
Guerilla wrote: Well I hope my newbish status dosent hinder my answer but I love my MX83 cressida, yea there are some quirks but i think the potential for big fun is very possible. I'm 5"10 all torso (I look like a pig with tiny little hooves) and my head has about 3-4 inches from the roof(if you want more room and less sporty try an ls400) The ls400 I could see as a mean street sleeper while the cressida has potential to be just about anything under the sun, if you were thinking a stick trans stock, then how about an escort wagon/hatch variant?

You can't give a description like that and leave out a pic!

The_Jed
The_Jed Dork
4/18/13 3:23 p.m.

I'd stick with American if you want something with dirt cheap, readily available parts. I love being able to find parts in ANY local junkyard.

I see you were mulling over a Disco, have you considered a '99 or older 2WD Tahoe or Suburban? Big sways, shocks and decent tires would make it handle surprisingly well!

They're pretty cheap too!

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