Shopping a cheap car. In my opinion, non-sporty cars with manual trans are where the best bargains can be had. Sure, in a sporty car, like Miata, the manual makes it more desirable but in unsporty cars like a Kia SUV, the manual trans can make the cars very had to attract a buyer and very slow to sell. Slow selling often means low (price) selling.
Both CL and FB can be sorted to show you only manual trans cars. Sort them that way and see what results return. There can be some good deals that way.
Doing the above I quickly found these:
Baby hauler with Lotus Esprit engine asking $3.6k
$2k beater that will feel like a '80's VW Rabbit. Safe for parking on the street.
Family man car and everyone will say how responsible you are! And, another
In reply to John Welsh :
They do have a (small) back seat and I read a thread on Rennlist about car seats that fit in the back. The consensus was that rear-facing seats are too cramped but forward facing fits okay in the backseat of a 944, and there's some booster seats that work great.
But, logic is slowly defeating passion and I don't see myself getting a 944 unless I find some crazy deal, like one with a new clutch, timing belt, and water pump for a challenge price. Not sure what I'll wind up getting but it'll probably be something along the lines of a 3 series, or maybe a second gen Probe GT, or something Volvo. Kinda hard to say, as I'm learning the used car market in this general area, well, sucks. I'll have to travel to get something.
Clutch jobs on 944s are hell. I 100% wouldn't consider attempting one without a garage. It's a huge reason they're non starters for me from a consideration standpoint.
In reply to infinitenexus :
I know that a 944 has a "back seat" but you will find it to be VERY difficult. I was defending your choice of 944 by telling you to forget the back seat since it is Ohio legal to just put the baby in the front seat.
Edit: only put a kid in a front seat when you can defeat the passenger airbag. In my '90 Miata this is a non-issue since passenger air bags were not invented yet. For my '06 Ford F-250 there is a keyed switch on the dash to turn off the passenger air bag.
It's legal but I think my wife would prefer it in the rear, even though it's tight back there.
(sorry, I couldn't resist)
capt, I agree about the clutch job being a PITA. I would only get one if it had a recent clutch install. Without a garage, that would be a $2 grand job at a mechanic.
In reply to infinitenexus :
If that is your wife's position (couldn't resist) then I'll bet she'd be even happier to see the baby in something else, not a forced 944 back seat.
You are under estimating how much large, rear facing seats really suck.
Read, in depth, this thread and the other thread linked within that thread. Take heed of the advice to add the additional bases to your gift registry!!!!
John Welsh said:
In reply to infinitenexus :
I know that a 944 has a "back seat" but you will find it to be VERY difficult. I was defending your choice of 944 by telling you to forget the back seat since it is Ohio legal to just put the baby in the front seat.
Edit: only put a kid in a front seat when you can defeat the passenger airbag. In my '90 Miata this is a non-issue since passenger air bags were not invented yet. For my '06 Ford F-250 there is a keyed switch on the dash to turn off the passenger air bag.
One of my friends had a front facing baby seat in his '79 RX-7 
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
It's not until the kid is a minimum of age 3 years old before the kid is front facing.
Yeah I talked with her about it and we both agreed, if I find an incredible deal on one (which isn't likely) then I'll get it. Otherwise, then I'll try to find something else. The main issue is what's available here, so I'll likely be traveling to get something.
No way will a rear facing car seat fit into the back of a 944. Not a chance! Also, any cheap 944 that you find in NE Ohio will be an absolute rat that will drain your time and wallet in a hurry.
John Welsh said:
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
It's not until the kid is a minimum of age 3 years old before the kid is front facing.
ugh. Meant rear facing.
Bad day at work, working on a twenty year old Toyota where literally everything I touched crumbled. I was thinking like the back of the seat faced forward...
chandler said:
docwyte said:
No way will a rear facing car seat fit into the back of a 944. Not a chance! Also, any cheap 944 that you find in NE Ohio will be an absolute rat that will drain your time and wallet in a hurry.
All of this is truth
The only 944s that I know of are "dead men's cars". They probably will never be for sale until the owner can't take it with him, so to speak.
944s are good bets because they had fully galvanized tubs. Not that many people ever drove a 944 in the winter, but it certainly helped. They're also in a weird spot where they are DIY-intimidating enough that most people don't mess with them, so the ones I've seen tend to be in pretty decent shape mechanically.
captdownshift (Forum Supporter) said:
Clutch jobs on 944s are hell. I 100% wouldn't consider attempting one without a garage. It's a huge reason they're non starters for me from a consideration standpoint.
I knew someone with one that had a ridiculous amount of problems with it and with everything.
It was obviously a lemon but hearing him get excited about going to the store and not having it break down in the mile of driving kinda turned me off of them
It's certainly a polarizing car. While everyone agrees across the internet that the clutch is a pain as is the water pump/timing belt, most people are split on calling it either a very reliable car with above average maintenance costs that's a blast to own and one of the greatest handling cars of all time, or a slow outdated underpowered car that needs everything replaced, will never be fast, and will probably explode the first time you drive it. I try to stay somewhere between those two, which I feel is more realistic.
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
Your comment on the galvanized tub is spot on. Of all the ones I've seen for sale within 200 miles of here, only one had any visible rust and that was only a small spot. Even the ones that looked like they were t well cared for looked rust free
11GTCS
HalfDork
4/2/21 5:47 p.m.
In reply to John Welsh :
That’s umm, special. Certainly wouldn’t lose it in a parking lot.
In reply to infinitenexus :
I want a 924. Specifically, an '80 924 with the Porsche 5 speed, because it has a dogleg trans, and this is important to me. Purchasing ANY Porsche is purely off of irrational emotional response, and when going for irrational emotional response, it's best to give in and go for broke.
Anyway. Guy I know in Michigan, let's call him Scott, has a bazillion 944s and even a couple 968s. We were talking Porschen, and I mentioned this desire for a 924. He says, you don't want a 924, they weren't galvanized, get a 944.
but i want 1st gear down and to the left and 5th gear down and to the right
11GTCS said:
In reply to John Welsh :
That’s umm, special. Certainly wouldn’t lose it in a parking lot.
Nothing that $50 of Krylon and a month of weekends in the garage can't fix.
If one of my friends can manage to replace a head gasket on his 944 while managing five kids in the background, I can probably do it too...
944's are old cars and for a very long time have been cheap to buy. That's not a good combination as they've been neglected and a cheap, neglected 944 is going to cost you a TON of money. Even a well cared for 944 can cost you a ton of money.
Then there's the baby seat issue, you can fit a booster seat back there but that's about it. So you won't be able to put your kiddo in the car for years...
The Wife and I are driving out to PA to see her parents for her dad's birthday and there was a nice Audi station wagon with the 1.8 turbo in it behind us. Pretty sharp looking car, and a station wagon would certainly have plenty of room. I can pretty much cross BMWs off the list since they're nonexistent here, but I'm down with an Audi or Volvo wagon, as long as it's got a manual. Of course, I don't know a thing about either other than Audis are AWD and Volvos are safe. More reading to do.
Pete: when I bought my 911 it was purely a thing of passion. I was trading in my old 3 series and saw it on the back of the lot, took it for a test drive, and bought it on the spot. I got it for an unbelievably low price compared to today's. I owned it for about two years and it was the single most wonderful car I've ever owned and every day I regret selling it, even though that was the logical thing to do at the time. One day I'll have another! Life goal
Yeah, I will definitely be buying a car outside of the greater Cleveland area unless I find something amazing. We're in upstate PA visiting The Wife's parents and I hopped on FB Marketplace and the very first vehicle I saw was an E46 sedan, AWD, manual transmission, $3K and runs fine. Plenty of other awesome cars as well.
IMHO, until you get a garage, your next car should be a genera-Japanese sedan, maybe even another Prius since they're so reliable. Anything else is begging for drama and a new baby will bring plenty of that all by itself.
From my understanding, an AWD E46 that "runs fine" but was even slightly overheated becomes a 4 door radio when the head gasket leaks start because the head warped, which damaged the threads in the block for the head studs. $6k later, you'll be good to go...
In reply to mfennell :
A $2-3k Avalon will be reliable vanilla that would fit everyone and should be worth $2-3k in 2 to 4 years as well.
