so I've been actively searching for a car that would be a little more exciting than the celica lately (sorry!) and what I found is quite sad. I'm looking for anything around under 13k but the more I search the more I find horror stories ...

First I wanted a WRX, but their transmission are **** and If I pickup a used one is bound to blow on me.

Second I liked the E46 BMW, the 328 more precisely, but it looks like E46 are prone to rear sub-frame damage due to manufacturing defect, real ****ty!

I thought about a DSM...woops crankwalk here.

350z are too expensive and have their share of "problems", though not as bad as the 3 previous ones here.

300ZX twin turbo are getting too old and are just money pit from what I heard.

Supra? Ah! their resale value are too high, though I would have loved even getting an NA.

MR2 are kind of expensive for how old they are now, JDMs are cheap but its a gamble and harder to get what you want.

2003 3.2CL type-S, Fast and reliable..6 speed with LSD! but..I'm not sold on how big that car looks...and its FWD :S

Miatas...I LOVE miatas but for what you pay, its still a slow car.

So far, I'm stuck! But right now I'm looking at 98-99 M3's..it seems those BMW are more reliable than the newer ones.

Anyone else have some trouble finding the perfect car? Some day I feel like if I had more money all that **** wouldn't be an issue. Sucks to like sports car and being poor

This post has been edited by Rayme: Aug 31, 2007 - 4:56 PM

why not to look into a celica all track

I've seen some very well maintain for under 7 K I know is an old car but is a Toyota and has potential to be as fast as your pocket can afford.

maybe you are being to picky. all cars will have their share of problems. and not all cars will be as bad as people say they are. my sister had a 98 civic years ago and that thing was a pile of sh*t. broke down every chance it had. my brother had a 5th gen that was also crap. both cars started falling apart at around 110k miles, which may be alot, but for those cars, not close to the end of its "should be" life.

Interesting RX-7, 240sx, SC300 or any american cars at all didn't make your list. In terms of problems, there can be a lot, but so can any car, it just matters on how it was maintained by the previous owner. There really is no "perfect" car, it's all about preference. Yeah my BMW has less problems and has been more dependable than my Celica, but guess which one i drive everyday . (the celica, incase you didn't guess right).

look for a good used IS300 then youll have your "supra" and it even has 4 doors.

look into an STI swapped 2.5rs. you can get them for about 13grand in great shape, and you'll have a car thats faster then a normal STI, without the wrx trans issues.

you could also pick up a 3s swapped celica for a fraction of the cost!!!

This post has been edited by lagos: Sep 1, 2007 - 1:12 PM

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i can get u a JDM MR2 in good condition for a decent price...same with a fairlady Z. Fairlady's are alright, not that big a money pit unless somethin goes wrong with the turbo system. my friend bottomed his out onto the elbow on the exhaust manifold, cracked the compressor housing, the turbine exploded sending shards of it into his firewall, wheel wells, and one hit his oil pan...now hes gotta pull the entire engine out just to replace the turbos, manifolds, and downpipes.

MR2s, if you can find a good buyer, you can get them in good condition from japan. Also, if you get a good seller, they will help you with your purchase too. My friend imported an MR2 for a buddy of his..when it got here it was running like crap...he went out, bought a new coil and wires for it and didnt charge his friend for them. Mind you he does that for all his customers.

You could go for a 5th gen all-trac...either an RC, groupe A or a Carlos Sanz edition for well under your budget. Once again they would be JDM imports, but also again..it all depends on who your importer is and if its an auction car.

If I were you and you did want to import a car from japan for a decent price and you wanted to make sure its a good car....buy a car from an importer/company who doesnt buy auction cars. J-specimports.ca, Fiest, and a few other companies only buy auction cars and dont test drive them...they dont warrenty them either. If you go with an indiependant company/importer, like my self and my friends, we import cars that are checked b4 they leave japan and as soon as they arive. We also detail the cars b4 we sell, compaired to other importing compnaies.

Another good bet too, is a FD RX7. They sell for around $24K here in ontario for a high milage twinturbo touring edition, but you can get them imported for around $11-$15K easily.

Or if you just wanted somethin thats fun and bullet proof, GTRs are always an option.

EDIT: and forgot about Soarers. SC300/400 body with a 5spd and a 1JZ in it. You can never go wrong with inline six twin turbo toyota power.

This post has been edited by Valo666: Sep 1, 2007 - 2:32 PM

s14???

A4 1.8T manuals? Pretty decent tuning potential...

Yamaha R1, Kawasaki ZX10....brand new under 12k and def faster then any of those cars .

back to car recommendations

IS300
5th gen alltrac
3sgte swapped 6th gen
I see one 7agte for sale round 10k

in actuality only a few percentage of 2g dsm's had crankwalk issues. if your worried, get a 1g parts car and throw the 4g63 from there into that 2g

have u looked into lexus? the sc300, is300 all great cars...

cars that are under 13k with good tuning potential?

umm, anything with an ls1 can be had for way under 13 and with less than 100k miles. those engines were forged by god... or was it in forged in mt. doom? I can't remember.


Also, I drive a 99 mustang gt. I picked it up in the spring for 5,700 and it's been great so far, check those out. A 99-04 stang can be had easily for under 13. With 260hp and 302 ft/lbs tq, they aren't too slow either.

Thank for all the recommendations.
I always liked the 00 mustang GT, they are pretty cheap and I like the v8 hehe...

Also looking at 2002 WRX as they got their tranny upgraded from 01...which I would rather have than a mustang.

And yes I like LS1..but their dashboard makes me wanna puke!

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all i have to say is i walk on mustang gt's all day long but i have yet to beat an sti (unless its stock from a roll) my advice go with the subu

mustang GT is so far from performance haha...all that motor is wasted for a slow minimal power out put.

WRX > mustang every time

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X20

Wow, you are probably the pickiest person I have ever seen. You blew of great cars basically.

I personally have decided on three cars for the future.

The 2008 Mustang GT V8 spec one
The 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
The Subaru WRX STI

I'm going to purchase new of course. GOTTA START SAVING UP!

how is the mustang far from performance? It handles like ****, but with just a few mods, you can have a mid-high 12 sec car. I have a few mods to my gt and I can consistantly break into the 12s and the car has 150k miles.

You might even be able to find a 4v for around 13, you can't call them inefficient.

Remember, you may have more power in your car, but you got there with modification and with a turbo. I don't like owning an american car, but the toyota/lexus cars that put up the same speed numbers are too expensive or have to be boosted to hell and I'm not a fan of either.

plus, you can't get that nice v8 rumble without being inefficient.

get a late model 240sx... the 97-^ are sexy and come w/obd2 and most came w/projectors...

or get an evo. my friend has an evo8 pushing 370HP on a very conservative dyno. pulls like a mothertrucker! methanol injection, upraged fuel everything, upgraded exhaust mani/dp/catback, and a bigger turbo! its sick, really..

or get a camaro, mustang, prelude, s2k or maybe a gti r32... i know them all..

Fast, reliable, cheap.

Pick two.

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Yeah GT's have great performance. BETTER THAN A CELICA!

The 2008 Mustang GT has a V8, 300 HP and 320lb-ft of torque. Sounds pretty good to me. Owning an American car has nothing to do with anything. Ford has receiveed a really bad reputation which is understandable. Not all Fords though are the same

Just experience and fact I'm posting

...just wondering if you had narrowed anything down? just curious.

also, I know that a 98-02 camaro is a mullet mobile, but those ls1s are very reliable, the car is cheap, and it's "fast" so, that's all 3... fast reliable and cheap.

I just cannot stand the interior on them, plus the doors are a mile long and the seats are too low for me, otherwise, I would have gotten the camaro instead of the mustang.

I'm currently looking into just dumping a 3sgte in the car and buy winter beaters... I dont think I can really afford a monthy payment..specially if the car breaks down lol.

Anybody have student loans as pet peeves? grrr.........

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Ah to be a student in a Nanny-State
-aforementioned Wiki link+