Yet another "which car should I buy?" jerk off fest
 

I'm probably going to sell my '97 in favor of something else, and I'm trying to figure out what that will be, so make suggestions and I will shoot holes in them and/or ignore them in favor of the idea I have yet to form.
Budget you ask? I'd like to stay under/around $10K but if the bank is cool with it I'd go for up to $13K.
Twat am I looking for? must have a manual trans, if there is a coupe version of said vehicle I want that, nothing that will be a maintenance nightmare (No Audi S4) or engine swapped cars, not looking for somebody else's project. Not looking for a truck, and nothing front wheel drive. No VW's.

330i ZHP.

M dad wants me to buy his. If I wasn't so butt-crazy for a small hatch right now, I'd rock it.

BMW scare me because if anything major breaks I'm fucked. The E30 & E36 cars I could do maybe.

not really. Hell I think he's still getting free brake/oil jobs on his CPO 330i ZHP.


and it's breaks, not brakes. the ZHP has good brakes, it's an M3 without the motor and a better steering rack.

Mechanically sound 240z/260z or an s2000

What bank is going to give you an auto loan for a car older than 5 years?

the kind of "bank" operating out of a back room with your knee caps as collateral.

Wife?

Why dont you just do what Fae did and get another miata?

E46s are cheap to maintain.

If the OP is white, then any bank.

This. I took out a loan last year for my MSM, and i ain't ashamed to admit it.

Navy Federal. They'll do a loan on any car with under 30K miles for sure, I'm not getting a loan for the full amount though, more like $3K or so.

What do y'all think about the NC?

I like the NC. I would look for a WRX, Forester XT, NC, S2000, older Lexus... others that aren't coming to mind at the moment. At this point in my life, I want something nice and comfortable, but still not something that will put me to sleep. I want to be able to have a little fun while I'm driving. I think NC w/ HT would be my first choice right now.

That is the one car I really want right now.

Depending on what body style you prefer...90's toyota mr2 turbo, or my favorite style, the toyota mr-S.

I looked at MR2s online, not a lot of turbo cars and they're all overpriced IMO. the MR-S doesn't really appeal to me for the $ either. The WRX crossed my mind , probably a bugeye sedan. Too bad I can only have one car.

I'm white and when I went to my bank to ask they said less than 5 years old only. Personal loan may be a different story, but they have different rates.

Don't go to a big bank. Go to a small bank or credit union.

You'll probably get better rates, too.

Credit union or PNC fo sho. Since the car will have more then 30K miles I'll probably go for a personal loan.

If you're military hit up USAA. They'll give ya a loan. Got a small one on my '99 when I got it. Its really crazy the different sections they have. My insurance is really cheap and the customer service is awesome.

I just bought a NC and its absolutely amazing. I got an 06 special edition that's fully loaded with 80k miles for 10k. It is better than my 95 in every way. I was getting annoyed dding my 95, an this has everything I wanted in a dd, and it's a better Miata. Plus when I make a sweet v band turbo kit for it in a year or so it will be even better. Also, built 2.3 Mzrs are pretty sweet, turns101 is making like 600 hp.

If you have access to USAA and you don't use them you are a fool. I have never had any issues with them and both their banking and insurance have been excellent.

Navy Fed will give just about anybody in the mil a loan for just about anything they want.

For me:
New 2000 Ranger
New 2001 Celica
New 2006 MS6
2002 Dodge Ram 65k
2005 4Runner 80k
2001 Ninja 900 12k
2003 Aprilia Falco 6k
1998 Four Winns 19ft
1995 Hobie 18'

I have my primary checking/savings, and a "ready-cash" money market through them as well.

We do all our credit-cards through USAA and insurance through State Farm.

.

I'll leat USAA and NavyFed get in a deathmatch for my business.

I could afford a C5 Corvette if I spent a bit more, they can be had for $15K...

NC w/ Cosworth SC.

I'd take a C5 over a SC'd NC, I think. I really wish I had a place for two cars because a C5, a stripped down cheap NA and a sportbike would be very nice. I'll probably end up getting a 01+ LS package, in black.

I know you said no s4 but i'd like to point out the 2003+ has a 4.2L v8 and is pretty awesome and in your price range. I have an a6 with that motor as my daily and aside from the timing belt change the maintenance has been reasonable. it's super reliable and awesome for bad weather (AWD heated seats, heated steering wheel...). it's fun to drive, comfy, fast, reasonable gas mileage 20 city 26 freeway. mine is not manual though :-/.

given your location i'd be looking for something AWD. wrx, etc... personally i love my audi. other then the $600 timing belt kit. I've been able to maintain everything on my own. I haven't had anything go out and im 110k in on the motor.

I'll likely be in either North Carolina, SoCal or Hawaii in 6 months so I'm not too worried about driving in the snow.
However, a friend of mine had a B5S4 and I've never felt grip like that before and with a tune I imagine it would be an awesome car, I'd really like to have a B5S4 However however, for that money I could have a 01+ Miata LS with cash left over for a nice turbo setup and have all the b00st, or I could spend a little more and get a C5 or a STI (I'd like t be able to launch my car and the WRX's 5 speed ain't gonna cut it).

Bought my ZHP w/98k for 10k. It did needed 100k maintenance like water pump, gaskets and such ($4-500) Also did an entire brake job (rotors, pads, etc) which which was just under $300 for everything. This was my first car that I actually worked on. Had no prior experience, but that was okay. The forums are very supportive and a lot of DIY threads.

Tricky thing about E46 BMW's is their VANOS (similar to vvti) seals which tend to wear out over time and allow oil to leak through the system which caused the car to lose low end torque. They have aftermarket seals (Dr. VANOS - $75) that are much more durable then the OEM seals.

About a 3-4 hour job. Nothing hard just time consuming. It has 132k now and it has been trouble free. They do have their quirks though, like broken window regulators and interior panels falling off due to poor adhesive. Overall
they drive great and believe they are last of the modern BMW's without all the electronic/computer gizmos. A lot of people compare them to the performance of the older E36 M3's but much more "refined".

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1343535363

Sorry for the minor thread jack. Lol.

No problem, good info. Aren't E46s expensive to modify? If I wanted to make it as fast as a STi/C5/high power miata would it be possible on a similar budget?

Aftermarket parts can be expensive, especially forced induction. About 4-6k. That would bring the power up to M3 standards. If you plan on upgrading power wise, start with the M3. Just expect the part to cost double from above.

I wouldn't.

I'd drive the SC NC till bored, then put an LS in it. By that time, V8R should have the swap prefected.

A C5 thats 15k will be a problem child and a half.

buy a different car.

I know but I was trying to be polite.

I really like the idea of having a C5 as long as the insurance isn't crazy. Maintenance would not be a problem, simple drive train, simple suspension and not a lot of electronic crap to worry about. The only thing I would worry about would be a possible leaky removable roof.



I'm gonna have to test drive all of em.

If you HAVE to buy a C5, get an FRC.

Just get a loan for a C6 ZO6!

Stop being like every other enlisted ahole and save your money. If you need a car, look into the lease return policies that are offered to people in the armed forces.

I will never lease a car, ever.

Threads like this amuse me: why do you care what others think you should drive? Do you not have a personality? Do you now know what you want? Do you not know what you like and dislike in a car? Do you only want to drive what others think is cool to fit in? What is it?

Its becoming a trend these days:

"GUYTHS HALP, TELL ME WHAT I SHOULD DRIVE SO I GAIN YOUR APPROVAL AND FIT IN"

I'm not flaming you, just trying to see the point of this cause thus far it seems pretty retarded and something a high school kid would do to fit in.

I just did it to see if anyone had an idea that I didn't have and to rule stuff out, which I did. I've got it down to either a NB SE Miata, NC Miata with a 6 speed, a STI or a C5. If I cared what other people thought I would have got a 5.0 Foxbody mustang with a loud exhaust instead of a Miata, but I see your point.

Didn't you have a thread kinda like this when you got rid of your white NB?

Not that I remember. I was 100% set on getting a datsun 240z iirc

Good luck either way though.

PS: love my 3rd NB:D

Looks like a reasonable list. Did you completely rule out a S2000? Saw it mentioned early on but didn't see a comment. If you are really looking at NB/NC I can't imagine not at least considering/driving one.

I drove an s2k a while ago and I like the nc driving dynamics way better than the s2k. I was kind of bummed that I didn't like the s2k because I really wanted to work with a f20 engine.

I've been drooling over s2000's ever since they came out. One of my all time favorite looking affordable cars.

Driving one, on the other hand, was one of the most disappointing experiences ever. As a street car/daily, it just sucks IMO. 20-23mpg and no torque at all til 6k and then a mediocre bump in torque is MEH.

I wanted to cry.

I looked at S2000s, but decided that I'm not that interested in them, although maybe I should drive one just to make sure.

I'm diggin the tags for this thread.

I'm glad somebody noticed.

I've got a question for y'all who live in Cali, I thought I could just retain my registration in Ohio and avoid any of your communist smog bullshiz but apparently I can't, so whats it like getting a turbo miata past smog? Does anyone make a carb approved turbo kit for NBs would I have to go with an NA? It looks like BEGI might make a carb approved kits for '90-'99, but I always thought that greddy kit was the only one that was carb approved?

are you planning to move there? Ive read, more than a few times, that registering out-of-state isn't a solution.

Get a mustang.

Cheap, parts are plentiful, can be fast, reliable.

I thought you could if you are active duty military?

In Nazi-CA, its such a pain in the arse that most just run whatever they want and remove for the smog/visual every 2 years.

that's different and applies to any state.

Not a fan of Mustangs, it feels like you sit "on" them rather then "in" them.

Thats what I thought, but apparently to get your car registered you have to get it smogged, I don't know if that means only once upon registration or every two years like everybody else.

Too much of a pain in the ass for me.

I would rather shoot myself than live day to day with the plastic ---- pile of C5 interior. I vote NC. Also I like threads, it is more fun to spend other people's money than my own.

It's gotta be better then the interior of my car, plus I'm 22 so having such a machine would be pretty awesome to the point that I wouldn't care too much about a relatively not-so-good interior.