I saw that other car thread and thought I'd ask your guys' opinion. I'm saving right now for a car to move to LA with. It should be in the 5k-9k range, hence probably a 90's era vehicle. I could use suggestions. The right car would be:

1) stylish
2) affordable
3) reliable
4) fuel-efficient
5) fast

I was thinking of a 1990-model couple such as a Nissan 300zx or Toyota Supra, along those lines. Also thought of the Toyota Solara and Ford Thunderbird. 4-door is always an option. Would prefer 5k-8k range, but under 10k might offer more choices. Any ideas?

s14 240sx



early style headlamps

late model s14 97-98 with projectors



affordable, 4 seats, two doors, fast, RWD, and fun! and very mod friendly . fuel efficent as well

300zx as much as I love it will probly be a money pit for you. that v6 motor is hard to work on and not always as reliable as one would like. for that price range they are usually pretty ragged out cars and need work. but if you find one for a good deal go for it. the 300zx is  one of my dream cars.
if you do go with a 300zx go for a Twin turbo.
like this 1990



if you really want to save some money and do something custom and have somthing that will turn heads go with this.

1975 280z. actually you can find the same body style from 71-78 just dont go with the zx because it had the 2+2 seats and was really a slug.


forgoten jewel
porche 944 turbo


ofcourse you cant forget about the mazda RX7


dodge conquest/mitsubishi starion



mitsubishi 3000gt/dodge stealth

don't buy a thundershit.  And if you do make sure that it has the V8 not the V6.  imports are almost always more reliable later on in life than domestics....

You can alway get THE american classic.  C-4 Corvette's are in this range, I bought my '89 for $6000.

Quote from: jimbo1 on February 27, 2007, 08:01:29 AM
You can alway get THE american classic.  C-4 Corvette's are in this range, I bought my '89 for $6000.

yeah and the 350's are a great engine, reliable and parts are easily had for relatively cheap.  Insurance might not be so cheap though.  2 doors 4 seater = sports coupe, 2 doors 2 seater = sports car and a big difference in insurance.

Quoteyeah and the 350's are a great engine, reliable and parts are easily had for relatively cheap.  Insurance might not be so cheap though.  2 doors 4 seater = sports coupe, 2 doors 2 seater = sports car and a big difference in insurance.

Insurance on the vette is $80 every 6 months, my daughter's '89 escort is $87.  Go figure.

Quote from: jimbo1 on February 27, 2007, 08:28:36 AM

Quoteyeah and the 350's are a great engine, reliable and parts are easily had for relatively cheap.  Insurance might not be so cheap though.  2 doors 4 seater = sports coupe, 2 doors 2 seater = sports car and a big difference in insurance.

Insurance on the vette is $80 every 6 months, my daughter's '89 escort is $87.  Go figure.

Is that if they were both driven by your daughter, cause age has a lot to do with it.  My moto insurance droped a mega-ton when once i hit 25 last September, i can't wait till renewal time with the car insurance

I bought my 03 SVT Focus for 11k on the dot WITH a 7 year warranty. It's not super fast for sure, but it's alot of fun, light tossable with 170 hp. PLUS a 7 year warranty is really really really nice.

Quote from: VTNewb on February 27, 2007, 09:06:25 AM
I bought my 03 SVT Focus for 11k on the dot WITH a 7 year warranty. It's not super fast for sure, but it's alot of fun, light tossable with 170 hp. PLUS a 7 year warranty is really really really nice.

+1 That is the ONLY American sport compact I have really liked. It's a cool design, has a lot of potential and is fun to drive out of the box.

328iS

Insurance doesn't matter who drives them.  Its one policy, with my daughter as a driver in my house.

Of course, SHE doesn't know that.

focus = FWD.. . NOPE.

Quote from: Susuki_Jah on February 27, 2007, 11:07:13 AM
focus = FWD.. . NOPE.

FWD doesn't mean not sporty. Also I believe nightrider stated that he wanted fast, stylish, fuel efficient, but no specific mention of RWD. Take an Integra type R, Focus SVT, Civic Si, Eclipse GS-T, Mazdaspeed3, VW GTI- all examples of nice FWD cars that are sporty, fast, fuel efficient and practical.

OOh, I forgot to mention the Honda Prelude- it's a nice looking car and a decent balance between sporty and usable. You can probably land a Type SH 5Speed for around $6-10K

Quote from: jimbo1 on February 27, 2007, 10:51:47 AM
Insurance doesn't matter who drives them.  Its one policy, with my daughter as a driver in my house.

Of course, SHE doesn't know that.

yeah, i forgot you could do that.  I have my fiance on my policy but i listed her as the primary driver of the car which changes the rate according to her record, I take the pickup or my bike

Quote from: CasiUSA on February 27, 2007, 11:37:46 AM

Quote from: Susuki_Jah on February 27, 2007, 11:07:13 AM
focus = FWD.. . NOPE.

FWD doesn't mean not sporty. Also I believe nightrider stated that he wanted fast, stylish, fuel efficient, but no specific mention of RWD. Take an Integra type R, Focus SVT, Civic Si, Eclipse GS-T, Mazdaspeed3, VW GTI- all examples of nice FWD cars that are sporty, fast, fuel efficient and practical.

oh i didnt mean it wasnt sporty casi. I just meant Im not into FWD cars anymore and if you are looking for an older sports car I would try to go RWD. even though I think the focus is a nice car and I really like fords .   I ran a sentra SER in autox and it just doesnt handle near the way a RWD can. and try to get out of a sticky situation.. LOCK UP.

FWD can be sporty but I wouldnt ever consider them to be a true Sports car.  Front wheel drive cars are usually more of a pain to swap motors and suspension as well. trust me ive worked on all of them and i hate ever FWD car I ever laid my hands on. they pack so much crap in the engine bay its not even funny. and talk about AWD thats even worse to work on. it will take me about 3-5 hours to pull a engine and tranny  thats in a driveway from start to finish in a FWD car thats including wires and labeling and bagging bolts. it will take me a little over an hour to pull the engine and tranny out of a RWD car doing the same thing.

same with suspension  FWD takes forever, RWD pull out slap in.

plus you cant really do donuts the way you can in a rwd 

but reverse donits are fun

I like the Integra 93-96 I think and the 240 SX nissans.
I also like riced out VW bugs.
Cool.
Srinath.

Quote from: VTNewb on February 27, 2007, 09:06:25 AM
I bought my 03 SVT Focus for 11k on the dot WITH a 7 year warranty. It's not super fast for sure, but it's alot of fun, light tossable with 170 hp. PLUS a 7 year warranty is really really really nice.

You could have both the focus and the rwd, there are many kits available...it might go over your budget though.

Or... if you can get past the FWD thing that has been brought up, check out an SVT Contour.  They can be had for dirt cheap right now, imho look much better than the focus, are quicker, and have the best online car forum that I have ever seen.  Plus, with what is currently available for them, you could have a 400hp 4 door car that looks great but easily fly's under the radar and easily come in under your budget.  Just another thing to think about.

Also, in regards to the front wheel drive thing, I personally made a what was thought to be a huge compromise when buying my CSVT.  I still have a preference of RWD or sometimes AWD but have come to love the CSVT.  I traded in a convertible RX-7 for the CSVT and the two other cars that I now own (excluding my wife's car) are both RWD.  Even so, I would have a tough time getting rid of the contour. 

Quote from: nightrider on February 27, 2007, 03:36:09 AM
I saw that other car thread and thought I'd ask your guys' opinion. I'm saving right now for a car to move to LA with. It should be in the 5k-9k range, hence probably a 90's era vehicle. I could use suggestions. The right car would be:

1) stylish
2) affordable
3) reliable
4) fuel-efficient
5) fast

Mazda Miata, although the stylish part might be up for debate to some.