best car for under $8000?

i would like to know, which do you think the best car would be for me to buy under 8k, both performance wise and control.


And are the old datsun z's powerful, or kinda sluggish?

The Datsun 240Z has 170bhp i think, and the 260 ? 280? But out of those the 240 was actualy the fastest.

For under 8k i would look at a RX7 86-91 NA. You can get a decent one and it has wuite a bit of potential. Great cars, and alot of fun to drive.

dude, 240Z has 140hp, personaly i say get a mustang 5.0. I am realy into nissans but mustang 5.0s are mad cheap and you can make the run realy fast for cheap. They are actualy as reliable as my nissan 240SX and dont realy handle as bad as people say just remember to get a 1988 plus as they are mass-air and not speed density. Also 5-speed makes a big difference.

a 240Z on the other hand is a totaly different animal Straight Six 4speed manual 140hp and they weigh around 2200lbs. They handle very very well. If you realy wanted to you could swap in the 280ZX turbo engine and 5speed for very cheap and with little modification and it will be very fast after that.

A camaro Z28 or Trans Am is a good option also, they are very fun to drive and you can smoke the tires all the way downt the street even with the automotic. They are also reliable. for 8grand you can get a very nice car just keep on the look out

-Camaro Z28
-Datsun 240Z
-Nissan 300ZX turbo (late 80's has LSD and looks better)
-Mustang 5.0 (Pre 93) LX is faster then GT btw

Just keep lookin out,

naw, i dont want a mustang, i was looking for more of a japanese import, and maybe a european import, like an older bmw m5

under 8000, id say a 5th generation prelude

The most important, and hardest imho, part about getting a new car is deciding what you want in it.

What kind of performance?
If it's drag racing, or stoplight to stoplight, you'll be hard to beat the good old 5.0 mustang for that. Same for pure 'push you in the seat' torque. I've driven one for some years now, and I still think it's got one of the highest 'smiles per dollar' factors out there. I've said it elsewhere... for your $8k, you can be driving a pretty nice Mustang with 500 hp at the rear wheels. You won't be able to touch that with anything else for the price.

For corner carving, you want to stay away from Front wheel Drive - look at the Eclipse AWD's, or 'pure' sports cars like the RX7, Supra, or Z cars.

Are you planning on modifying it? Look at the aftermarket for the various models. There's a HUGE number of parts for those big American V8's.. pretty good market for Honda's, Acuras, and such. Smaller for less common cars.

But there are so many *other* factors - you've already made your mind up about some things - that's fine, just realize what they are, and work with them. Stuff like image, how you'll use it - be honest, how much will you *really* race it?

For example, forget about having more than one person with you with any of those; the back seats (if they even have one) is pretty much useless.

lol thats funny cause before i found my datsun's i was looking at 5.0 mustangs and i found a hell of a mustang and i test drove it man did it put u in ur seat i was grinnin ear to ear......shame he sold it that same day or i woulda bought it but im happy with my 4 door datsun