$3K, which old car should I buy?

EDIT: Skip down a few posts to the one with the pics of the white Mustang GT. Since this first post, my price range has increased to $5k-$7k, and I've change my mind to a 1999-2004 Mustang GT. :-)

Sadly, tonight I was t-boned and my beloved 2001 Maxima doesn't look like she's going to make it. There is a slight chance that she won't be totaled out (here's hoping), but I'm not so sure. Anyway, I'll find out tomorrow morning when it gets towed to the repair shop.

But my question is in the event it does get totaled out. I'll probably get about $5,000 for it. Unfortunately, this money will come at a time we desperately need it to fix a crack in our carport, so I'm going to be stuck with only about $3000 to buy a replacement car. We just bought a 2007 Toyota Sienna, so we don't want to add another payment right now.

So I decided I'm going to have fun with this one. Rather than buying a 1997 Sentra with 130,000 miles on it, or a Corolla or something boring like that, I wanna buy a decent running older car. Something that could possibly be a restoration project in the future, but it's got to be running and legal right now, and I'm hoping for something reliable.

I had my sights set on a Datsun 280z or something similar, and there are a few of those around for that price, but what other suggestions would you make?

What interesting car purchases can I make with $3000? This will just be a commuter for now, possible project later. Yes, I have kids, but we have the mini van for them. So I don't mind if it's a two seater or whatever. AC would be a plus, but not a requirement. I've lived without it before, I can do it again.

Ok turns out I don't have to save some of the money, so I can put all $5K towards a car. Any suggestions now?

Ok turns out I don't have to save some of the money, so I can put all $5K towards a car. Any suggestions now?

The 280's are sweet old cars, Not sure I'd trust one as a DD though. With 5k you could probably find an 80's Camaro (nothin nice to look at but their easy to get goin fast), and old Audi Quatttro (fun and better to look at than the Camaro but expensive to fix and get parts), or a late 80's BMW 3 series (fun little cars), just wana warn you though almost every project car someone starts heads south pretty quickly. Costs more than you'd expect. If I was ogna suggest something semi fun for a good DD at around 3-5k I'd say go find a Cadillac Catera. RWD cars ftw ;)

The 280's are sweet old cars, Not sure I'd trust one as a DD though. With 5k you could probably find an 80's Camaro (nothin nice to look at but their easy to get goin fast), and old Audi Quatttro (fun and better to look at than the Camaro but expensive to fix and get parts), or a late 80's BMW 3 series (fun little cars), just wana warn you though almost every project car someone starts heads south pretty quickly. Costs more than you'd expect. If I was ogna suggest something semi fun for a good DD at around 3-5k I'd say go find a Cadillac Catera. RWD cars ftw ;)

Thanks that's awesome advice. Maybe I'll save the Z for a day when I can have it as a toy and not a daily driver. And while living Utah dictates that I should NOT get a RWD car as a DD either, it would be loads of fun. Honestly, my daily driver doesn't get a lot of miles on it, as all it does is carry me to work and back, which is 10 minutes each way, and during the summer I commute by bike 2 or three days a week. So whatever I choose isn't going to get a tone of miles anyway. And I don't take it very far.

But I have actually been looking at the other ones you mentioned as well. I've found some decent 10-12 year old Audi's and BMW's for under $5K on the local online classifieds.

Then on the flip side, I'm also realizing that we have always wanted a little pickup, because we're always borrowing one from someone, and for my price range, I can find a decent Tacoma or Ranger that would work fine as a daily driver, and would probably be a great DD for the days down the road when I do get my toy car.

Or I could go with this (http://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=0&nid=443&tab=list/view&ad=2695485), lol.

What about this '87 Trans Am (http://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=733005&nid=443&tab=list/view&ad=2628037) for $4200?
80K miles, and they say it runs and drives great.

Thanks that's awesome advice. Maybe I'll save the Z for a day when I can have it as a toy and not a daily driver. And while living Utah dictates that I should NOT get a RWD car as a DD either, it would be loads of fun. Honestly, my daily driver doesn't get a lot of miles on it, as all it does is carry me to work and back, which is 10 minutes each way, and during the summer I commute by bike 2 or three days a week. So whatever I choose isn't going to get a tone of miles anyway. And I don't take it very far.

But I have actually been looking at the other ones you mentioned as well. I've found some decent 10-12 year old Audi's and BMW's for under $5K on the local online classifieds.

Then on the flip side, I'm also realizing that we have always wanted a little pickup, because we're always borrowing one from someone, and for my price range, I can find a decent Tacoma or Ranger that would work fine as a daily driver, and would probably be a great DD for the days down the road when I do get my toy car.

Or I could go with this (http://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=0&nid=443&tab=list/view&ad=2695485), lol.

lol Jags are even worse than the Germen cars to maintain

That is true about the living in Utah part. Might be a little inconvenient.

I can't imagine your ogna find a little truck in very good condition for the 3-5k range, but if you do then that'd be a great option for the snow (a 4wd one that is). A 2wd pickup however is probably the worst vehicle ever in the snow. (no weight in the back end)

a 10-12 year old BMW, Audi, Mercedes, or any of those types of cars would be fun and nice to drive around but you just gotta watch out for maintenance costs again. Good luck


What about this '87 Trans Am (http://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=733005&nid=443&tab=list/view&ad=2628037) for $4200?
80K miles, and they say it runs and drives great.

If its legit its a pretty good deal and if you can live with a rwd car in Utah its a pretty good deal

lol Jags are even worse than the Germen cars to maintain

That is true about the living in Utah part. Might be a little inconvenient.

I can't imagine your ogna find a little truck in very good condition for the 3-5k range, but if you do then that'd be a great option for the snow (a 4wd one that is). A 2wd pickup however is probably the worst vehicle ever in the snow. (no weight in the back end)

a 10-12 year old BMW, Audi, Mercedes, or any of those types of cars would be fun and nice to drive around but you just gotta watch out for maintenance costs again. Good luck




If its legit its a pretty good deal and if you can live with a rwd car in Utah its a pretty good deal
Yeah, the Jag thing was a joke, I wouldn't consider it. Iv'e found quite a few 10 to 15 year old Tacomas and Rangers for around $5K, they've got kind of high miles, but they might work. I wouldn't go for a 2WD truck here either, you're right. I've also kind of ruled out the BMW's and Audi's because of the maintenance costs.

So I'm down to looking at some Z's and other little sports cars. The rear wheel drive is something I'm probably going to be willing to deal with, because if I'm not then I'm either stuck with a 4X4 truck, or a boring front wheel drive car. I wish my Maxima hadn't been smashed up.

Interesting discussion.
Over the years, I have owned vintage (1977+) Trans Ams, 302 Mustangs, BMW's, a Supra and have driven some Z-cars and RX-7.

Back in the 80's, I was a big patriotic supporter of the domestic car industry, but I changed my mind after driving some import sporty cars. I was astounded at how crude and disconnected the domestic sporty cars felt by comparison.

I like the Mustangs, Camaros and T/A's (especially the retro-cool 70's versions) for the torque acceleration, cheap parts and ease of repair

But, for older, '80's cars, I prefer the imports for a superior overall driving experience. They are more refined, better handling and altogether better for a sporty, responsive driving experience. My favorite is the Mark II Supra, (I own one these days). In the early '80's, all the car magazines stated it was better then the 280-Z, RX-7's, Starion, etc.

Here is a detailed reivew of my Supra
http://www.carsurvey.org/reviews/toyota/supra/r91087/

I prefer the Japanese sporty cars to European, because parts and support are, imo cheaper and easier to get. But an excellent BMW should be considered...

Also I can understand that some models may not be available. At that price, don't be so picky about the model. Look at the 280-Z, RX-7, Supra (P-type, not L-type), MR-2, BMW, Camaro, or T/A, and buy the best one you can afford.

As for pick-up trucks, I much prefer the older Chevy S-10's over the Ranger. The 4.3 V6/5-spd combo is terrific, and they had better front suspension and steering than the Ford Ranger of the day. The S-10, especially the 2wd model is pretty good stock, and can be made to handle quite well.... for a pick up.

Interesting discussion.
Over the years, I have owned vintage (1977+) Trans Ams, 302 Mustangs, BMW's, a Supra and have driven some Z-cars and RX-7.

Back in the 80's, I was a big patriotic supporter of the domestic car industry, but I changed my mind after driving some import sporty cars. I was astounded at how crude and disconnected the domestic sporty cars felt by comparison.

I like the Mustangs, Camaros and T/A's (especially the retro-cool 70's versions) for the torque acceleration, cheap parts and ease of repair

But, for older, '80's cars, I prefer the imports for a superior overall driving experience. They are more refined, better handling and altogether better for a sporty, responsive driving experience. My favorite is the Mark II Supra, (I own one these days). In the early '80's, all the car magazines stated it was better then the 280-Z, RX-7's, Starion, etc.

Here is a detailed reivew of my Supra
http://www.carsurvey.org/reviews/toyota/supra/r91087/

I prefer the Japanese sporty cars to European, because parts and support are, imo cheaper and easier to get. But an excellent BMW should be considered...

Also I can understand that some models may not be available. At that price, don't be so picky about the model. Look at the 280-Z, RX-7, Supra (P-type, not L-type), MR-2, BMW, Camaro, or T/A, and buy the best one you can afford.

As for pick-up trucks, I much prefer the older Chevy S-10's over the Ranger. The 4.3 V6/5-spd combo is terrific, and they had better front suspension and steering than the Ford Ranger of the day. The S-10, especially the 2wd model is pretty good stock, and can be made to handle quite well.... for a pick up.

Thanks, that's great info. This thread is becoming really informative, and is helping me take more time and take more cars into consideration.

As a side note, how about this 1991 Corvette (http://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=0&nid=443&tab=list/view&ad=2702948) I just found with 89K miles going for $6K? (more images and info at the link)

http://www.ksl.com/emedia/its/slc/1330/133058/13305809.jpg?filter=ksl/gallery3

http://www.ksl.com/emedia/its/slc/1330/133065/13306540.jpg?filter=ksl/gallery3

Corvette valves tend to follow a predictable depreciation curve. At about 18-20 years their vales have pretty much bottomed-out. So if you pick up the vette, it will hold its value, so long as its maintained.

Personally, I would go for the Vette, so long as the insurance is affordable.

Corvette valves tend to follow a predictable depreciation curve. At about 18-20 years their vales have pretty much bottomed-out. So if you pick up the vette, it will hold its value, so long as its maintained.

Personally, I would go for the Vette, so long as the insurance is affordable.

Lol yeah insurance is the part I haven't really looked at yet. If I'm honest with myself, a Vette is a little lofty for me right now, but a guy can dream.

Lol yeah insurance is the part I haven't really looked at yet. If I'm honest with myself, a Vette is a little lofty for me right now, but a guy can dream.

To true.

I'd look into that before you start lookin into the cars themselves too much. Get you lookin in the right direction.

To true.

I'd look into that before you start lookin into the cars themselves too much. Get you lookin in the right direction.

Eh, don't worry, I'll take care of the insurance part. I'm dropping the full coverage on my Maxima and will be replacing it for full coverage on whatever I buy, if it increases a bit, it's not a huge deal, and I have a great agent that always gets me a pretty good deal. Besides, if I based my decision on the insurance premium, I'd end up in a Corolla.

Eh, don't worry, I'll take care of the insurance part. I'm dropping the full coverage on my Maxima and will be replacing it for full coverage on whatever I buy, if it increases a bit, it's not a huge deal, and I have a great agent that always gets me a pretty good deal. Besides, if I based my decision on the insurance premium, I'd end up in a Corolla.

Not saying you should base it on that. But having an idea of what fun cars are the best value in terms of everyday cost doesn't hurt. If you wait till you find a car you wont know if an equal car thats priced $500-600 more will save you that or more a year on insurance.

I'd like to say MagicRat's suggestions are good ones.

But I guess in the whole buying process, what you should do is look in listings and choose some candidates. If you have four or five cars that you like, research about how these cars perform and read reviews about maintenance costs etc.

But with your repair cost concerns, Japanese and American cars have cheaper parts than European cars.

I have looked at some listing in Utah and found these cars within 4K to 5K that you might find good to buy: 2005 Toyota Solara SE, 2003 Chevy Cavalier LS or if you are looking for a vehicle with lots of power like you would find in a truck and lots of room like you would find in an SUV, I suggest you get the 2001 Ford Expedition 4x4 XLT. Not to mention, this is one of the safest vehicles that earned an award from the federal government after it passed so many crash tests.

But anyway, there are so many nice cars out there within your 5K budget. Just have a mechanic check it and check the vehicle's history so you will not end up with a piece of junk.

I'd like to say MagicRat's suggestions are good ones.

But I guess in the whole buying process, what you should do is look in listings and choose some candidates. If you have four or five cars that you like, research about how these cars perform and read reviews about maintenance costs etc.

But with your repair cost concerns, Japanese and American cars have cheaper parts than European cars.

I have looked at some listing in Utah and found these cars within 4K to 5K that you might find good to buy: 2005 Toyota Solara SE, 2003 Chevy Cavalier LS or if you are looking for a vehicle with lots of power like you would find in a truck and lots of room like you would find in an SUV, I suggest you get the 2001 Ford Expedition 4x4 XLT. Not to mention, this is one of the safest vehicles that earned an award from the federal government after it passed so many crash tests.

But anyway, there are so many nice cars out there within your 5K budget. Just have a mechanic check it and check the vehicle's history so you will not end up with a piece of junk.

Thanks, good advice. I don't really want to get into something as big as an SUV, even though I'm not really worried about gas mileage. I dunno, could consider it. But I'll look at some of the others you mentioned.

I'd like to say MagicRat's suggestions are good ones.

But I guess in the whole buying process, what you should do is look in listings and choose some candidates. If you have four or five cars that you like, research about how these cars perform and read reviews about maintenance costs etc.

But with your repair cost concerns, Japanese and American cars have cheaper parts than European cars.

I have looked at some listing in Utah and found these cars within 4K to 5K that you might find good to buy: 2005 Toyota Solara SE, 2003 Chevy Cavalier LS or if you are looking for a vehicle with lots of power like you would find in a truck and lots of room like you would find in an SUV, I suggest you get the 2001 Ford Expedition 4x4 XLT. Not to mention, this is one of the safest vehicles that earned an award from the federal government after it passed so many crash tests.

But anyway, there are so many nice cars out there within your 5K budget. Just have a mechanic check it and check the vehicle's history so you will not end up with a piece of junk.
Thanks for the suggestions. Since the last post, I've received the check for my totaled car, and it came to just under $6k. So there's my new range. I also think I've settled on the type of car I want. A friend of my is a Mustang junkie and has an '04 Cobra that is absolutely incredible. No, I'm looking at getting a cobra, but it has made me fall in love with the style of car. And the other day I saw a 2000 Mustang GT in a lot, and I test drove it, and fell in love. So what I'm going to look for is a 1999-2004 Mustang GT, for somewhere in the range of $5k and $7k. I've seen a few in that range, now it's just a game of waiting to find the perfectly clean one with low miles.

At that price range, I'm more limited to 1999-2000, but I'm fine with that. Private party blue book for a 2000 with 100k miles on it is about $6500, so that's workable.

I found this one on the local listings, but it's about an hour and 15 minute drive from me. If it's still around next week, I'm definitely going to try to take the drive out there to look at it, it looks pretty sweet, and it's got really low miles. I emailed them for more info and pictures, because they didn't provide much. But it's being sold out in an EXTREMELY rural area, so I don't think they'll have a ton of people jumping on it any time soon. The only info they've posted is, "2001 GT 85000 miles very clean magnaflow exhaust also have a set of cobra r wheels and y pipe". I'm not into all the custom stuff, but this one isn't tweaked out too bad. Here are the two pics they've posted. Opinions?
http://www.ksl.com/emedia/its/slc/1348/134827/13482736.jpg?filter=ksl/gallery3
http://www.ksl.com/emedia/its/slc/1348/134827/13482795.jpg?filter=ksl/gallery3

Thanks for the suggestions. Since the last post, I've received the check for my totaled car, and it came to just under $6k. So there's my new range. I also think I've settled on the type of car I want. A friend of my is a Mustang junkie and has an '04 Cobra that is absolutely incredible. No, I'm looking at getting a cobra, but it has made me fall in love with the style of car. And the other day I saw a 2000 Mustang GT in a lot, and I test drove it, and fell in love. So what I'm going to look for is a 1999-2004 Mustang GT, for somewhere in the range of $5k and $7k. I've seen a few in that range, now it's just a game of waiting to find the perfectly clean one with low miles.

At that price range, I'm more limited to 1999-2000, but I'm fine with that. Private party blue book for a 2000 with 100k miles on it is about $6500, so that's workable.

I found this one on the local listings, but it's about an hour and 15 minute drive from me. If it's still around next week, I'm definitely going to try to take the drive out there to look at it, it looks pretty sweet, and it's got really low miles. I emailed them for more info and pictures, because they didn't provide much. But it's being sold out in an EXTREMELY rural area, so I don't think they'll have a ton of people jumping on it any time soon. The only info they've posted is, "2001 GT 85000 miles very clean magnaflow exhaust also have a set of cobra r wheels and y pipe". I'm not into all the custom stuff, but this one isn't tweaked out too bad. Here are the two pics they've posted. Opinions?
http://www.ksl.com/emedia/its/slc/1348/134827/13482736.jpg?filter=ksl/gallery3
http://www.ksl.com/emedia/its/slc/1348/134827/13482795.jpg?filter=ksl/gallery3

If you wana look at that car then just try to find a few more in the same area or something lol. Give yourself an excuse. I drove well over 2 hours to get my car. And I do like the look of that Stang. Looks really clean in the pictures

If you wana look at that car then just try to find a few more in the same area or something lol. Give yourself an excuse. I drove well over 2 hours to get my car. And I do like the look of that Stang. Looks really clean in the pictures

Lol well I didn't find a good excuse but I did make the drive down today. And I made the purchase! It was just about as clean as the photos made it look, it drove great, engine looked clean, there was some oil around the oil filter but I determined it was from the filter adapter, and it wasn't a leak, just a small accumulation.

I had a nice long drive down the canyon to get aquainted with her and it was fun. It is a little pimped out for my tastes, I feel like a punk kid driving it, but it definitely was worth $6500. It looks like a much more expensive car. My neighbors all gawked when I drove up, lol.

Lol well I didn't find a good excuse but I did make the drive down today. And I made the purchase! It was just about as clean as the photos made it look, it drove great, engine looked clean, there was some oil around the oil filter but I determined it was from the filter adapter, and it wasn't a leak, just a small accumulation.

I had a nice long drive down the canyon to get aquainted with her and it was fun. It is a little pimped out for my tastes, I feel like a punk kid driving it, but it definitely was worth $6500. It looks like a much more expensive car. My neighbors all gawked when I drove up, lol.

:runaround: Congratulations lol. I'm sure you could do a little bit of stuff to it to, "un-pimpify" it, so to speak. Looked really nice from those pics, hope it treats you great. (more pics on the way? );)

:runaround: Congratulations lol. I'm sure you could do a little bit of stuff to it to, "un-pimpify" it, so to speak. Looked really nice from those pics, hope it treats you great. (more pics on the way? );)

Lol well the look is actually growing on me. He actually threw in a set of other rims with tires that wouldn't be as showy as these ones, but I actually really like these bullitt style rims. I think I'm going to leave it just like It is. I'll post some more pics when I get a moment.

Wow.It is great that you are real happy with your purchase!

Wow. To be honest that was the Mustang listing I viewed before I gave you my opinion. I tried to look for listings within your budget and area too before I make some mistakes with my posts. I wanted to post it here but I thought I might be advertising something disallowed by AF-admin, so I didn't. What a coincidence. But it is great that you took my advice and that you are real happy with your purchase!

Lol, that's funny. Well I'm really liking the car, and can't wait to get my hands dirty and learn more about it.