im looking to buys a sunfire - need advice

[krisW91]

obviously u know im looking for a sunfire to fix up since im only 17 i dont ahve much money, my 2 friends and i are all getting new cars aorund the same time 1 of which already has a s-10 thats hes been working on for a long time the other just bought a probe gt that had about 12k put into it (1/3 of that went into the engine) so im looking for sumthin that i can work on enough to keep up with then AND still look good when i give it a body kit and all that good stuff

has to b manual
good condition
and ne were from 95 til now


perferably silver or red

and im only looking to spend maybe 2500 at most but wanting about 1500


ne one have any advice? Such as, am i being too cheap or ne thing else i should b looking for?

[Classicrocjunkie]

with that low of a price tag... you'll end up with something in the 100K miles range. Probably an older J, with the Isuzu trans which is notorious for breaking while beating on them.

If you want a J-body with low miles, you'll have to start paying out around 4-6K to have the mileage in the 50-60K mile range.

If you can, look for something 00 and newer. The 5 speeds in these came with the Getrag F23 trans. Built very well and strong. If your looking for power, find one with an Ecotec or 2.4L LD9 motor, as these are the real power making engines. The Ecotec only came in late 02-05 models. Stay away from the 2200 motor. Its a reliable motor, but its slow as hell, and costs alot to get anything out of it power wise.

My 04 sunfire SE yellow 5 speed below was 45K miles, and was tagged at 8,600. I had the 2200 motor before, and compared to the ecotec motor... heh... it just doesn't compare.

[Scrapper]

my dauters 1st. car was a 89 pontiac sunbiird. when we bought it lasted her about 5 years and was still running when i sold it it had 275000 miles on it i just had to replace wather pump and timming belt it was still running good it had the 4 cyl in it. and i sold it for junk because my brother and law backed into it..but good car tho.

[dtaylor2]

you can get sunfires cheap if you know where to look. I can't say the stock engine(2.2) in mine is much for power, but it beats the heck out of a Honda Civic. I drove one once with the 2.4 in it and it was insane for a little car. U can also get cheap body kits and they are easy to play with the sound system in. They're a good car to modify.