For $4000 what would you buy for fun car?

[Karen512]

i would suggest a 1st gen 300ZX, or a 1st or 2nd gen Eclipse or Talon.
I have one of each of those and I love them.
Only drawback.......they can be kinda expensive to maintain.

[ghetto7o2azn]

my dad also bought a fiero when it first came out (in other words brand new first owner)... he also said it was a piece of crap and felt underpowered for 6 cylinders

[Jimster]

Originally Posted by 01rollaS&accordv6

do what i did, i bought a 98 rolla Le then in feb of this year bought another 01 rolla S model these are good little cars but finding aftermarket parts is what your looking for good luck. besides that my 98 has 95K and my 01 has 48K both have proven outstanding in reliablity with very minor maintence. EX( oil changes,tires,brakes,etc.) Do a good job so that you can get your money's worth. Really its just what you want.

That's what Corolla's are- extremely reliable day to day transport.

For a FUN ar however, in your price range I'd pick a Prelude or a 240SX

[mega man]

i would say go with somehting old japanes and rea wheel drive perhaps a corolla gt-s 84-87 or even the front wheel drive ones 88-92. or maybe an old zcar 240,260,280 or an old 510. all of these are lightweight with good power and easy to find. i know 510's didnt make much power out of the box ( 96 hp for the l16) but the only cheap ones you can find have bbeen modified with a l18 or l20

[kman10587]

I was thinking the same thing. Miata, MR2, 240SX, 300ZX, Trueno, RX-7...you can get any of these for $4000 if you go old enough.

[nbw]

Originally Posted by ghetto7o2azn

my dad also bought a fiero when it first came out (in other words brand new first owner)... he also said it was a piece of crap and felt underpowered for 6 cylinders

when they 1st came out they only had 4bangers...

[nbw]

Originally Posted by monty120

in response to post #2 , NEVER under any curcumstance buy a fiero, they are lil' pieces of shit. Handle like crap in rain/snow, slow are a snail, ever seen a crashed one? well if u wanna smash a soda can with ur foot, they look the same, total; death traps. Not very good throttle response(slow), not very attractive, why buy a fiero when u can buy a go-cart, a go-cart is faster, probably last longer, and you 'd probably get more chicks w/ the gop-cart(sorry 2 say it).

from crashtest.com(1st site google came up with)

The Results below are listed in the following left to right order: (F=Frontal impact; S=Side impact)
(All impacts are measured in the front seats except passenger side impacts which are measured in the rear seat.)
Year--- |Make and Model | Driver (F) Pass | Driver (S) Pass |

1984--- Pontiac Fiero-------- (*****) (*****)

Perfect score for the fiero? yeah it must be a death trap
now lets see..

1982--- Chrysler LeBaron----- (* ) (**** )
1990--- Chrysler LeBaron----- (*****) (* )

wtf, a fiero has been rated SAFER then the car you currently own? Dude!! Your life is in DANGER GET A FIERO AND BE SAFE!!!

but seriously, fieros did get great crash test ratings. They where one of the best for there time(iirc the only car in its class that got a better crash rating was a ford Taurus)


Cars on my list:
Mk1 mr2(aw11): Lightweight(NA's are about 2300lb's where as the SC weigh about 2600lb's do to standard fluff like t-tops) cheap little mid-engine car that is simply a blast to drive. the 4age has a good fallowing behind it but they are a little down on power with just above 100hp(keep in mind that it doesnt take much hp at all to get this car moving!)
Miata: Light weigh rwd, autocross demon. My only complaint is they are convertables... I hate converts! but thats just me... Dont nock this car off your list do to the label as a "chicks car". these cars own!
88 Fiero: mid/lightweight(about 2750lb's) mid-engine car. The engine that isn't much but an engine swap isnt that hard to do in this car. there are many v8 fiero's out there. the northstar v8 is a popular swap. Reason I chose 88 in piticular was becuase that is the year Pontiac got the Fiero right. It finaly got a revised suspension amungst other things that I cant remember atm..
CRX: Yeah i said it. These cars are really light and really cheap to buy and practicle!
Omni GLH/Shelby GLHS: I dont know jack about them but I remember reading about them being preaty cool. lightweight turbo 4bangers is about all I remember..
corrola gts(ae86): Lightweight FR car that is gaining popularity again do to a cartoon. Great car though if you can find one. ATM I dont remember much about them. 4age and yup.. there goes the rest of what I remember.
Mistubishi Starion/Dodge Conquest: FR turbocharged 2.4L 4bangers. dont know much about them though.(other then they look bad ass)
Foxbody Ford Mustang. GT or LX: at around 3000lb's stock with a 5.0L v8... HUGE aftermarket with tons of cheap stuff. It was and still is one of the best bang for your buck sports cars you can get!
Mazda GT-X/ ford TS3: Light weight AWD turbocharged. what more needs to be said? well, allot but saddly I dont know anything about them..
z31 300zx: no info, sorry

[nhstiger75]

Ok... Two words. Police Auction. You can get a perfectly reliable fun car for next to nothing. I've seen an '89 IROC with next to no problems other than the interior smelled like cigarettes and the paint was a little faded go for less than $1000. Just a thought.

[nbw]

I agree with the above!!! I saw a 96 z28 camaro with 70k miles sold for 1500bucks. Clean(well it was dirty but you know) interior and body was great.
I know someone who buys cars from a police auction then fixes them up and sells them. Thats all he does. And he is living in a nice house!
Just be sure to check EVERYTHING on the car... We recently got a lincon something.. not sure what year but it was fairly new and it was in superb condition for like 2grand. on the drive home the car started shaking violently so we pulled over and took off the the hubs to find all but 1 bolt on the wheel had snapped off do to the bolts not being screwed on tight enough!!
lucky we cought that intime or that could have sucked.. :P