Best Used Sports Car Under $5,000?

[WayOutCat]

okay, someone already asked for the "under 10G" -- how about equal time for those of us living thin? I want to hear from the rest of you who like me, have no health care, use duct tape to repair their broken windows, and openly mock TV ads that try to sell me cars that literally cost a third to half what my house did.

after asking around, I've heard a number of nominations for best used MODERN sports car under $5,000. When no year is indicated, assume 80's to early 90's.
Here they are so far, please add your own faves:

early Miata
Toyota Celica GT
VW GTI
Eagle Talon
Del Sol (though I hate convertibles--give me SHADE! ; )
Nissan 240,300, etc.?
Honda Civic with engine no one outside Japan can get <agghhh!>
MR2 early 90's
87-89 5.0 stang
87-92 Camaro

[Neutrino]

i would go with a 1gen ecplise/talon (AWD turbo version) specifically the 6 bolt

[WayOutCat]

hmmm... thanks! a candidate I admittedly haven't taken a good look at. I will investigate...

[Neutrino]

those had the best 4g63 engines of all the dsms....trully rock solid engines....

[WayOutCat]

Cool! but how about all the reviews where people say that Talons are super-expensive to maintain and need frequent repairs?

[NISSANSPDR]

It's true what they say about the DSM's...they are a pain in the butt and not known for their reliability but they are good cars that are easy to make fast but hard to keep together.

If you want something under 5k...I say look at the 240SX...great platform to start w/ and if you want you can go forced induction and still stay w/in your 5k budget...

[WayOutCat]

I'm hearing a lot of good things about the 240. any opinions on which model years were best?

I wish I knew how trouble - free they are. friend of mine had one and switched to a mustang...

[Neutrino]

those with problems are the 2gen DSM's they have a nasty cranckwalk problem this is why i recomended a 1'st gen

[Joe Wilson]

Originally Posted by NISSANSPDR

It's true what they say about the DSM's...they are a pain in the butt and not known for their reliability but they are good cars that are easy to make fast but hard to keep together.

If you want something under 5k...I say look at the 240SX...great platform to start w/ and if you want you can go forced induction and still stay w/in your 5k budget...

You know you can buy a Corvette for slightly less than $5000 if you
look around. You might have to give it a little tlc, but you should do
that anyway.

[youngvr4]

im going mkIII supra turbo.

[klohiq]

First gen mr2

If you want something larger and with a easier to drive then a 240sx would be my vote!

Some others to think about:
Prelude (early 90's)
Integra (94 and up)
944 (yes a porsche can be a cheap sports car :P)
RX7 (2nd gen; non-turbo)

[WayOutCat]

thanks again. You know? a friend of mine once suggested a low-end Porsche, but I figured the repair costs would be sky-high. same for 'vettes. PLUS, I'm looking for something that IS NOT a cop magnet. In between reading posts here, I've been doing way too many google searches, missing sleep, goofing off at work... and I *still* can't decide if I want RWD or front. I LOVE the old RWD V8s I've driven, but I don't know if the smaller engine RWds will give me that feeling I've come to know and love, and the lure of the "snow and rain capability" of front wheel drive is considerable, since i live in Michigan. Still, even a lowered fwd Civic is going to suck in the snow, due to weight. and I have never seen an MR2 out in the winter.
Almost ready to consider a Fiero, just for the low center of gravity, and the fact that the reinforced doors make it less likely that some badly-driven SUV will cripple you.