3000GT VR4 & $ Budget

[Duck_3000]

What's up everyone. My goal for mid-summer is to finally get a VR4. I've thought about other cars, but I just can't help it I'm in love with 3kgt's. I own a 95 3kgt SL, so my goal is to get a 97+ 3kgt. If I get a 94-96 it would feel kind of like dejavu, owning the same car cosmetically speaking. I think the 97+ bodies are awesome.

I want a great car that's worth storing, winterizing. I want a VR4 that runs like new, smooth, great suspension, nice and clean. A car that feels great. How much money am I looking to spend on a 97+ VR4 like that? I will have 8k to put down, and my limit is absolutely no more than 15k. Do you think that budget would get me what I'm looking for? I bought my 95 3kgt SL with 106k miles, and it was great. It felt nice, clean, and new.

What is the type of mileage I should be looking for on a 97+ VR4 for it to feel the way as described above? I see lots of 97 VR4's for less than 15k, but they mostly have 100k+ miles on them. Are some of those worth buying? I just want a 97+ VR4 in great, excellent condition so I can baby it and keep it that way. I just don't know if a budget of 15k could get me that. I wish I could get lucky and find a 97+ VR4 that was previously owned by an old lady, kept it garaged, and was only used for groceries .

[AutostradaVR4]

problem is, old ladies dont really buy 320hp twin turbo 2+2's, lol

just aim for one that has been taken care of, perhaps has all the maint. records.

if your up for doing a 60k yourself, you may be able to save a couple thou by finding one that is in need of it. Back when i was VR-4 shopping i looked at a few that were being sold specifically becasue the owner did not want to pay for the 60k service. Good deals too, but at the time it scared me away.

youll be very lucky to get what your looking for for 8k...15k is more realistic.

good luck with the hunt though. be patient. i looked at close to 20 vr4s and drove up to 5 hours away to do so before finally finding mine...and it isnt even the color i wanted lol.

[Nesryn]

I don't think anyone is gonna be able to answer your questions too well. The best thing for you to do would be just start car hunting. I spent a little over a year looking for mine. It's a 92 and only had 42k miles on her. That being said, I did look at prolly over a hunderd cars on the 'net and in Traders, and eventually had to fly down to Texas to pick her up. (I'm from Canada, 3000's are a pain in the ass to find up here.)

Find some that you like and go out and take em for a drive to see how they feel. I'm sure you'll find something you like, it just might take some time.

[vectorspecialist]

haha, i spent all of 2wks looking for mine, right in jersey, low milage guy didnt wanna do the 60k tune up.
granted i would've taken any twin turbo 3s, the lower the milage the better but i just wanted something better than my neon(pref 6cyl)
check sites like autotrader.com or cars.com or usedcars.com, and i've neverbeen to 3si.com but i guess they might have a list of cars for sale, most dedicated sites do

[Igovert500]

Yeah my 96 with 42k was $22k, 200 miles away, and took a few months to find online. Also, the words vr4 and budget shouldn't be in the same sentence. Expect your insurance to go up, possibly a grand or more, depending on your age and driving history. Gas will go quicker, because frankly, you just wont stay off the boost when you first buy this car. Stuff will break, what and how often will be a direct result of the mileage, maintaince, and driving habits of the previous owner(s). Just be aware of what comes along with a vr4 purchase.

[Nesryn]

Originally Posted by Igovert500

Also, the words vr4 and budget shouldn't be in the same sentence. Expect your insurance to go up, possibly a grand or more, depending on your age and driving history. Gas will go quicker, because frankly, you just wont stay off the boost when you first buy this car. Stuff will break, what and how often will be a direct result of the mileage, maintaince, and driving habits of the previous owner(s). Just be aware of what comes along with a vr4 purchase.

Lol I swear Igo, you're just tryin to scare ppl away from buying VR4's. I see these posts from you way too often

[Stealthee]

Budget and any turbo car shouldnt go in the same sentence. LOL I have dropped waaaaaayyyy too much money into my talon in the last few weeks and am struggling to get by right now. Its gotten to the point where if I donmt get the latest issue figured out I am pulling it off the road and gona get the Stealth raodworthy again.

[Igovert500]

Originally Posted by Nesryn

Lol I swear Igo, you're just tryin to scare ppl away from buying VR4's. I see these posts from you way too often

When you miss half a sprign break, and are stuck alone in a 4 story house in the middle of hte ghetto waiting for parts to arrive, or you have to ride the bus to class or bum rides to work for months on end because your completely badass car has a wiring problem that nobody can diagnose, or a busted rim that you can't replace at your local tire shop. And your friends start refering to your car as the twin turbo or 2-ton paperweight. That and the fact my first quote to insure this car (when I had a clean license) was ~ $5k a year...I like to give people a dose of reality, that nobody gave me when I was shopping for one.

I owned a honda before that, a bad day at the shop for hte Honda, was having to pay $7 to resurface the rotors, and not just swap the pads. I paid a grand a year in insurance and gas was cheap as coors light. I bought the vr4 in the middle of college, when my income was low and my bills were high, and it was the cause of so much financial stress that there were days I would have paid somebody to load it on a flatbead and steal it. All in all, my vr4 has been pretty damn good for an 11 year old car, it's been well maintained and only had a few problems. But the reality was that I owned a vr4 and was taking a city bus to get free soup at the local churchs for dinner. So yeah, while I love the car, I don't like sugercoating the possibilities.

[liquidPunk]

Clap clap clap... standing ovation on that one Igo! I feel your pain man, I had to survive only on those big oatmeal containers for a little over a month.. but i didnt have a cool car to sleep in either haha. well spoken my friend!opcorn:

[Duck_3000]

Thanks everyone for all the input. Igo says it like it is, and I like that. I've been in that same situation, but with my 3kgt SL. After I lost my job everything went downhill from there. I barely had money to keep up with the maintenance. The little money I had was used for gas and oil changes. It was bad. I almost put it up for sale. The only reason why I didn't sell it was because it was the only form of transportation I relied on. Had I been smarter back then I would've sold my 3kgt and bought an economy car with the money . Being broke is horrible. My gt suffered for it . Hopefully the job I have now is a stable one. I just have to wait a few months and see. If it is, then I can start planning for a vr4.

I think everyone has a realistic budget when "purchasing" a car. I don't want to be deep in debt, so realistically I wouldn't go for a car worth $30k. I could probably purchase it, but would just be a slave to the car. I don't want that to happen if I get a vr4. So I'm basically calculating everything to see if I could in fact afford one. As of now it's looking good because I don't have much bills to pay. If getting a vr4 means being DEEP and overwhelmed in debt then I'll have to reconsider. But so far it's looking good. If I get one I'm going to completely baby it! And I'm currently looking for a good Daily Driver. I drive 1,100 each month ... that can't be good for a car lol.

[TorchedStealth]

Originally Posted by Duck_3000

And I'm currently looking for a good Daily Driver. I drive 1,100 each month ... that can't be good for a car lol.

Thats actually below average. Most people in the U.S. drive somewhere between 16,000 and 18,000 miles a year which is 1,300 to 1,500 miles a month. But your right...you definatley want something reliable because even driving 1,100 miles a month could be really hard if your car was off the road for even a week or two. Good luck and dont make your decision too quick...i think you have a good plan going right now by waiting until your job is stable.

[vectorspecialist]

i drive on average with my neon(the only car in use right now) maybe 10k a yr.
but with buying a tt/vr4 there are a lot of expenses my insurance went from 550 to 911 every 6 months. little things that go wrong add up real quick. if i went thru my car and picked out everytghing that needs to b done b4 it can b inspected: brakes, tires, alignment, tune up, head gaskets, exhaust, starter(not nessary but would like to turn the car off in line and turn it back on) and probably many other things that i havent even noticed yet. then i need a new antena motor, mine is screwed up beyond belief.
had i not bought i, life would b better for me, i would've bought that 944 down the rd, and b sitting clean. i'm lucky that i still live at home and dnt need to worry bout big bills. i owe my parents(lent me the money for it) around 10k. i spent 8700 on the car, then because that killed my bank i ended up borrowing for gas(3.51/gal wen i got it) and loads of other things. then i hit a deer with the neon, couldnt afford to pay the insurance co-pay, or the insurance bill so that came from them. i'm fortunate. now i have a steady job and am saving and starting to pay back, nxt wk. just gotta buy the new medal of honor first.
basically wen u go to buy the car, have a safe and secure job