For $4000 what would you buy for fun car?

[Da_Budman]

I live in the US and have $4000 to start with. Mods can be done as I go. What I want is a fun performance car that handles great (1st priority), can run on pump gas (daily driver), and is easy to get oem and performance parts for. What I really want is a Porsche 911 but I really doubt that could happen at this price. This car must be useable from day one. I see a bunch of hopped up Honda's and Stangs around here.... kinda looking for something else. What would you buy to fit this criteria?

Looking forward to some replies....Thanx.

[youngvr4]

fiero gt, but i hear so much about bad reliability with those cars. not sure if its a myth or what but there fun cars for sure

[BP2K2Max]

i'd look into a nissan 240sx, 300zx or maybe a toyota MR2.

[G60 Corrado]

Perhaps a VW Corrado. These can be expensive for well taken care of models. For bang-for-buck, the G60 offers more than the VR6 and cost's a lot less, but aren't as reliable. If you do look into it, try and get a low-mileage example; make sure the supercharger is newer unless you want to replace it and/or rebuild it. Other things that are notorious for going bad are: sunroof, window regulators, speed-activated spoiler, and the factory-re-called heater-core. If these things are all maintained though or are in good shape, this is an awesome car! Oh, parts cost a fortune from VW too. But overall, I still like the car.

[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.

[Dave1669]

I'd second the Corrado (if you can find one for the price in decent shape)

I would also look into these cars:
Nissan 240SX -yes, everyone has one, but for good reason (they are cheap, handle well, and ideal for mods)
Honda Prelude (3rd or 4th gen.) -excellent cars that handle and perform well for the money (and very reliable)
Toyota MR2 -if you want a fun car that few people have (not as practical as the others though)
Mitsubishi Eclipse (1st or 2nd gen.) -very responsive to mods but also very hard to maintain (if you are willing to put in some work, this can be an excellent choice)

[klohiq]

The mk1 mr2 is a decent car...mods are a bit scarce for them, but they have a good following and even with their measily 112hp stock...they can really start to move if you get another 30hp...they barely weigh 2000lb... . They also don't look that great usually...but with a few mods and some rims (15"...even 16" look too big lol) they can look pretty good...

92-96 prelude - nice and easy to mod...and they look great stock or modified.
89-98 240sx - s13 or s14 they all look great and handle great, but in terms of stock power mostly anything for their price is faster.
91-95 mr2 - great car, but 4000 will be hard to find a turbo and even n/a-powered models are rising in value over 4000 for nice ones. power is decent even for the 140hp n/a...and great for the 200hp turbo...along with the fact that you can mod either, quite easily, to produce decent numbers.
87-92 supra - decent car...weighs a bit much, but other than that you can make them into very good looking, fast cars.
86-91 rx7 - steer clear of the turbos and they are very reliable and quick cars.

If you are ok with fwd then you could buy an older sentra for that much money and they can be pretty quick with a little money. Hell for 4k you can get a lot of cars...a lot of decent cars.

Just don't make a quick decision...decide what car you want, research the hell out of it and don't settle for anything but the car or cars you want...

[DinanM3_S2]

E30 or early E36 BMW 3-Series. I've got a friend that bought a 325is for about $4,500. Great cars, good reliability, awesome handling.

Alot of people consider Mazda Miatas to be "fun" cars. There not particularly fast, but they handle well and are really light. You should be able to find one around $4,000. Good car, especially if you like roadsters.

[dbebesi]

AMC Gremiln. with a little 304 v8. total chick magnet

[drunken monkey]

...in the uk?
peugeot 205 1.9 GTi.

[91300zxtt]

talon tsi 1st gen. thats what im gettin. AWD turbo come on doesnt get mch better for the price

[kman10587]

Originally Posted by 91300zxtt

talon tsi 1st gen. thats what im gettin. AWD turbo come on doesnt get mch better for the price

mustang 5.0 3rd gen. thats what im gettin. RWD V8 come on doesnt get mch better for the price

[emokid15]

Just go for a 5.0. Hook it up and u will have major horsepower.

[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).

[kman10587]

Wow, I've never seen so much outright hate for the Fiero. Did you own one and have a bad experience or something? :P