I was wondering if you all could come up with a list of cars that you feel are cheap, reliable, handle well, can make decent power and are not that hard to find. I came up with these but I am sure there are far more. The budget is $8,000 MAX and they must not be hard to find... ie. something that could be found at an auto auction.

Grand Prix GTP
1G Talon TSi ( I do not know if these cars are hard to find in nice shape )
1G Eclipse GSX
1G Plymouth Laser

 

DSM and Reliable? Is that possible?

Heres my list:
Early sthealth or 3000GT Dont know how reliable these are either
Early RX7
Early Supra

Maybe Im way off I dont really know what the prices are on those now a days.

 

944 turbo
gsx
gs-t
or just buy a bike

 

nissan 240 with a motor swap.. y? rwd, turbo, parts are cheap, installs are easy, reliable...sounds like the car for you...

cheers

 

MKIII Supras and maybe a MR2?

 

I just so happen to have an S13 with an RB20det and quite a few extras for sale.. for well under that price.. with the money you have left over you could do the few mods this thing needs to be a monster.. pm me if this is of interest.. And if not.. Good luck man

 

5 liter mustang. They are everywhere and you can get a good one for somewhere in the 5k range.

 

go get yourself a 92 tsi/gsx/laser rs all wheel drive. has the 6 bolt motor and 4 bolt rear end. make sure it was built before april of 92 I believe. You cant go wrong. Yes its hard to find one in good shape but if you take your time you can find one. These cars take well to mods. 4g63 powered. You can make a DSM reliable. You just have to take care of it.
-Anthony
90 Tsi
92 Laser RS Awd
05 Tarmac black ev0 viii

 

Plus 1 on the Sylvia, I really like the s15 body stile.

 

mid 90's VW corrado (g60 is the supercharged model... i think)
various audi's, saabs, and volvos as well (all mid 90's and older)

 

i got rid of my evo and bought a truck. i missed the car so i picked up a 93 sc300 five speed for $3000. today i just picked up a supra 6 speed jdm trans for $600 and the turbo kit should cost about $3000. with all the other parts i need (clutch, bov, and etc.) it should be around $8000. not bad for over 300 horsepower.

 

1g or 2g dsm

 

Mr2 Sw20

 

1g DSM
2g 4G63T powered DSM
MR2 Turbo
i think thats all that will go for below $8k.
DSMs have pretty high book values but reliability of a used DSM is always in question since many owners treat em and beat em like crap.

 

Galant VR4
1g DSM
2g 4G63T powered DSM
MR2 Turbo
i think thats all that will go for below $8k.
DSMs have pretty high book values but reliability of a used DSM is always in question since many owners treat em and beat em like crap.

I got my 99' Eclipse GSX for $4500 with 90k miles on it. It was actually a pretty good deal. The only thing wrong with it was that it misfired. The owner didnt know what was wrong with the car so he sold it cheap. A new set of plugs and wires did the trick. But new problems arised since i bought the car. I need a new Throttle Positioning Sensor, a new valve cover (it cracked; spilling oil all over my spark plugs and wires causing it to misfire which also lead the car to overheat....)....the thing with dsms is that usually everything goes at once. Never the less...i love the 4G63 and feel that i can help make this motor as reliable as it once was.