First, I know this is a Lancer board, but it's got good people. So I'm going to post my question here.

I'm in the market for a car. I want something I can work on, in other words, something older. I want to spend around $10,000, give or take a couple grand. I can afford more if the deal is really good though. So here are the choices (or if you know something that's better, please suggest, these are just the cars I've driven and liked):

1. BMW 3 Series/M3 (E30 or E36)
2. Audi A4
3. VW Passat (B4 or newer)
4. Infiniti I30/J30
5. Acura Legend/Vigor
6. Lexus GS300...first generation
7. Mitsubishi Diamante...first generation

I don't really care about transmission, it can be either auto or manual. I want a reliable car though, preferably not with a whole lot of miles, though a lot of miles is tolerable if it's a newer car (good deal). Thanks guys!

-Zack

 

seems like u like sedans....have u considered the Nissan Maxima?? If lucky you can find a 98-99 or even newer )if u like the styling) for reasonable pricing. They re great cars with a lot of power.

 

mthree for sure! you wont find any kind of e36 m3 for 10 grand tho thats in decent shape.

 

Actually, I don't think you can find an E30 M3 in good condition for $10K since it's so rare and expensive to maintain. Just talk to some of the guys on E30.org, they will give you various reasons

Out of the others...I prefer A4 1.8T Quattro, but that was introduced in the later production years, I don't think you will be able to get that for 10K

 

Yes you can find E30 M3 in the $9k-10k range. The blue book for a good '89 is $8.3k.

I came close to buying a '90 M3 for $10.5. It was excellent and original. I passed since it was a lot of money for that car.

The 4 banger M3 s are the most race car like of all the M3s just not as fast as some of the latter ones. Finding an M3 that has not been raced is hard.

I would not call them reliable cars either. If you ease up on the reliability requirement it is a great car.

Erik

 

I really doubt you can find any late model cars in your list for $10K or less, unless they are junk

 

Personaly, the A4 is one of my favorite cars and is what i plan on getting after i am done with my lancer. My neighbor has a black A4 1.8t, and he tears up the road wit it. What a sexy car.

 

Yeah man go with the A4, Styling,Luxery, and great performance potential. Go with the 1.8T Quattro. Those cars can be chipped easily and modded to 250hp easy. So you'll have a quick little car that looks nice!! But unless u plan on getting a 96 or a 97 with higher miles u might have to spend more like $15,000.