Alternative to the BMW E36 M3?

What about the Lexus sedans? The IS300 and IS250 both came in a manual, decent power, smooth delivery. I've seen a couple IS250's getting down into the 6-9k range.

Cooper_Tired wrote: What about an E46 330 ZHP?

It would be fine except people want stupid money for them. If you can spend for a ZHP then you can spend for the M3 and it's a hell of a lot more car.

Take a regular 330, tune, add LSD with a gearing change and a good coilover suspension and you get more performance than a ZHP for considerably less money. Or, well, last time I looked anyway. They were just about double the cost of the base car.

Huckleberry wrote:

Cooper_Tired wrote: What about an E46 330 ZHP?

It would be fine except people want stupid money for them. If you can spend for a ZHP then you can spend for the M3 and it's a hell of a lot more car. Take a regular 330, tune, add LSD with a gearing change and a good coilover suspension and you get more performance than a ZHP for considerably less money. Or, well, last time I looked anyway. They were just about double the cost of the base car.

Having owned 2 ZHPs, I have to agree with this. I'm actually thinking about buying a non-ZHP 330i manual sedan and slowly going the above route. In addition to saving money on the initial buy-in, another advantage is that a non-ZHP 330i could eventually be built into a Spec e46 car, if desired.

My first thought was also an e46 330i sedan. Around me (midtatlantic) you can usually find pretty decent ones for 6-7k. If you can live with less power, the e46 325i does similar things and are way cheap right now (like under 5k) and you could budget the rest of your money to handling mods. z32 300zx is also a good idea if you can deal with the cramped engine bay. SC300 is cool, but finding one with a manual will be tough (not impossible, just tough). I hate all the Lexus IS whatevers, so I won't endorse any of those. C4 is solid and definitely a "project" (read: neglected) 350z/g35 can be had within your budget. Honestly, even though you said no, the answer to your question is "turbo miata".

dyintorace wrote:

Huckleberry wrote:

Cooper_Tired wrote: What about an E46 330 ZHP?

It would be fine except people want stupid money for them. If you can spend for a ZHP then you can spend for the M3 and it's a hell of a lot more car. Take a regular 330, tune, add LSD with a gearing change and a good coilover suspension and you get more performance than a ZHP for considerably less money. Or, well, last time I looked anyway. They were just about double the cost of the base car.

Having owned 2 ZHPs, I have to agree with this. I'm actually thinking about buying a non-ZHP 330i manual sedan and slowly going the above route. In addition to saving money on the initial buy-in, another advantage is that a non-ZHP 330i could eventually be built into a Spec e46 car, if desired.

Makes sense. They seem to pop up occasionally in the hands of dealers/sellers that do not know what they are and price them reasonably. But those are not often, and I haven't looked in a few months

Cooper_Tired wrote: What about an E46 330 ZHP?

That's one nice sedan. My friend recently had to get rid of his E92 M3, and he bought one of these as a consolation prize. Plush as a daily driver, and good enough for HPDE.

I'm not sure how easy it is to find one with three pedals, though. And they ain't cheap.

The suggestions to buy a 330 and convert it yourself are really interesting. I would check into that. Doesn't way much more than an E36, either.

I think there's a similar thing going on with the E36 M3s. They are a bargain, but the non-M 2.5L versions are widely available with three pedals for half the money, and at least around here, they can be had with better interiors and lower mileage. You give up a lot of horsepower, but there's still plenty there for a nice daily driver.

I wanted a new track car, so I got an E36 coupe chassis in really super clean condition inside and out for $1k. Head gasket was way blown. I drove it that way for a couple weeks anyway, and it was still a great, peppy car. I'm almost done swapping in a 302/T5. That's M3 power (a little over, actually) in a clean E36 for a lot less than $7-10k.

Another thing about E36 interiors. People are always gutting these cars, so you can get whole interiors, or whatever specific parts you need to match what you have, for really little cash. The driver's seats are usually ratty, but it's easy to get clean cushions off a passenger side seat and reinstall them on the driver's side frame.

I 2nd the SC300. Hard to find a stick and one that's not beat, but if you do, they're great. Easy to turbo, or swap a GTE motor.

How about a G35? They seem to be getting cheaper. Also, what about a newer Mustang GT? They seem to be coming down in the $6-$9k range:

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?endYear=2017&zip=19446&transmissionCode=MAN&maxPrice=7000&transmissionCodes=MAN&showcaseListingId=400161612&trim1=MUST%7CGT&mmt=%5BFORD%5BMUST%5BMUST%257CGT%5D%5D%5B%5D%5D&modelCode1=MUST&startYear=2005&makeCode1=FORD&showcaseOwnerId=71391&firstRecord=0&searchRadius=0&listingId=428981736&Log=0

92dxman wrote: How about a G35? They seem to be getting cheaper. Also, what about a newer Mustang GT? They seem to be coming down in the $6-$9k range: http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?endYear=2017&zip=19446&transmissionCode=MAN&maxPrice=7000&transmissionCodes=MAN&showcaseListingId=400161612&trim1=MUST%7CGT&mmt=%5BFORD%5BMUST%5BMUST%257CGT%5D%5D%5B%5D%5D&modelCode1=MUST&startYear=2005&makeCode1=FORD&showcaseOwnerId=71391&firstRecord=0&searchRadius=0&listingId=428981736&Log=0

I've never driven one but I'd like too. I drove a 2006 350z and it was kind of underwhelming. The motor felt pretty boring or like it had a million pound flywheel, then again I really didn't drive it hard.

I'm more liking the idea of a 330 and doing work. IS300's in my area are well over 10k and are almost all autos.

GS 400 or 430????

2nd gen MR2? That kind of money will get you one with a turbo. Toyota build quality and reliability and they almost look like an exotic.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: So you want what, a cheap 6 cylinder rwd 90s coupe with good handling? SC300 and 300ZX come to mind.

What is the curb weight on the sc300