Best car under 8k?

Well not everyone can weld at home or has easy access to a good fab guy, which would add hundreds to thousands to the bill. I live pretty far from anything even approaching a major city and it's about 3 hours from anything near ~100,000 people, so those sorts of things are much harder for someone in my position. I also have no garage, which makes doing it myself that much harder, especially given that it's my understanding that some of those fixes require some pretty serious disassembly.

I only know this stuff from what I've read and it just seemed like a had a bigger, scarier list than many. Sure they can be good track cars, but the recommendation should come with some background information.

I'm also biased by my own experiences, as I had an FC RX7 for years, so I'm not afraid of rotaries like many would be.

All I did to my car for fixing known weak points is to add a clutch pedal reinforcing bracket, add some extra gauges, did some sealing/ducting for the radiator and oil coolers, and I swap the cats for a mid-pipe for track use. Everything else I've done has been speed related, which was very attractive to me.

taparsons wrote: I have found a very good deal on a s1 with lower miles and a brand new engine....I guess I will look into it. I have been borrowing a friends automatic rx8 and love the driving dynamics.

FWIW, the RX-8 quite possibly improves more than any other car on the road by going from automatic to manual.

Absolute Night-And-Day difference.

Thanks for all the help and advice. I'm 6'4" so no miata for me, that and I like things that have hp.

Is there anything I should look for on an RX8? How do they respond to mods?

How about a wrx wagon?

In reply to 92dxman:

Everything I find around here is 7.5k and has 160k on the clock. A lot to pay knowing an engine will be on the to do list.

Thoughts on mustang Gt?

Tom was working on this exact story idea. I challenged him to tell me what the best car, under 8 grand, that could be daily driven, reasonable to take care of, fun at some type of grass-root motorsport event, and get 25 miles to the gallon.

taparsons wrote: Thoughts on mustang Gt?

Are we talking SN95 era I assume?

Expect to spend some money making it handle the way you want it to, good dampers, stiffer springs, and sway bars to start with, as the pony cars are set up pretty soft from the factory. Keep in mind also that the basic design of the suspension basically dates back to the late '70s, and the 4 link rear has earned the nickname "quadra-bind". As I understand it, a combination of bump and lateral forces basically causes the bushings to bind up, preventing proper articulation. The fixes of course have been well documented by now and the parts are cheap enough, just making the point that it won't be as much fun right out of the box as, say, the RX8 or M3.

Having gone the pony car route myself a couple years back when searching with a similar purpose, I now find myself yearning at times for something smaller, lighter, and naturally sharper handling, even though the V8 power is addictive. Might be a case of the grass is always greener, but take that for what its worth.

Tim Suddard wrote: Tom was working on this exact story idea. I challenged him to tell me what the best car, under 8 grand, that could be daily driven, reasonable to take care of, fun at some type of grass-root motorsport event, and get 25 miles to the gallon.

But I so want to see the RX8 on that list... Any way we could drop the mileage requirement to 12 so we can sneak it in?

Wish that article was already published.

In reply to taparsons: I would assume that the live axle will hurt handling more during track days than autocrosses, and when you can feel the handling dynamics difference, it is apparent how inferior it is (at least with production cars). I will just throw out a 300ZX non turbo as an oddball RWD car.

taparsons wrote: Wish that article was already published.

It's scheduled for the next issue. Time to subscribe!

Since a WRX Wagon might be not tick the boxes, how about a Saab 9-2X?:

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?zip=19446&endYear=2016&modelCode1=9-2X&showcaseOwnerId=0&startYear=1981&makeCode1=SAAB&transmissionCode=MAN&transmissionCodes=MAN&searchRadius=0&maxPrice=9000&showcaseListingId=0&mmt=%5BSAAB%5B9-2X%5B%5D%5D%5B%5D%5D&listingId=412531896&Log=0

I know its not a turbo but you could still flog it like its nobodies business.

In reply to Tom Suddard:

I'm subscribed!

Mr_Clutch42 wrote: I will just throw out a 300ZX non turbo as an oddball RWD car.

I had one for a few months...if you like your cars heavy, relatively slow, and downright INFURIATING to work on, then the 300ZX is for you.

I love me some Z32 but man that car was not worth the effort with the stock drivetrain. Maybe with an LS1 or RB swap, but stock it totally sucked. The 350Z was a huge leap forward in that they are faster AND much easier to work on.

In reply to taparsons:

Need more info: Do you a) want to work on the car yourself or do you b) farm the upkeep and maintenance out to someone else? On the RX-8: its a fantastic car to drive but the gas mileage is nothing short of hideous for the HP/Torque you get from the spinning triangles -- no offense intended to fans. I'm glad the car is there, but I ruled this one out.

If a), then your options are very wide, you shouldn't avoid cars like the Audi TT, A4/S4, Subaru WRX family (including wagons). [Public service announcement here: Having more than one car, doing maintenance on your own cars, using the internet as a tech source, and having a garage for these activities is the path to automotive Nirvana.] Really, this option makes any car an option depending upon your mechanical aptitude, level of patience, and courage/stupidity!

If b), then I'd vote for 350Z (I have one of these) or G35 (coupe or sedan).

C4 definitely.

C5 if you can find one. I bought a turd of a C5, for 8500, needed a little bit of work, but it wasnt too bad, although I understand these deals arent out there everywhere that why i said c4.

In reply to rocketrich:

I agree with your evaluation on the rx8. I used to be a technician before changing fields.

I have been looking at getting an e36 M3 but he is having issues getting a title in a timely manner. My daily driver is down for now and I'm trying to make a move quickly. I'm upping my budget to 13000.

I like the looks of the tt. AWD or RWD is a must as is a manual trans and good handling. (Unless the mini is just that awesome). One person on here already knocked the tt for being weak (doesn't bother me as it can be modded easily).

I had a G35 sport sedan 6mt and sold it. I wasn't a huge fan of it. I might have liked the 350z better.

The search is over. I bought a 98 BMW M3. Thanks for the help everyone.