Fun Family hauler.

Two kids, plus 6ft3in dad.

Looking for a fun sedan that's sub 5k. I've been using my f150 and it's great at kid hauling for vacation etc but I'd like something a bit more... interesting for the daily grind. My wifes E46 is great other than the fact i'd need to shorten my youngest's legs by 6 inches in order for him to be comfortable in teh car...

3 year old and a 1 year old. (so one rear facing, one front facing.)

Must be a manual car or a GOOD auto (which you wont get at this price range.) V8 is a positive. Must be interesting. I hate econoboxes and I hate blandness...(yeah I know goes against the budget.)

I have been looking at: 540i manual? 90's Camaro (probably less rear seating room though...)

P71 with a 5 speed swap. Plenty of room, fair fuel economy, surprisingly nimble for a fat car, decent power, can be had for dirt cheap.

$5k would buy you a nice one and the transmission. I don't hate the automatic though it is fairly uninspiring. I would stay away from their fly by wire throttle body. It sucks pretty hard.

What he said ^^ especially if you can find one with a cage in it, like the one I need to get rid of. it's like is built for hauling kids.

Not the fastest off the line, but still not a slouch. I've heard the manual swap makes it quicker.

Guess I need to see if anyone has a hook up on one in the hive. (and get it wife approved...)

found a 2009 on craigslist for 3800 bucks but it's got 160k miles on it..

Find your favorite Euro-wagon and insert a small-block V8 of American origin with your preferred transmission. A SBF and T5 is a good combination as it can be plucked from many worthless Ford products of the 1980's.

Someday, I will do this to my Mercedes 300TD...

I know it's a FWD auto, but in that price range and those requirements, I'd recommend taking a look at a Bonneville SSEi. All the room you'd need, the SC3800 makes good power (and I'm pretty sure it's easy to turn it up), loaded with luxury, handles well, not boring. My wife had one as a DD, and I have to say I was very impressed. MPG sucks, but that's about it.

LS400? Infiniti Q45? I have firsthand experience with the (first gen) LS400 - ours was a relatively pampered "grandpa car" that came into our lives secondhand for relatively cheap. It was a plush, refined Japanese Crown Vic.

I used to be one of the people here that didn't understand the Panther love, especially after I snagged a '99 with worn out steering and suspension bits.

I decided to give it a fair shake so I threw on some KYB Gas-a-just shocks and 720 lb/in front springs and it's like a completely different car.

I imagine the '03-'04 would be almost nimble with proper springs and shocks.

Or you could snag a Marauder.

Infinity M45?

volvoclearinghouse wrote: Find your favorite Euro-wagon and insert a small-block V8 of American origin with your preferred transmission. A SBF and T5 is a good combination as it can be plucked from many worthless Ford products of the 1980's. Someday, I will do this to my Mercedes 300TD...

With the kids I just do NOT have time for a big project like that. (much as I daydream about it.)

Klayfish wrote: I know it's a FWD auto, but in that price range and those requirements, I'd recommend taking a look at a Bonneville SSEi. All the room you'd need, the SC3800 makes good power (and I'm pretty sure it's easy to turn it up), loaded with luxury, handles well, not boring. My wife had one as a DD, and I have to say I was very impressed. MPG sucks, but that's about it.

Just no, i recognize that they are decent cars but 90's gm is just... ugh.

the p71 has me curious. Was it AussieSteve that seemed to keep finding them for cheap?

what about Caprices? aren't the late model caprice LS powered 4 doors full sizes that are starting to come off of police work?

Also, do you like mopar? The 300C and siblings have some nice v8 options.

No manuals, but a big dose of classic american tire-smoke-on-demand might make you forgive the transmission for wanting to shift on its own.

I'm the anti mopar guy. No idea why...

They never seem to age well to me.

Dad had a 1995 Caprice (the one with the Impala SS motor). I loved that Dash but they are rare now and somewhat decent condition commands price.

I tottally forgot about the police only Commodore SSV Caprice... (too new I think..)

Didn't they sell a full-size Chevy sedan with the FWD LS platform? Found it: the Pontiac Grand Prix GXP, Impala SS and Buick Lacrosse. Link: GM FWD V-8's

I think some of these have gotten pretty cheap, no idea how they are to actually drive...

Lexus LS400. I'm fairly convinced you need something with that much room in the back seat area if you're 6'3" and want a human of any size to ride behind you with legs still attached. Also I don't think that auto sucks AFAIK.

E39 540i 6speed manual 5k

Has a lot of work done already.

You kind of priced yourself out of some good cars by a few grand. I'll sell you my XJR

Mad_Ratel wrote: the p71 has me curious. Was it AussieSteve that seemed to keep finding them for cheap?

Steve has bought a pile of them for cheap at auction.

I picked up mine off of GovDeals for $1300. It's a 06 and had 109K on it when I bought it. A set of Mustang GT wheels, and some decent tires, did wonders for it.

Mic Drop.

Toyman01 wrote:

Mad_Ratel wrote: the p71 has me curious. Was it AussieSteve that seemed to keep finding them for cheap?

Steve has bought a pile of them for cheap at auction. I picked up mine off of GovDeals for $1300. It's a 06 and had 109K on it when I bought it. A set of Mustang GT wheels, and some decent tires, did wonders for it.

govdeals?

Fellow GRM'er

Gs 400

In reply to Mad_Ratel:

Government surplus auctions, https://www.govdeals.com.

Thanks Broken, I found that last night when I got home. I'm already eyeing two cars that are to be sold today. I might just do it despite the wife... One of those "I'm sick of you saying no to every thing I think would be cool and you think would be ultra redneck."

Bah, both cars I was looking at went over 3k... (one had 202k miles on it too???)

Looks like Saab 9-5 Wagons are in that range:

example: https://philadelphia.craigslist.org/ctd/5998159410.html

In reply to Mad_Ratel:

That's what I thought was going to happen to the one I bid on. I threw $1500 on it and pretty much forgot about it...until the email came in saying I won.

Then I had to tell the wife I had bought a car that I hadn't planned to buy.

Wow, large v8s with solid rear axles are the last thing I'd call fun. As are ls400s and q45s. This is a hard one but Id go mid size euro with manual. If you could score a v70r manual that would really be the ticket!