Looking for input/purchase advice for a cheap daily driver that's still great for track/autoX

Bit of an odd question, but I’m looking to downgrade from my C6 Corvette in the near future. Reasons/goals for downgrade:

1. Vette is kinda expensive in a lot of ways, especially consumables/upkeep and any aftermarket stuff I wanna do
2. It's quite a handful being a newbie at autocross and the Vette has a bit too much power for me to be learning efficiently. If I ever get to go to the track it'll need even more money put into it to not be overheating, already running hot as is
3. On a similar note, it just has too much power and gearing to be having fun on public roads, top of second gear is nearly 90mph (plus it’s an automatic). Never really able to wring it out, legally...
4. Overally just wanna get into something cheaper that I don't have to worry about as much that still is vaguely practical as a daily. Mostly a financial/peace of mind situation, I've gotten a few grand deep in maintenance/repairs into the Vette in the year I've had it and kinda want out. Plus I want a manual car, saved a ton of money going with an auto Vette but I definitely regret it lol

So I’m looking for something cheaper that is still fun and capable on track. Having been in my dad's ND and the local autocross whiz's spec BRZ I'm pretty sure I won't miss the power too much. With the state of the car market these days, there’s not many options in my area under $10k (and ideally I'd like to keep it around $5-7k). A Miata would be great if I wasn’t 6’1” (already tried fitting in an NB), I’m avoiding Civics and similar cars for being wrong wheel drive, and just about everything else in this price range seems to be too far on the unreliable side.

So I’ve ended up on the doorstep of the small-midsize BMWs. There’s mostly E9xs for sale here, with a few E46s and a sprinkling of E82s and E30s (unfortunately very few wagons of any gen, also very few E36s). Mostly been looking at the E46 330i/ci and E82/E9x N52 models but am keeping a very open mind. Definitely would prefer to stick to NA engines for cost and reliability reasons.

Overall I’m not really sure which generation is ideal. Reviews suggest that the E90s are the best car regarding specs and engineering but it seems there’s still very dedicated fanbases for E30s and E46s (especially in terms of aftermarket support and motorsports knowledge/experience) so I don’t know where to focus my attention. Objective side of me is leaning towards the E9xs or E82s, especially since I’ll be dailying the car the vast majority of the time. Plus the more modern chassis and suspension layout seems nice. But the older cars look better inside and out, and the more analog/raw experience is enticing. And I know I won't be near the limits for either platform any time soon, I only have ~3 autocross weekendsAny help/insight would be very much appreciated, thanks!

Well since you're completely closed minded on favored wheel drive I got nothing. 

In reply to bobzilla :

Not completely closed minded but it's usually just overpriced 8th gen civics here, they're fine cars but completely not my cup of tea. If I ever see a halfway decent deal on one I'd still consider it but that's rare around here. And it's a hard sell for me when there's so many BMWs for sale in that same price range, or even less, and with better maintenance records/mileage

In reply to VeganJoy :

I don't make enough money to maintain a used bmw. Nor do I own any tools to service one. 
 

people do realize there is more to this world than berkeleying Hondas right? How did they even get this god status? They're ok but they aren't the best thing since the small block Chevy. 
 

edit maybe it's the salt belt and winters that make bummers so hard to deal with long term? But then again anything over 5-6 years old up here is a pita. 

In reply to bobzilla :

From what I can tell, the M54 and N52 BMWs seem very reasonable on maintenance costs and don't require many specialized tools. More than a comparable Japanese or American car, probably but given the apparent competition I'm more than willing to accept that small downside

This is what my "local" craigslist looks like, including FWD... anything interesting there? The Sonic has a rebuilt title lol https://jonesboro.craigslist.org/search/patterson-ar/cta?auto_bodytype=11&auto_bodytype=3&auto_bodytype=4&auto_bodytype=8&auto_transmission=1&lat=35.1794&lon=-91.194&max_price=9000&min_price=3500&purveyor=owner&search_distance=210#search=1~gallery~0~0

There's literally nothing but car lots on Craigslist here. Everything went marketplace and there are lots of fun cars there. 

Not sure if you can find a decent one anymore, but what about a 350Z/G35? I daily drove a manual G35 sedan for a few years, and other than a stock flywheel that was way too heavy, it was a pretty fun car. 

In reply to bobzilla :

I've generally had less luck with FBM than CL recently. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/108051305889619/vehicles?minPrice=2501&maxPrice=9000&carType=coupe%2Csedan%2Chatchback&topLevelVehicleType=car_truck&transmissionType=manual&exact=false

In any case I'm willing to travel for a good deal on a compelling car, drove almost 2000 miles round trip for my first Vette. Only listings I've seen recently that are that interesting to me have been BMWs, hence my focus

In reply to Turbine :

I've had my eye on the <$10k market here since covid started and I haven't seen a halfway decent 350z or G35 in that price range yet. Definitely a shame cause those would be near the top of my list otherwise.

In reply to VeganJoy :

Z3 and Z4 seem very overlooked.  I have no personal experience with them and not sure if you fit.  

This rough $8k Z4M is maybe worth a deeper look.  Sure, front bumper cover seems to be a different color.  Rear bumper cover too with missing side marker.  Dent in trunk lid and generally very dirty.  But, I'm still intrigued.  Especially if the price can be driven quite a bit lower.  

Try fitting in a NC Miata.  Plan on throwing some flyin Miata suspension goodies (don't have to go all the way up, mind you) and they're great track/autocross/cruisers.   I think they're the current winner of the price vs. performance vs. reliability for sports cars at the moment.

A lot of people consider them the best car of the Miata line up..  I'm partial to my ND, though.

You think a Corvette is expensive on maintenance so you want a 15-20 year old BMW...yeah you'll fit right in here.

IMO in that price range the only autocross vehicle worth considering is a SSC BRZ. And the only BMW of that model range worth owning is and e90 M3 (maybe e46 M3) because it's the only one fun enough to offset being a fifteen year old BMW.

NC Miata; I know of a couple 6' tall guys running them.

Can speak for your area bit around here 10K will get a decent Mustang.

In reply to John Welsh :

Yeah I don't really like convertibles in general and a neglected S54 would not be a good time lol. Would try and squish myself into a Miata before that. Plus just not a lot of room in general as far as practicality, and it'd be nice to be able to fit a spare set of wheels for track days

In reply to Tom1200 :

Trashed NC1s are at the very top of my price range, still not a huge fan of soft tops and PRHTs are extra expensive. Mustang, yeah maybe. Buddy of mine has a Terminator and it seems awful when he's autocrossing it lol

In reply to dps214 :

I dunno, all accounts seem to suggest there are some relatively reliable BMWs. The Vette isn't terrible either but it's more car than I'm comfortable having right now.

The engine is as uninspiring as it gets but I'd still be all for a BRZ/FRS, the chassis certainly seems fantastic and the SSC class is great. But those are like $10-12k+ for E36 M3ty ones plus mods. Not worried about being competitive in any way so I don't feel like stretching for one. And yeah the M3s would probably be a good bit more fun but they're expensive and make the base models look almost prudent regarding maintenance costs lol

In reply to VeganJoy :

Given your parameters I'd be shopping Mustangs; they make tons of suspension goodies for them.

Note I say this as someone who isn't a Mustang guy.

In reply to Tom1200 :

I love how the new edge GTs look and sound, but seems like a rough platform to start with for handling mods. Wonder if there's anything to be done about the solid axle setup. And still a bit of a problem trying to find a decent one under $10k, otherwise I would already have gotten one instead of my first Vette

dps214 said:

You think a Corvette is expensive on maintenance so you want a 15-20 year old BMW...yeah you'll fit right in here.

IMO in that price range the only autocross vehicle worth considering is a SSC BRZ. And the only BMW of that model range worth owning is and e90 M3 (maybe e46 M3) because it's the only one fun enough to offset being a fifteen year old BMW.

My '98 M3 hasn't been expensive to maintain.   I completely replaced all suspension components (except for springs) a couple of years ago for approx. $2500.  Interior has become needy & I'll probably have that redone soon. That won't be cheap but it's a one time ,every 25 years, non-essential cost. 

I also have a C8.  I haven't had to do anything to it except for oil changes and they've been surprisingly costly.

If you can find an excellent e36 or e46 M3, go for it.  The e36 M3 is slow by today's standards but it's still a joy to drive.

In reply to M2Pilot :

E36 M3s are surprisingly expensive, especially when an E46 330ci seems to be pretty close to the neutered US version. Hence my interest in those and E82s

I'd be manual swapping a panther platform. 

I owned a E46 330Ci and it wasn't bad.  Once I got rid of the staggered tire size and went with 245s all around, it was a well balanced "quick" car that gave great feedback.  I would buy again.

The problem is, you need to keep up on preventative maintenance "or else".

For example:  Your coolant hoses are a time-change item, or else.  Or else one will burst, you wont have a replacement handy (because the attachment points are plastic) and your coolant gauge is buffered so it wont tell you that you've overheated until you've cooked the head gasket.

Same thing with sub-frame reinforcements.

I slept like crap last night, but it enabled me to do some thinking, but I'd like some confirmation.

Because what I HEAR in the original post is...

I'd like something that is easy on consumables, reliable and if maintenance heavy, something that I can handle to maintenance myself. 

Something that doesn't have mountains of power to mask deficiencies of driver error while I learn (which is a bit of a fallacy, as high horsepower will definitely highlight deficiencies as well)

RWD (you can say no fwd, but AWD won't check the first two boxes) 

And the ability to daily.

If the C6 is a suitable enough daily, I'd consider one of two things. First being signing up for Evo school and after school asking them about data tools to purchase to improve myself in driving the Vette, and possibly limited slip and coilover options (which is likely end up sourcing from a Z06 via an auto recycler) the second route that I'd consider, if miatas are two small, is saving up more for either an S2000 or until you can swing a second gen BRZ. 

The best answer, that would likely end up costing $12-14k, would be K24 swapping an RX8. But you wouldn't learn much from driving it at the local/regional level because you'll be classed into a void and won't have any competition in class or pax as an accurate benchmark. 

In reply to Hungary Bill (Forum Supporter) :

Yep stuff like the cooling system and Vanos seems to be on a 50-100k mi schedule, but other than those few things it should be fine

In reply to Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :

S2000 and 2nd gen BRZ are both much more expensive cars than my Vette. A K24 RX8 would be interesting but still out of budget for the near future and I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable dailying an engine or transmission swapped vehicle.

Your summary on what I'm looking for is pretty on point, wasn't considering AWD cars either and there's not many decent ones in the price range anyways. The C6 is a fine daily but it's definitely low on space compared to a sedan/larger coupe. Just about any of the common sporty roadsters is much smaller and would be a hindrance. Overall I'm still pretty sold on a BMW, they're not unserviceable for a normal guy like me and they seem to check all the boxes in earnest. Just not sure which generation would be best which was the primary question to begin with lol