Rad Era Classic Instead of New Car?

frenchyd said:

In reply to Tom1200 :

What would a decent LS400 cost?  Something with less than 100,000 miles?  

First Mileage is completely meaningless when it comes to a LS400; the motors are known to regularly do 500K or more.

Decent ones are 5-8K

Super clean ones are 10-12K

Till my son bought one I had no idea how good they were. The added bonus is parts prices are Toyota prices.

DocRob said:

The MK VIII Lincoln would be interesting. Have to be a good price though, because airbags will have to be replaced.

I'm daily driving a 98 Mark VIII right now. Not a $17-20k example, mind you, but it's fine. 200k+ miles and no real issues to speak of. Mod motors last forever if you take decent care of them.

Before that my DD was a 93 MR2. I admit I gave that one up because some basic parts (calipers, CV axles, steering bits) were hard/impossible to find.

There's a reason that the 2015 Challenge had The Aristocrats Class

Infiniti Q45, BMW 7 series, Lexus LS and GS, Lincoln Mark 8

They can/could all be bought cheap, even 8 years ago. 

I see nice Mark 8s often and cheap. The world no longer wants a sedan and they certainly don't want a 2 door car.   But, some old boy keep one in his garage and wiped it with a diaper. Upon his death, the family finds out that the world just prices it as "an old car"

I'm considering the switch to a Rad-era daily driver as well. Very inexpensive yearly plate fees, especially if you plate it as a collector car. Same goes for insurance if you can get it through Hagerty. I have a BMW i3 right now and it's a really great car but I just don't drive it. It gets used about 100 miles a month, tops. At that rate I'll never save money on gas, certainly not enough to offset Michigan's $140/year EV fee and the extra cost of insurance on a carbon-fiber chassis EV. 

1990s sporty cars are appealing because they're reliable, they're appreciating in value, and they scratch the itch for me, as someone who started driving in the 1990s. 

Things that matter to me: under $15k in very good condition, fun to drive, small (live in the city), reliable, unique-ish, and seats 4. Needs AC, can't be super rust-sensitive (no old Subarus), has to have relatively OK parts availability (probably no JDM)

Things that don't: comfortable seats, fuel mileage, speed.

My short list is: 

• 99+ Civic Si
• 98+ Prelude SH
• pre-GM Saab 900 3 door
• MkIV GTI - Did these have the tartan seats? I never see them anymore

A lot of the hotter cars I'd consider (996, ITR, 2.5RS) have already blown well past my budget, and at that point I would feel bad driving them in the city. 

In reply to Erich :

To hit between your target of Civic and Prelude with more ease of rear entry, I'd consider

Acura Integra sedan.

Although.  Honda/Acuras of this era fail in the rust resistance part of your requirements. 

In reply to z31maniac :

To be fair, they don't all look like that. Kind of nerdy in stock form. That one has a body kit, AMG wheels, and has been slammed (probably on airbags). But if you find a clean one for a fair price, you can spend a bit of money to make them cooler.

For me, Euro headlights are a must. Luckily you get get copies from Depo for just a couple of hundred bucks on eBay. 

In reply to John Welsh :

I kinda want a coupe or hatch. Haven't had one in a long time, and my kids are on the smaller side and old enough to buckle themselves up. 

It doesn't have to be rust-proof, just resistant enough that it won't absolutely disintegrate like many of the 1980s cars I used to drive. Maybe I should add the RSX to the list, but I'd prefer to stick with a 90s era car for emotional reasons. 

In my local search I stumbled across this incredibly well-preserved Neon. 3000 miles, no options, 5-speed. Doesn't interest me but it's interesting?