what car manifesto

right up front guys, my wife is ready to kill me, all I can seem to focus on right now is my current dilemma. I figure if the collective "wisdom" of GRM can't help me out, then my situation is hopeless. Here goes...

What I need: $3500 limit 4 doors - so no miata reliable semi-DD to pick up/drop-off 18 mo old twins from daycare (have a 2 door Tacoma as a backup) willing and able partner for rallycross (not too new or too nice) needs to survive for the next three years to get handed down to my now 13 yr old son.

What I want: quite simply - a WRX wagon - but, not at my price point, not a great rally-x car (turbo lag), and definitely not a candidate to hand down to a 16 yr old boy - 227 HP and AWD + insurance costs - I don't think so. I still don't know how I survived my Saab 900 turbo that I had at 17.

Soooo, I know what you're thinking, what's the problem? Get a EF/EG/EK Civic and call it a day, but I'm not sure how the double wishbone suspension will hold up to off road excursions, and with recent gas prices around here (DC area) there don't seem to be many unmolested Civics still available.

Next choice is a MK III Golf or Jetta. Strong rally support and knowledge base, but VW reliability always an issue. Also can't seem to find a decent one in my price range and I'm not sure that I could live with the pedestrian 2.Slow for the next 3 years.

And the final piece of the problem.

I currently have an '86 BMW 325e sitting in my driveway. Over 300K in mileage, and worked great for two weeks but really needs alot of work (oh how I love deferred maintenance) and currently won't start.

Plus, would you rally-x an E30? I'm sure it would be a helluva lot of fun, but I'm not sure it would survive. Also, I'm not sure I'd hand this down to my son either.

So what do I do?

Rallycross isn't quite as hard on a car as i think you are imagining. I rallycrossed my EG civic with absolutely no issues, and i think any of your mentioned choices would hold up fine.

If you want a WRX but need something cheaper, why not go for a non turbo impreza or legacy of some variant?

You sir have only one option. P71.

4-doors, WELL under your budget, tough and rugged for off-road excursions, SAFE, RELIABLE, and CHEAP.

Fits 3 car seats no problem and has the ultimate child locks (no door handles). Easily found for $2000-$3000 (for the 01+ 240HP version like mine). Rubber floor and vinyl seats for quick and easy rally-cross clean up. Cheapest insurance ever for when you hand it down.

You should buy my Rally-X Subaru Outback.

Battle tested, Kid approved. Should survive for another 3 years easily. It's a yankee car, so it has all the goodies like weatherband radio, heated seats and mirrors, etc...

I was asking 3800, but that's an optimistic listing. I'd love to see it go to a good home, cash talks. Send me a message...

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/reader-rides/356/

Pee Seventy Won baby.

I second Tom's Subaru. I have co-driven the car and would vouch for it.

I believe we regularly nip at the heels of the turbo AWD cars. It makes the 3 hours drive to the rally site, competes and drives home with no hassle.

323 GTX.

P71 - meh, not my cup of tea

323 - haven't seen one of those in a long time

older legacy's - I've considered them, but was afraid of head gasket issues.

I guess I should have added that I don't need AWD, in fact I'm almost leaning towards FWD so I can work on my left foot braking technique in rally-x for when I move on to stage rally.

I also should have added that I've been spoiled in the past by owning an E46 325i for a couple of years. I got rid of it when we found out we were having twins, to free up the cash from the monthly payment.

I'm really in love with the idea of "saving" my 325e, but I know with my family duties that I just don't have time to actually get it sorted. If I have a free Saturday, I want to be driving - not wrenching.

Oh yeah, my wife's idea is to just get a four door tacoma and rally-x that. She's such a buzzkill sometimes. I've got beater car fever and the only prescription is GRM!

The 2.2's don't have headed gasket issues that I am aware of. I believe it was the "bigger" motors where that was an issue.

yeah pretty sure the outback came standard with the 2.5

I'll also vouch for Tom's wagon. I've been in it several times, and it is a good running, solid machine.

It ain't no Eagle........but it isn't bad.

Suggest early 96ish up "Outback Sport" 2.2, 5 spd, AWD, carries a ton, looks pretty cool rallied out (as opposed to "blinged" I suppose )

How about a Volvo 240?

I'm sure there are some in your price range. They're built like tanks. You may score some point with the wife for getting a "safe " car to haul the kids in and for your son to drive.

You might not have seen a 323 GTX for a long time, but even when new they were pretty rare. They're out there and fairly easy to hunt down if you look. But they're cool because while a WRX kinda looks like a WRC car, the GTX was built as a homologation special. They're very cool to drive, and you could put together a WRX beater for about $3k.

The Volvo 240 would be a turbo, of course!

I used to own an Outback Sport 2.2, and I have nothing bad to say about it except the seats sucked pretty much and it was a tad boring. Very reliable, hauled tons of crap, and great in the slippery stuff. I'd recommend one to anybody.

My girlfriend has a 2000 Impreza Wagon 2.2. Very nice car. Same motor that Tom's aforementioned car has. It isn't fast but it's fun and dead reliable. It has put up with her for about 55k miles with no problems. It has 135k on it now.

The stock seats do suck but for about $200 I bought a pair of super, super comfortable and supportive 03 WRX seats that bolted right in. I also picked up a pair of cheap bugeye WRX wheels and tires that helped change the car.

If you don't get Tom's car I would suggest looking for an Impreza wagon

1st gen Neon