Where to shop for "fun" cars?

I'm going to sell the Miata here soon, I'm just not a convertible person.  I wanted to try one for at least a short time, especially after the $2017 Challenge with Tim's.  But I figured it wouldn't be long term.  It got me through 2020 and selling the WRX for the home roof repair, but it's time...

That said, where should I shop for the next fun car?  I've been cruising Facebook Marketplace a lot, with some results.  Craigslist seems pretty bleak.  Autotrader seems to only work for appliances and/or $15K and up.

I'm leaning towards mid 80s Porsche 944 (again), another MR2 would really be nice.  Kinda browsing BMW's but manuals are hard to find.  There's a mid 70s MINI locally with an engine swap and seats/harnesses set up for autocross that might be fun.  Budget ATM about $9-10k but expecting a bonus shortly that might bump it up.

Where else can I point Firefox?  (I did a search here, could have sworn there was a thread.)

Unfortunately the barely searchable pile that is facebook marketplace is the primary place the cool cheap stuff seems to live now, although forums are good too sometimes.  Ebay motors still gets things worth bidding on occasionally as well.

My best guess would be for something specific like you're mentioning, is to find a good forum dedicated to that platform and see what you find. Although good forums are dying out these days. 

I've been using autotempest as my tool to find a new toy.  It is fairly easy to use, and can pull from several sources, including facebook and craigslist. 

If only prices would come out of the stratosphere, but that's a whole other ball of wax.

All of the cars you mentioned are a little thin on the ground, which means you need to search far and wide (digitally and geographically) to find a good one.

Don't forget eBay Motors, looking at completed auctions is a good way to find out what the actual selling price of cars is as opposed to the asking price.

I still look at CL. For a car like this the dream seller is someone who hasn't sold a car in 10 years and when he last did, it was on CL. 

Agreed, you'll need to look everywhere. 

Yes, "everywhere". But specifically I'd look at model specific FB sale groups. Unfortunately there's probably at least three you need to look at for any car you're considering. In the case of the mr2 you can limit your searching to the deep south as pretty much anywhere else they're going to be unserviceably rusty or wildly overpriced if they're not. So that should cut down the amount of cl pages to sort through at least.

In reply to dps214 :

You nailed it with model specific groups, which are also great, as then you have a resource community to assist you in locating difficult to find bits. 

I do check eBay Motors occasionally, you never know, although that makes location a bit more unwieldy.  But for the right car I'd stil do it.

Forgot I did join a Lotus forum this time last year when I thought that was the answer for a daily, it wasn't.  But for a toy?  I think I'll jump back in and see what's up.  (I have about $70k in a Simlpe IRA I could be persuaded to raid if needed.)  Guess I'll look for some specific forums and/or FB for-sale groups.

I also use Autotempest (CL search engine) Load up the advanced search with what you're looking for. I cruise it a couple of times a week.

I check Bring A trailer every day. So much car porn.

In reply to Tim Suddard :

I do look occasionally just in case, but definitely $$.

This seems like an honest presentation of a "driver grade" track capable car

https://cleveland.craigslist.org/cto/d/avon-1988-porsche-944/7457871929.html

Facebook has the selection, but search is awful and time consuming and geo limited. I'd look for groups that help parse down the listings and repost stuff. As an example, I'm part of a "RWD, manual car under 10k" group, a "unique cars for sale group", etc. 

Jerry said:(I have about $70k in a Simlpe IRA I could be persuaded to raid if needed.)  Guess I'll look for some specific forums and/or FB for-sale groups.

I'm as much of an enabler as anyone else, but I'd strongly recommend against pulling money out of a tax-advantaged account for a fun car.

That said, any particular goal for another car that your Frisbee doesn't meet?  Probably a good idea not to overlap functionality/use cases too much.

Count me in for the Craigslist crowd. The pickin's might be a little slimmer than they used to be but when you find something wild it's usually really wild. Plus, fewer people checking means less competition when you find something you like. My CSP-prepped Miata sat on there for 3 months before I got my hands on it for a great price.

I wish no one had mentioned Cars and Bids:  Celica Supra

John Welsh said:

I still look at CL. For a car like this the dream seller is someone who hasn't sold a car in 10 years and when he last did, it was on CL. 

Agreed, you'll need to look everywhere. 

I still look on Craig's, for those very reasons. 
The early  all of Craig's sites were ok, but as they "improved " them they got much worse. 
Pro tip: After a local search, for a specific, go to location, at bottom of pull down menu, is "use map" Zoom out to max of 250 miles. Then move that circle around for different regions. 

eastsideTim said:

That said, any particular goal for another car that your Frisbee doesn't meet?  Probably a good idea not to overlap functionality/use cases too much.

Just "different".  At 54 I'm not getting any younger and just looking to try other things while I'm still healthy enough to.  I've never owned a Porsche.  Lotus is still an idea.  A CRX si seems like fun.  Never owned a BMW either.  I saw a decent looking Opel GT last night for $10k that seemed like fun.

I think I have a left field suggestion for you, if you want something different than what you've had.  Maybe look into the Lexus IS-F.  Kind of an attempt at a Japanese M3.  

eastsideTim said:

I think I have a left field suggestion for you, if you want something different than what you've had.  Maybe look into the Lexus IS-F.  Kind of an attempt at a Japanese M3.  

I've owned 3. Best all around vehicle I've ever owned, and I've owned a LOT of cars