What car family edition!

My wife abd i are looking for a family car for us and our one year old to ride around in.

 We would prefer rwd, manual, and fun to drive. I think we might be able to live with an auto as long as it shifts good or has a "manual" mode.

We have around $3k to spend and the only things i can think of are the rx8 and a 3 series.

Thanks

  Robert

Edit: we have closer to $4k but i want to use whats left over for maintenance.

An RX8 isn't the best family car despite those little rear doors. Especially a $3000 one.

I would look at a 3 series sedan though maintenance may eat you up unless you are handy/familiar with them .

You might be able to find a manual Infiniti G35 sedan in your budget, but you would probably have to stretch a bit for a good one. Same deal with a Lexus IS. 

If you can find a decent Volvo 740/940 Turbo, even good examples don't seem to trade for above $3000. They're a bit long in the tooth now but still relatively safe and relatively modern cars. They're surprisingly fun to drive. 

Protege5 or mazda3 are my go to. However, both are fwd.

Really the only thing i could think of in that price Nd rwd is bmw, and i wouldn't trust a 3k Beemer for my wife and daughter without doing a bunch of work and maintenance which would drive the real world cost up significantly. 

Why rwd?

Dusterbd13 said:

Protege5 or mazda3 are my go to. However, both are fwd.

Really the only thing i could think of in that price Nd rwd is bmw, and i wouldn't trust a 3k Beemer for my wife and daughter without doing a bunch of work and maintenance which would drive the real world cost up significantly. 

Why rwd?

Yep, this.  I can't think of a fun, manual RWD for under $3k that I'd want to put a one year old in.  You'd have to search long and hard and maybe you'd find a rare well documented and cared for E36 or something, but that'd be a real hard challenge.  At that price point, most have been PepBoyz to death.

I'd completely agree with the idea of Protege or 3, or even manual Accord/Civic

CVPI and deal with the auto? Tons of back seat. Modern enough to have some decent safety tech. Interiors that are designed to be easily cleaned seems like a good idea with a young kid.

Dusterbd13 said:

Protege5 or mazda3 are my go to. However, both are fwd.

Really the only thing i could think of in that price Nd rwd is bmw, and i wouldn't trust a 3k Beemer for my wife and daughter without doing a bunch of work and maintenance which would drive the real world cost up significantly. 

Why rwd?

It doesnt have to be rwd just a want as most of the cars ive owned have been.

The main thing to both of us is that its fun to drive and he fits in it. 

If we still had only 1 kid, I would have kept the '99 Lexus GS400 I had. It was an auto, but they have up and down-shift buttons on the steering wheel. It was a fast, comfortable, and reliable car, and you can find them for about that price.

E46 is the answer here, don't let the haters scare you off. Budget $800ish for a cooling system refresh and it should be as reliable as anything else at that price point. 

$6500, 195,000 miles

$3500, 195,000 miles

$3500, 154,000 miles

Here in the 'Burgh, you'd be looking at a high mileage BMW or a really beat up BMW.  

$3400, 136,000 miles, cheaper parts, great autocrosser or track toy. 

$3,500, 120,000 miles, great chassis, 4 doors

$3,300, 178,000 miles, Honda reliability and safety with a V6 and a manual

I'd say, drop the RWD and your options improve a bit.  

I used Protege5 Mazda3 and Mazda6 s for the majority of my daughter's life. The P5 and Mazda 3 or a little tight with a rear-facing but at 1 she should be in a front facing now with plenty of room

Furious_E said:

E46 is the answer here, don't let the haters scare you off. Budget $800ish for a cooling system refresh and it should be as reliable as anything else at that price point. 

Ehhh... Only if you're a DIY guy. They have issues, the issues can be fixed, but your wallet is not going to want to fix it. 

STM317 said:

CVPI and deal with the auto? Tons of back seat. Modern enough to have some decent safety tech. Interiors that are designed to be easily cleaned seems like a good idea with a young kid.

The cage is still in mine, and it's wonderful when the little one decides to throw a hissy fit. Just slide the window shut and keep driving in quiet. 

Ive owned a few e30s, my mom had an e36 and ive i some friends with e46s. It seems like the quality went down after the e30.

I dont know how i forgot about the p71 but she would shoot thay down, she hates fords.

The main thing is that its fun to drive.  She wants an impeza but i dont think a na impreza will have enough power.

AWSX1686 said:

Furious_E said:

E46 is the answer here, don't let the haters scare you off. Budget $800ish for a cooling system refresh and it should be as reliable as anything else at that price point. 

Ehhh... Only if you're a DIY guy. They have issues, the issues can be fixed, but your wallet is not going to want to fix it. 

Eh, everything has issues, especially at that price point where condition becomes the biggest driving factor. They're certainly not perfect, but if you're not OCD about nagging little things like the pixels on the trip computer going out or seat heaters not working, the biggest things you have to worry about are doing the cooling system and all 507 bushings in the rear suspension every 100k. I don't think most consumable parts were particularly expensive for my E36, probably on par with my Camaro and most Japanese cars I've owned, but sometimes if you need the OEM doodad for whatever part to function correctly, then it can get expensive. And I am assuming, perhaps unfairly, that the OP is DIY capable because GRM.

I had my e36 for like 3 years and from150-210k and in that time I think I did brakes, tires, some O2 sensors, a secondary air pump, and that's it that I recall. Granted, it was due for the cooling system and a suspension refresh at the time it was totaled, but it was still objectively and subjectively the best car I have owned to date, and my uncle has had good luck with a trio of e46s as well. I wouldnt dissuade the OP from one if that's what he wants.

Mazda3 and Honda Civic get my vote. Both are reliable and fun to drive.

Furious_E said:

AWSX1686 said:

Furious_E said:

E46 is the answer here, don't let the haters scare you off. Budget $800ish for a cooling system refresh and it should be as reliable as anything else at that price point. 

Ehhh... Only if you're a DIY guy. They have issues, the issues can be fixed, but your wallet is not going to want to fix it. 

Eh, everything has issues, especially at that price point where condition becomes the biggest driving factor. They're certainly not perfect, but if you're not OCD about nagging little things like the pixels on the trip computer going out or seat heaters not working, the biggest things you have to worry about are doing the cooling system and all 507 bushings in the rear suspension every 100k. I don't think most consumable parts were particularly expensive for my E36, probably on par with my Camaro and most Japanese cars I've owned, but sometimes if you need the OEM doodad for whatever part to function correctly, then it can get expensive. And I am assuming, perhaps unfairly, that the OP is DIY capable because GRM.

I had my e36 for like 3 years and from150-210k and in that time I think I did brakes, tires, some O2 sensors, a secondary air pump, and that's it that I recall. Granted, it was due for the cooling system and a suspension refresh at the time it was totaled, but it was still objectively and subjectively the best car I have owned to date, and my uncle has had good luck with a trio of e46s as well. I wouldnt dissuade the OP from one if that's what he wants.

I like my ZHP (e46) for sure, it drives wonderfully and is quite comfortable and has pretty good power, it has also been a pain in my rear. Not necessarily trying to dissuade the OP from one, just want to make sure he knows it's going to require some DIY skills at least. 

To update this we ended up getting a really clean is300 for $2500.

It needed tires and a radiator luckily the rad came with it. 

Furious_E said:

E46 is the answer here, don't let the haters scare you off. Budget $800ish for a cooling system refresh and it should be as reliable as anything else at that price point. 

Last fall, I sold my 130,000-mile 325i sedan, Sport package and manual trans, for $3500 including a spare set of snow tires /wheels.  It needed a cooling system refresh but was otherwise absolutely good to go and safe to drive.

It was not a creampuff and was showing some wear, but it would have taken me coast to coast at 80 mph sithout a hiccup, and it was a fun daily.  I miss it.  The ad is buried in the Open Classifieds if you care to look.

I wouldn't say that it would be spacious in back with a rear-facing infant seat.  I would check that out first.  But I carried 2 kids back there from ages 10 and up (that's how old they were when I bought it).

EDIT:  You would think I'd learn to read to the bottom of a thread before posting in it.  You would be wrong.

In reply to mrhappy :

How is the rear seat room with the IS300? I love the look of the sportcross version. Did you manage to find a manual, and how has the mileage been?

Also... pics!

In reply to tuna55 new tires,tinted tail lights, new 02 sensors and rad.

Ill see if i can get some better pictures of it with my wifes phone sometime soon.

Can't see if anybody's mentioned E34 yet...

Available with a manual, spacious and reasonably fun to drive.