I need a new car. No more than 20K USD, if even that.

[Takumi Fujiwara]

I'm going to sell my Miata soon, foa a variety of reasons. So, I need a new car. I could maybe go dor a car that's just under 20K, but 16-18 is more realistic. I'd be interested in either a used or new car, and that money could be stock, or including modifications. I really don't want an FF. I'd really prefer RWD, or at least AWD. Right now, I'd been looking at modifying an S13 240SX into a Silvia, but need some other choices. I'm really hoping to drift, which is why RWD is necessary. So, what do you guys reccommend?

 

[1X83Z]

I'd recommend an Impreza, but I think it'd fall on deaf ears.

Go nuts drifting.

 

[ShobThaBob]

Buying an everyday car that you plan on doing something like that with...is not overly intelligent. Im with M5 on the impreza, its a nice car that has a lot of practicality and usefullness...and you can also have fun in it. Just dont spend a ton of money on buying a car that could easily get destroyed thatyou need for a daily driver.

 

[Takumi Fujiwara]

The Imprezza actually was one I was considering.It seemed like the best car available for what I can spend. The one major problem is that I hate the round headlights, but I suppose I could get one just off lease. The other thing I'd been considering for about the same price is a Lancer Raliart.

I suppose I could get an Imprezza, and just get a cheap used drift car next year.

 

[Cobraboy]

If you want to drift then you're asking the wrong people.

You'll only get good advice here. Sorry.

 

[Takumi Fujiwara]

Hey, in a lot of areas, drift is safer than normal racing.

But I think I may, like I said, go with an Impreza. If I get a used one, I can probably afford a WRX, too.

 

[I6-4-eva]

Originally posted by Cobraboy
If you want to drift then you're asking the wrong people.

You'll only get good advice here. Sorry.

um Before you start flying into ditches like I have, If you really do want to learn how to drift... do it in a big parking lot when it's raining to get a feel for it.

I have a friend who has a WRX. Parnets bought him the car when he was 19. A little too young but anyways I've been in the car a few times and it's a very fun car. Got it for 26k out the door brand spankin new and about the lights you'll get used to them beauty full bug eyes. So it's gonna be your daily driver?Drift on! 4 wheel burnouts are awesome drive the car how it's meant to be driven sideways. It's your car.

 

[sn00pie]

Originally posted by Takumi Fujiwara
Hey, in a lot of areas, drift is safer than normal racing.

Go drift on a racing track.

I hope you like getting laughed at.

 

[Cobraboy]

Originally posted by sn00pie
Go drift on a racing track.

I hope you like getting laughed at.

And what would you know about racing on a proper race track?

Some people.

 

[KillerB]

There are these little things called drift events that are sometimes held on real race tracks.

http://www.usdrift.com/

 

[KillerB]

Why are you selling your Miata?

Brand new Miatas can be had for a fair amount under $20k right now at many dealers.

If practicality is a concern (you need more than two seats) in the price range I'd recommend a Mazdaspeed Protege or Dodge SRT-4. A Mini Cooper S is also a consideration if you can find a dealer selling them at sticker and are able to get one without a ton of options. The basic Cooper S is very well equipped and is just over $20,000.

I know you said no FWD but in new cars this is pretty much what you're up against.

 

[halfracedrift]

I'd point you to here too.. Some good advice......

https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/t-30300.html

 

[1X83Z]

Originally posted by Takumi Fujiwara
The one major problem is that I hate the round headlights, but I suppose I could get one just off lease.

I'm not suggesting a WRX here. The Impreza 2.5TS wagon with a manual transmission lists at $17895, and that's got all-wheel drive, dual airbags, anti-lock brakes, air conditioning, power windows, mirrors, and locks, keyless entry, cruise control, a CD player, and auto-off headlights, among other stuff. The 2.5TS comes only in a wagon, and the 2.5RS sedan is $2k more and offers no extra stuff - it's a very bad buy. This is if you must have the new body style, though - 2002 WRXs can be found for $18k-$23k in the classifieds. I also highly recommend (more than the Impreza, even) the Volkswagen Jetta GLS. For a base of $18790, it has dual front and front side airbags, a power sunroof, antilock brakes, air conditioning, cruise control, heated power mirrors, power windows, locks, and mirrors, keyless entry, a CD/cassette player, and remote trunk and fuel door releases. Jetta's philosophy is "premium small" and it truly delivers - it's an extremely popular car, and for a reason. Although often overlooked, I also recommend the Hyundai Elantra GT 5-door. It's a hatch, like Saab used to do, but with a sedan body style. It's completely loaded - front side airbags, air conditioning, heated power mirrors, power windows, power locks, remote fuel door and trunk releases, leather upholstery, a CD player, and an alarm are standard. Its base is $14449 - very well-priced, and, as we all know, a good warranty. You can't go wrong with any of those three. 👍

 

[import_fantasy]

first off i dont know why u guys are talking about drifting in an Impreza, ITS AWD, kinda hard to drift if u dont have RWD....2nd if ur lookin for a car under 20 g's I would go with the Neon SRT-4...and 3rd the Impreza and WRX are basically 2 different cars, wrx is turbo'd, Impreza is not

Impreza 2.5RS=slow
02+WRX=fast

 

[Roo]

An old muscle car? I would think they'd go sideways pretty easily with all that power and such.
Or an RX7, maybe. Or a Ford Escort Cosworth RS. I'm guessing with the last two, but in Britain they both are about £10,000 I think. Don't know what's out there in the US.

 

[Takumi Fujiwara]

Originally posted by sn00pie
Go drift on a racing track.

I hope you like getting laughed at.

Drift on a normal track, huh? Like Keiichi Tsuchiya did? I don't recall him getting laughed at.


As for some other suggestions.....

SRT-4: I really don't like it. It's FWD, and it's a Dodge that's not a viper or a truck.

RX7- I'd love one, but there aren't a lot over here, and the people who have 'em aren't letting 'em go

Escort Cotsworth RS - No such thing in the US market.


So, I guess it's hopefully going to be an Impreza. I really don't like wagons, so maybe I'll get a slightly older WRX. It would be nice to have a
new car, though....

 

[Takumi Fujiwara]

Originally posted by KillerB
Why are you selling your Miata?
.

I'm selling it for a variety of reasons. I really don't like soft tops on cars. And I have a problem with the car being too small. I have to lean towards the center of the car to fit. Plus, the car's been in my family all 13 years of its life, and I just want something new.

Also, the car is pretty valuable. it's got only about 30k miles on the engine, twice that on the car itself, and is in perfect condition for everything else, due to new paint, new roof, etc. Miatas just like it are selling for 6k-7k. Were it not for its relatively high value, I never would have been able to think about a car in the high teens to 20s.

 

[sn00pie]

Originally posted by Takumi Fujiwara
Drift on a normal track, huh? Like Keiichi Tsuchiya did? I don't recall him getting laughed at.

Keiwho?

 

[Frustrated Palm]

Originally posted by Takumi Fujiwara

SRT-4: I really don't like it. It's FWD, and it's a Dodge that's not a viper or a truck.

Dont underestimate it. Its a great car. I have the stage 1 kit installed from Mopar and am getting to 60 in 5.3 seconds (that's almost EVO and SS territory. Next week I am getting a limited slip to help with the power. It gets good gas milage (unless your driving it very hard, like track hard, then you get 13 or so), with 22 city, and 28 highway (though verying with where you live, you might get 33mpg). There is as just as much room as a Neon (since that is what it is based on) and is very drivable even though it has a turbo. If your shopping by the numbers and looking at specs on paper, you'd really be missing something.

As for liveablility, its pretty good. 13.1 cubic feet of trunk space, 38.4 inches of head room in front and 36 in rear. 53.4 inches of leg room in front and 52.8 in the back. As I said before, you get about 22 city and 28-33 highway, and 13 or so mpg on the track. The looks are your own opinion (though I personally like it, some dont, matters on personal prefferance).

Dodge sandbags the numbers though (when you go to their site). They say 0-60 in 5.9 when its really 5.6 (as tested by Car ad Driver) and they also say it has a 148mph top speed when its really 153 (tested by owners, me included ).

And Im with M5, the Impreza wagon is a nice car. (I dont need to list all of the info on it as he already did 👍 )


Good luck on finding a car 👍 ...

 

[xAkirax2004]

I recomend a 3rd gen Rx-7.

A good one (1993) goes for $10,000-$20k not shure of the price though...

Just be ready for the massive amount of insurance.

 

[Takumi Fujiwara]

Keiichi Tsuchiya, the Dorikin, or Drift King.

Drifting had been gaining popularity as an underground sport since the 1950s. But hardly anyone knew about it in the general population.

Then, in the mid 1970s, a young Japanese stock car racer, with hair like Elvis, named Keiichi Tsuchiya, was running dead last in a race. Instead of conceding quietly,however, he looked back to his years on the mountian passes around his hometown, and started drifting around all the corners. After a few moments of stunned silence, the crowd went wild. After the race, journalists asked Tsuchiya what he had been doing. He replied, "drifting".

Since then, the sport has grown in popularity. Tsuchiya has driven in Le Mans, JGTC, and even US NASCAR,. In one NASCAR event, he actually drifted! He is now in his mid 50s, but is still recognized as the best drift driver there is.

From tehn on, the sport has gained popularity

 

[Takumi Fujiwara]

Originally posted by xAkirax2004
I recomend a 3rd gen Rx-7.

A good one (1993) goes for $10,000-$20k not shure of the price though...

Just be ready for the massive amount of insurance.

I'd love an RX7, but they're high maintenance, and very hard to find here in southern california. Plus, I'm not an extremely exp'd driver, and an RX7 is too powerful for me.

 

[Acroth]

ding!... here..

http://www.kitcar.com/triangle/G14.html

it'll cost you just shy of $20k... and no one will know the diff .... drop in 454 in the back there and i bet you could get sideways .....

i'm joking btw... a kit car is in no way practical, or ethical in some peoples opinions... but it sure would be fun to act like someone famous...

 

[1X83Z]

Originally posted by import_fantasy
first off i dont know why u guys are talking about drifting in an Impreza, ITS AWD, kinda hard to drift if u dont have RWD....2nd if ur lookin for a car under 20 g's I would go with the Neon SRT-4...and 3rd the Impreza and WRX are basically 2 different cars, wrx is turbo'd, Impreza is not

As he already said, he could get an Impreza then buy another car down the road for drifting. If you could read, you'd have read that. Too bad you can't.

Impreza 2.5RS=slow
02+WRX=fast

Nobody suggested the 2.5RS. If you could read, you'd have read that. Too bad you can't.

 

[KillerB]

The 2004 SRT-4s now going onto lots have a slight power bump (though likely nothing's changed, they're just owning up to more of the power that was already there), as well as a limited-slip diff right from the factory.

 

[AWDrifter]

I go along with xAkirax. Ive been drifting for a good 3 years now, and you cant go wrong with a FD3S (RX-7 3rd gen). Why just on ebay a couple of days ago isaw 2 (yes, 2) FD3S's going for around 18,000 with minimal miles and in great condition. If thats not your style, id go with a 2.5 liter Subie Impreza RS 2 door. The best drift car Subaru ever made in my opinion. You could do the same I did, and look for an R33, can't go wrong there (but, youd have to learn to 4-wheel drift, which sounds easy, but is damn near impossible to control untill u get used to it). Nother goodie in that price range would be the Silvia's (preferably a SilEighty, S13, RPS13, S14) which are great cars to drift (Ive driven a SilEighty, and damn, u let off the gas and the ass just slides around on its own, its great). And thats all I really reccomend unless u really want to go way back, then Id ay AE86 all the way!

oh, sn00pie, Keiichi Tsuchiya is the almighty Drift King. He can drift anything u put him in (excpet an S2000) and hes mastered every drift style there is, he is the point of perfection when it comes to drifting, most would kill to have his level skill (including me lol). And about what u said....hmmmmm....he gets paid millions of dollars to drift around traks and make everyone go ohh and ahhh, dun remeber anyone laughing.... And when I drift on the local track , and all I got is applause and cheers, so I guess I wouldnt know what it would be like to be laughed at when sliding a car SIDEWAYS throught a 90 degree corner going 70 or 80 mph

And whats up with all this trash about not being able to drift AWD cars, thats total BS, any true drifter knows that. My R33 out drifts every RWD car ive been up agianst, and its AWD. And I can use ALL the same drifting techniques (Shiftlock, power over, e-brake, Feint, etc.) that the tiny lil RWDer's do, cept I can 4-wheel drift, which not many RWDer's can do. So stick that in your pipe and smoke it, AWD's can drift!

 

[Cobraboy]

Originally posted by AWDrifter
I go along with xAkirax. Ive been drifting for a good 3 years now, and you cant go wrong with a FD3S (RX-7 3rd gen). Why just on ebay a couple of days ago isaw 2 (yes, 2) FD3S's going for around 18,000 with minimal miles and in great condition. If thats not your style, id go with a 2.5 liter Subie Impreza RS 2 door. The best drift car Subaru ever made in my opinion. You could do the same I did, and look for an R33, can't go wrong there (but, youd have to learn to 4-wheel drift, which sounds easy, but is damn near impossible to control untill u get used to it). Nother goodie in that price range would be the Silvia's (preferably a SilEighty, S13, RPS13, S14) which are great cars to drift (Ive driven a SilEighty, and damn, u let off the gas and the ass just slides around on its own, its great). And thats all I really reccomend unless u really want to go way back, then Id ay AE86 all the way!

oh, sn00pie, Keiichi Tsuchiya is the almighty Drift King. He can drift anything u put him in (excpet an S2000) and hes mastered every drift style there is, he is the point of perfection when it comes to drifting, most would kill to have his level skill (including me lol). And about what u said....hmmmmm....he gets paid millions of dollars to drift around traks and make everyone go ohh and ahhh, dun remeber anyone laughing.... And when I drift on the local track , and all I got is applause and cheers, so I guess I wouldnt know what it would be like to be laughed at when sliding a car SIDEWAYS throught a 90 degree corner going 70 or 80 mph

And whats up with all this trash about not being able to drift AWD cars, thats total BS, any true drifter knows that. My R33 out drifts every RWD car ive been up agianst, and its AWD. And I can use ALL the same drifting techniques (Shiftlock, power over, e-brake, Feint, etc.) that the tiny lil RWDer's do, cept I can 4-wheel drift, which not many RWDer's can do. So stick that in your pipe and smoke it, AWD's can drift!

No.

 

[I6-4-eva]

Originally posted by AWDrifter
I go along with xAkirax. Ive been drifting for a good 3 years now, and you cant go wrong with a FD3S (RX-7 3rd gen). Why just on ebay a couple of days ago isaw 2 (yes, 2) FD3S's going for around 18,000 with minimal miles and in great condition. If thats not your style, id go with a 2.5 liter Subie Impreza RS 2 door. The best drift car Subaru ever made in my opinion. You could do the same I did, and look for an R33, can't go wrong there (but, youd have to learn to 4-wheel drift, which sounds easy, but is damn near impossible to control untill u get used to it). Nother goodie in that price range would be the Silvia's (preferably a SilEighty, S13, RPS13, S14) which are great cars to drift (Ive driven a SilEighty, and damn, u let off the gas and the ass just slides around on its own, its great). And thats all I really reccomend unless u really want to go way back, then Id ay AE86 all the way!

oh, sn00pie, Keiichi Tsuchiya is the almighty Drift King. He can drift anything u put him in (excpet an S2000) and hes mastered every drift style there is, he is the point of perfection when it comes to drifting, most would kill to have his level skill (including me lol). And about what u said....hmmmmm....he gets paid millions of dollars to drift around traks and make everyone go ohh and ahhh, dun remeber anyone laughing.... And when I drift on the local track , and all I got is applause and cheers, so I guess I wouldnt know what it would be like to be laughed at when sliding a car SIDEWAYS throught a 90 degree corner going 70 or 80 mph

And whats up with all this trash about not being able to drift AWD cars, thats total BS, any true drifter knows that. My R33 out drifts every RWD car ive been up agianst, and its AWD. And I can use ALL the same drifting techniques (Shiftlock, power over, e-brake, Feint, etc.) that the tiny lil RWDer's do, cept I can 4-wheel drift, which not many RWDer's can do. So stick that in your pipe and smoke it, AWD's can drift!

uh... you got any pics of your rides?

I recomend a 3rd gen Rx-7.
A good one (1993) goes for $10,000-$20k not shure of the price though...
Just be ready for the massive amount of insurance

Insurance hah.. if you can find a 93' 3rd gen with a good running rebuild lucky you. If not get ready for the engine or something to fail. a reman costs about 1300+ if you blow some apex seals which will probably happen if you dont have a clue about the car.. will cost 2000 for the turbos since the seals will fly into the turbines. Overheating is also another problem and if that happens.. you usually will have to rebuild. other misc things plus labor to get the car to start and run perfectly should cost you a good $6000-7000. I have a buddy who has gone through 3 engines in two years. I think the FD3S RX7 is just good to sit in your garage and look pretty.

About the Neon SRT-4 Besides the power you probably wont like anything else about the car.

 

[Frustrated Palm]

Originally posted by I6-4-eva

About the Neon SRT-4 Besides the power you probably wont like anything else about the car.

No, there is lots to love. Handles great, nice sounding exhaust (not really ricey either 👍 ), and a pretty good interior.

When I heard that they were going to up the power to 230 hp and add a factory LSD installed, I almost freaked. But then again, Im still glad I have one. Though it wont be drifting any time soon (unless you rally with it).

As for drifting being faster than grip driving in some places, I dont really think that is true, except in the WRC (on tarmac, since oyu have to on dirt), since those cars have enough acceleration to get going fast again...

 

[ShobThaBob]

I have a hard time believing AWDrifter. Sorry, but who would be dumb enough to spend thousands of dollars on a GTR and import it to the US and destroy it drifting? People that dumb generally dont make a lot of money (the kind it would take to do such a thing). And people with that kind of money generally have digital cameras.