Your 15k$ dream first car?

[Doog]

I love the fun to drive nature of the Mini, but I also enjoy the comfort and amenities of the Lexus, so the ideal first car would strike a good balance between the two, which has lead me to spend countless hours lusting over BMWs, specifically E39s and E36s on Craigslist, though a certain 1992 535i caught my eye last month for looking pretty nice in the ad, and it caught my dad's eye with its low price. That car ended up having lots of little cosmetic issues that added up and a few mechanical bits that needed replacing, and I didn't really like how the car rode. It wasn't choppy like the Mini, but it was just very firm on the road, and you could feel the very texture of the asphalt under you through the tires. I didn't really like that feeling. Needless to say that car was passed on, and it's safe to assume several other people have done the same, as it's still for sale, with a little something in the beginning of the ad likely due to me.

FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT DO NOT KNOW THIS CAR , DO YOUR HOMEWORK. THIS IS NOT A 525I THIS IS A 535I.
FOR THOSE THINKING OF THIS AS YOUR KIDS FIRST CAR...THINK AGAIN.
THIS CAR IS A BEAST ON THE ROAD , ALL THE POWER AND HANDLING YOU COULD HANDLE.
DO NOT LET THE CLASSIC 20 YEAR OLD BADGE FOOL YOU.
THIS CAR BEGS TO BE DRIVEN FAST AND HARD ALTHOUGH QUITE HAPPY CRUISING AROUND TOWN.

If only it looked that good in person.


Heh heh. There was also a very nice 2003 530i that we came very close to test driving, but then my dad suddenly pulled the plug and we later agreed to just wait until I was actually, you know, 16. More than reasonable. Still, I find myself gravitating towards 530is consistently, with the occasional 330Ci or 325Ci, or even a 330i, if it's a really good one. But all in all, I guess the E39 530i could be considered not only my dream $15k first car, but my dream first car to begin with.

This wasn't the specific 530i that was being considered.

 

[Onbail]

http://www.carpoint.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?R=SSE-AD-907257&Cr=2
1990 Nissan Skyline BNR32 GT-R

http://www.carpoint.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?R=SSE-AD-912907&Cr=1
for around 1.5k more you can get a R33 GT-R

 

[mattythedog]

If I could be allowed £300 over, I'd get one of these.

 

[Clark]

1988 Ford Fiesta XR2. Can pick them up for around £2000 these days, and they're cheap on classic insurance. Granted, once I'm 17 I probably won't be able to have an XR2, but I still want a MK2 Fiesta.

I don't want anything with stupid power or stupid size, just a little fun classic Fiesta that will manage to turn a few heads.

I was about to buy a black one of those right before I decided to get my E30, I still want to own an old fast Ford one day.

 

[AzNTypeR]

Integra Type R DC5:

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/honda/integra/2001-honda-integra-2-0-type-r-dc5-sat-nav/1006565

 

[ShobThaBob]

A mint condition Integra Type R. Without a doubt.

 

[Katiegan]

I was about to buy a black one of those right before I decided to get my E30, I still want to own an old fast Ford one day.

Should've gone for the Fiesta! Although, I must admit, despite not being a BMW fan, the E30 is definitely one I would own.

 

[Fazerfan]

Well if you're talking dream first cars then I assume they are not Very logical choices so I'll go with what I remember I wanted for a first car, a 1978 carrera SC with 150k+ miles an a motor rebuild

Well, I dont want people to post links to car adds which has 1000k on the motor, misses all doors and isnt road legal.

 

[phil bell]

Not possible in Sinagpore LOL. The license (COE) alone is already ~80,000USD before the car.

If I was in the US, I's strongly consider a Corvette C5 Z06, Porsche 911 SC or a BMW 540i E39.
Leaning towards the Porsche now:http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1983...Cars_Trucks&hash=item27cf7a8018#ht_500wt_1182

Yes I realize it says 3.2 on the photo but the SC and 3.2 look nearly identical!

 

[Murcie_LP640]

For the purposes of the fact that this is a dream car topic I'm going to conveniently ignore Australia's P-Plate "High-Powered Vehicle" restrictions

So inevitably because my mind wanders very easily I have three of them.

1. Subaru Liberty B4 3GEN

Reasons for the older B4 over the later GT AWD? Not under budget being the main one, but the B4 also comes with the Bilstein suspension bits, and I prefer the looks. Maintenance is a bit more expensive with the sequential twin-turbo setup rather than the single turbo GTs, and past 4k there is the infamous "Valley of Death", but this particular example has an ECU retune mostly flattening out that problem, and even buying an unmodified example would add to the mod budget if necessary.

2. SIC EM


DSC_0018 by Murcie_LP640, on Flickr

Obvious reasons are obvious. Plus technically it's not costing a single cent of the $15k limit as I already own her!

And then the wildcard:

A Holden Special Vehicles Grange. Putting aside the rather understated looks (for a Holden anyway ) and the somewhat tacky interior, it's got loads of features for the money as well as IRS and a limited slip diff...oh, and an LS1 pumping 255kW and 475Nm of torque.

Hmmm why does this have the 2005 rear arches?
Edit: That is a 2005 not 04. Also has a nice dent in the bumper. Shame.

Build year '04, model year '05 perhaps?

That's looking a little worse for wear I reckon, wouldn't touch it.

 

[Azuremen]

E36 M3 Sedan. Someone mentioned the 530i sport earlier, but it just doesn't quite have the get up and go I'd like. Excellent road tripping car though.

Anyhow, picture.

 

[Slash]

$1,500? Seriously?

Yes sir, I thought my eyes were lying to me or it was a typo Sure enough, called him up and that is the correct price he's asking. Only thing done was a new brake system and tires otherwise it's been garaged most of it's life with general maintenance. I couldn't believe it. I may jump on it now. It's black with the red stripes, with those deep chrome rims on it, believe it's a Mach 1. Seen it driven around town before. Totally want it. That and there is also a ton of advertisements of low mile, mints all over online, many of them under 100,000 miles and under $5,000 at the same time.

 

[Doodle]

This 1991 Mazda RX7 Convertible for about 4 grand. The other $11K will go into fixing it up, insurance, and maintenance.

 

[Ironmonger]

A audi coupe quattro

 

[Luminis]

€ 1,450.00 for a 1995 Nissan March/Micra. The remaining € 13,550.00 would go to the second car.

 

[zedextreme8177]

^ That...

 

[motortrend]

Monster V8 Miata

 

[acascianelli]

When I was 16 I was looking at either a Probe GT or an SVT Contour. I have no idea what I would get if I was 16 now and had 15k to spend. The adult in me would say something like an Audi S4, but the 16 year old would probably want something like a Camaro or a Mustang.

 

[Anathema]

AW11 MR2. And a very distinct possibility if I can find one in decent shape for under $2,000....

 

[DaxCobra]

Fisher Fury kit car, probably with the LeMans style bonnet, aeroscreen and a 2.0L Ford or 1.8L Toyota engine that has been tinkered with a little. Can't decide whether i'd go with a sequential or standard gearbox.

This.

Fisher Fury's are great cars. Although if you had just turned 17 and stepped into this straight away, the chances of becoming another statistic are quite high.

I took a less extreme kit car route for my 1st car.

 

[Steele_obsidion]

Unfortunately when I had my first car, my parents were all concerned about cost of maintenance, safety, reliability, etc etc. which is why they gave me their 97 grand am GT. (this was in 2001) I liked it then, but now I absolutely despise those cars, why? I dont quite know, but I am no longer a fan.

So that leaves today if I had 15K to spend on my first car, no rules, no regulations, I would buy this.

1981 Rolls Royce Silver Spirit.

They only want $4,981 for it, which I would round up to 5k out the door. that leaves me 10K.

Now the tires look a little worse for wear, and its in Portland Oregon, I am currently in Michigan, thats almost 2000 miles now I am doing a lot of research on this because im bored and dont have class for 2 hours, so lets do some research.

New tires: $520 for 4 tires

New rims (ugly ones on the car now) $1,000 (Can't find any I like, so I am estimating)

36 hour drive, 2,365 miles. two nights hotel stay (no rush to get home) and food expenses $1,000 I know it will not cost that much, but i would rather allot the the extra cash and not need it then not allot it and need it.

I looked into insurance, and because its a 1981 and I have a mostly clean record, its $635 for a 6 month period.

right now that leaves me at $8,155 to get it, and get it home.

now that leaves me with $6,845

The ad is vague, but I feel at most I may need to put a couple grand into it for maintenance. so all in all I am out ahead and have the snazzyest car at school!

 

[CyborgGT]

There are a few FD RX-7s on my local Craigslist going for around $12-15k. I'm actually seriously considering one for my next car. Probably the most beautiful car ever, imo, and I really want to get to know rotaries.

 

[justchyllan]

There are a few FD RX-7s on my local Craigslist going for around $12-15k. I'm actually seriously considering one for my next car. Probably the most beautiful car ever, imo, and I really want to get to know rotaries.

There's one FS in Colorado and its a lot crappier than the one in that pic It's gonna take more than 15 stacks to get a nice one here. I love FDs though, definitely nice lookin cars. If you wanna get to know rotaries just remember these two things: blown apex seals, and LS swap!

 

[justchyllan]

I've already been lucky enough to own my "dream $15k" first car set up. When I was 17 I had about $14k, j bought my pristine 97 Eclipse GSX for $7k and a 91 Civic RT4WD for $2500 for a daily driver, then put the remaining $4k into my GSX.

 

[CyborgGT]

As long as I own a car I would never be able to keep it as-is even if it was in perfect working and aesthetic condition, so a bit of a project counts in my book. My "$1500" Accord is going to end up a $30,000 project. I know I'm going to get rid of my RSX in three or four years, and despite being a base model - and an auto at that - I'm still putting $2-3,000 into it just to make it more fun to drive. An FD is an iconic car and I would prefer it being completely stock, so working to get there would make up for the modifications any other car would see.

Arizona isn't too far though, there are a couple cars in that range. There's on in there for $17k; I could probably get the $2k back trading the aftermarket crap for stockers with cash on top.

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/search/cta?zoomToPosting=&query=rx7&srchType=T&minAsk=&maxAsk=

 

[1241Penguin]

I've found a GC Impreza for around $5,000. What I would do to it is swap an EJ20 into it, swap the drivetrain (including the transmission), and then fix up the body a bit. I think $10K should cover it (I think).

 

[Legendary]

I've found a GC Impreza for around $5,000. What I would do to it is swap an EJ20 into it, swap the drivetrain (including the transmission), and then fix up the body a bit. I think $10K should cover it (I think).

Most of them come with EJ20's, mine (n/a) has one and the turbo models have them.

 

[1241Penguin]

Heh, let me specify; the turbocharged EJ207 found in JDM STIs.

 

[justchyllan]

As long as I own a car I would never be able to keep it as-is even if it was in perfect working and aesthetic condition, so a bit of a project counts in my book. My "$1500" Accord is going to end up a $30,000 project. I know I'm going to get rid of my RSX in three or four years, and despite being a base model - and an auto at that - I'm still putting $2-3,000 into it just to make it more fun to drive. An FD is an iconic car and I would prefer it being completely stock, so working to get there would make up for the modifications any other car would see.

Arizona isn't too far though, there are a couple cars in that range. There's on in there for $17k; I could probably get the $2k back trading the aftermarket crap for stockers with cash on top.

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/search/cta?zoomToPosting=&query=rx7&srchType=T&minAsk=&maxAsk=

Arizona has a weirdly large import "scene" Their classifieds is always prime.

Don't put that kind of money into an accord!!

 

[CyborgGT]

^ I love the Accord, nothing's going to change that. You could argue putting that kind of money into an old muscle car is pointless as they're still going to be crap performers, but people do much more than that all the time. As long as I don't over-do the power, I won't give myself reason to grow to hate front-wheel drive.

Actually just today, a friend asked if I wanted to go half-way on a $1100 GC Impreza coupe. It's an auto and wrecked (still runs great, slight front corner damage), but that can all be changed. I kinda don't want to with my own project going, but these have always been something of a dream project car for me.