04-15-2008, 02:40 PM
I'm pretty sure there are at least a couple car guys here.... Your thoughts.
I am likely going to be selling my GTI in the near future. I'm bored with driving an auto and just kind of bored with the car itself. I can hopefully get around $10k or a little more for it because it is in really good shape and low miles for an '03 at only 42k.
I am looking for a reliable daily driver (so not terrible fuel mileage) but that is also fast (or can be made fast) and is fun to drive.
These are my thoughts for now:
Subaru WRX:
I can get one around $11-12k if I really look that would be stock, or have a few simple mods. The AWD would be nice in winter. It's sort of quick in stock form and you can really get a lot out of them. From what I have heard and read they are pretty reliable as well.
Lexus IS300:
I have found several online with around 80k miles for an '02 right around $11k or $12k as well. It's not very fast stock but it is a nice car and it is reliable (Toyota). It has the 2JZ-GE motor in it (N/A Supra Motor) so it can be built. With little more than a head gasket to the motor itself, with a nice turbo kit and a new clutch these cars can see ~450 RWHP. Granted, that will take the price of the car from about $11-12k up to around $20k, but it wouldn't be done right away. Reliability will go down a bit as with any high powered boosted car, but you can always turn the boost way down for daily driving.
Lexus SC300:
This is starting to seem like the best option. It would be somewhere between a '92 and a '97 to make sure it was manual. It *might* have a 1JZ-GTE (2.5L turbo Supra motor) or a 2JZ-GTE (3.0L turbo Supra motor) already swapped into it, or it may have a 2JZ-GE already turboed. There is a lot of people who have made these their project cars and now want something new. I can get into a pretty close to fully built car with ~400 RWHP for around $10k. That would leave room for anything that might go wrong and chances are that insurance would be cheaper since it is an older car (even though it is a 2 door coupe and the IS300 is a 4 door sedan). I was a bit worried about miles on the car, but most of these have been well taken care of and have swapped motors and/or transmissions as well. I think my chances would be just as good that something go wrong on a boosted IS300 as an older boosted SC300.
Thoughts or other options??
I am likely going to be selling my GTI in the near future. I'm bored with driving an auto and just kind of bored with the car itself. I can hopefully get around $10k or a little more for it because it is in really good shape and low miles for an '03 at only 42k.
I am looking for a reliable daily driver (so not terrible fuel mileage) but that is also fast (or can be made fast) and is fun to drive.
These are my thoughts for now:
Subaru WRX:
I can get one around $11-12k if I really look that would be stock, or have a few simple mods. The AWD would be nice in winter. It's sort of quick in stock form and you can really get a lot out of them. From what I have heard and read they are pretty reliable as well.
Lexus IS300:
I have found several online with around 80k miles for an '02 right around $11k or $12k as well. It's not very fast stock but it is a nice car and it is reliable (Toyota). It has the 2JZ-GE motor in it (N/A Supra Motor) so it can be built. With little more than a head gasket to the motor itself, with a nice turbo kit and a new clutch these cars can see ~450 RWHP. Granted, that will take the price of the car from about $11-12k up to around $20k, but it wouldn't be done right away. Reliability will go down a bit as with any high powered boosted car, but you can always turn the boost way down for daily driving.
Lexus SC300:
This is starting to seem like the best option. It would be somewhere between a '92 and a '97 to make sure it was manual. It *might* have a 1JZ-GTE (2.5L turbo Supra motor) or a 2JZ-GTE (3.0L turbo Supra motor) already swapped into it, or it may have a 2JZ-GE already turboed. There is a lot of people who have made these their project cars and now want something new. I can get into a pretty close to fully built car with ~400 RWHP for around $10k. That would leave room for anything that might go wrong and chances are that insurance would be cheaper since it is an older car (even though it is a 2 door coupe and the IS300 is a 4 door sedan). I was a bit worried about miles on the car, but most of these have been well taken care of and have swapped motors and/or transmissions as well. I think my chances would be just as good that something go wrong on a boosted IS300 as an older boosted SC300.
Thoughts or other options??