Need input on car to get (Have general idea in mind)

[Masterbunny5]

Hey guys,

I am just a young one, about to go into college, so as you might expect, money is a little tight (especially with our economic situation). I have always been into cars, and going fast, since i was real young. My friend just picked up a 240sx and it brought back the motivation for me to pursue my dream of having an older import to tune and have fun with.

To tell the truth, i am pretty inexperienced with cars on the technical level. I dont know many terms associated with tuning, engines, etc (granted i know the basics). I am just looking for some knowledgeable information and advice for my first tuner.

Basically my plan goes as follows:

Buy the car stock in decent conditions at a somewhat low price (hopefully under 135k miles).

I want to then be able to use this car stock for a little while as i get my cashflow back up. After purchasing i will of course make sure everything is up to par maintenance wise, and then over the next year or two start adding the first couple performance upgrades (most likely after an audio system though). Once out of college is when i will either sell the car and look for a lower mileage, better condition car that i can pump the real money into with a steady salary, and go from there.

Currently i am looking at the following cars: The Nissan 300zxtt (z32), the Mitsu 3000gt vr-4, the Mazda miata/Honda s2000 (those two are a maybe, kind of a last resort/bottom of list), and the 3rd gen RX-7.

After trolling some forums, i have found the 300zxtt to be somewhat on par with the vr-4 performance wise, and i've heard a lot of good things about the rx-7, but am not sure about the looks.

Any input would be greatly appreciated. Something decently cheap at the start (to get stock), and that has a decent future of upgrades. All biased opinions are welcome, i am looking to find all views on the cars, and maybe knock one or three out of the race early, and focus on the remaining down to the nuances.

[LTSmash]

Being a student I would stick with an econo-box till you get steady income after graduation.

[f6fhellcat13]

Originally Posted by LTSmash

Being a student I would stick with an econo-box till you get steady income after graduation.

I agree, but of the cars you listed the MX-5 seems like the best bet, especially because you have no need for a lot of space. It will be reliable and fun to kingdom come, if a little girly.

An S2000 would also be very nice, but I think it is some way outside of your price range.

The RX-7 is by all accounts a great car, but it is a rotary and it is very delicate. So, even if you find one for a cheap price, the cost to run should be significantly greater than the others.

Any 300ZXs and 3000GTs within your price range will probably have been thoroughly thrashed, so if you do find one bring along someone who is mechanically knowledgeable to go over it with you. Also you should look for a stock car and then, once you get around to it, tune that. Most of both of those cars that I see (I live in LA) have had some kind of modification, be it as minor as the exhaust or as major as bigger turboes etc... I would bet a stock car would have a little bit of a premium over a lightly tuned one.

If you are going to tune it, wait till you get a job of some stability, because they can turn into a money sink pretty quickly, and you don't really want to decrease the reliability until you have enough money to fix whatever problems modding it may cause.

[clutch-monkey]

Originally Posted by Masterbunny5

Hey guys,

I am just a young one, about to go into college, so as you might expect, money is a little tight (especially with our economic situation). I have always been into cars, and going fast, since i was real young. My friend just picked up a 240sx and it brought back the motivation for me to pursue my dream of having an older import to tune and have fun with.

To tell the truth, i am pretty inexperienced with cars on the technical level. I dont know many terms associated with tuning, engines, etc (granted i know the basics). I am just looking for some knowledgeable information and advice for my first tuner.

Basically my plan goes as follows:

Buy the car stock in decent conditions at a somewhat low price (hopefully under 135k miles).

I want to then be able to use this car stock for a little while as i get my cashflow back up. After purchasing i will of course make sure everything is up to par maintenance wise, and then over the next year or two start adding the first couple performance upgrades (most likely after an audio system though). Once out of college is when i will either sell the car and look for a lower mileage, better condition car that i can pump the real money into with a steady salary, and go from there.

Currently i am looking at the following cars: The Nissan 300zxtt (z32), the Mitsu 3000gt vr-4, the Mazda miata/Honda s2000 (those two are a maybe, kind of a last resort/bottom of list), and the 3rd gen RX-7.

After trolling some forums, i have found the 300zxtt to be somewhat on par with the vr-4 performance wise, and i've heard a lot of good things about the rx-7, but am not sure about the looks.

Any input would be greatly appreciated. Something decently cheap at the start (to get stock), and that has a decent future of upgrades. All biased opinions are welcome, i am looking to find all views on the cars, and maybe knock one or three out of the race early, and focus on the remaining down to the nuances.

i've highlighted the area's of concern here

on a student's budget, you want to get an old, like 10-20 years, as in oh-shit-we're-gonna-have-to-replace-some-big-items old, import that's likely been thrashed within an inch of it's life and had the odometer wound back a few times.
also on your list, you've chosen larger, quite complex cars (and in the case of the 3000GT known to have electrical issues), with the simplest and purest cars relegated to the bottom of your list.

will this be your daily driver? how far/often will you have to drive it? are you looking for handling or straight line speed?

[Roentgen]

Originally Posted by LTSmash

Being a student I would stick with an econo-box till you get steady income after graduation.

I agree.

What is your budget exactly? Also, I have just finished college, and planning to go to uni next year. Just took up driving end of last year, but have had the fortune to drive my parent's cars, which happen to be very good... at least for a first car!

I've heard that the RX7s are hard to maintain, and can cost a lot to repair, as the rotary engine is relatively rare.

[Ferrer]

What would be the budget?

Of the ones listed, I'd go for the MX-5.

[Rockefella]

It's never worth the effort to tune a really cheap car, unless you have lots of time and money. You can end up spending more on parts than you do on the car itself and it still won't feel all that fast. You should get a decent econobox to drive around in until you have the cash for something nice. If you really need that performance, older Mustangs are ideal for that bang-for-the-buck speed.

[cmcpokey]

i will probably take some heat for this. but look at civics. i know they are fwd and ubiquitous... but there is a huge aftermarket, and they can be made to go very fast. and on top of that they have insane reliability, which is something the others dont.

the Z TT is an awesome car, can be tuned to be faster than a comparable tune on a 350Z. Avoid VR-4s. They are awful and very prone to transmission and differential disintegration. Rexes are great. very fast and very easy to kill yourself in. they have a healthy aftermarket, and you can make them even easier to kill yourself in. but they are expensive. to buy, to maintain, to fuel, to tune, everything about the FD is expensive. of what you have listed, get the miata. it has all of the benefits of the civic, while also being rwd.

[LeonOfTheDead]

MX-5, period.
other than that, play NFSs and take notes of upgrades and costs.

[IBrake4Rainbows]

Civic without a doubt.

or, for the best bet, try a CR-X.

[Masterbunny5]

Thank you for all of your inputs. I agree with most of what you all said. I know in general that the project will be very costly, i was maybe having high hopes and seeing what i could get out of the economic crisis at a cheaper price due to people having to sell, and then just making sure it runs reliably until after college and then begin to throw the money in. The budget would most likely be around 7-10k to get the car, and get it working smoothly, everything cleaned up a bit (that would mostly be personal work, cleaning it up), replacing any bad parts (hopefully not too many), and maybe some interior fixes (AC, stereo, etc.) for an every day car. I would be using this as one, in the respects of mainly going to classes, stores for food/necessities, and to my job. So nothing too far/tedious, just a general town car.

I've seen a couple suggestions for econoboxes, and civics. I wouldnt mind taking this route, selling after college, and going back into the previous idea. But, i am not too fond of the civic, mainly due to it's popularity, seeing as how almost EVERYONE has one nowadays. What do you suggest for a good, reliable, decently cheap "econo-box"?

Also, i am coming to rule out the vr-4, it looked decent at the start, has it's ups and downs (As do most), but i just dont think it would be the car for me. A lot of MX-5 suggestions, i wouldnt mind it, but it wouldnt be a top pick for me, but i am still considering it. My true dream car would be the 300zxtt, but as you know, that would be pretty costly, around 10kish to get in general, let alone any maintinence and fixes, along with upgrades on top of that. So i believe i will wait till after college to get into that.

So as for now, i think i made my decision of the 300zxtt being the one, if anyone else has any other suggestions and why it would be better than the 300, or maybe even some more input on the rx7 in comparison with the Z TT, that would be great. Again, this would be after college when i would have the money to do so. As for now, i also would like some suggestions on the "econo-boxes" to get.

Many thanks to all who have given me their input,
Masterbunny5

[IBrake4Rainbows]

The 300zx is a...bold choice.

Other econoboxes as you put it might include the Mitsubishi lancer (if they sell them in your area, perhaps they are called the Mirage).

Maybe even an Eclipse might suit your needs - reasonably cheap, somewhat sporting and very reliable.

[Ferrer]

I think that econobox suggestion are bang on. If you don't have a lot of money to throw at it you might as well go cheap and then save up for the car you really want. Otherwise you could find yourself spending a lot of money in a car you don't really but which you had to settle for due to budget constarints. The MX-5 could be a cheap and realiable daily driver with a bit of fun. And I'm sure you can find many for under 10 grand.

[cmcpokey]

Originally Posted by IBrake4Rainbows

The 300zx is a...bold choice.

Other econoboxes as you put it might include the Mitsubishi lancer (if they sell them in your area, perhaps they are called the Mirage).

Maybe even an Eclipse might suit your needs - reasonably cheap, somewhat sporting and very reliable.

no.... just no.

i would never wish an eclipse on anybody. they are the biggest pieces of shit ever produced.

[IBrake4Rainbows]

Something sporty but economy based....

dare I say Slowbalt/Cavalier?