$55k budget fun used MT reliable car ideas
 

$55k allotted

-Must be MT
-JDM ok
-No FWD
-Private sale only, no brand-new cars or financing
-Must be fairly reliable for about 4 years, will be living in qualicum area and prefer not to trailer it far for major repairs
-No VW/audi, mustang/camaro/challenger or AMG, friend had a CLS55 off warranty and the upkeep costs terrified me
-~12,000km yearly usage, no autox/track, just spirited dailying and highway
-have a DD car already
-2 or 4 door ok, 2 seater ok
-no verts (targa ok)
-No silvia or subaru (had already)
-resale value after 4 years is a plus, but not a big deal
-Must have decent everyday grunt (no track-only stuff like s2000, nsx)
-Swapped/modded cars OK but must be relatively normal, no pipe dreams, i have friends in the industry who have done many cool swaps here but remember reliability is a concern, i will be on my own once in qualicum and want the car to be fairly headache-free

Stuff i had my eye on
-R34 GTR base (i think it will retain its value well, but cad/jpy is hurt rn, I know they are slow stock but I know it would make me happy)
-C6 grand sport (I like the targa, seems reliable, like how it drives, hate the interior)
-Built lexus 2GS with 2jz, mt - friend has a well known one here in calgary and it is amazing

I've been saving for a while and thought I'd have my mind made up by the time I had the sum. Well here I am still undecided so let's hear your ideas

C6 grand sport gets my vote. everyone likes to rag on the interior but in all honesty its not that bad. it's very easy to live with.

also, why the hell are the prices for grand sports still so damn high?? you can get a Z06 for under $40k now quite easily.

i hope to buy a grand sport myself sometime in the near future.

As they say, the answer is always Miata~ :lawl:

Now that we've gotten the Miata out of the way, I'd say $55k is really quite a lot of $$$. For $40k+, you can already get a 09+ Porsche Cayman and still have money left over for maintenance and repairs. That would be my #1 choice if I were you.

Of course, technically, Porsche is "just a tarted up VW / Audi", so it may not meet your selection criteria.

And if you pick up something from the Island Motorsports Circuit group, maybe you'd even qualify for some lapping events at their track.

Join the e92 m3 trend. V8, fairly reliable for what it is, and resale will be solid in a few years :fuckyea:

Really cant think of a better car to buy then a C6 Z06 if you are looking at the $55K mark. 7.0L V8 505hp N/A not to mention the cheap maintenance and great reliability.
Take one for a drive and merge onto the highway in second gear and you will fall in love.

If the OP were to really consider some sort of C6, make sure you do the homework and only look at the ones from the later model years. The early cars suffer from a number of issues, including some that will kill your engine. GM refused to admit responsibility at first, but as an increasing number of owners who drove their car hard ran into the problem, GM eventually caved and updated the car to address these issues.

IMO, the Grand Sport is a better value than a Z06 (or a ZR1 for that matter) since it is essentially a Z06 without the big engine. For most people, including dedicated HPDE drivers, the "base" LS-whatever has more than enough grunt for all practical as well as impractical purposes. But hey, if the OP is lusting for more, the Z06 cars are definitely very attractive too.

supra?

You should buy my 1997 NSX Turbroooooo

Buick Grand National. Not MT though..

My E92 M3 :fuckyea:

Evo x GSR?

Seconded, you can pick an Evo up for around 30k, with 10k on top you have an easy and reliable 700hp, AWD beast.

AMS/ COBB or any local shop will tune.

^ or an EVO 8/9. I'll be putting mine up for sale pretty soon once... Leaves you with quite a bit to spare while covering off everything you're asking for.

Buy this. Don't worry about anything else posted here.

You're welcome.

Third? xD One more vote going to the EVO, yes, very biased opinion.

But 30K will get you a mint condition one, I have seen EVO X for 20K even (non rebuilt). Lol I think my own EVO is probably worth like 22K at most...

10K in upgrades (without E85) will get you a healthy 400/400 at the wheels without killing your fuel economy.

The stock evo is already a joke due to the small gas tank. Think E60 M5 city range bad after like stage II tune .....

But yea, as everyone has said, at 55K you have alot of options. From the choice you listed, I will go for the vette!

Not into the cayman for my purposes. I'm sure they shine on a track though, and great looking cars

Not into the Z06, i would miss the targa roof, and for everyday driving I don't really need that extra knife edge performance. I figure I can get a C6GS for about 48k as summer winds down then spend the remainder on mods, seats and steering wheel are a must. I am looking only at the 2010+ GS because they have launch control and some other cool stuff. I agree they do seem to hold their value quite well, being similarly priced to the Z06. I guess it's appeal of the targa roof.

The thing about the C6GS is i didn't really fall in love with it and worried i may regret it

I have driven the C6GS and i like how it drives. The interior materials are really bad but the seating position is cool, feels very sporty, and you feel very low to the ground

E92 i will have to drive and see, in calgary they are pretty slow because they lose 10% power up here, never really considered one. I'm worried about failures on bmw, i've mainly owned japanese cars. Sure a great looking car and the prices are reasonable. There are some nice colour combos out there. I will be researching it this afternoon

Do you guys think a 996tt may be attainable , they are known in calgary as a great all-weather car and a lot of exec types use them as a winter car. They seem a bit out of the 55k range though

Evo I have no experience with, had many problems with my STI though. Have heard the 9/x drive amazingly. the unicorn factor on the USDM ones is a plus

As for the supra I feel like my budget is too low for a LHD one - to really build the car and do it justice, anyway. I really want the targa and there seem to be no RHD targa turbos. But paying double the price just to sit 4 feet to the left is a turn off

Appreciate the replies and hope everyone is having a good weekend, some nice rides on this forum keep it up

I LOVE the e92 m3, but as a second car I'd go for something a little less practical. I think the m3 is the ultimate car for an "only car/fun car" sort of ownership.
996 TT, 997 targa/coupe sound like something to consider for you if you like the beetles.
I'd go older like 964, Carrera, e30 m3 at that price for a second fun car, but everybody in the world probably all knows that so I'm not sure why I'm mentioning it.

So CLS 55 has scary upkeep costs but 996TT is okay? Would think the opposite lol

2011 BMW 1M!!

only 220 sold in Canada. fun to drive. Holds value.

higher altitude? no problem. stock ecu increases boost :lawl:

Maybe my friend had a lemon, idk

more concerned with the downtime and hassle of trailering it to a shop while i'm in qualicum

Anyway I see way more 996tt running around than i do 55s

A 996tt is probably nowhere near the maintenance costs of a CLS. There are very few electronics on a 996 in comparison and the tt motor doesn't suffer from the RMS/IMS issues. Modern benzes are so complicated.

2014 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Edition 507



507??

MT only
do not want wife ever taking it
she has crashed/damaged several vehicles

^ perhaps what you need to do is first buy the wife driving lessons.

or just not give her the key....?

:lol