DIYers of revscene. What's a fun RWD car to keep for a long time?
 

question maybe for you that has been working on engine and drive train for many years.

if you have to choose only one RWD car for 10, 20 - 30 years. and you have to DIY all of the maintenance and repair what car would you choose

it must have the following:

• good (balance) chassis
• something that is relatively easy to work on and enjoy fixing...
• pride of ownership
• fun to drive, relatively fast.
• bulletproof drivetrain (engine transmission ect ect)
• good looking
• RWD
• AWD ok as long as it is longitudinal engine
• Manual transmission (no SMG, no DSG, No dual clutch super fast automagic)
• 2+2 ok or a 5 seater. NO 2 seater!

I am not looking for a track car or a modification for horsepower (I don't want to sacrifice reliability for more power).
but more of a tourer , weekend , 5 -8 hrs road trip fun car that you can also drive daily to work.

I was thinking something under 20k CAD
I looked at 996 porsche, e90 BMW, e39 e60 BMW, 1 series, Audi, STI WRX.
CTS , Mustang...

throw me your ideas ...

thanks


:alone:

Answer is always Miata

If I had that kind of money to spend for a car I'm gonna keep for a loooong time, it would be a really minty ae86 or datsun

E36 M3 - or if possible to find one for under 20k.. E46 M3

looks are subjective.... but a s15 silvia..... hahaha, you will be left with lots of overhead, huge aftermarket support... decent reliability

There's no 997 in your budget. Maybe a clean 996 if you look around. Boxsters for sure.
As mentioned, with some luck you might still find a clean e46 m3 for 20k No chance of e9x M car in your budget. You could look at 335's though.

You mentioned 2+2. There are many cars that satisfy the requirement on paper, but not in real life. What do you want to use the back seat for? a gym bag or your kids?

I'm sure there are plenty of japanese cars that would fit, but I'll leave that to somebody else. Personally I only ever consider euro cars.

Super bias: buy the cleanest E36 M3 or E39 M5 you can afford. Relatively easy to work on, plenty of aftermarket, have seen (I think) the bottom of their depreciation curve. Won't lose money :lawl:

I would go with a S15 Silvia as well.

Any BMW will just keep breaking FailFish

Right now I have an MX-5 RF on loan for a review and I'd say any generation Miata. They are the most fun you can have without breaking the bank and have it be reliable.

But since you said no 2 seaters then a first gen Lexus IS300.

Manual, RWD, Sedan, Comfy interior, relatively easy to fix, cheap to buy parts and to insure.

fast
cheap
reliable

pick two

yea. I meant 996 ..

boxster is 2 seater no?


Everyone seems to mentioned the high power BMW. i was thinking 328i or 330i. Again not looking for a money pit or track car day here. just a fun daily, and tour across canada or america.

M5 and M3 will be less reliable than a 328i or 330i no ?
Cheap, power/fast or reliability <--- just pick two . so pick cheaper and reliability here (don't have to be bottom of the barrel cheap cheap)

M3 and M5 no doubt will be so much fun. but I don't think I have that kind of means yet :)
Miata fits all the requirement except for the number or seat. I need 2+2 or 5 seater here :) .... Miata is a great choice for sure.

Nissan 240 with SR20DET or RB26DETT swap. Its something you can DIY at home, lots of parts everywhere incase something breaks, parts are cheap, bulletproof engine, RWD, lots of power.

Nope, I have a 2004 IS300 and the highest discount you can even get, $2 mill liability and $500 deductibles and it's almost $1,900.00 this year on my renewal that just came in.

How about a manual IS300 or 250

I would think a Mustang or Camaro would fall into the fun Rwd easy to diy repair and decent reliability.

:devil:

Manual G35/37? Pretty reliable cars from what I know. However I do know that the earlier years burn more oil than normal so I would keep that in mind.

After years of high revving Civics, supercharged Acuras, a WRX wagon, and 2 STi's, one of which was pushing 450hp, I've come back to the car scene. My choice was totally not a hypa type car though. I wanted high power, RWD and 4 doors without the unreliable reputation of a BMW. I couldn't find a clean C or E 63, and was ready to throw in the towel when I came across a Pontiac G8 GT. I originally bought it to flip it and make a few k's, but I have to say the car has grown on me. I really enjoy driving it, and love the big 6.0L power delivery.

Sometimes you find a fun car are where you would least expect it.

Id go with an s2000.

E36 M3, they're appreciating in value as well

was gonna say that... but saw the 2+2 requirement...

so yea... E36 M3 though... seems to be one of the greats....

wrx sti - not sure how they are long term but always look fun as heck during the winter time with 4wd

E36 North American motor is a bit disappointing though. Westopher chime in?

C5 Corvette Z06

Mustang, Camaro, or Challenger. Big V8s, very reliable drivetrains, fun to drive, and will last. European cars will be fun but nickel and dime you to death.

Had them, been there, done that, and even did a rwd swap on my wrx. There is far too much grip to have hoonigan types of fun on an awd like that. But in a big v8 rwd, you can smoke the back tires until they're bits of Goodyear eagle chunks. Tons of summer fun!