by "BJohnson11" (brettjohnson01)
Published 02/13/2017 at 19:58
by "BJohnson11" (brettjohnson01)
Published 02/13/2017 at 19:58
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STARS: 0
So while I have the old merc to use as a daily driver, I’m looking for a second car to be something a bit more fun and versatile. I’ve been looking at stuff like a focus svt (went a checked one out at an independent dealership but it was clapped out and I couldn’t even test drive it because of a flat tire, lotta red flags there), but I’m not tied to the idea. I’m thinking something awd would be nice, though I’d be fine with fwd or rwd. I’d love for it to be something I can rely on to take up to Tahoe and take on camping trips (just me and my gf so it doesn’t need to have a lot of space), but something fun too. Hatchbacks/wagons are great, manual is strongly preferred, and ultimately I want it to be something I can wrench on and make my own. I also have pipe dreams of some rallyx action, but northern california seems fairly barren as far as events go.
So far I’ve been browsing craigslist for wrx wagons every day, but where I am, even mediocre examples run $6-7k. The focus svt seems fun, but from a bit of research, they can be a bit of a nightmare especially with more miles on em. In that vein I looked at the ZX3, I’m just not sold on it yet.
While $5k is the budget so far, if the car was under that and allowed me to put the rest into fixing/mods, that’d be great too.
Any ideas? Feel free to tell me I’m asking for too much out of my budget too, I take criticism well.
"PotbellyJoe and 42 others" (potbellyjoe)
02/13/2017 at 20:01, STARS: 0
2004-5 Focus ST. It’s like an SVT in that the suspension is nice, but you get the 2.3L and a stick.
Then you add Cosworth parts gradually.
"Decay buys too many beaters" (decay)
02/13/2017 at 20:01, STARS: 1
Miata
Miata with turbo
RWD rally is best rally
"BJohnson11" (brettjohnson01)
02/13/2017 at 20:07, STARS: 2
*eyeroll emoji* look I’m not gonna slam the miata, I’ve driven them, they’re great fun and they check a lot of boxes. But I did also just say I want something I can take camping and something I can reliably take up to Tahoe and preferably bring a couple people with, so from that sense, Miata is in this case, not the answer.
If that was said as a joke, I do apologize. I posted this same question on r/cars a little bit ago and miata was the only answer I got and its like they only read the half of the question they wanted to read.
"BJohnson11" (brettjohnson01)
02/13/2017 at 20:10, STARS: 0
2004-05? I quick glance on wikipedia implies the ST was only made 05-07, at least in the states.
"interstate366, now In The Industry" (interstate366)
02/13/2017 at 20:10, STARS: 0
I’m totally not biased at all. That totally isn’t my car in the photo.
"Decay buys too many beaters" (decay)
02/13/2017 at 20:12, STARS: 0
About 50% in jest. I maintain that there is no better “cheap second car”
But realistically, have you looked at non turbo Subaru? Might be able to get more for your money and it would do just fine in rallycross
"BJohnson11" (brettjohnson01)
02/13/2017 at 20:16, STARS: 1
Yea I just started looking at the 2.5ts impreza wagons. Seems like it could be a decent alternative.
And yea, rwd would be loads of fun in rally (and another note, in a rallyx situation, any subie I get would put me in an awd class against higher performance subies, whereas a rwd/fwd car would allow me to be more competitive in a thinner class). In that vein, I thought briefly about 325xis in wagon form. Theres a couple on cl near me for under 5.
"BJohnson11" (brettjohnson01)
02/13/2017 at 20:17, STARS: 0
Sell me on it! I’ve seen a few on craigslist.
"boredalways" (boredalway666)
02/13/2017 at 20:18, STARS: 0
Volvo XC70 w/ NA 3.2 I6
"Decay buys too many beaters" (decay)
02/13/2017 at 20:19, STARS: 0
325xis is AWD, isn’t that what the X means?
"interstate366, now In The Industry" (interstate366)
02/13/2017 at 20:21, STARS: 1
Fun to drive, comfortable, decently quick, FWD so not insane to drive in bad weather, relatively large aftermarket (unless you compare it to a contemporary Civic), rear seats are useless for passengers so you can use them for storage.
Just don’t get an automatic because they have transmission problems.
"BeaterGT" (beatergt)
02/13/2017 at 20:22, STARS: 1
2005+ Outback/Legacy. I’d avoid the Forester as the wind noise is real bad. Can be had in a manual, sedan or wagon, and ubiquitous for camping. You could spring for the XT/GT if you need more speed too but those may hit above your budget. You’re my hero if you rally an Outback sedan.
"BJohnson11" (brettjohnson01)
02/13/2017 at 20:22, STARS: 0
Yea oops. Got confused. I guess I was trying to say, I looked at the 325xis because they’re awd, but considered the 325i in general (this was influenced greatly by the Top Gear rallyx episode).
I also know almost nothing about BMWs though in regards to generations/levels within the series’
"Decay buys too many beaters" (decay)
02/13/2017 at 20:24, STARS: 0
The whole E36 platform is a great gateway into all kinds of motorsport. Isn’t hugely over valued like the E30 market either.
"BJohnson11" (brettjohnson01)
02/13/2017 at 20:26, STARS: 0
I’d love a legacy GT, and would probably spring a bit out of the budget for one. I’ll check out the outbacks as well. Interesting note about the forester-is it because they’re so boxy?
"BJohnson11" (brettjohnson01)
02/13/2017 at 20:27, STARS: 0
I checked these out a good amount. There seem to be a lot of them on craigslist with issues though, which I take as not a good sign for their reliability?
"BJohnson11" (brettjohnson01)
02/13/2017 at 20:32, STARS: 0
Yea that’s more or less what I’ve been seeing. Seems like decent 325is can be had all day for pretty cheap with relatively low miles.
"OPPOsaurus WRX" (opposaurus)
02/13/2017 at 20:33, STARS: 0
if the WRX is too much $ then get a regualr WRX and slowly add some parts to it. With all the snow we’ve had lately, i’m really missing the RWD/AWD vehicles of my past
"SVTyler Forgot His Kinja Password" (actuallysvtyler)
02/13/2017 at 20:36, STARS: 0
The SVT cars were made from 2002-2004 and the ST’s were from 05-07. Also, even though the ST uses the 2.3L Duratec it actually makes 20hp less than the SVT’s 2.0 Zetec (151 vs. 170), has a five-speed manual while the SVT has a six-speed, and only came in sedan form vs. the SVT’s hatchback. If you’re interested in a fun Ford, the SVT is probably the better option given your requirements.
That being said it’s getting damn near impossible to find parts for the SVT and ST cars and there’s very few good ones left that don’t have high mileage or a bunch of mods, which makes it difficult to find one you’d actually want to buy as well as maintain it. Don’t get me wrong, the SVT’s are absolutely fantastic second cars and stupid amounts of fun for the money, but owning one can be a headache at times (ask me how I know).
"BJohnson11" (brettjohnson01)
02/13/2017 at 20:39, STARS: 0
Great insight! Yea thats kinda what I’ve been reading; if they’ve been well maintained they can be great, but if they’ve been neglected they can be a major headache. Mind giving the sfbay craigslist a search and seeing if any of them few on there seem worthwhile. From my quick search, they all seemed to have a couple issues that’d be headache-worthy.
"BJohnson11" (brettjohnson01)
02/13/2017 at 20:41, STARS: 0
What do you mean a regular wrx? STIs are out of the question as those things perceived value is through the roof. So as far as subies go, unless I’m mistaken, it’d go sti>wrx>2.5 rs/ts?
"BeaterGT" (beatergt)
02/13/2017 at 20:45, STARS: 0
I think it’s a combination of that and poor sealing.
"boredalways" (boredalway666)
02/13/2017 at 20:50, STARS: 0
I was afraid of that
"SVTyler Forgot His Kinja Password" (actuallysvtyler)
02/13/2017 at 20:56, STARS: 0
The only one I found was a bit outside of your budget but is by far the best example:
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/5995780351.html
Bone stock, full service records, low mileage, and from what I can tell pretty much every option ticked (full-leather European Appearance Package and Recaro seats, factory HID’s, upgraded sound system). Also it’s a 2004, which is the best year of SVT to buy because Ford finally worked out most of the problems that plagued the earlier cars. For the mileage and condition it appears to be a ridiculously good deal, normally you see that price on cars with 100k miles.
From what I’ve seen good SVT’s go anywhere from about 4-6k depending on location and mileage so just keep that in mind when you’re looking (anything below that is suspiciously cheap). Could be that there’s just no good ones in your area worth buying; Ford only made 14,000 of them and that was nearly 15 years ago, a bunch of them have probably been wrecked and scrapped by now.
"SpeedSix" (speedsix)
02/13/2017 at 20:57, STARS: 0
With $5,000 you should be able to get a well-maintained Toyota Celica of any generation from the mid-late 80s to mid 2000s. The earliest ones will probably be too expensive, and the late 70s/mid 80s ones probably have more troublesome emissions equipment than you’d care to deal with.
"OPPOsaurus WRX" (opposaurus)
02/13/2017 at 21:03, STARS: 0
brain fart, i meant regular Impreza. yea i’ve been watching WRX prices. I still hate that I sold mine
"G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3" (gbodyman)
02/13/2017 at 21:34, STARS: 0
SN95 GT? They can look pretty awesome if you bother to give a damn.
"DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time" (dc3ls-)
02/13/2017 at 21:34, STARS: 0
Or an EG Civic if you can’t find a Prelude!
And no I’m not biased either :)
"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
02/13/2017 at 21:57, STARS: 1
Coming back from the first of many rallyx events. It’s track prepped at the moment, but with a custom aluminum full underbody tray and a dirt cheap 3 inch lift from Paco motorsports, it takes about 45 minutes to switch back into rally mode! And rwd makes it so much more enjoyable to compete. Not to mention cheap. Also, this is the roadtrip-mobile. 6 week west coast trip starting in April, with weekend camping trips every few weeks!
That said, it definitely takes a certain type of crazy to make it work haha. If you can find an impreza 2.5rs that would do the job wonderfully. Even a Lancer raliart would be a blast. Other than that... Porsche 944 or Rx7 (1st or 2nd gen) for some cheap thrills. Good luck!
"BJohnson11" (brettjohnson01)
02/13/2017 at 22:19, STARS: 1
That is pretty sweet...Idk how much camping gear would fit in her though.
"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
02/13/2017 at 22:51, STARS: 1
Lots of stuff strapped to/wrapped on the rollbar, plus a rack on the trunk with a giant waterproof bag. The trunk itself is actually very large without the spare tire. I removed the passenger airbag a while ago and turned it into a charging station/storage box for valuables to gain some more precious interior room. All this despite having a perfectly functional Subaru outback...
"BJohnson11" (brettjohnson01)
02/13/2017 at 23:12, STARS: 0
Haha I love the dedication. Damn maybe I guess I’ll have to look at miatas.