Flying to houston, driving back! What car should I buy?

"ADDvanced" (addvanced)
09/10/2013 at 18:09 • Filed to: oppositelock, 1wayroadtrip, theanswerismiata

What:

I'm traveling to Houston, Texas next week from Wisconsin for the release of GTAV. Only thing is, I bought a one-way plane ticket and I'm buying a car to drive back. Planning on flipping it to make some extra cash, pay for my plane ticket, and start saving some more cash to rebuild my 911's engine.

Where:

Houston, Texas. Texas stuff isn't exposed to salt, so cars practically live forever down there; increasing the competition and lowering the prices. There are tons of convertibles in Houston, especially miatas, that would be worth 2-3k more back in Wisconsin. So yeah, like always, the obvious choice is Miata. That is the DEFAULT car, if I can't find anything else.

Budget: $4k

So far I've thought of these cars:

Honda CRX

Honda Prelude (3rd or 4th gen)

Any 1950s or 60s car that is decently drivable, yet desirable enough to sell fairly quickly

C4 Corvettes, for some reason they are dirt cheap down there but still expensive up here (?)

Benz Kompressor slk convert.

Have any ideas? Please let me know!

DISCUSSION (9)

J. Walter Weatherman > ADDvanced
09/10/2013 at 19:25

How much are you looking to spend?

Edit: Now I see that it says "Budget: $4k". Did I totally fail at reading, or did you ninja edit?

dsigned001 - O.R.C. hunter > ADDvanced
09/10/2013 at 19:27

Jaaaaaag? Not sure I'd want to drive one from Houston to Wisconsin, but an e-type would qualify, I'd think.

GhostZ > ADDvanced
09/10/2013 at 19:41

Kinja'd!!!

(you can remove the bumpers)

What's the biggest problem with finding these cars? Rust.

What's a great reason to get one in the middle of Texas? No rust.

What car has 95% of the fun of a 240z at 30% of the cost? This thing.

What car can still sell over 4000 if you put a little bit of work into them? This thing.

What car weighs the same as a Miata, has the same wheelbase, and has a very similar suspension, but more power and easier to work on? This.

What car is going up in prices and will, almost certainly, appreciate from here on out? This one.

Get FI and not carbs, and you should be fine, unless you know how to tune carbs. Aim for a '76-77 model, they're the least desirable but they usually are in the best condition for the price.

If you can find a 240z (or better yet, a 260z) in equivalent condition for your price range, do that instead. Here's a few examples:

280z with a Small Block Chevy

Clean Datsun 510