Keeping my FRS miles Low. Sub-DD car options?
 

In the effort to preserve my FRS' life I am considering the purchase of a secondary car to take over at least 3/4 out of the 7 driving days in the week. My commute is about 30-50 miles a day.

So far these are the cars I can think of (realistic to find used with decent low mileage) which will fit my driving preference while still providing a reliable and fun drive for at least 1-2 years minimum.

Budget: $1,000 min. - $3,000 max.
preferably manual.
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1990's miata
1995-2000 integra
240sx
Moped
Motorcylce
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looking for more ideas. feel free to add more options! hope this helps other people
thanks

**edit: removed some cars because some helpful suggestions swayed me to not consider them any longer.

out of the choices it looks like the integra is the clear winner to me. you can throw the mini and alfa out because of reliability and parts availability. i tried to make a commute (although twice the distance you are doing) and sold the miata because of it. i ended up getting another miata though because im done with school. either way i think it could be written off simply because of its rather poor gas mileage on the freeways. the impreza just doesnt seem to have the focus or power to make it as fun and lively as an integra due to the awd.

older hondas pretty much have the cheap dd thing down if you ask me and if you can deal with the size of the miata, an aw11 mr2 might be the ticket.

+1 on the Acura Integra, find you an RS model if you can (besides Type R the base RS is the hardest to find, but also the one you want) and have fun... I miss the willingness of the B18 non-VTEC motor, such a rev happy motor that loves to rev and sing compared to the FR-S...

Stay away from the mini's and alfa's if you want inexpensive trouble free transportation...very hard to beat old Honda's reliability and parts availability.

Third Gen Civic (83-87)
-Cheap, less than $2k for good condition
-Cheap parts, can buy whole scrap cars for $500
-Relatively fun, it's basically a go-kart with windows
-No fear learning to work on it, if it breaks just buy another
-Gas mileage, 40+ mpg, and you can get up to 50 mpg for less than 3 grand (suck on that prius, this thing has carbs for crying out loud)

This is the ultimate no-fear of getting crushed like a tin can cost cutting I give no shits because I'm awesome car.

Shit now I want one.

Edit: Integra/RSX (if you have the extra money to blow) is probably the best sporty econo car you can get that will give you the least amount of headaches, PROVIDING it's in good condition.

Doing exactly this, but the other way around...The AW11 is fully worked though, especially the suspension..
You may even love the AW11 more if you end up buying a decent one. If it has a SC, the two cars are so similar in driving feel but obviously the 86 is 30 years ahead so it is much better as a DD...

AW11 with the short steering kit is basically a road going go kart... Super cheap parts so best dollar/smile in my experience.

i'd go with the integra.. but if you don't care for tq and more for gas mileage than get 96+ civic HX

I agree.. This car is all about affordable fun .. Also from a company(s) known for reliability and enduring cars... So why do u want to drive some beater.. Have two tanks to fill, oil changes, insurance, etc and other crap to maintain when you bought the perfect car for daily driving? Sorry... Makes no sense to me..
I only say this cause I did this with my other cars and its dumb..

I understand the OP's point, but I think I view cars a little differently.

I love my cars, all of them. But, I'm not a car collector. I only own cars I'm going to drive and put miles into them. I can't afford, or at least not willing to afford, cars that are an "investment" so regardless of what I do, I'm losing money.

I also tend to own a car forever. One friend describes me as "The guy who drives his car until they no longer make parts for it". I've never owned a car I put less than 120K miles on, and some were over 250K. My goal is to put at least 300K on the FR-S.

To me, owning one car to "preserve" another is like borrowing money so you don't have to spend what is in your checking account. You're just fooling yourself.

That said, what I would do is exactly what I'm doing. Driving the FR-S daily, enjoy it, and have a reserve fund started now to replace parts as they fail down the road.

The only suitable replacement for an FR-S is another FR-S.

To be honest, if you're budget is $1-3k i'd say any "sporty" beater you find will do. You'll have to be quite lucky to find the one that fits all your needs. Best of luck to you!

Rent a tow truck and a truck driver and have them tow you in your FR-S everywhere you go. This way you still get to enjoy your car daily without the wear and tear. And you look cool as hell having your own chauffeur.

I understand the OP it's the samething people who live up north do with owning a winter rust bucket as a daily driver car.

There's nothing wrong with owning a daily driver car and keeping your toy for the weekend to enjoy.

Really buy a good cheap car as your daily....;)

Drive the tunafish out of your FR-S!
You already have a fun, cheap, wicked cool daily driver.
It's a Toyota, my MR2 is at 115,000 miles and going strong.
I beat on it (nicely) every day :)

Yeah, I say just drive your FR-S. Once you factoring in the cost of buying an older car, insuring it, maintaining it, (not to mention you are most likely driving a much less safe vehicle) etc it pretty much offsets any depreciation and wear and tear you incur on the FR-S. And you would 40-60 miles a day in a very used car with the FR-S sitting in the garage seems like a waste.

How about an Acura Legend? The the 91-95s are great cars, can be bought in manual or auto. It is a great engine and a very comfortable car. I daily drove one until I bought the FR-S, which I now daily drive.

My commute is 60 miles every day by the way. I bought the FR-S to have a reliable daily driver that I could pile the miles on and still take to the track. It is a 25k Subaru/Toyota, not a Porsche 911....