Help me pick a cheap used sports car!

[snowsuit]

Hi everyone. This is my first post. I love the FR-S and whatnot, but buying it new would be out of the question for me. Right now I have an '07 corolla. It is slow as balls (but at least not as slow as my dad's old Saturn) and I am looking for something used that would be a lot of fun to drive without requiring a bunch of maintenance. I am looking for something around $10,000-$20,000.

I live in Canada and we have brutal winters in the area I live in, so I was thinking a WRX might be a good fit. Is there anything bad about getting one of the older JDM models? I have also found Canadian models online from the early 2000's starting around $12,000. A celica GT-four would also be awesome, but I am worried about reliability. I would maybe be interested in finding a 02-06 Corolla XRS.

I have also been thinking about the CR-Z. I would be doing some highway driving (4.5 hours each way) about twice a month and am wondering if I would hate it because of that. The Civic Si really doesn't appeal to me because it seems like such a boyracer car.

Also, I have no experience driving a manual transmission, but I would like to learn. How do I go about doing this?

What is your advice?

[Capt Canuck]

Firstly I'd change the title to 'Sporty Cars' or annoying anoraks like me will tell you - those aren't sports cars ;-)
From the ones I've seen JDM Subies are much more boy-racered up than a Civic Si.
By OEM, I assume you actually mean Canadian domestic market and not original equipment manufacturer.
IMHO the stock CR-Z is only considered sporty by Honda's marketing dept.
Driving school for going about learning how to drive a manual.

All things being equal I would either spend $5k-ish on something or save up until you can get something newer, 'better', higher list price. You mention 10-20k and then reference a 12k car. Can you really extend to 20k? If you can, then do whatever is sensibly required to be able to go another 10k and get a FRS/BRZ.

[snowsuit]

I really dont want to finance anything, I already have a mortgage on my house. I could probably get around 9K for the corolla. I really don't want something too fancy or expensive, it just doesn't appeal to me.

I am now thinking that 20,000 is too much. I am looking at around $15,000

[Turbowned]

You can learn to drive a manual transmission when you buy a new car with one

In that price range you have a plethora of options, my friend. Especially being in Canada, you have the option to buy imported Japanese sports cars, which opens up your options even moreso! Here's a list of cars I'd consider; take the time to research them and see what grabs you!

Toyota: AW11 MR2 Supercharged (Super Charger in Japan) - owned and loved it!
SW20 MR2 Turbo - owned and loved it!
ST205 Celica GT-FOUR
MA70 or JZA80 Supra Turbo - driven MA70 and enjoyed it!

Nissan: Z32 300ZX (Fairlady Z in Japan) or Z33 350Z
S13 or S14 240SX (180SX or Silvia in Japan) - driven a few, lots of fun, lots of support and cheap to keep on the road!
R32 or R33 Skyline GT-S or GT-R (GT-S is RWD, GT-R AWD) - my unicorn

Mazda: NA or NB MX-5 Miata - an absolute blast to drive!
FC3S or FD3S RX-7 - owned FC3S, loved it! FD3S is the sexiest car ever built IMO

Honda: Civic/Integra - need I say more?
AP1 or AP2 S2000

Subaru: Impreza WRX - driven several, very easy to drive and make more power from. Like the new generation's Civic

Mitsubishi: Lancer Evolution I through VIII
3000GT VR4

Ford: Mustang (pick a year, any year)

Chevrolet: Camaro (pick a year, any year) - had a couple, fun and cheap
C4 Corvette

Audi: B5 or B6 S4 - driven a couple, luxurious and fast. B5 has 2.7L TT V6, B6 has 4.2L V8
B6 or B7 A4 2.0T

VW: Golf GTI

BMW: E30, E36, or E46 3-series - E30 is a focused driver's car. E36/46 are more refined

The list goes on and on and on... I'd pick up a copy of Gran Turismo IV or V and drive a bunch of stuff, then see what applies to that sub-$20k range.

[snowsuit]

I think I want it to be Japanese, for sure. Not interested in german or american cars right now.

I am a little worried about driving a RHD vehicle. How is it? I live quite a ways in the north, so I also think a RWD vehicle would be a bad plan, especially for highway driving.

I think that the Celica GT-four has my interest. Same with the WRX. Which do you think would be better? AWD is very appealing to me. Would a local Toyota dealer be able to completely service JDM vehicles?

[Ryephile]

NA or NB Miata...especially if you haven't yet entered into sports-car-dom. They're cheap to buy, cheap to maintain, last forever, and are pretty much the most fun car ever. You can't go wrong.

[merlin2111]

NA Miata but I may be biased.

Buy it for 4k and have your way with it. You can make it into a track monster, retro queen, or drifto king and still be well under 10k. If you have a set of socket wrenches you can fix it yourself.

If you HAVE to spend more money then I would say get an AP1 S2000.

[Dimman]

Originally Posted by snowsuit

I think I want it to be Japanese, for sure. Not interested in german or american cars right now.

I am a little worried about driving a RHD vehicle. How is it? I live quite a ways in the north, so I also think a RWD vehicle would be a bad plan, especially for highway driving.

I think that the Celica GT-four has my interest. Same with the WRX. Which do you think would be better? AWD is very appealing to me. Would a local Toyota dealer be able to completely service JDM vehicles?

How far up North are you?

The problem with RHD is mostly just turning left at intersections with busy traffic, and passing on a 2 lane highway. Everything else is just inconvenience.

I had a RHD Supra for a while. Service-wise there can be some differences especially with the performance versions that never made it here. (My car was a 1JZGTE powered car.) But if it is popular enough (like the Celica GT4) there will be Canadians on some forum that will know parts interchanges etc...

Problem with the GT4 is I don't think it came auto. You could look for a Subaru Legacy Twin Turbo which were AWD and frequently come with automatics. Come to think of it, a lot of the JDM AWD cars were high performance and usually manual.

Nissan Skyline is another AWD option (they have a non-GTR AWD one, too), but servicing it will be much more of a chore than a car that has a US/Canadian twin.

There are also some quirky cars like the Toyota Aristo (Lexus GS300 here) that had a bunch of options we didn't get, AWD and a V8 being some of them...


With the 15 year import limit we get a lot of choices with odd JDM cars but sorting through them can be tricky.

[blur]

Nissan Skyline is another AWD option (they have a non-GTR AWD one, too), but servicing it will be much more of a chore than a car that has a US/Canadian twin.

R32 or R33 Skyline GT-S or GT-R (GT-S is RWD, GT-R AWD) - my unicorn

Dude you live in Canada go get an R32 GT-R!

[snowsuit]

I think I might want to avoid the Skyline. All of the ones that I see around here look so ragged and they all look like they have had a hard life. And I think I definitely want to avoid RWD, as much as I would love to have a miata.

The WRX and the GT-Four are sounding like my favorites.

[GregV]

What do used Evos run up there?

[snowsuit]

http://edmonton.kijiji.ca/c-cars-veh...AdIdZ361985587

Here is a JDM EVO I found close to where I live. Your thoughts?

I am starting to think that having a RHD car wouldn't be so great for the highway since I have to pass a lot of big rigs and such, but the prices match closer to what I am willing to spend. Perhaps an early north american WRX would be a better buy for what I am looking for?

I am thinking of taking some lessons with AMA this summer to teach me to drive a manual.

[Mr.Jay]

Originally Posted by GregV

What do used Evos run up there?

Around mid 20ishK if you want to import one from the US.

JDM ones are much cheaper

Its about whatever the cost of the car is plus 4k for import cost

this is of course for evo 8/9

[NastyNate]

I'll echo the Miata sentiment but then again I own one. Even stock it was a blast... now after 4 years it's even better. I still need lower gearing, new turbo, ecu, light wheels and Im done. everything else is done. I've gone from total blast to camaro/mustang eater... well at least on the highway.

This is my first rwd sports car and it is sooo easy to drive at the limit and beyond if you like sliding.