Fast car under $5,000

[revvo]

Let's round up the good candidates

- 1st gen Miata

- FC RX-7

- MK III Supra

- Z31 300ZX

- Fox body mustang 5.0

I think the mustang and the miata would be the cheapest to work on.

you could always pick up a early-mid 90's honda civic and tune it I suppose, I found my 91 civic at a tow yard for $600, runs great, and whats better it passed california emissions...

The only acceptable civic I'd say is a well tuned CRX. With the right engine swap, it can be ridiculously quick since it weighs about 2000lbs.

[Huleboeren]

Pickup a 240sx. Just make sure its m/t. Easy to work on, their RWD, and the tuning market is immense for these. I have one and I absolutely love it, granted I've spent a few thousands modifying it to my taste :) I have a kouki S14, those are a little newer then the old S13 models with the popups. The old s13's usually have a lot of rust, which isn't a problem with the s14's.

There great on gas too. I get almost 30mpg...no Cobra can even dream of coming close lol. Unless your a mechanic, I'd stay away from buying a 300zx or any rotary cars (FC, FD Rx7's).

http://images35.fotki.com/v1171/photos/4/47612/3251702/IMG_8449_e-vi.jpg

My friend has the S12 from 89

It also has popup lights :D

[Kerm]

I'd love an old Corvette Stingray, think you could get one for less than $10,000, but i don't know how good quality it would be.

Look great though.

[majortom1981]

Well if your going to do a weird thing like sell a wrx and get a less powerfull car that might end up costing more to get good performance out of then atleast buy an older model corvette. I have seen ones from the 60's for under 5k . They need work bit thats what you want. Atleast it will be collectable when your done.

Ps You can get a wrx to 500hp + easily

[Kerm]

That's what i meant.

[S7un7]

Ps You can get a wrx to 500hp + easily

No.... it's not easy to get 500hp out of a wrx. Maybe if you had an STI. You would need a built 2.5L engine, with a large turbo to reach 500hp. Yeah, easy if you have $$$$.

[Inertia]

When I saw the title I immediatly thought get a subaru wrx. keep it and just spend some money on it, yuo can get a lot more forwards from it with not much outlay.

[Windows7even]

You might be able to pick up a pos chevette for that kind of chum change :)p j/k ....good used honda or Nissan should be easy to come by.

[benplace]

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

Here are some actual listings on the market right now for 5K and under of what I'd consider to get :)

2001 Audi A6 2.7 BiTurbo Quattro

2001 Audi A4 1.8 Turbo

2001 VW Golf GTI

1994 BMW M3

1997 BMW 328i

1997 BMW 328iS Coupe

2000 Benz C280

2001 SAAB 2.0 Turbo

I prefer a car with a turbo engine because of chip-tuning - it gives the best bang for the buck!

[IceBrewedBeer]

Miata + Tarbo = Fun

Mustangs are slow, the rest of your list is either going to be a pain in the ass to find or they're in terrible/abused shape and kids still want way too much for them. If you really wanted to go crazy, could go the Miata route and throw in an LS1. lol. Don't buy a corvette either dude, they're 8==D magnets.

[AltecXP]

The mustang has the most potential for over all power, but handeling will take more $$ then other cars.

Miata + Tarbo = Fun

Mustangs are slow, the rest of your list is either going to be a pain in the ass to find or they're in terrible/abused shape and kids still want way too much for them. If you really wanted to go crazy, could go the Miata route and throw in an LS1. lol. Don't buy a corvette either dude, they're 8==D magnets.

Slow? mustang + turbo = destroy a miata, also the 5.0 is a common miata swap. Iever seen an LS1 in one thats gotta make it worthless on a road course.

Miata is the #1 "I'm 40 and think I'm cool" car. I've never see one drive by a guy that didn't look like a tool.