Need Advice for new car

[ritzblitz]

Hi everyone,

I'm sure this question has been asked so many times but it's hard to search for answers when it is a matter of opinion and personal preference.

Obviously, I'm new to this forum. It seems like a pretty good place to get decent advice on certain topics. Hopefully I don't need a flame suit asking about a car for grip driving.

As for my driving experience- I'm currently driving my Mom's old '89 Volvo 240DL and have taught myself how to drive the car at, what I think, is an average level. I can perform heel-toe pretty well, and have been able to push the car close to its limits, which aren't anything to write home about.

As I said, I'm searching for a car for grip driving. I'm not quite sure what sort of driving I'll be doing but I can see the occasional track day as well as touge (if that exists in PA)

I like Japanese cars. Especially cars with good parts available. For example: J's Racing and S2000, ITR, etc... Also, ITB's give me boners. European cars are nice even though this probably isn't the forum for them.

I've compiled a list of criteria, and also a list of possible cars. I'm open for any advice as well as any additions to the list.

Here's some criteria:
Preferably RWD
No USDM
NA is good
Semi-comfortable (it might be a daily)
Under or around $10,000
Power is not priority
Can’t be extremely heavy
Preferably not 4 door

List of cars to be considered (not in any order):
1. FC
2. FD
3. S13
4. AE86
5. SW20
6. MRS
7. MX5
8. E30 M3
9. E36 M3
10. DC5
11. DC2
12. S2000
13. S4
14. 2.5 RS
15. 944
16. Older EVO
17. 190E 2.3 16v
18. 510
19. Restore/upgrade Volvo

I realize that some of these are mostly out of the price range and my skill level, but whatever.

I'm sure I sounded just like everyone else with some of the stuff that I said and whatnot, but please bear with me. I probably forgot some stuff too.

All advice is greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long post.

Thanks in advance,

Alex

[Bebop]

Miata

There's a reason why people call it the best grassroot racer

[ToplessFC3Sman]

you nailed it with the first one on the list. The FC is great for grip, you can get a coupe in excellent condition for way below your price cap, the NA's are very reliable if you learn how to take care of them, they have a suprising amount of space inside, they arent over-valued (like the 86's/240's), and you'll have plenty of $ left over for suspension, tires, and upgrades. Or maybe i'm just biased

Id also look at the first gen MR2, those are very light and pretty stiff, and can run forever. They just arent what you'd call roomy

[Mike Peters]

el camino.

[bk3896]

Under or around 10k?

Miata is excellent choice (cheap FR, and excellent platform to build on)

Fc is a good choice (my coworker used to race these with nasa or something, he said NA they can be as reliable as any other motor, plus like homie said they're not overpriced)

86' are under 10k, but overpriced ( I own one so I know, if you want some more info on 86's go on club4ag.com or ask me, i'll give you the honest truth behind the myth.)

[gigglesnirt]

rotaries are only unreliable when you add forced induction, i had the 12a in my rx7 go to 275k miles, sold it to someone else but so far that same motor is still running. I would go with a miata though its a very easy and predictable car to drive.

[Craftsman]

I got an AE86 for sale... $2500, you pay for shipping.