$10k, most bang for the buck?

[John_K]

I vote BMW as well. I am biased though (E46 owner).



If I was in your shoes. I'd save up another $5k-$7k and get an E46 M3. The platform is brilliant and out of the box it puts up amazing numbers around a track. They respond really well to forced induction if you need more straight line speed too.



Cons would be mod costs, and paying for valve adjustments every 30k-60k. If you are willing to DIY, the maintenance costs aren't too insane.



What is more important? AutoX / Road course times, or straight line speed?



If it is straight line speed, you need an F-Body / Cobra.









My 330Ci is my first BMW and it has been pretty solid for a 10 year old car with 124k miles. I think grand total I have spent $150-$200 in 10,000 miles of driving in maintenance which includes:



1.) Water pump

2.) Coolant

3.) T-Stat

4.) Oil Change

5.) Tool to help with coolant flush

 

[Accumulator]

I continue to find this thread interesting, even though I often think "oh, man, that'd be the absolute *wrong* car for me!" when I read the suggestions. Different people like/value different things....

 

[imported_Ivan Rajic]

Say you have $10k burning a hole in your pocket. What's the most bang for your buck you can get? Some base rules to keep it interesting:



-less than 10 years old

-less than 75,000 miles

-stock, though mod friendly cars are a bonus

-price based on KBB private party sale in excellent condition

Real easy, Mazda Miata; perfect weight balance, reliable and mod friendly and reasonably priced. (plus relatively easy to work on)



Love Audi but hate maintenance cost



BMW's are pretty reliable but expensive to repair



Mustang: great vehicle that takes to tuning //cons: trying to find one that was adult driven

I continue to find this thread interesting, even though I often think "oh, man, that'd be the absolute *wrong* car for me!" when I read the suggestions. Different people like/value different things....

I went from first page to last page... did yakky buy anything?



For a fun car, I don't think much out there beats an E36 M3 for $10k. You can find a pretty clean one with a lot of maintenance done and at around 80-100k for $10-11k.



Contrary to popular belief, the E36s, even E46s are a dream for DIY people and are not expensive at all to maintain. Having owned 2 E36s (328 and currently M3) I've found that you're basically looking at about $1.5k of maintenance (not counting tires, oil, windshield fluid, etc.) over 100k miles, if you go the simple route (water pump here, radiator there, control arms, stock/cheaper shocks/struts, etc.) and $3-4k every 100k miles if you're a nut like me and need the entire cooling system with upgraded water pump and aluminum radiator ($500), better brakes ($400), entire suspension (all bushings, mounts, etc. $1-1.5k), koni shocks & aftermarket springs, maybe even coilovers, etc...



However, they're still not expensive to maintain per say... I guess if you compare them to a Honda Accord they are because parts cost a bit more and wear more often because of how it's driven, but compared to a Porsche it's night and day as well...



As you can see I'd give my left nut, pinkie and my woman for a few nights for an M3... fortunately enough all I had to give was $16k a couple years back haha

 

[Accumulator]

..For a fun car, I don't think much out there beats an E36 M3 ..As you can see I'd give my left nut, pinkie and my woman for a few nights for an M3...

You know, that's what I thought too, and I'd driven quite a few e36s (including the cars thew were using at Skip Barber when I attended there). But every time I bought my own e36 M3, I ended up thinking "yuck, I just don't like it the way I oughta" :think: :nixweiss Stock, modified, didn't matter...I just didn't like 'em for some reason that I still can't quite put my finger on! People are funny, myself included. It took me *three* e36 M3s to get the whole thing out of my system



Sometimes the car (or other thing ) that "oughta be just perfect for you" simply isn't.

 

[imported_Ivan Rajic]

You know, that's what I thought too, and I'd driven quite a few e36s (including the cars thew were using at Skip Barber when I attended there). But every time I bought my own e36 M3, I ended up thinking "yuck, I just don't like it the way I oughta" :think: :nixweiss Stock, modified, didn't matter...I just didn't like 'em for some reason that I still can't quite put my finger on! People are funny, myself included. It took me *three* e36 M3s to get the whole thing out of my system



Sometimes the car (or other thing ) that "oughta be just perfect for you" simply isn't.

That's odd... what exactly didn't you like? My life dream is to have as many E36 M3s as possible, whether they're $15-20k really low mile ones or $6-8k for something older haha. I'm currently trying to save up and upgrade my daily to an $7-8k M3 but probably won't until next year.



I know what you mean though about people being funny haha. This just fits me perfectly and I don't see it changing for a while. I had a 98 328i for about 3 years and sold it about 3 years ago. I missed the car A LOT as soon as I sold it... why I have no clue, but I'm in love with the body style and everything about it. The fact that all simpler maintenance (oil, plugs, filters, etc.) can be done in under 15 mins with experience is a huge plus.

 

[John_K]

I went from first page to last page... did yakky buy anything?



For a fun car, I don't think much out there beats an E36 M3 for $10k. You can find a pretty clean one with a lot of maintenance done and at around 80-100k for $10-11k.



Contrary to popular belief, the E36s, even E46s are a dream for DIY people and are not expensive at all to maintain. Having owned 2 E36s (328 and currently M3) I've found that you're basically looking at about $1.5k of maintenance (not counting tires, oil, windshield fluid, etc.) over 100k miles, if you go the simple route (water pump here, radiator there, control arms, stock/cheaper shocks/struts, etc.) and $3-4k every 100k miles if you're a nut like me and need the entire cooling system with upgraded water pump and aluminum radiator ($500), better brakes ($400), entire suspension (all bushings, mounts, etc. $1-1.5k), koni shocks & aftermarket springs, maybe even coilovers, etc...



However, they're still not expensive to maintain per say... I guess if you compare them to a Honda Accord they are because parts cost a bit more and wear more often because of how it's driven, but compared to a Porsche it's night and day as well...



As you can see I'd give my left nut, pinkie and my woman for a few nights for an M3... fortunately enough all I had to give was $16k a couple years back haha

I agree 110%. I would give a lot to own an E46 M3 or even an E36 M3/4/5 (4/5 is four doors 5 spd for those who are not sure) in pristine condition.



BTW, I've had a few Hondas and a good ol' American sports car too, but the BMW has been the easiest to work on. Oil change was the easiest in the BMW as well.

 

[Dan]

Oh, I didn't buy anything, I was just asking a question because I thought it would be a fun topic to discuss. Most of us can squander 10k for a fun car, its interesting to hear what is available.

 

[imported_Ivan Rajic]

I agree 110%. I would give a lot to own an E46 M3 or even an E36 M3/4/5 (4/5 is four doors 5 spd for those who are not sure) in pristine condition.



BTW, I've had a few Hondas and a good ol' American sports car too, but the BMW has been the easiest to work on. Oil change was the easiest in the BMW as well.

My goal is a euro or E46 M3 engine in my banana car in the future. Then again I have way too much influence locally to go with a turbo so who knows. I want to keep it NA though so it'll probably get a nice 300+ hp motor that's available at the time and a 6 speed. US really got screwed on the E36 M3... 1 speed and 80hp less... completely different drivetrain and engine blows but it's still an awesome car.

Oh, I didn't buy anything, I was just asking a question because I thought it would be a fun topic to discuss. Most of us can squander 10k for a fun car, its interesting to hear what is available.

Very true. Interesting to see everyone's opinions.

 

[Accumulator]

Most of us can squander 10k for a fun car, its interesting to hear what is available...

Heh heh, key word "squander"



Problem with me is that my $10K cars often turn into $25K ones pretty fast!

That's odd... what exactly didn't you like?

Heh heh, honestly....I.Can't.Tell.You. :nixweiss



Besides that I didn't like detailing them well, it's just one of those funny things that I can't really verbalize. Sorry, I'm not trying to evade the question and believe me, I've asked *myself* that question plenty of times! Heh heh, as my wife could tell you! That's why I kept buying 'em



One thing I can say is that they all just felt too different from my Korman-built e30 M3 (a barely-streetable toy which I simply *LOVED* as a daily driver!), maybe I have a "four-wheel motorcycle" view of M3s that colors my judgement.



Eh, the bottom line is that I'm just goofy about which vehicles I love/don't. Plenty of my pals think the cars I *do* like are simply *AWFUL*....OK, to each their own. A pal who has C5 'vettes still can't believe how I dumped the Mallett with no regrets, ditto with my Porsches for my friends who still have theirs.

 

[imported_Ivan Rajic]

Heh heh, key word "squander"



Problem with me is that my $10K cars often turn into $25K ones pretty fast!







Heh heh, honestly....I.Can't.Tell.You. :nixweiss



Besides that I didn't like detailing them well, it's just one of those funny things that I can't really verbalize. Sorry, I'm not trying to evade the question and believe me, I've asked *myself* that question plenty of times! Heh heh, as my wife could tell you! That's why I kept buying 'em



One thing I can say is that they all just felt too different from my Korman-built e30 M3 (a barely-streetable toy which I simply *LOVED* as a daily driver!), maybe I have a "four-wheel motorcycle" view of M3s that colors my judgement.



Eh, the bottom line is that I'm just goofy about which vehicles I love/don't. Plenty of my pals think the cars I *do* like are simply *AWFUL*....OK, to each their own. A pal who has C5 'vettes still can't believe how I dumped the Mallett with no regrets, ditto with my Porsches for my friends who still have theirs.

Gotcha. I hear you on the detailing.. they're not the most friendly bodies to detail. As for E30 vs. E36 M3, I agree there's a difference in how it feels, but when I compare the E36 to E46 it's completely night and day. E36 is very close to E30 when compared with E46. Then again, I never drove an E30 on a daily basis, or anything close to it, so I couldn't say how much different they actually are. To me though, E36 M3 is the best looking car and I like the feel of it in every way, thus my dream car. Obviously everyone has their own likes/dislikes and yours is a great example. I do want a 03ish 911 in the next 4-5 years for sure, as a daily to my M3 haha.

 

[nygoat03]

without a doubt 04 GTO-i own one and they take a beating,have a good base to start with and decent stock power. With suspension and some engine mods, there a fun car. They sell pretty cheap right now.

 

[Accumulator]

Gotcha. ..To me though, E36 M3 is the best looking car...

Oh yeah, I agree! My Byzanz sedan was one seriously gorgeous ride.

... Obviously everyone has their own likes/dislikes and yours is a great example...

Heh heh, thanks, that's a nice way to view my, uhm...automotive foibles.

.. I do want a 03ish 911 in the next 4-5 years for sure, as a daily to my M3 haha.

Speaking of 911s (another car I like the looks of), I simply *HATE* driving them! My '90 (or was it a '91?) C4 was one of the most unsatisfactory experiences I can think of. My pal with the MKII Jag has a, uhm...maybe '03 or so...turbo with some special package and while he *LOVES* it I wouldn't drive it if I got paid by the mile. Go figure, just me-being-me again....

 

[imported_Ivan Rajic]

Oh yeah, I agree! My Byzanz sedan was one seriously gorgeous ride.



Heh heh, thanks, that's a nice way to view my, uhm...automotive foibles.



Speaking of 911s (another car I like the looks of), I simply *HATE* driving them! My '90 (or was it a '91?) C4 was one of the most unsatisfactory experiences I can think of. My pal with the MKII Jag has a, uhm...maybe '03 or so...turbo with some special package and while he *LOVES* it I wouldn't drive it if I got paid by the mile. Go figure, just me-being-me again....

Byzanz is a gorgeous color as well. As for the 911, we couldn't be more different haha. I absolutely love a friend's ex-911 non turbo 03 I think. Obviously very quick and drives like it's on rails but it's oh so smooth and not rough, etc. I guess we're not meant to be :bawling:

 

[Dan]

without a doubt 04 GTO-i own one and they take a beating,have a good base to start with and decent stock power. With suspension and some engine mods, there a fun car. They sell pretty cheap right now.

I really love the GTO's, and I'd probably be very interested in one, but the on fact that kills me:



The cavalier 2 door....

looks so similar to this:

 

[nygoat03]

haha-my gto is blue, spoiler removed and has aftermarket rims and 295's out rear-made the car come alive.

 

[wicho661]

haha-my gto is blue, spoiler removed and has aftermarket rims and 295's out rear-made the car come alive.

My buddy kept his stock wheels, yet has a magnacharger and suspension upgrades.



No wheel hop, low wheel spin and its very balanced.



Ofcourse, you cant go WOT in first gear, but thats what driving is all about.



But yeah. The 245s did fine. How much did you do to that LS1?

 

[connorb850]

For a fun car, I don't think much out there beats an E36 M3 for $10k. You can find a pretty clean one with a lot of maintenance done and at around 80-100k for $10-11k.

I was thinking the same thing before I even opened this thread.

Contrary to popular belief, the E36s, even E46s are a dream for DIY people and are not expensive at all to maintain.

Completely agree, especially considering all the good parts suppliers and DIY information for BMWs that can be found online. I do understand your passion for the E36, not sure I'd ever want to part with my 210K+ mile 96 328i. I've daily driven mine for the past 4 years and it's absolutely the best car I've ever owned. It's fun to drive, looks great, comfortable for a tall person (I'm 6'3"), easy to work on, reliable, and economical.



My dream E36 is an M3/4/5 in Alpine White with Modena interior...maybe someday.

 

[nygoat03]

i did long tubes-catless mids and corsa exhaust-z06 heads and nasty cam this summer-beat a couple non-turbo 911's and m3's

 

[schiddy]

I just read through this entire thread. You guys must make some really decent money. I just finished grad school and at this time can't afford a condo or second car yet even if I ate PB&J every meal LMAO. And you guys are talking about how used german cars aren't that expensive, talking about your porsches and BMW's. You guys are crazy! lol

 

[Accumulator]

schiddy- IMO your investment in grad school was a lot smarter than anybody's investment in cars