I hate threads like this, but I may need to make a quick decision here and I haven’t been looking around. I have a lot of ideas but just want to make sure I dont overlook anything. Want to go cheap as buying a house is still my priority.
must be:
manual
reliable
fairly good on gas
sportyish
year-round driveable
easy enough to find that I dont have to look for 3 months
prefer but not required:
rwd or awd
more towards luxury direction than econo direction
newer than older
go!
is300?
maxima?
Legacy GT?
Suby LGT. Sport’ish, lux’ish, all weather, economical / reliable. Though mpgs are a bit down for what it is.
99 - 04 Acura TL or CL 03-04 6 speed manual available.
REALLY great quality and luxury for the money.
10k might be a stretch but you never know
E36M3 
I really liked my dad’s old 328I bimmer… i think he sold it to some kid for like 8k wtf
My s4
I’m in the same boat as you…I’ve got my mind pretty much set on 1 of 2 vehicles. Suby LGT or WRX. Enough power that you don’t hate your car, AWD which owns for winter, space for transporting cargo (especially if you will be doing work on your house). You can tow small trailers no prob. The only thing I don’t like bout the 2 is typically no heated seats. I personally may add them aftermarket.
I considered Audi and said fuck that due to reliability (please don’t post bitching if you own an audi and it’s reliable, I’m fucking bull headed, don’t care what you have to say, and won’t listen) BMW has been considered, but reg maintainence is rather expensive. Parts are very readily available for the Subies. I love hondas for DDs, they really can’t be beat. However, fuck FWD, don’t want it, at all. My 2 cents.
Audis are reliable as any other car, parts and maintenance are more expensive.
personally, I plan on buying an e39 540 6 speed when I have 9 or 10k to spend on a dd. so don’t buy that.
i say legacy gt. perfect in this town, baller, and not too slow
Lecacy GTs are $10K?
Buy that 02 A4 1.8T thats for sale here, it has like 6xK Check the classifieds.
You just have to do the timing belt and water pump, its $200 for all the parts if you DIY it, and will take you about 6 hours
yah i was just looking at them online and they appear to be ~15k for an 05+
Toyota Yaris
S60 Volvo?
You should be able to pick up a 01-04 with decent miles on it for ~10k
02-03 WRX- Not Luxury
02-03 A4
99-00 3 Series
I was in this situation. I was looking for specific cars in the area with 60ish miles. There is not a lot of the “cool” cars that people talk about for under 10k you will find online. You need to check out ebay and be willing to travel if you want to get picky with a WRX or IS300.
+1
Cars are solid if well maintained.
Except for mafs / wheel bearings
Audi A6 2.7T Sporty and Luxury and Enough Room for a Family 