Look for a Lexus Sc400. You get a decent v8, RWD, Automatic and some luxury. Plus the motors are super reliable.
i’ll check into the sc400 but he kept saying no to v8’s.
How come the Eclipse got 0 votes?
Probably because it’s an Eclipse.
Anyway, I voted for the M3 because it’s the only RWD car on your list. If you get serious about a E36 (or any bmw) you should sign up on bimmerforums and get some more info on them. They’re great cars and really do handle well with some minor mods. They’re a lot of fun to drive too. They don’t make a good “straight line” car as it’s tough to make a lot of power with them and their are limited in tire width (255 in the stock body work). But it sounds like you’re more interested in handling so that shouldn’t be too much of a worry. The drivetrain is pretty bullet-proof, in all honesty most E36 M3’s that are off the road are because of wrecks not blowing up. My buddy’s was going strong at 170k miles (still dynoed 20X RWHP which is just about right for the stock 240HP) until he wrecked it. There are some parts that will fail though: Cooling system, you should look for one that has an entirely new cooling system (rad/water pump/hoses etc) or realize you’ll be doing them soon (the upside is the parts are cheap since they are needed every 60k miles or so on any E36). The “guibo” will fail (just look it up), but again cheap. The lower shock mounts will fail in the back. The rear lower control arm bushings will fail also. Etc.
-TJ
Okay, maybe I was wrong about you wanting a car that handles. An Auto E36 M3 is gonna suck and take away a lot of the fun in driving it. And it will not be fast.
See my post above. They are very reliable (better than any later BMW) but again, they have issues. There’s the stuff I listed above, and also the fuel pumps fail (forgot about that one in my first post) and there are some electrical issues, the on-board trip computers quit but they’re basically useless anyway.
- Yeah, they’re cool.
- Eh, they are pretty cheap to mod. They have a giant aftermarket and since most everybody mods them the common stuff is cheapish.
- Depends on if he can do the work himself or not. BMW-specific shops tend to have outrageous labor rates. But you do want to consult a BMW shop since the thing with these cars are the problems are all “well known” and can be addressed before they are bad. That being said if you reference these (I race w/ the Edge guys a lot and know Eric the owner, very good guys): http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=311638 & Auto Repair, San Ramon CA | EDGE Motorworks
- True, they do hold value very well. But they are pretty reasonable on the used market these days.
- I don’t see buying a 3rd Gen Fbody as a good move for a DD. They are cheap, you are right. There is a huge aftermarket, you are right. And they can be fun fast cars. But from the guy’s posting so far they don’t seem like “his thing” so much.
Why do you say that?
The 1IS’s are pretty cool. But I doubt it’s going to be in his 10k range. If he could make a stick IS happen that’d be pretty awesome.
If (and apparently that’s still a big if) he cares about handling I don’t see the GTP as a great platform. Nose-heavy FWD GM.
Truth.
FWIW when I got my '99 Z28 forever ago my buddy got a '95 M3 2 weeks later. We both had the cars for about 6 years. He had more issues than me, but nothing too major and he was sort of bad about regular services. But, I always got MUCH better fuel mileage than him. The M3 was in the higher teens usually average on a tank. The Z28 I could do 28+ freeway and average tanks with mostly city driving I would do about 20. Keep in mind a E36 M3 has a 1:1 5th gear (no overdrive) in it’s 5spd but the LS1 cars have a .75 5th and .5 6th (4th is the 1:1) so at 65mph you’re barely turning 1,500rpm.
-TJ
S4 by far
good info, handling DECENT but not superior, straight line acceleration is very important. I’ll keep encouraging a V8 but I don’t see it happening.
tjz28 is straight on the money! Bimmerforums will set you straight about the e36… Great drivetrain but a lot of design flaws, spend a few hours reading through the site, and you’ll understand better…
but they can be had cheap, there is a silver m3(sedan) on a lot in the North hills with just over a 100K going for 7K… it’ll leave you with some extra money to play with.
Wow…that list is all over the place…then you capped it at $10k, and then made them all autos…
I would have to vote for the A6/S4, and then based on 10K say to get a 99-01 A4 with 1.8t manual, and add a few things…staying under 10k and have a car with more torque then most/if not all of those cars on your list. The A4 is easy to work on, with a small amount of problems, even when modded. I’m assuming since he wan’ts an auto for driveability he would also enjoy the AWD. Otherwise, a 1.8t Jetta/Golf/GTI/Passat.
yeah, this is the best cars for under 10k i can think of that are 6 or turbo 4. The audi is a strong player but not many people seem to favor it as uch as the gtp or M3. I’m gonna get him to update the list and possibly add some 8 cylinders into the mix for best bang for the buck. I’d have to say I would lean towards the gtp still and maybe the s4.
If he’ll add V8s a LS1 Fbody is the clear choice. Straight line obviously they rule, but they can also be made to handle very well. Trust me on that one.
-TJ