Seriously Mike, save your $ for something you’ll really be happy with. We both know you’d love an LS1… and that’s only a few grand (aka a few months) outside of your current envelope. Wait for it.
-TJ
if you can put together like 3 more g’s i got an 2000 SVT you can have…56K miles tons of mods/extras( 2set of wheels & tires, etc…) 
you can buy a 95 taurus sho 5-spd for pretty cheap nowdays. You can pick one up for around 4000 then have the extra 4000 for the next month or two of repairs.
i’m in the market for a used Vw tdi… it’s the biggest pain in the ass to try to find… used car salesman are a dime a dozen… i go in with the ‘fuck off’ attitude… shopping for a car sucks… esp when you don’t know what you want!!
i’m with jeff… i stressed that if i see a dealer sticker on my car i’ll walk away… even made them remove the license plate frame… 
grizzle is selling his 95 GSX… $5500. Has an r-title though