Best US "Tuner Car" for $9-13k?

[Petis]

^you have lost grasp of the concept. He is looking for a 'tuner car' not a vip/exe car.

is300's go for sub 10k dealer prices, in every state I don't want to hear it. I have a good friend selling a white 02 with less than 60k and she'll take 10k. Seen a sport cross version go for 8k from a hyundai dealership. Search your somewhat local auto trader. They're getting cheap just like old g35s/z's

What the SHIT?!!!!! A sportcross for 8k?! Why the hell can't I live near you? I searched high and low for a sportcross at a good price and came up short. Ughhhhh, I would much rather have that than my ls400.

[jared1988]

1G M45 gets my vote



can be made to look like



for what they are, they seem to be way undervalued too

i ***** glorias at first. never seen them stateside but theyve grown on to me now

[northmiler89]

true, i forgot the is300. always loved those cars and can make crazy power. Im not locked in at that price, the IS300 with the motorwork, etc falling into the $15-16k range is good.

I mean acquiring the car for that price, I have a few $ to put towards modding it.

I had a speed 3 and blew it up.. twice
had an 08 sti and spun a bearing
have an e36 m3 and it is whatever.. its an auto... but still, ive driven plenty of them by now.. meh
have an e46 m3.. meh, needs HPF to really be fun

the is300 with boost could be interesting.



I am getting tempted to just put the $10k cash down and get something used in the 17-22k range. Maybe jump up a bit more and get my hands on a 335i... hmm.. Just needed some fresh eyes on the idea to see what I am forgetting

[Agent00J]

is300s are still somewhat pricey, and a factory 5-speed is damn near impossible to come by at a decent price, if at all. So, a 5-speed swap has to be calculated into initial cost of purchase. So,to have a fun, somewhat modded is300 with a manual trans, it will most likely exceed the 13k budget. (not by a large amount, but still exceed it none the less)

*sigh* ... Very valid points. But screw it, I'm still keeping my hopes up. An original manual IS300 is what tops my future project car list.

[kartikeya]

I found a couple of 5-speed IS300s online in the 11k range. Not that hard. Maybe finding a local one would be challenging though.

[jared1988]

true, i forgot the is300. always loved those cars and can make crazy power. Im not locked in at that price, the IS300 with the motorwork, etc falling into the $15-16k range is good.

I mean acquiring the car for that price, I have a few $ to put towards modding it.

I had a speed 3 and blew it up.. twice
had an 08 sti and spun a bearing
have an e36 m3 and it is whatever.. its an auto... but still, ive driven plenty of them by now.. meh
have an e46 m3.. meh, needs HPF to really be fun

the is300 with boost could be interesting.



I am getting tempted to just put the $10k cash down and get something used in the 17-22k range. Maybe jump up a bit more and get my hands on a 335i... hmm.. Just needed some fresh eyes on the idea to see what I am forgetting

mods? heard of a few blowing holes in the block that were all stock

[BADwayz]

BMW E39 540i
MB CLK55 AMG
94-96 Chevy Impala SS

[Yogi_Bear]

BMW E39 540i
MB CLK55 AMG
94-96 Chevy Impala SS

those old school ss Impalas are going to cost more than 13k to get them road worthy, and another 1k to get the smell of flavor flav out of the car

[andybob]

I'd go boosted Miata.

You could get a beat MX-5 for about 5-6K. Build the motor, get a good suspension set-up, good wheels, hard top and probably be close to the end of your budget.

[kartikeya]

If you paid 5-6K for a beat MX-5, you got ****ed from behind.

[jungledorifuto]

i should have bought that 8k sport cross i knoww! There is a black 5spd private party is300 local for 10k, 2002

[9krpmrx8]

Have you considered something old school like a 240Z with red top swap? RX-4, Datsun 512, Celica, etc?

[fivefourzero]

B5 S4's are horribly unreliable (at least in my experience with them).

hell yeah they are! the 2.7 is awful, but then again i usually like the most unreliable cars that would put me in way over my head.

[padraigmk3]

I'm gonna throw SC300 or MKIII Supra 2.5R into the suggestion box though. IS300 too, actually.

baaaaad idea. The MK3 is a fun, underrated platform, but it isn't cheap, and it won't work out unless you have a lot of time on your hands and enjoy being frustrated. They're incredibly heavy, the engine needs tweaking to avoid BHG immediately, aftermarket is kind of weak, all bodykits are hideous, zero steering angle, blah blah...

I love mine beyond death, but i got lucky.

Im tossing in my vote split between the S13 and any subaru.

[Alexander]

I would say get a nice mint NA Miata, turbo'd, flame spittin', stanced, for all under 9k. Money well spent IMO.