Fun to drive used car $25k or less?

[Ron3]

Preferably V8. Or at least must sound good.

Manual trans. (Must)

Prefer RWD.

Car. Not truck, not SUV.

Not ancient. OBD II or later. (IOW about 1996 on)

Willing to mod a little. Cant be unreliable.

Thoughts?

[jpmuscle]

4th gen Camaro.
LS1.
6spd.


Mod as desired


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[Scrubber3]

04 to 06 GTO. Mustang GT early 6th gen and 5th gen can be had for that. So can the 03 to 04 cobra. Camaro SS. Mazda miata with an LS swap would be extremely fun but you'd need money in the bank for that. 4 doors would be Chevy SS, dodge charger hemi and some early 392s can probably be had for that. There are many choices

[Hmac]

Nissan 370Z. RWD 6 speed manual. Mods including exhaust, suspension, and engine all the way up to a turbo conversion putting out 600 HP.

[C-grunt]

You can get into a last gen Mustang or Camaro for that pretty easy. Probably a Challenger too.

[Rogue556]

2003-2004 Mustang Cobra.

Factory supercharged with forged internals (rods, pistons, crankshaft). If you ever decide you want more power, the DOHC four valve modular motors in those cars are extremely responsive to boost. They also, IMO, are the best sounding motor ever made.

They also hold their value very well.

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[Lawnchair 04]

C5 corvette

[jpmuscle]

2003-2004 Mustang Cobra.

Factory supercharged with forged internals (rods, pistons, crankshaft). If you ever decide you want more power, the DOHC four valve modular motors in those cars are extremely responsive to boost. They also, IMO, are the best sounding motor ever made.

They also hold their value very well.

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Needs more GM F-body


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[AndyLate]

My 07 Mustang GT 5/M has been reliable and fun. A GTO, F-Body or Corvette will run off and hide from it though. The GTO is cool because they used a lot of readily available GM parts and they are pretty fast. I think a Camara or Firebird has the best appreciation potential.

In my experience, Chrysler will not meet your requirement for reliability. I never owned a Challenger, though. Maybe they are better than the Cirrus, Intrepid and Durango I do have some time with.

Andy

[The Dumb Gun Collector]

Consider a NA Miata. I got mine for $3600 and it is more fun than my old S2000 or my old 2011 Mustang GT (which was fun, but it was really just good at accelerating). I will say, the S2000 was a better car but for $3600 I am a helluva lot less concerned about rocks and dirt on the old Miata. Obviously the old Mustang sounded Glorious. I put a Ford Sport muffler on it which added no power but had an amazing sound. The Miata is quiet. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48500727087_6ce01b8bf6_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2gTQUqx)Untitled (https://flic.kr/p/2gTQUqx) by stoiclawyer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/52942291@N00/), on Flickr

[Coal Dragger]

I have a 1995 Ford Aspire (pronounced Ass-Pyre) I’ll sell you for $500.

It doesn’t have a strait body panel on it, the heater blower motor doesn’t work, and wheels are probably bent.

On the plus side it is wildly entertaining to drive, because one simply doesn’t care about it. Go ahead, push shopping carts, drive it off road, drive over small trees, hit road construction cones, see how many you can drag under the car. Hose clamp a bicycle inner tube to the exhaust so it sounds like flatulence, and the tube flops about like a donkey dick... extra credit if you attach truck nuts under the exhaust pipe.

The car is conveniently equipped with Jegs stickers (worth at least 200hp each), and hood pins. Yes hood pins. Like a real race car.

Oh and it’s red, so you know it is fast.

[Rogue556]

Needs more GM F-body


Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkEwww...

(Seriously though, I have a secret lust for a F-body WS6, but I'd never admit it in person).

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[THCDDM4]

Lots on that list.

For me, most bang for the buck in that price range with ability to mod would be a Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 Twin Turbo Spyder.

AWD. Twin Turbo. 6 Spd. Convertible/hard top. Handles like a dream.

You can find ‘96-‘99 in That price range.

Upgrade the turbos for some big power.

Fun car.

[SilverBullet432]

C5 corvette


This.. I know at least 8 people that have one. They are a dime a dozen these days.

[Ron3]

2003-2004 Mustang Cobra.

Factory supercharged with forged internals (rods, pistons, crankshaft). If you ever decide you want more power, the DOHC four valve modular motors in those cars are extremely responsive to boost. They also, IMO, are the best sounding motor ever made.

They also hold their value very well.

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I had one for a few years. Great car. Cable, non-assist clutch will make you curse in traffic. Very heavy.

It seems lightly or unmodded examples without many miles are in the $35K+ range.

[Ron3]

Consider a NA Miata. I got mine for $3600 and it is more fun than my old S2000 or my old 2011 Mustang GT (which was fun, but it was really just good at accelerating). I will say, the S2000 was a better car but for $3600 I am a helluva lot less concerned about rocks and dirt on the old Miata. Obviously the old Mustang sounded Glorious. I put a Ford Sport muffler on it which added no power but had an amazing sound. The Miata is quiet. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48500727087_6ce01b8bf6_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2gTQUqx)Untitled (https://flic.kr/p/2gTQUqx) by stoiclawyer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/52942291@N00/), on Flickr

I did.

I never cared for the way miata's looked, and that there was no coupe version.

I really like the way the current Fiat (Fiata) 124 Spyder looks. It's engine (turbo 1.4L) is probably better for the street due to the torque. (I drove one) but the Miata NA motor is probably more fun on a track due to rewarding high-rev's.

The current Fiat 124 runs $25-$30K new.

Another draw to them is storage. It fits in a garage space easily.

Good sounds? Not so much. But it must be considered.

[Ron3]

This.. I know at least 8 people that have one. They are a dime a dozen these days.

Yea, C5 is probobaly everything I want. Except I'm not a "Corvette guy". And I'll have to put something down for the oil leaks.

[ramairthree]

You could log onto Carmax and have a Camaro SS, RT Challenger, Or Coyote Mustang of fairly recent vintage and well under 100k miles delivered for under 20k without leac8ng your house.

[JediGuy]

Lots on that list.

For me, most bang for the buck in that price range with ability to mod would be a Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 Twin Turbo Spyder.

AWD. Twin Turbo. 6 Spd. Convertible/hard top. Handles like a dream.

You can find ‘96-‘99 in That price range.

Upgrade the turbos for some big power.

Fun car.

Better be ready for regular repairs.
Just anecdotal experience.

Any Mustang GT since 2007 is fun, but 11+ will be much funner/faster. Try to find a Brembo package for better brakes and suspension.

GTO’s can be found in your price.

Pontiac G8 GXP didn’t come with a manual, I don’t think, but it’s possible to find at a moderately decent price. They seem to have held value.

Corvettes can be had, which will bring more performance than anything else on this list.

2009 Porsche Boxter. Because it’s a Porsche.

Old Miata, with or without LS or 5.0 swap.

BMW E46 3-series with LS swap (check out vorshlag-store.com).

Subaru BRZ.

[ramairthree]

In much the same way we are sort of in a salad days of firearms and ammo and magazines,
Never before has so much fuel efficient, reliable, low maintenance, performance been available at these relative prices.

[jpmuscle]

Lol you guys.....


lol @ anything LS swap


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[vandal5]

When the time comes (if ever) for me to get another just for fun car. I'll be looking to get a Porsche 996, will look for one with the lowest milage for my price range or one with well documented service record.

Will join a local Porsche club and drive it in as many Driver Ed events that I can.

[Alex V]

4th gen Camaro.
LS1.
6spd.


Mod as desired


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As a 4th gen FBody owner I Second this motion.


Ewww...

(Seriously though, I have a secret lust for a F-body WS6, but I'd never admit it in person).

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Wanna buy a black 2001 Ws6 6spd that runs 10.2s? lol

[jpmuscle]

Wanna buy a black 2001 Ws6 6spd that runs 10.2s? lol

Talk to me goose


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[Alex V]

Talk to me goose


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Honestly don’t think I could ever sell it. Too much financial and emotional investment. The amount would have to be asinine.

[Ron3]

I'm going with newer Challenger 6.4L or another 03/04 Cobra. Yea I'll be spending a little more than $25k.

Neither should depreciate much long term.