15k to spend

[bulachip]

I have between 15-20k to spend on a car. What do people suggest. I am not in a huge hurry but am looking. I am thinking about a nice 951 and e36 M3.......... Any other suggestions? I want something more reliable than my 83na and a little faster. I have had the 83 for 4 years and it has been good but i am now ready to move on I think. Having just finished paying off college loans I have a good job and 15K saved up!!

[Eldorado]

if you want something more reliable, i'd go for the m3... my buddy bought one (the guy that sold me the 944 actually) last year and loves it... but that's just me.

[Eric 951]

Buy my turbo and put 5K in the bank.

[Harpman2]

Could probably get 3 hours with Pamela Anderson for that. But I'd insist on having a camera rolling.

[kcryan]

M3 is always a good choice, also look at old (88 or 91) M5's


911's are also a great bet.

[bulachip]

Is an M3 really much easier to mantain than an 944. Most of the BMW's I see have 100k miles or more. Is this a problem? I just have a hard time spending 15k for a car with that many miles. The other option is a newer 330i? What are your thoughts

[seaboltman]

BMWs are solid as a rock, they generally dont build **** quality machines

[scottmandue]

If I had that budget I would be looking at a
968
But that is just me...

[nynor]

if i had that kind of money to spend, i'd be looking for an '89 951 with the sport suspension, etc. and then keep the extra $ in the bank for insurance against maintenance.

[svandamme]

Originally posted by bulachip
Is an M3 really much easier to mantain than an 944. Most of the BMW's I see have 100k miles or more. Is this a problem? I just have a hard time spending 15k for a car with that many miles. The other option is a newer 330i? What are your thoughts

depends on how those 100K miles were done

100K in 2 years is great, means the car was driven mostly on highways and most likely was leased, had it's maintenance every time by the dealer...highway miles don't put much wear on an engine...

100K in 10 years... could go either way ... there's good ones, and bad ones... just like cars that have done 20K in 2 years...you cannot predict anything without a maintenance history , and a ppi...

10 K buys a very nice 951
and those cars are just as reliable as a bimmer if well maintained(5K maintenance money goes a long way )
and bimmers can be unreliable just the same if neglected...

[Panzer909]

Get an '80's era Lotus Turbo Esprit and put the remailing 5K into the first three months' maintenance

[svandamme]

Originally posted by Panzer909
Get an '80's era Lotus Turbo Esprit and put the remailing 5K into the first three months' maintenance

3months? that's optimistic...

[BananaClip]

so is $10k for a turbo esprit!

[sca037]

.......but when faced with the same criteria, I picked a S2000.
We've had our 944 for 15 years and it's a great car, but in terms of German car maintenance there is just no comparison.
I was shopping for a 944S2/968 Cab (or even a Boxster) but when I crunched the numbers the Honda won out hands down.
Oh yeah, it's a friggin' ball to drive as well

YMMV of course,
Brian

[gtroth]

I'd do a 968. Maybe a Boxster.

[bulachip]

Performance wise how does an e36 M3 stack up with a 951, 968, e46 330i, boxter????

[scottmandue]

Originally posted by sca037
.......but when faced with the same criteria, I picked a S2000.
We've had our 944 for 15 years and it's a great car, but in terms of German car maintenance there is just no comparison.
I was shopping for a 944S2/968 Cab (or even a Boxster) but when I crunched the numbers the Honda won out hands down.
Oh yeah, it's a friggin' ball to drive as well

YMMV of course,
Brian

You can get a 2000S for $15K ???

[sca037]

Originally posted by scottmandue
You can get a 2000S for $15K ???

Yes. We went a bit higher than that since I knew the original owner and the entire history of the car (and it had low miles), but you can find them for $15K now. You will have to search a bit since only a few thousand came to the US each year, but hey......same thing with 944S2/968 Cabs as well
If bulachip is at all interested in an open car, he should consider giving the S2000 a look.
They're a lot like the 944/951 in that you can hurt them with abuse;
drag racing launches tax the clutch & rear diff,
& say mis-shifting from 3rd-to-2nd instead of 3rd-to-4th at 9000rpm leads to mechanical over-revs....but otherwise they are low maintenance, very solid and nearly bulletproof.

Brian

[Verruckt]

You can get a 2002 Honda minivan for that price. Your friends can watch DVD movies while your out on the town. Insurance is cheap too!

[Mojo]

This is easy
A 911SC or Carrera.