Is there a fun car you can buy for under $3,000?

Dodge Neon r/t. I've seen them with less than 100k on the clock for $2995 DEALER.
Not an SRT4 but still very hoonable for a $3k shitbox.

You could get a beat up SRT4 for around $3k probably.

Mercedes 190E 2.6
>RWD
>Inline-6 motor
>DTM Champion car, beat E30 BMWs and Audi 100s
>$3000 or less

How many other people drive street version of legit racing cars at their DD, user?

VW GTI

You might be able to get a beat to shit Caliber SRT4. The first gen DOHC Neons were 150hp and like 2400lbs which is pretty decent.

OP here. Just looked up Neon on craigslist and they are all riced the fuck out for no less than $6,500 ad price.

Fuck this earth.

He could get a Volvo 240, a Mercedes 190E and maybe a BMW E30 for $3000 or under though. Each of those is RWD

Yeah but an R/T is probably going to be in better shape and once the turbo on your clapped out SRT4 shits the bed it's basically just an R/T. So I'd just skip the middle step and go for the R/T.

Except Dodge understated the HP output to the gov't those "150 HP" Neons dyno'ed from 170-190 HP stock

This
Toyota Echo
Geo Metro
Chevy Aveo
Ford Festiva
Etc.
You're too broke for thrills, but you're not too broke for laughs.

OP, see if you can find a Mercedes 190E 2.6
I bought 2 of them I like them so much (first one was ruined when another driver hit me, so I bought the 2nd one)

>First 190E 2.6 price= $2300
>Second 190E 2.6 price=$2500

get yours before the price spikes like the better known BMW E30

wut kar

Most of those are pretty rere in North America. That BMW will be a nightmare. The other two are borderline too slow to be fun.

Don't forget Suzuki's. They're light and cheap and have 4 wheel macdaddy suspension. Parts are cheap online.

No they aren't! I see Volvo 240s and 190Es all over the place. Yeah the BMW is shit but its also cheap and RWD I was just helping OP out with options

The Vulva is going to be more than $3k because of the ridiculous hipster tax. A merc that old is going to run fine or function as a grave to put your money in. More than likely it's going to be the later situation.

a buick

youtube.com/watch?v=5lRLmlM8o5Q

youtube.com/watch?v=5lRLmlM8o5Q

youtube.com/watch?v=5lRLmlM8o5Q

Metros are rebadged Suzukis, but I suppose he could try and find an Aerio for $3k. Might be in pretty rough shape, though.
If he can find a Geo Storm, that's a re-badged Isuzu Impulse which again, isn't fast, but is extremely chuckable and will get him some hipster points at Cars & Coffee.
>Wow! I haven't seen one of these in forever!

Most suzuki's here are owned by old couples so they're usually in pretty good shape. They also stay under the ricer radar. You could definitely get a Esteem/Aeriola for $3k and maybe a fwd SX4.

I bought a manual Saab 9-3 Coupe for $400.

Nice meme

Eh, in the states Suzukis were mostly bought by (for) dumb college girls who didn't really take care of them.
The nice thing about survivor Geos is that they're usually in really solid shape. The kind of people who save a Geo (ultimate 90s disposable car) are the kind of people who really take care of their shit.
I've seen nearly cherry Metros with 300k on the clock.

Oh you'll never find one of the Geo sisters, Most of them disappeared a long time ago. You'll have to get a "normal" Suzuki.

Crown Vics are commonly sub-$3000 as well, but that's a different kind of slow-car fun.
>slow
>slow
>long wheelbase v8
>will do hektik skids on command
>will do hektik skids without your command on anything remotely resembling gravel, dirt, snow, or sand
>carry all your shit
>jump curbs
>shoot them with photons

Ok but you ignored all the benefits
>4.6 that can have power squeezed out
>Strong engine
>Highly reliable car
>Cheap parts
>Cheap parts
>Easy to work on

You can get a top trim level Ford Falcon AU for that much
>RWD
>based I6 engine
>easy to work on
>decent aftermarket
>extremely reliable, will last over 400,000km easily
>parts are dirt cheap because they're so common

There's still Geos out there, you just gotta know where to look.
Mostly rural area Craigslists, as all the ones in the cities were snapped up during the last economy crash.
They might need a little work, but they're easy cars to wrench on anyway.

>Toyota Echo
Found an 02 for $3,500 181k miles
>Geo Metro
None
>Chevy Aveo
Found an ad on craigslist of a local dealer for a 2007 Chevy Aveo LS 5spd for $3,000 cash special. Ad was posted 4 days ago so don't know if they still have it. 91k miles. Has black wheels so I assume last owner was rough on it.
>Ford Festiva
One on craigslist for $3,000 and it looks like a piece of junk. The way the owner worded his ad makes me think he is a "I KNOW WHAT I GOT" type of guy.

Thanks for the suggestions.

No 190e's for sale apparently.

Looked for some older BMWs, particularly E30, saw one or two in the price range but had some serious issues like leaks and electronic failure.

And BMWs are expensive to fix.

>Suzuki

Very few of those for sale in my area. They're all Samurai's with a couple automatic Swift's in the mix. Swift's are auto or else I'd definitely consider one for $1,200.

>Volvo
See one 1991 Volvo 240 on sale in immaculate condition garage kept and owned by seniors apparently. Was posted 3 days ago, could be sold by now. For $2,500. Automatic however.

>buick
tons of buicks in my area actually. They're so common and easily available that I was looking for something a bit more lighter and fun. I owned a Buick Park Avenue a few years ago so I already know how they drive. Great cars.

No Aerio or Geo Storms in my area either.

Literally no saabs for sale on my craigslist.

Crown Vics are pretty similar to old Buick sedans in my opinion.

Can't find one of those either user.

Sorry for the long post but just wanted to let everyone know I read all the replies and actually looked. I live in Kentucky in case anyone knows one of these cars for sale.

The Ford Falcon was only sold in Australia and New Zealand, none for Americunts

What do you think about this 2003 Acura RSX for $4,000?

cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/729419969/overview/

The big difference between a Crown Vic and a Buick is RWD vs FWD.
Crown Vics aren't fast, but they one of the better donut machines out there. You can't get up to that kind of trouble in a FWD Buick.

Just get a motorcycle if your budget is so low.

>Literally no saabs for sale on my craigslist.
sucks to suck

>BMW E30
>under $3k

LMAO

Find an E30 thats
>running
>not a convertible
>not a 325e/325es
>has a clean title
>5 speed manual

in the US. C'mon use search tempest you dumb cuck

Don't even get me started on 190e's lol

Motorcycle insurance would be way too fucking expensive for me apparently. I just filled out a survey quote from Progressive and it'd be about $3,000 a year.

I know nothing about Honda/Acura, can't help you sorry. Looks like a decent car though

Good luck finding a running 900 turbo for 3k that isn't a rustfest. Those fuckers are appreciating like crazy.

Yep but I think it's too cheap. $4,000 for that should've already been sold.

The RSX is basically a Civic Si where everything is just a little bit nicer. Comfier seats, better sound insulation, etc. They're actually pretty nice cars, nippy but smooth riding. There's a Type S hot version but you'd be hard pressed to find one that isn't a clapped out rice ball.

+1 to 90s Buick

in my area, there were so many out there with low mileage (grandparent owners). i bought a 93 for $800, 71k on the ODO. thing was a JET and comfy as HECK. literal couch as the back seat. if only the paint and mpg's weren't shit, and if only it didnt start having problems, I probably still would've had it. it was fun for me. i didn't race it or anything, but it was a cheap "point A to B" car.

Tahoe to off-road in..fun under 3k

>Suzuki Samurai
I know it's probably not what you're looking for, but the Samurai is a fun car in its own way. Good light off-roader with giggle-inducing ride.
They're not great as a daily street driver, though.

What do you guys think about this 2004 Kia Spectra for $2,000 cash?

forgot link

louisville.craigslist.org/ctd/d/2004-kia-optima-ex-va-quality/6522421774.html

Cheap honda's and plenty of VW's are fun as fuck. Consider Suicide Faggot.

Cheap Hondas burn more oil than gas. Also they're fwd which means no fun.

>T. benchracer.

KYS

Agreed. The fun thing about them is that they are slow, but handle well. You get to drive them flat out on the road and still obey the law.

Coming from a guy endorsing the 3k civic meme and the civic itself which is the most benchracer-ist car in existence.

You can have lots of fun with FWD. Yeah, your ass doesn't swing out, but so what.

Ford Festive.
Durable
Good handling when you change the tie rods and bearings that are inevitably going to be bad.

Can Drive them WOT on the interstate and not get a ticket

Can be had for sub 1000$ be prepared to change the bearings tie rod ends and the shocks. So all in after tune ups 3000$ including tax and registration+insurance.

It's better than just going around a corner somewhat quickly in a fwd. If you're going slow you might as well get a little playful.

there are fast FWD cars. Bench racers on this forum are diluting reality. really a 14 sec 1/4 car is plenty fast for every day driving. that was fast as fuck in the 90s. what makes a car fun is feel, predictability, throttle response, forgiveness, ability to ring out the engine. Bench racers on this forum seem to think a RWD car is automatically a driver car. That is total horseshit. pretty much any honda will be more fun than a shit ass RWD pick up truck. FWD is frowned upon for handling. You need to be driving fucking fast for FWD handling to be a problem.

T. Old fag that has actually owned many cars.

Miata was probably the funnest car ive had - a RWD car - but not that much more fun that my B5 passat or Honda. RWD cars ive had that were meh, Truck - Jeep - Fiero - pigfat stang.

You want a car you feel connected too, with an engine that begs to be revved up. German and Japs cars have this.

I said honda not civic. I have a Cylinder head sitting in my garage in the middle of a fucking rebuild- You fucking shit for brains juvenile faggot.

I bought 8 of em for 800$

The redeemer comes in times of need.(YOU)

Mazda rx 7-8 seem to be around the 3-4k range with there rotary still inside them where i live, and once it breaks you can put an ls in it for even more fun, beyond that your kinda limited for "fun cars" in the sense of speed & general not going to kill me in 30 seconds "reliability"

my 78 280z was $2500, rust free but had been sitting for a few years, spent like 600 more to get it running and that l28 lasted 6 more years of relentless abuse(street drifting and mad fucking skids cunt).

RWD is the most overrated aspect of a vehicle that's been created out of boyracer retards. Car enthusiasts are more concerned with the smallest details of a car than actually the cars themselves as a whole.

Car enthusiasm is a joke. The car world had to create a group of people don't know how cars work, don't know how to fix them, and can't form a decent understanding/opinions on cars...car enthusiasts.

I like RWD My Chevette was RWD it was easier to work on. also FWD is better in the snow since you can dig yourself out sometimes

>rwd
>small detail

I completely agree with your second statement but your getting way ahead of yourself. Drive train configuration is one of the most pivotal things when deciding if car x is good for activity y.

V6 mustangs and camaros from the 90s?

been helping look for cars under 3k for my little brother's broke ass friend for a while this is what I've come up with near me
>miata
>civic
>del sol
>gti
I'm trying to get him to go for the miata so I can fuck with it before I get one as a weekend car lol

search tempest got me a st165 celica with a st205 swap the first day i used it years ago. wasnt listed on my local on, it was the next city over.
second time i used it i got a corolla alltrac wagon.

just sold the celica and and getting a beams swapped mr2 this weekend.
search tempest is a cool guy.
all manuals by the way

A beautiful 3k Civic.

still have the corolla wagon, been 4 years ive had it too. only thing ive had to do was the valve cover gasket.
the mr2 is an aw11. wasnt very clear on that.

Yes. Look for deals.
This was 2500CAD

got a super gorgeous prelude for 2k. fully stock. 78k miles. now has 84k and its been 2 years.

im this guy btw.

cheap cars do indeed exist.

my last car i picked up was a nissian sentra coupe with rebuilt engine for 500. has headers too.

pic is of my prelude.

just saw one of these today.
he wouldnt really get on it. my 92 sentra was eating his ass the whole time down the towns absolute best road to race down.
he kind of got on it but did nothing to get away from me.

You can absolutely find one if you’re willing to travel and you keep an eye out, but not a lot of people can invest the time for that, which is why the e30 is usually more of a project car rather than a cheap DD or first car.

Drivetrain layout is NOT a small detail, user. It affects a lot of handling with a given car

Buicks are the best case scenario used car I say. Since they're usually owned by retired old people the motors and suspension are in mint shape since old people drive all slow and mellow-like

Are they as flippy as they made them out to be?

Don't buy a used Benz from a wigger or a spic! Buy one from a sensible adult. BIG difference. I underestimated the Volvo craze. they hovered around $1500-2000 used for the longest time in my area

BMWs don't hold up but I included them anyway because you said you wanted a fun

What's wrong with a non-///M E30? Did you expect OP to run across a fucking tricked out former DTM raced ///M3 for $3000 or less? Anything over a 318 is tolerable enough to drive, user

>Never peeling out from a 4-way stop
>Never breaking the rear end loose flooring it around a 90 degree turn
>Maintaining speed through a rotary/drifting
>Drifting up onramps
>Drifing down offramps
>Donuts without lunch trays under the rear tires

Get a miata you fucking retard. Why isn't it the first reply or even in the first 10 replies in this shit thread. Am I even in Veeky Forums any more?

>Mercedes reliability and parts cost
Definitely more than $3000 would be dumped into keeping one of those alive.

Try your hand at a 5th Gen Honda Prelude SH, much car for the price paid, majority manual, and good VEE-TAC feel with even better handling. I am always suprised how cheap a clean, stock SH goes near me.

If you need something more practical consider a turbo Volvo S70/V70 between 1998 and 2000, a T5 or R.

There is also "sleeper" sedans such as the late 90s Buick regal GS / Pontiac Grand Prix GTP, Ford Taurus SHO (the good looking one 90s, not the awful jellybean one), Saab 9-5 Aero, Infiniti G35, Acura TL, or Lexus LS400.

Any of these is arguably better than a bargain basement Civic, especially considering the much more soulless 7th gens are the only stock ones really left in some places.

>What's wrong with a non-///M E30

You have terrible reading comprehension. Where in my post did I say OP had to get an E30 M3? Where in my post did I mention 325i's/318i's?

325e/325es 325i Convertibles are absolute shit and those are the bottom of the barrel.

On the other hand regular 325i's or 318i's are perfectly fine.

You acted like convertible E30s, 325e/325es and such were just godawful, and from my observation those E30s you seemed to dislike make up about 1/2 to 2/3 of all the E30s I see in my area. Which begs the question, if they're THAT godawful why did people ever buy them? I don't know if you mean they're bad to drive or that they're not reliable to keep running you left that sort of vague, I surmised you were suggesting they were terrible to drive.

Oh right, you mean like how I spent $30 on 6 new Bosch copper plugs while my Honda driving pal dumped $1900 on a new clutch and slave cylinder on the 1997 Accord EX-L he bought for $1050, user?

Granted I've seen spics and Basketball-Americans that wind up with these pumping tank after tank of 87 regular gas into these and getting Jiffy Lube oil changes and whatnot and yes they can be catastrophically expensive if neglected by the PO but that's why you Caveat Emptor and have a used 190E looked over by a mechanic or someone also familiar with what to watch out for before you get one.

People bought them in the first place because they are faggot normies who think convertibles are cool. Now there are way more verts for sale because no one wants them and the non-verts get snatched up rapidly.

only if you let my suck your dick after it
on gunpoint of course

A motorcycle.

bro,
do you even drift?

Lift it and go camping on out in the sticks, great for listening to Fleetwood Mac- The Chain, everyone checkout the song!

geo metro.. 500-1500 all day.. wont die.. 5 spd cars get 40s mpg avg.. 10-15$ to fill.. cheap af insurance.. god tier idgaf shitbox mentality

By that logic, pic related is a Trans-Am champion.

Bro i got my 2001 for 2 grand. That air ride. That mini v8 power. Parts will never run out.

However nobody said miata...

90s miata and still have 1,000 for new coilovers