What is a good, fast, and reliable used project car I could drive daily yet easily upgrade?

Question

Ever since I was young I've wanted a fast car. Me and my dad talked about working on something together when I was a little bit older. This spring I'll be living at home and commuting to work about 20 minutes away probably every day. I was just wondering what make/model/mileage cars I should be looking for anywhere in the 3-9k range that would be reliable enough to take to work, but something I could easily find parts for and cheaply upgrade. Also, it will have to be decently safe with airbags and have reasonable insurance. The cars I've looked at so far were: some old 944 porches, Nissan 240sx and 300zx, Mazda rx7, some high milage M series BMWs, Acura rsx, Preludes, and a couple supercharged Buicks. Any info/past experiences with these cars or any other cars you think would suit me well would greatly help me in my search. Thanks.

Answer 1

go with a 1955 -1973 American small or mid size car..
ford, Chevy or dodge..after 73 things went very wrong

Answer 2

I wouldn't mess with BMW's or Porsche as they are extremely expensive to modify. The Honda Civic is the king as far as reliable and moddable, but it's also been done 1892356719564 times. A close second would be an Accord.

The late 90's supercharged GM's can be fun because it doesn't take a lot to make them fast and it's still somewhat unexpected. They're also pretty reliable until you start getting crazy.

Any Mustang, Camaro, or Firebird as long as it starts with a V8 of some sort. The V6's in those cars are pitiful.

RSX is probably out of your price range and not particularly quick for what you would pay.

The Nissans could be interesting but usually require the engine to be swapped to get any real performance. They are RWD though.

'04+ Hyundai Tiburon is actually a pretty nice car to mod but the seats will hurt your back unless you swap them out or like ridiculously hard seats. This will likely be the newest car you can get and tune for under 9k.

It's getting harder and harder to modify newer cars as most of the companies that create the parts are/were based in Kalifornia and their local business is having hell keeping up with all the anti-street racing laws they pass out there.

Answer 3

I am looking for a car in a similar class to you. I personally intend to go with an A4 or A6 V6 or an S4/S6 if you can find one though it'd be a bit rough. They aren't extremely fast by any means, but they are still quite quick and have the luxurious aspect to them that all those other cars lack and there is no way that you could afford the insurance on those cars if you have a 10k limit. Your insurance will be at around 200 if you get a V8. With that, I am assuming you are quite young if you're still in school because my insurance on my I4 ZX2 is over 100 for full coverage. However, the turbocharged V6 would likely be less; though it'd still be high. I'm not sure if it's an option for you, but I intend to get an S4 and the insurance, if under my name, would likely be quite high so we're going to put the insurance under my dad's name and have mine be on our Explorer.

Answer 4

1st you should know that I'm a mom(but a good one)
I'm 45 yrs. old and have a 19 yr.(last of three)
we just went though this except he lives 12 hrs. away from me
he has a1962 ford galaxie 500(12,500 into it already) for weekends only.
he had a 1997 chevy caviler,1998 BMW,1997 honda crx(with some kind of japanese high preformance engine) and now he has another honda 1988 crx(beatiful car show quality)
this is a good lesson for you and your parents(it was for all of us)Go out and put your money into a Good reliable car for work(#1 priority) dosen't matter if you like the way it looks ask your parents advice on this one
(#2priority) Go spend a little money on a good but junkie type hot rod and work on it as A PROJECT not a means of getting around to your everyday needs....and I just wanted you to know BMW's slide out easily in the rain and if you can afford a porshe more power to you go for it!!

Answer 5

Hondas, Nissans, and Toyotas are unrivaled by American or Euro companies for reliability. Repair parts are readily available and only slightly more expensive than those for American cars. I've owned 3 Nissan Maximas, and they were the 3 most reliable vehicles I've ever owned. They provided plenty of power, comfort, and were better on gas than most other 6-cylinders.

Answer 6

Stay away from European cars. You'll be paying the amount you spend to buy the car every six months to a year (from experience).

If you find a 240sx, *get it*. Otherwise, with Honda vehicles you can't go wrong. Parts are exceptionally cheap and can be found everywhere. Insurance is low and reliability is high.

Answer 7

if you actually get to looking around you,ll find more that you actually know to choose from,there's so many of them on the market right now,any older model Chevy would be a good one to work with ,because of the availability of parts for them,that's why Chevy's are so popular right now,all the parts from a new can be fitted to one 25 years old ,or older, but id try and stay with some kind of a Chevy ,that way you could always find a custom part for it if you needed it,good luck with it,i hope you find a good one.

Answer 8

If you want a REALY cheap car, i suggest a GEO car. Yea they are small and cheap. But they can be pretty fast and very easy to update. They do have airbags though. Only problem is that youll look stupid driving an unmarked type of car. Good luck

Answer 9

Fast, reliable, project - these terms just don't go together. The more modification you do, the more stressed the engine becomes, therefore the more unreliable it becomes. Expect this. Project cars should always be a second vehicle - they spend too much time off the road to be practical for regular transport.

Answer 10

what about a 69 dodge charger 440 hemi.if you find 1,get a buick grand national.