Reliable Daily Driver and Weekend Auto-X'er with 4 seats around $5k?

[sandiegan]

I'd rather poke myself in the ear with a pencil than autocross an X-Type.

[SSLByron]

test drove a Mini Cooper S convertible last weekend, and I didn't really like it at all. however I think something may have been wrong with it. the clutch was super heavy and it didn't really seem quick at all. full Throttle felt like half throttle in my stage 2 jetta. it was a 2005 with 77,000 miles. plus the interior had some pieces that felt a bit loose. not impressed at all

Centrifugal superchargers don't have that shove-in-the-back feeling you get from a turbocharger. It's a very linear delivery.

[rynodyno312]

Centrifugal superchargers don't have that shove-in-the-back feeling you get from a turbocharger. It's a very linear delivery.

Mini's used a positive-displacement supercharger, not a centrifugal unit.

[choochoo]

just thought of this option since i saw one outside my office: Jag X-type???

Interesting
After seeing an image of this:

the words "reliable" nor "autocross" would not enter my mind.....

[ABATurbo]

i did a quick search and it looks like $6k is really more the price point with minimal issues/abuse. still very good news indeed!

Where do you guys find this ****? Bugeyes around here are all in the 8-10K range and most have over 100K and ****ty modifications with no tune.

EDIT: There's even one with 236K and no maintenance records listed for $7900...
http://www.kowloonauto.com/detail.cf...X%20Sedan%204D

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/c...=8000&hasPic=1

[firstorbit84]

They are very difficult to come by and the one clean one I found at $6k had a big dent in the rear quarter, and it still had over 100k

How about 06 kia rio5?

[v8 killer]

mk3 vr6 and maybe even have money left over for suspension

[firstorbit84]

I know I'm moving up in price, but how about the early mk1 TT 225 quattro? These look to be going for about $7-$8k in decent condition with just over 100k, similar to prices and mileage of bug eye WRX's

[2.0_Mazda]

Mazda 3 with the 2.3 may be around that 5k mark. Drives really nice too.

[firstorbit84]

okay, still considering this move. my top choices are mini cooper S, SVT focus, and WRX... i still like the audi TT quattro as well, but i don't know if it will be reliable and cheap/easy to fix, although it is essentially a mk4 right?

....so at this point I'm leaning heavily towards the cooper S, but i haven't really driven the others. the stock handling is amazing on the mini and they have a bit better fuel economy than the other choices.

[Aw614]

I know I'm moving up in price, but how about the early mk1 TT 225 quattro? These look to be going for about $7-$8k in decent condition with just over 100k, similar to prices and mileage of bug eye WRX's

http://www.tamparacing.com/forums/vw...-10-500-a.html

race prepped tt?

[firstorbit84]

the race prepped TT is nice. it is a little outside my budget and it doesn't have 4 seats, but you may be on to something: if the end goal is to use it as a race car, why not buy something already race prepped? or at least with some mods towards that goal

[firstorbit84]

Did some more searching and it looks like there are modified Minis for sale privately with suspension and lsd, etc going for around $6k-$9k, while stock ones at dealers with similar age and mileage sell for $9k and up.

When I am ready I will probably go for a private sale that has most of the parts that I would've added anyway.

[firstorbit84]

anyone who's still interested: new idea: mk4 jetta tdi for daily driver duty and mr2 spyder for weekend/auto-cross??

it would delay my saving any money for a new car as both cars together would cost about the same as my 2.0T jetta now, except i might save a little on fuel with the TDI, but I think if my goal is to have a dedicated track car then an mr2 is a better platform than a mini or a focus could ever be.