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I think the time has come to sell my Miata that I have been using for the past several years from E stock, SM2, and lately CSP. I recently moved to a major metropolitan area and I cannot stand the car anymore. I dont have any storage space for simple trips to the supermarket or out to dinner with friends. The car has been a blast but its too rough, loud, and small for my current needs. I do not want to hear anything about you can put alot of stuff in a Miata I know but it gets old after 4 years of stacking tires behind your head or moving them from your apartment to the street and back every time you need to use the car.

So the question is what can I get for 10K and under that meets the following loose criteria

Drivetrain: fwd, rwd, awd I dont have a strong preference they can all be fast if properly setup but rwd would be nice

Weight: under 3,000 pounds

Number of doors: either coupe or 4 door depending on size and weight

Power: My Miata had 100 whp and was alot of fun so 4,6,8 power isnt a huge consideration just looking for decent gearing and power to weight ratio.

I need something that will be competitve regionally have decent usuable everyday space and comfort. I want to stay out of prepared classes and stick to stock level prep. My list that I put together includes

E36 BMW 318 sport fo H stock, E36 BMW M3 B Stock, Acura Integra D Stock, Toyota Celica G Stock, Eagle Talon D Stock

Please help me out with any other suggestions. Also I must note that I can do my own maintinence to a point but I am not looking for a nightmare to keep on the road either.

Thanks,

Ryan

Well, the only car I've driven to an autocross that I've not needed more space is my 05 Camry. I would recommend that you get a trailer or a tiretail as a fix.

If you're looking to get a tiretail talk to  Sean of http://www.izoomgraphics.com as he has a Miata and uses his tiretail at local events. 

From your list and considering the criteria of being able to stay reliable and being easy to maintain, I would recommend the Celica or the Integra.

I personally would like to have a good Integra Type-R and run more competitively in DS.
 

I have a tire tail and used a tire trailer before I moved.

powersmx5:

I have a tire tail and used a tire trailer before I moved.

So basically I gather you're tired of using either and want to run a turnkey car on Street Tires? 

I would like a turn key car and still like to use race tires but the issue I had was storing the tires. I would like to leave the tires in the car or the back seat in the tire rack totes.

 

 

Well on either of the cars I recommended, you probably could do that. I'm getting a trailer so I can keep stuff completely out of the car. Right now, the good thing is that I've got the Camry so I keep all the stuff in my race car and leave it in the garage.

Can't really go wrong with a type-R...

 

Or a mini cooper.

 

 

I didn't think you could buy a type R for my price range?

You're going to have a hard time finding a lot of the cars you mentioned under 10K.  An E36 can't be had under 15K in any kind of shape.

Here are some additional HS cars that might work for you:

 Acura RSX, Honda Civic Si (previous model), Nissan 200SX SE-R

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Jeff Hurst, NYR SCCA

a 2004 mazda3i might be a decent HS car... the base model MSRP's at 14 or so, so should be down to under 10 by now.

root:

a 2004 mazda3i might be a decent HS car... the base model MSRP's at 14 or so, so should be down to under 10 by now.

The Kev Master agrees that from the list of cars mentioned only the Mazda 3i would probably be easily had for under 10k You don't want the Eagle Talon or a Mitsubishi Eclipse by any chance as they have horrible reliability.

jeffh:

Here are some additional HS cars that might work for you:

Honda Civic Si (previous model), Nissan 200SX SE-R

Or you could sneak in one of the above cars for under 10k 

Is an SVT Focus competitve regionally because it looks like a great all around car.

powersmx5:

Is an SVT Focus competitve regionally because it looks like a great all around car.

That depends on your local competition because it is in GS along with the new Civic Si and the almighty Cooper S.

An 02 WRX looks like a great car also. Every day space and awd for winter months. Does anyone have experience with a WRX as far as stock performance in D stock?

BMW 318i (E36 chassis)

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Matt Murray

I am perfectly capable of learning from my mistakes. I will surely learn a great deal today.

The RX-8 fits all your criteria except price.  Maybe a 1st gen Sentra SE-R.  The E36 M3 is no fun to drive without camber plates so no B stock.

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-2006 Lotus Elise- SS
-2000 Honda S2000- AS
-2009 Mini Cooper S- GS

The Kev Master:

root:

a 2004 mazda3i might be a decent HS car... the base model MSRP's at 14 or so, so should be down to under 10 by now.

The Kev Master agrees that from the list of cars mentioned only the Mazda 3i would probably be easily had for under 10k You don't want the Eagle Talon or a Mitsubishi Eclipse by any chance as they have horrible reliability.

Hmm I've had 3 Neons and 1 Eclipse,all with basically the same drivetrain and no significant problems from either.2 of the Neons have over 140,000 on the odometer and the Eclipse has 97,000.I've found them to be very durable.For the room I'd say pick a Mazda3 or Mini Cooper,both can be had for around $10,000.The Eclipse is not bad but the Neon has a ton more room with the same 2.0 driveline.

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Anthony Hodges
95 Neon DSP 72
Stokesdale,NC

Sentra SE-R SpecV.   Now that it's moved from DS to GS, it should be a competitive local/regional car.

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2007 Mazda MX-5 MRS (C-stock)