$20K question

[TigerNSX]

Hello,

I am trying to help out my co-worker. He is currently in the market for a used sports car that he can use everyday all year long (North East region). He is mainly interested in using the car for everyday-sprited driving as well as some track events, and does not want to spend more than $20k. His other car is an SUV.

He is specifically looking at

89-91 E30 M3 ($20k< gets you one in mint condition)

96-98 E36 M3 ($20k< gets you one in above average to high milege, probably over 80k miles)

97-98 Porsche Boxster ($20k< gets you one in average milege, probably over 50k miles )

00-01 Honda S2000 ($20k< gets you one in low milege, probably over 40k miles)

00 Audi S4 ($20k< gets you one in above average milege, probably over 60k miles)

He has driven all of them, and obviously liked all of them. He is only planning to do suspension mod at most, and plan to minimize the maintenance cost.

Since posting this question to other forums may induce certain biases, I thought that the NSXprime may be a perfect forum to get variety of answers.

Any suggestions, comments, or help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[nsxtasy]

I would not get the S2000 or the Boxster. There are too many groups holding track events that do not allow open-roof cars to participate.

The cars you mentioned are okay, particularly the E36 (not E35) M3.

Another good choice is a 2000-2001 Integra Type R, although many of them have been overmodded, overdriven, and overbeaten on by their notably young demographic owner base.

One other choice worth considering is that you can get a NEW Dodge SRT-4 for around that price. It's a lot of car for the money, has a warranty, and is up to the challenges of track driving.

 

[JAM]

I own a performance import dealership in NY and we sell many Audi and Porsche cars... I have sold many of my friends the Audi S4. They are great cars to drive year round (AWD), fast out of the box, nice handling and brakes, reliable, and very easy to mod ... plus I like that they retain a classy look and aren't boy racer. Just my opinion!

 

[hlweyl]

I would not get the S2000 or the Boxster. There are too many groups holding track events that do not allow open-roof cars to participate.

I drove both the S2000 and the Boxster and I would vote S2000. The Audi or the M3 just don't float my boat.

You can buy a factory hardtop for the S2000 but I'm not sure if this would allow for your friend to participate in track events. It might depend how strick the particular track officials are.

 

[RP-Motorsports]

I sorta agree with Ken. The S2k is over rated on the track. And being a 2 seater like the Porsche, limits its everyday use, not to mention the convertible drawback. The E36 is a great reliable track rat. The Audi S4(I had one) is classy, and sorta fast (heavy), but NOT as reliable as other choices. Parts are expensive, and aftermarket is weak. The Integra (also had one) is an excellent track car if he is a beginner, the GSR will also suffice. Parts are cheap, and plentiful. Believe it or not, 2 other imports that are quite fast (as far as laptimes go) are the Mini S and the MRS. Others would be the Nissan SER Spec-V, WRX, and SRT-4. My overall winner for street/track duty would be the E36 M3, followed by a Type-R.

 

[CokerRat]

Isn't the first question whether he wants a ragtop or not?! Any of those cars are fine for spirited driving but they go about it in totally different ways. Figure that out, then subdivide from there.

 

[The General]

I would go with the e30 m3 hands down. They are fantastic cars, on par with the nsx when it comes to handling and driving experience. They are not excessively powerful, but will outhandle every other car on that list. With 4 seats, they are far more practical than an s2k or a boxter. 20k will get you a pristine one as well.

 

[NSXDreamer2]

Tiger, since your friend is kind of like me, (the guy who doesn't want to spend too much money, and wanted to get a car that is track-able)

89-91 E30 M3 ($20k< gets you one in mint condition), no matter how mint the BMW is, you might have to be really really careful on it, especially some parts that's going to break, either by the aging of the parts, or the wear and tear of the mechanical parts...

96-98 E36 M3 ... Same thing but obviously better than the E30. Since I had never driven the E30 but I heard a lot of BMW owners saying that the E30 had better handling than the E36, but the E36 had faster speed on track. Now the 321hp Euro motor would be a different story, but I doubt you can locate one with less than 30k...

97-98 Porsche Boxster ....20k have a 6 yrs. Porsche??? based on the jounalist's, with the little hp the car is a little sloppy on track. Maybe no so great with the NE weather.

00-01 Honda S2000 ... Except the point that naxtasy mentioned, the car may not be the fastest one on track, but it's a very satisfying ride.. but it's really not going to be a fun ride in the Northeast in Winter??

00 Audi S4 ... HA, the only one that would still be fun but not thrilling in rain... (A lot of fun in snow... Don't ask me why ) On the track, the car needs serious suspension tuning and bigger, more reliable brakes...
(T-Bell, as far as I know, the S4 is an very easy Mod-happy car, and parts are not that expensive compared to our nsx... contact www.achtuning.com for details.)

I don't have a lot of track experience even on my own car, so if anyone has track experience with these cars, please correct me if I'm wrong...

 

[tucsonsx]

I've got to agree with the General that the E30 M3s, especially the ones near the end of the production run with more horsepower, are a blast to drive. Those cars just feel right much like an NSX or a S2000. The E36 cars and for whatever reason the Boxster, despite being midengined, don't have that same go kart feel. The M3 also strikes me as more livable for a street car than the S2000 in that you don't have to be at 6000 rpm to have power on tap.

 

[Joel]

I second the Honda s2k vote. Out of all those, that's the one I'd pick.

I've come to realize that I appreciate Honda reliability more and more lately...don't ask how I came to that realization!

 

[tucsonsx]

I second the honda S2K vote. Out of all those, that's the one I'd pick. I've come to realize that I appreciate Honda reliability more and more lately...don't ask how I came to that realization!

Not leaking is really nice too - What was I thinking - Get the S2000!!!

 

[TigerNSX]

Thank you so much for the replies and time, guys.
I have already informed my colleague about this post!