'Ring Weapon of Choice?

[Berkut]

The E36 M3 is quite the weapon of choice for RWD, but can bite if you're not careful. Doesn't really fit the other specs though.

You might consider the small french hatchbacks like the 106 GTI or the 306 GTI6, 205 GTI if you're going to get something older, only a couple in the US as far as I know, so value would go high up there.

Citroen Saxo is the same as the 106 but usually cheaper, but both have been a bit done do death by ricers so they have a reputation in most places. You can try a Citroen Xsara xsi which is almost the same as the 306 but much cheaper.

Maybe a Renault 5 if you fancy going old, the GT Turbo is getting rare, but Turbo cars usually don't fare very well on the ring.
A Williams is a good car as well, but they might start to be more expensive than what you're willing to spend, but on the other hand the 182/187/... Clios are getting cheaper and they have amazing chassis, but maybe too recent?

Going to Italy you can get stuff from Fiat Uno turbos or Autobianchi Abarth's if that's up your alley or something like a Fiat Barchetta as a convertible or the Coupe 20V Turbo, no idea if they sold in the us. They don't handle that good though.
An Alfa Romeo is a good shout but you got most of them in the US I reckon.

Go on www.mobile.de or http://www.autoscout24.de/, get your details in and good fun searching.

[MikeLenoch5]

The E36 M3 is quite the weapon of choice for RWD, but can bite if you're not careful. Doesn't really fit the other specs though.

You might consider the small french hatchbacks like the 106 GTI or the 306 GTI6, 205 GTI if you're going to get something older, only a couple in the US as far as I know, so value would go high up there.

Citroen Saxo is the same as the 106 but usually cheaper, but both have been a bit done do death by ricers so they have a reputation in most places. You can try a Citroen Xsara xsi which is almost the same as the 306 but much cheaper.

Maybe a Renault 5 if you fancy going old, the GT Turbo is getting rare, but Turbo cars usually don't fare very well on the ring.
A Williams is a good car as well, but they might start to be more expensive than what you're willing to spend, but on the other hand the 182/187/... Clios are getting cheaper and they have amazing chassis, but maybe too recent?

Going to Italy you can get stuff from Fiat Uno turbos or Autobianchi Abarth's if that's up your alley or something like a Fiat Barchetta as a convertible or the Coupe 20V Turbo, no idea if they sold in the us. They don't handle that good though.
An Alfa Romeo is a good shout but you got most of them in the US I reckon.

Go on www.mobile.de or http://www.autoscout24.de/, get your details in and good fun searching.

Just found what seems to be an ideal car: the Ford Escort RS Turbo. http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...tchlink:top:de

The issue will be hunting down a better one than this.

About an eight-second hike to 60, but a fast car on the Ring [for a pure newbie] won't be the safest thing. It also weighs a little more than 2,300lbs.! http://www.carfolio.com/specificatio...7#a_dimensions

But hearing what you say about turbo cars, I'll continue to search for those NA hatches you mentioned. I fell in love with the Escort the second I saw it, but I can't get hung up on one car here!

Thanks for your insight -- and yeah, I think I'll end up going with a car 25 years or older due to how [relatively] easily they can be imported.

I also use Mobile.de, but eBay is more user-friendly. I'll try out AutoScout too!

[Berkut]

I've never driven an Escort Turbo RS, but I've had the displeasure of having a normal one of that generation for a week, and they handle so bad it's unreal. Do drive before buying :)

Have a look in a Lancia Thema Turbo as well, it's got the same engine as the Delta but much cheaper. Still unreliable but it's really good fun.

Regarding turbo cars and the ring, it's got steep climbs that are full throttle, so although there are a lot of turbo cars going round, watch those temps as I've seen them go bang, especially if you plan on engine tuning later on.

[Tisoc]

190e 2.3/2.5-16.

[MikeLenoch5]

190e 2.3/2.5-16.

Almost bought one here in the states. I'll have a look to see how their prices are in Germany. They should be lower given [I believe] there were more released there.

[2mAn]

Rallye Golf, they are just turning 25 now

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Volkswagen-Golf-G60-Rallye-Original-/350802114738?pt=Automobile&hash=item51ad6f78b2

[evandael]

I vote for some Peugeot hot-hatch, followed closely by a TVR.

[flyboyx]

Rallye Golf, they are just turning 25 now

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Volkswagen-Go...item51ad6f78b2

huh....that thing has boxed fender flares.

[2mAn]

huh....that thing has boxed fender flares.

yup, also has AWD, supercharged motor. easily modified to 200bhp, but the G-Lader charger is an old design and people either yank the supercharger for a Lysholm charger or turbo. or even a 16vT, 20vT. things can get really interesting...

[MikeLenoch5]

yup, also has AWD, supercharged motor. easily modified to 200bhp, but the G-Lader charger is an old design and people either yank the supercharger for a Lysholm charger or turbo. or even a 16vT, 20vT. things can get really interesting...

As many BJs as I'd get in the parking lot of any VW meet, I want some money left over so I can spend it on upgrades, maintenance, repairs, etc.

[Raxe]

E30

yep

[Wh33lhop]

Maybe a 323i with a dogleg or something cool.

[2mAn]

As many BJs as I'd get in the parking lot of any VW meet, I want some money left over so I can spend it on upgrades, maintenance, repairs, etc.

that particular Rallye has been for sale since I got back from Germany 3 months ago. Im sure you can get it for a lot less. Enough to ditch those gawd awful wheels. the 8v motor are very easy to maintain. Its the supercharger thats the bitch.

[obrian]

Three door Ford Sierra cosworth, rear wheel drive,cosworth built 2.0 turbo. Banned from touring car series, couldn't be beat. Kinda cheap, maybee.

[Eric]

I have a little bit of experience with cars for the ring, so here is my 2¢.



You have some good goals, but I think it will be hard to find a good car that is over 25 years old, is fun on the ring and is under your budget. 7,000€ can get you a decent car, but unfortunate for your first post, I'm going to suggest a BMW. E36 m3 would get my vote as it has the power to climb the hills out of corners, but it's not 911 GT3 fast (still fast enough to wreck hard if your an idiot). Won't work for your importing idea, but it is the best smiles-for-miles car you can get with your budget.

Here is a nice E36 M3, with cool interior, and will leave some change in your pocket to get it up to snuff.

http://suchen.mobile.de/auto-inserat/bmw-m3-3-0-coupe-18-zoll-service-neu-top-obrigheim/180212920.html?lang=en&pageNumber=1&__lp=2&scopeId=C&sortOption.sortBy=searchNetGrossPrice&makeModelVariant1.makeId=3500&makeModelVariant1.modelId=45&makeModelVariant1.searchInFreetext=false&makeModelVariant2.searchInFreetext=false&makeModelVariant3.searchInFreetext=false&maxPrice=7001&damageUnrepaired=ALSO_DAMAGE_UNREPAIRED&export=ALSO_EXPORT

A few years ago when the english economy was booming, a company up near the ring was offering to build a turn key ring toy for 5,000€. They tried to use E30 318is as the base, but also used 325's. This included a nice rust free chassis, good suspension, cage, safety equipment and fire suppression. You could pretty much drive it on the street (would be a terrible ride, but legal) and enter it in VLN races on the weekend. This was 5 years ago so i'm not sure if prices have increased or not.

For the over 25 year old segment, I'd suggest a MtechII 325 with nice cloth interior. I bought one for 1,500€ and sold it almost a year later for more and did nothing to it. They are still out there for deals, but you have to be patient and I'd suggest looking now for your future purchase. Both autoscout and mobile.de can be converted to english, and google translate can do the rest.

Good luck man, I hope you get a good experience on the ring, but I'd caution that "every weekend" might be a bit optimistic. each lap is $34 now, a tank of gas is about $100 (6 laps a tank) and the drive from frankfurt to the ring is more than an hour. In the winter the ring is often closed due to weather, and the weekends that are nice are busy. The weekends that have back to back public days are packed with out of towners.



So. With all that said, what would I do if I was only going to be there for a year? I'd buy an E36 M3, either german, or an english one as they are consistently cheaper for no more than 5k. I'd buy a year pass, and save the rest for fuel. You break even at about 75 laps when buying a year pass; if nothing breaks, 20 laps in a weekend is doable but absolutely exhausting. If your arriving in a normal school schedule, then obviously buying a year pass for the last 3-4 months of the year would be idiotic.