Comparable car to the E30

[eric (^__^)]

tell him to get a french car and then laugh at him when it dies

[LivingLegend06]

I recently made the move from E30 to FC. I would defiantly consider them comparable.

also:
ae86
240sx
foxbody
mk3 supra
944
miata

[Rocla]

IMaybe a Mercedes 190

That what I was thinking.

Playing with the idea to get 190 of my own..

[CreamE30]

Hmm, well, all of those are 30+ year old cars save the mercedes. Those will be a little hard to find around the area.

[funcrew]

I wish. I'd love to have a Japanese equivalent, about 10 years newer. But, if by "E30-like" you mean a 2700 pound, rear wheel drive 5-seater with a big trunk and cushy interior that handles like it's on rails, the choices come down to:
E30
Pre-68 Nova (sans the cushy interior)
Pre-67 Mustang (ditto)
Mid-60's Ford Falcon
Mid-60's Dodge Dart
Maybe a Mercedes 190, I'm not familiar with those.
Any others?

Of that lot, the E30 seems to be the clear winner for low price, cheap parts, and handling.

The Nova, Mustang etc. are friendly to low cost-per-horsepower crate engines, but it costs a fortune just to buy a shell to get started, and getting those chassis to corner well is certainly possible, but only with heroic chassis work - front subframe swaps, etc.

If I'm missing a good option, let me know - the maintenance on my E30 is killing me.

[cferb]

Yeah i don't think he'll be picking up an S2000 anytime soon. What about an rx7 FC? I remember hearing a figure about Rx-7s (not sure which one) that if something goes wrong in the engine its a 95% chance you are rebuilding the whole thing.

That's the 2nd gen. They are actually pretty reliable, the 95% chance thing is because of the apex seal, it's the main problem the engines have, hence the 100k mile rebuilds I mentioned. If you get one that's been recently rebuilt, which many have, you're good to go. If you drive it and it has no power, then it needs a new seal. It should be close to as fast as an m20b25 e30 but not quite.

[CreamE30]

^^ thats an interesting one. I was just trying to think of a decent american brand. Any comments on these? A GT turbo maybe?

[Jon325i]

3rd generation Mustang.

[CreamE30]

YOU MEAN LIKE THISSS???? http://www.uberrides.com/us/archives..._A.562x421.jpg

LOL sorry I typed it in google and that was the FIRST thing i saw so i had to. I have always liked them actually. They are boxy like the E30!

[aintnothang]

what about those 190e's?

[CreamE30]

Yeah i don't think he'll be picking up an S2000 anytime soon. What about an rx7 FC? I remember hearing a figure about Rx-7s (not sure which one) that if something goes wrong in the engine its a 95% chance you are rebuilding the whole thing.

[cferb]

S2000 is way better (but also way more expensive to insure) and last time I checked they were in the 15+ range still.

Yea, that's what I'm sayin, he mentioned his friend was thinking about an s2000. You can get them for 10k though, but that still isn't 3k

[Raxe]

AE86
240sx
Miata
RX7 FB
MK3 Supra

[aintnothang]

whats his price range?

[Jean]

Uhh, s2000 is not comparable...

+1 to everything, but I'd add Corrado to the list. 2nd gen RX-7s are cool, but the engines have to be rebuilt every 100k miles

S2000 is way better (but also way more expensive to insure) and last time I checked they were in the 15+ range still.