Difficult to answer when you have no idea what the 2nd hand market's like in another country.

But heres a list from the UK Autotrader of LHD, RWD cars on sale over here http://search.autotrader.co.uk ... 36,N-24-240/search.action. (for some reason it's thrown a few SUV's in there, but the first page alone should get your eye's popping) You should look into seeing if it'll work out cheaper to take a l'ill holiday only to return with a l'ill pressie for youself rather than buy local.

[edit] seems the search function read RWD as the word RED, so that explains the fwd's and the 4x4's, also explains why all the cars are red....
Here's the page with LHD only, so you have to know your cars well to tell which are rwd. http://search.autotrader.co.uk ... 36,N-24-240/search.action

[edit 2] err hang on, don't think those above links are pulling up the right page...give me a sec...

[edit 3] nope, can't get Autotrader links to pull up the right page, but you can do a search yourself. Or you could have a look in Ebay at the LHD section here http://motors.shop.ebay.co.uk/ ... p;_odkw=&_osacat=9801 see if anything takes your fancy.

Might not be such a bad idea buying from another country, especially with the financial problems going on atm, and it seems Motor Dealers over here can't give away their stock right now.

Quote from Shotglass :

i just realized it even has a decent sized boot
http://commons.wikimedia.org/w ... a_mr2_sw20_trunk_rear.jpg

That is quite a capacious boot, I was expecting it to be much smaller.

Quote from BigPeBe :

I'm not sure what you mean with "double" spoiler, but an original 3dr RS Cosworth looks like this.

Maybe with double spoiler you mean the XR4i one?

Or the RS500 style, with the lower black spoiler.

Ah yes I meant those last 2; couldnt think of a better way to describe it.

Quote :

Well if you care about that, an 3dr Sierra has a HUGE boot. I know because I own one.
I remember last summer using the boot to carry an pneumatic compressor and other stuff what was needed with painting & preparing my car.
And we didn't even have to turn over the backseat.

As expected; it's basically a saloon with the back window set back a little, which is a bit too sensible for what I'm looking for in a car.

Quote from Mazz4200 :

Might not be such a bad idea buying from another country, especially with the financial problems going on atm, and it seems Motor Dealers over here can't give away their stock right now.

I'll take it into consideration although I rather would have preferd to get someone from DEKRA (the guys who do the MOTs in Germany) to take a look at it and use the opportunity to get a look at the cars belly myself which I suspect would be complicated when buying from somewhere else in Europe.

Quote from P5YcHoM4N :

That is quite a capacious boot, I was expecting it to be much smaller.

I always though the back was filled with engine and all you get as luggage capacity is this:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/w ... _mr2_sw20_trunk_front.jpg
which really isn't a whole lot

Quote from Shotglass :

I'll take it into consideration although I rather would have preferd to get someone from DEKRA (the guys who do the MOTs in Germany) to take a look at it and use the opportunity to get a look at the cars belly myself which I suspect would be complicated when buying from somewhere else in Europe.

Yeah, you're probably right. Peace of mind would be worth more than saving a few bucks in the long run.

The reason i posted the (non-working) link to the UK Autotrader site was, they had a handful of Lancia Delta Integrale's, all with reasonable mileage and all under 10k GBP. Nice, very very nice

The only other RWD car i can think of that hasn't been mentioned is the Lexus is200/300. Not a bad alternative to the usual 3 Series BM, but perhaps a bit...'grandad-ish' ?

Or if you fancy taking a bit of a left field punt you could go for something older, how about a 1980's or early 90's Merc SL. The 80's versions (especially) are seriously cool cars these days (despite the Bobby Ewing connotations) and they should be as reliable as most modern day cars....well, almost

Heres an example of something i've just found in the UK http://search.autotrader.co.uk ... ry=&largeId=785372427 (lets hope the link works) 1987 SL420 Leather/wood, electric everything, alloy wheels, removable hard top, full service history, vgc, only 87,000 miles on the clock, yours for only £6,000. Ok so it's rhd, but how ultra cool hip and trendy would you look in that thing

Insurance.

Service costs.

Fuel economy.

Handling.

Outright performance which 'could' be better.

Just some of the reasons not to buy a late 80's SL.

Quote from Mazz4200 :

The reason i posted the (non-working) link to the UK Autotrader site was, they had a handful of Lancia Delta Integrale's, all with reasonable mileage and all under 10k GBP. Nice, very very nice

As much as I adore that car both for its history and its styling (same goes for the similar looking old Quattro BTW) there probably is a very good reason why these haven't done all that many miles.

Quote :

The only other RWD car i can think of that hasn't been mentioned is the Lexus is200/300. Not a bad alternative to the usual 3 Series BM, but perhaps a bit...'grandad-ish' ?

If I was in the market for a 4 door saloon I'd most likely listen to my friend and get a 190 16v instead.
But the Lexus probably is a good very reliable car that as I mentioned earlier has the added bonus of making you feel like you're Alan Partridge; still no... just no.

Quote :

Or if you fancy taking a bit of a left field punt you could go for something older, how about a 1980's or early 90's Merc SL. The 80's versions (especially) are seriously cool cars these days (despite the Bobby Ewing connotations) and they should be as reliable as most modern day cars....well, almost

Like your thinking in terms of unusualness but it has the age problem, the (I'm guessing here) no cat problem and you'll likely have a hard time finding one with a proper gearbox.

Ever thought about a Mitsubishi FTO? Or even a GTO for that matter. The GTO is barking mad, with a new dump valve, induction kit and a sports exhaust. Bags of fun, and with them being Japanese, you can get some crazy kit for them both. Also, a Mazda RX7 with a big spoiler (the only way it keeps it's ass on the floor at speed) will also see you have some fun, and has space for shopping should you need it.

I used to have a Saab 9-5 Aero - that was stupidly fast, but front wheel drive. You'd have loads of fun modding in the engine bay, and turning it into a Porsche beater.

These days though, I need something a bit more sensible, but with enough poke to make me grin when needed. So now I drive an MG ZS 180. Sure, you can say that it's an old Rover chassis (which it is), but that's pretty much as far as it goes - the car is absolutely bags of fun to drive, has some nice kit and is cheap as hell to run and buy.

Quote from Shotglass :

I always though the back was filled with engine and all you get as luggage capacity is this:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/w ... _mr2_sw20_trunk_front.jpg
which really isn't a whole lot

Well that is the case on the newer MR2, you get a little gap between the seats and the firewall and that is pretty much it. I guess they were trying to be sensible with the older ones.

To throw a few wild cars in, for your price range you could get a Boxter or even go the TVR route.

Quote from Shotglass :

Ah yes I meant those last 2; couldnt think of a better way to describe it.

Yea, but remember that the XR4i and Cossie one are completely different cars. As stock XR4i has "only" ~150bhp on it's 2.8 V6 N/A engine. And actually there is even available XR4i models with 2.0 DOHC, they are just rubbish.
The Cossie instead has 2.0 16V Turbo engine, as stock it produces 204bhp.
RS500 on another hand then is a very rare version of the "average" Cossie.

Quote from Shotglass :

As expected; it's basically a saloon with the back window set back a little, which is a bit too sensible for what I'm looking for in a car.

Well I just wanted to mention that because you started with the "boot" thing. For me personally the boot definitely wasn't one of the reasons why I got myself a 3dr Sierra.
And to be honest I think that the Cossie looks much more aggressive than MR2.
But also there is as many tastes as there is humans, so you do as you please.

Quote from S14 DRIFT :

Insurance.

Service costs.

Fuel economy.

Handling.

Outright performance which 'could' be better.

Just some of the reasons not to buy a late 80's SL.

Cossies have a great handling, as a car buyer I don't care about those other things. Modern cars are boring.

What about a Subaru WRX STI? Here's a 2003 for $12,500 USD as I wasn't sure about the difference in price in Germany (You could always go with an earlier year).

Quote from dawguk :

Ever thought about a Mitsubishi FTO?

Apparently they were never built with the wheel on the right side... as in on the left.

Quote :

Or even a GTO for that matter. The GTO is barking mad, with a new dump valve, induction kit and a sports exhaust. Bags of fun, and with them being Japanese, you can get some crazy kit for them both.

And it's a binge drinking minger.

Quote :

Also, a Mazda RX7 with a big spoiler (the only way it keeps it's ass on the floor at speed) will also see you have some fun, and has space for shopping should you need it.

Nice idea let's put some dead weight and extra drag on the rear axle to make sure it never gets up to speed in the first place.

Quote :

These days though, I need something a bit more sensible, but with enough poke to make me grin when needed. So now I drive an MG ZS 180. Sure, you can say that it's an old Rover chassis (which it is), but that's pretty much as far as it goes - the car is absolutely bags of fun to drive, has some nice kit and is cheap as hell to run and buy.

How often do I have to say that I'm not reall interested in 4 door saloons?

Quote from P5YcHoM4N :

To throw a few wild cars in, for your price range you could get a Boxter or even go the TVR route.

By the looks of it the cheapest Boxsters and TVRs are at around 13k with the TVRs being very old in that price region, which is too much particularly for cars I don't fancy much.
Also the Boxster looks exactly like the kind of car my hairdresser wouldn't buy, mostly because he clearly chose the wrong job being hetero, married with children and into choppers with rear tyres wider than what you'd expect to find on a Ferrari.

Quote from Dennisjr13 :

What about a Subaru WRX STI? Here's a 2003 for $12,500 USD as I wasn't sure about the difference in price in Germany (You could always go with an earlier year).

Seemingly they do the usual thing which is erase the $ and put a € in its place. And isn't the Subaru mostly known for its understeer?

Quote from Shotglass :

Seemingly they do the usual thing which is erase the $ and put a € in its place. And isn't the Subaru mostly known for its understeer?

Here's a Top Gear review of the 2004 version.

They tend to understeer on dry pavement, but pretty much every car understeers nowadays due to "safety" reasons.

Something totally different, how about a Volvo 360 :P
+ Dirt cheap
+ 2 liter petrol engine
+ RWD
+ not too heavy

- old as a dinosaur
- looks like shit

My Mom had a 360 Redline(I think), it was great actually

Quote from kingfag :

looks like shit

You obviously realise the reason why I'm looking for a coupe or roadster is exactly because they don't.

Great advice guys! sent a link to this thread to a few friends...
Really made our day

now back on topic...from stuff that breakes down, is rare, iconic, supercar sporty and stuff like that to something closer to reality...


I have read your reply to my first post in this thread and want to point out

10k gets you a prime conditioned, stock example of a E36 325 coupe easily.

(You DO realise that no idiot (no matter how retarded) would buy and tune/rice/mod a estate E36 when it's possible to get a coupe... which is exactly the reason you should look for an estate)

Why would I want to buy an estate when I think the MR2 has a large enough boot and don't have kids either?

I see the logic but that doesn't answer the question which RWDs that won't make me want to kill myself, won't make me look like a hairdresser, won't make me look like a spanner, won't make me look like I have 20 kids and aren't something you trip over ever 10 meters on German roads I can choose from.

There''s a much simpler solution: don't buy BMW 3s or Golfs in Germany.

Is it that bad? Most trashed beemers over here are 316 models, because they can't afford a better one

How about a BMW 8 series For 10k you should be able to find an older one (+/- 1990) in a decent state. It's not exactly an MR2 in terms of handling though

Quote from kingfag :

Is it that bad? Most trashed beemers over here are 316 models, because they can't afford a better one

I'm probably exaggerating a bit but judging from a quick look at used cars online it's obvious that finding a good one is much more of a chore than I'd be willing to do for nothing more than a mundane 3-Series.

Quote :

How about a BMW 8 series For 10k you should be able to find an older one (+/- 1990) in a decent state. It's not exactly an MR2 in terms of handling though

For 10k I should be able to get one of the last SW20 MR2s (98-99) in very good nick; not that hard to choose between those 2 then.

Quote from speedway :

try searching for nissan 200sx instead of nissan silvia

Apart from the fact that one of these and many others you find that way are automatics that just made it difficult... thank you

Soo, what's teh color of the Punto you bought?

for you germans, go to
www.autoscout24.de
search voor Nissan --> 200 LOTS of them

in case anyone actually cares:

i bought a 92 mr2 turbo us version yesterday
the car spent all of its life in italy so its practically rust free engine runs just fine (bit of a binge drinker) only did 30k miles according to the dash and the cars condition matches the number
couldnt be happier so far

Hurrah!!!!

You'll enjoy it, I know it. Don't forget to play, to see what it does when it tries to surprise you

dont worry i will
ill have do the paperwork to register it in germany first though (still has italian paperwork)

its the second revision with wider rear tyres so it shouldnt bite too hard
the relatively new bridgestone potenza (yeah its a ridiculous name) tyres have quite a bit of grip so pushing it past its limits should be an interesting esperience

luckily except for the alarm and some mobile phone holder on the passenger side the car is completely unmodified (including the us radio which is useless as it only pics up fm frequencies with odd decimal places)