Poll: What car, down under - $8-$15k and *interesting*

Hello!

A question/musing for expats living in Aus, if I may.
To avoid hijacking a similar thread, I'd love some input as I struggle for options.

I'm after something that meets these criteria - a cheapish daily drive, mainly for weekend stuff, maybe the odd road trip or run to work and back:

- Essentials
A bit (lot?) of petrolhead character
Remotely sensible with potholes (Sydney is awful)
Specialist parts and labour that are cheaper than my current Alfa 916 GTV (!)
Most (all) depreciation done and dusted

- Would be nice
Ticks one of the major petrolhead boxes (turbo, wafty barge, V8, manual gearbox, something without a roof)
A bit of space (maybe pop some camping gear in the back from time to time)

• maybe*, and this is a stretch, something that wouldn't get ruined by a trip to the beach or down a gravel road once in a while. Not "fragile"

Basically interesting petrolhead stuff.

This'd be an easy call in the UK with a load of decent metal for 1-5 large, but the usual suspects here seem entirely absent. No kids or anything like that to think about, and don't do heaps of mileage so fuel not a worry.

I've found myself looking at the following:
- LS400. I had a Soarer and while the rest of it was a pup, I loved the engine. A bit sedate, dodgy air suspension and complex electrics?
- Old mercs. W124s (300te), W123s (280e), W126s (420se, 500se). Lovely in character terms, age well I reckon - but I guess most of them are heaps?
- Some very tasty looking Mk3 Jags/Daimlers around from time to time. Maybe even an XJ40. Age badly?
- R33 GTST Skylines seem to be about the only things that are kind of decent value here. Would definitely scratch a decent automotive itch but seem to attract the sort of people that aren't great to deal with (and nearly all are horribly "tuned" in a way that would make me worry with a hot summer around the corner)
- Occasionally see nice E28 and E34 535s pop up, but they are sometimes $$ for what they are (especially the former)
- Bugeye Impreza wagons, or maybe a Forester GT? Loads of them around.
- err.. MX5..? I guess a roadster might not be as great as it seems if a decent summer materialises?!

Erring towards V8 Commodores (VX's) as things stand - seem like a good way of getting a little (V8) character in a way that is compatible with local conditions, and simple ish to fix if something does go wrong (?). Which ones are decent?

Aware it's a very rough and ready thing, and sounds a bit moon-on-a-stick, but convinced this must be a common situation to find yourself in as a recent (ish) expat, and very interested in the way others have solved a similar predicament?

What have you got? Any good experiences? Terrible? Something obvious I've missed?
Any inspiration greatly appreciated

Superb

Exactly the sort of irresponsible input I was after particularly like the merc, had looked at those but thought it was only coupes in my price range. Not so it seems..

In a very similar position to you, and I went for an MX5 with hardtop. It's been perfect for weekend fun, tootling around Sydney and also runs to Canberra and Newcastle. Selling now as I need something with rear seats - it's in your budget....

Of your list, I'm tempted by the older BMW as the few I've seen, whilst pricy, have been subject to some form of major overhaul and I'm a manual-only sort of person. If I could accept an auto, Merc W123/4 coupe would be top of the list.

Happy hunting!

Rare Jap car?

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/mitsubi...

Best car name ever?

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/purvis-...

Bogan charm?

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/holden-...

Sensible-ish

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/ford-fa...

I still kinda miss mine

http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/details/audi-s3-...

Oooh that was mine...yeah I heavily compromised power and cash in view of heavy expenditure in the move and not wanting to get finance. It's worked out ok...but I do miss having the power in the car....an induction kit on the MX-5 atleast fools me into thinking I am howling along...especially with all the tunnels around the Eastern Subs...

I'll upgrade at some point but I have found other things to spend my cash on that are fun.

I'd be thinking Jag, but not of the crusty persuasion. Thinking later than XJ40, so my money would be on something like:

S-Type v8 - Not my favorite Jag but given the year and KMs this looks like a bit of a bargain:

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/jaguar-...

Or tons of X300s around at that sort of money and a lot less grief than the x308, such as:

http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/details/jaguar-x...

Whafty luxury for not much $..

Spend $18k and get a Falcon BF Mk2 XR6 Turbo with the 6 speed ZF transmission.
Can't be beat!

I bought this

cost me $14k all up - of course I had to do all the leg work myself

sorry forgot to include a few bits so after some quick maths it came in at a shade under $15k but still within budget.







arrives on Monday!

Yep - awesome idea on paper (I remember PPC mag doing one ages ago), but somehow the ad didn't make me want to go and view. I think it was the "slamm'd" stance and polished wheels, and there was a bit of wire hanging out of the steering column in a pic. Not logical, but at that price you want it to be just so

I'm currently thinking VY SV8 Commodore is a good shout (flavour of the month no doubt..). Good mix of abilities, and ticks a big "peak oil may be around the corner" box with the LS1 (while the SV8 avoids the cheap gaudy Halfords elements of an SS, and possible tough life that would come with it).

Hmmmm

Dont bank on peak-oil just yet - I've read a few articles recently which say that by 2035, Iraq could be worlds second biggest oil producer and they have rather a lot of the black stuff. That, coupled with American and Chinese shale product could put off peak-oil (again) for a long time.

Remind me... why did the Americans invade Iraq?