Looking for a rwd turbo Jap car.
Discussion
Hi,
I've always wanted a Skyline but after doing my research even if I could get the money to buy one I doubt I'd be able to afford to maintain one.
I've looked at 200sx/Silvias but with them being 90s cars and rare I have a feeling I'd have the same problem with one of them.
I'm willing to budge on the RWD aspect but I really want a Jap turbo car.
Budget around £5k hopefully with a grand spare in case it goes wrong.
It'll also be my daily driver so it needs to be fairly robust and reliable.
Can anyone recommend anything,
Imprezas an option but i dont know if my budget is enough for a well looked after one.
I've always wanted a Skyline but after doing my research even if I could get the money to buy one I doubt I'd be able to afford to maintain one.
I've looked at 200sx/Silvias but with them being 90s cars and rare I have a feeling I'd have the same problem with one of them.
I'm willing to budge on the RWD aspect but I really want a Jap turbo car.
Budget around £5k hopefully with a grand spare in case it goes wrong.
It'll also be my daily driver so it needs to be fairly robust and reliable.
Can anyone recommend anything,
Imprezas an option but i dont know if my budget is enough for a well looked after one.
i think you'd be lucky to get a 200sx for £5k unless you want a bit of a nail.
Impreza should be easily doable in that budget, they're not hugely desirable these days so prices have stayed fairly low, unlike evos, which all seem to be appreciating.
A turbo'd mk1 or mk2 mx5 might be a shout, and as long as the turbo conversion was done right, should be reliable.
Impreza should be easily doable in that budget, they're not hugely desirable these days so prices have stayed fairly low, unlike evos, which all seem to be appreciating.
A turbo'd mk1 or mk2 mx5 might be a shout, and as long as the turbo conversion was done right, should be reliable.
Thanks for the advice guys, I spoke to guys on an Impreza forum and they were saying that a decent one would be 5k and if they go wrong theyre mega expensive.
I kinda got the impression they may have been trolling me. How much should I budget for a well looked after one? Im not to fussed if its a bug eye one or the classic really.
I kinda got the impression they may have been trolling me. How much should I budget for a well looked after one? Im not to fussed if its a bug eye one or the classic really.
dazl1212 said:
Thanks for the advice guys, I spoke to guys on an Impreza forum and they were saying that a decent one would be 5k and if they go wrong theyre mega expensive.
I kinda got the impression they may have been trolling me. How much should I budget for a well looked after one? Im not to fussed if its a bug eye one or the classic really.
I think £5k should buy a tidy bugeye....tbh they aren't wrong, scoobys that break aren't known for being cheap.I kinda got the impression they may have been trolling me. How much should I budget for a well looked after one? Im not to fussed if its a bug eye one or the classic really.
I'm also in the same boat at the moment; unfortunately most of the 90s/2000s Japanese stuff is appreciating very quickly so £5k doesn't get very far now.
If it has to be a turbo, the only cars I can think of that fit the bill are (not all RWD):
- Mk1/Mk2 MX-5 with a turbo conversion
- Bugeye Impreza WRX, possibly a Hawkeye. STI will probably be well above £5k.
- Mk2 MR2 Turbo but whether you'd get a good one for £5k I'm not sure
- Mk1 Mazda 3 MPS?
There really isn't much choice; you need double the budget to get most interesting Japanese cars now
Skyline GTS-Ts are serious money and 200SXs are becoming much harder to find.
I've been looking for MR2s myself and finding a decent one is almost impossible.
If it has to be a turbo, the only cars I can think of that fit the bill are (not all RWD):
- Mk1/Mk2 MX-5 with a turbo conversion
- Bugeye Impreza WRX, possibly a Hawkeye. STI will probably be well above £5k.
- Mk2 MR2 Turbo but whether you'd get a good one for £5k I'm not sure
- Mk1 Mazda 3 MPS?
There really isn't much choice; you need double the budget to get most interesting Japanese cars now

I've been looking for MR2s myself and finding a decent one is almost impossible.
Neith said:
I'm also in the same boat at the moment; unfortunately most of the 90s/2000s Japanese stuff is appreciating very quickly so £5k doesn't get very far now.
If it has to be a turbo, the only cars I can think of that fit the bill are (not all RWD):
- Mk1/Mk2 MX-5 with a turbo conversion
- Bugeye Impreza WRX, possibly a Hawkeye. STI will probably be well above £5k.
- Mk2 MR2 Turbo but whether you'd get a good one for £5k I'm not sure
- Mk1 Mazda 3 MPS?
There really isn't much choice; you need double the budget to get most interesting Japanese cars now
Skyline GTS-Ts are serious money and 200SXs are becoming much harder to find.
I've been looking for MR2s myself and finding a decent one is almost impossible.
yeah none of the iconic jap stuff is cheap now.If it has to be a turbo, the only cars I can think of that fit the bill are (not all RWD):
- Mk1/Mk2 MX-5 with a turbo conversion
- Bugeye Impreza WRX, possibly a Hawkeye. STI will probably be well above £5k.
- Mk2 MR2 Turbo but whether you'd get a good one for £5k I'm not sure
- Mk1 Mazda 3 MPS?
There really isn't much choice; you need double the budget to get most interesting Japanese cars now

I've been looking for MR2s myself and finding a decent one is almost impossible.
I bought a mint Integra DC5 in January for £9k, and values of those are only going up.
I would suggest saving for a little longer and try to stretch to £7-8k, should open up options a fair bit.
I think you'd be almost better off looking newer.
For instance, look at 90s nissan 200sx, then look at the millennial 350z.
Look at celica gt4s and mr2s, then at later gen7 celica 190 and mk3s.
Ok, I know they may not have the character, but you'd be getting them on the way down the price curve, rather than paying a premium on the way up.
There's also the rx8, which probably won't be any more of a gamble than a 25 year old car, and whilst no turbo, they do cover the ground rapidly.
Big turbos seemed to go out of fashion post millennium - I blame variable valve timing and diesel.
For instance, look at 90s nissan 200sx, then look at the millennial 350z.
Look at celica gt4s and mr2s, then at later gen7 celica 190 and mk3s.
Ok, I know they may not have the character, but you'd be getting them on the way down the price curve, rather than paying a premium on the way up.
There's also the rx8, which probably won't be any more of a gamble than a 25 year old car, and whilst no turbo, they do cover the ground rapidly.
Big turbos seemed to go out of fashion post millennium - I blame variable valve timing and diesel.
You can get either a skyline or a 200SX within budget.
You simply have to look every day and move quickly.
I bought a mint original 200SX with one owner, FSH, 90k for £3500 18 months ago.
I've seen various RWD skylines on Ebay for sub £5k too.
A V6 MR2 or a supercharged MX5 are well worth a look IMO
I found imprezas boring as they are too competent but again easy to find well below your budget.
Ebay, AT, Gumtree - 100 mile radius - you could easily find one of the above within a month.
You simply have to look every day and move quickly.
I bought a mint original 200SX with one owner, FSH, 90k for £3500 18 months ago.
I've seen various RWD skylines on Ebay for sub £5k too.
A V6 MR2 or a supercharged MX5 are well worth a look IMO
I found imprezas boring as they are too competent but again easy to find well below your budget.
Ebay, AT, Gumtree - 100 mile radius - you could easily find one of the above within a month.
designforlife said:
there's a blue 200sx up on FB today for £3600, the only down sides is it's an auto and its done 245k miles...although it does look pretty immculate.
could be the cheap route in you are looking for.
That's a terrible suggestion.could be the cheap route in you are looking for.
Here's one I've found inside a minute:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2000-NISSAN-200SX-TOURIN...
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