Have you looked into an old Porsche? Depending on your preference in engine cooling and location, if you up your allowence some, you can grab up a wonderful car that was made for the sole purpose of driving pleasure.
Options include:
Early 911 (pre-78 911SC) - these can be found in good condition anywhere from $6,000 to $12,000 depending on the submodel (E, S, etc). I would avoid the 2.7L engines - they have problems I wont go into here - but the 2.4's are fun as hell. Maintenence is not a big deal on these cars - with the exception if the 2.7L engine, it is not uncommen to see, say a 3.0L SC engine with over 400,000 miles on it and no major work. The 911 is a love/hate relationship tho - you can do amazing things in the car with the rear mounted engine, but for a novice, trailing throttle oversteer can be a lesson learned by check. That said - there is nothing - absolutely NOTHING like the sound of a flat six behind you... for me, driving these cars is almost as good as sex... and she's pretty good.
924/944 - These, the normally aspirated versions of the four cylinder water pumpers are great cars. They are cheap to find - $2,000 for an early 924 to say $7-8,000 for a late 80's 944 S. They are perfectly balanced 50/50 (front engine, rear trans) and carry all the other P-car charectaristics - braking, "connected feeling" etc. The downside is the maintenence costs. These cars are expensive to maintain and have a few problem areas that need constant attention (timing/counter-balance belts) These cars are easy to drive fast with complete confidence by anyone.
Mid year 911's and late 951/952/944S2's - If you are looking to spend a tad more - you can look into a 78-83 911SC. These are the cars with the 3.0L engine that is generally refered to as "bulletproof" (see comment above regarding mileage). Figure on spending between $10,000 and $15,000 for one of these in good condition. An 84-89 911 Carrera is again, more expensive, but carries just as much fun in a slightly newer package with a DME controlled 3.2L engine. Figure on finding an example in good condition between $15,000 and $25,000 - model year 87 and after are desireable because of the G50 trans and command a higher price.
The 951/952/944S2's are the second to last incarnation of the 4 banger water pumper (968 being the last). The 951 (944 Turbo) was faster than the 911 of the same year, was actually priced higher, and is the best performance bang for your buck you can find today. It has the same perfect handling charectaristics as the 944, but on 12PSI of boost stock, the power is increased dramaticly. The 944S2 is the ultimate incarnation of the normally aspirated 944. The 16 valve engine is great for daily driving as the engine response is immediate - no turbo lag - and a flat tourque curve. The 952 (944 Turbo S) was only offered in 1988 under that name - but in 1989, the last year of the Turbo in the US (Europe had the car until 1991) the "standard" 944 Turbo was actually the same car as the 88 S model (this pissed off alot of S owners, but thats besides the point). Expect to pay between $5000 for a beat up example of an 86 (first year in US) 944 Turbo and up to $20,000 for an absoluetly mint, 10,000 mile 88 Turbo S. Realisticaly, you can find an excellent condition 87 or 88 Turbo for around $10,000 nowadays.
If this interests you at all, let me know if you need any help or have any questions - were always looking for converts.
Bottom line is that for what youre looking for, you cant do any better than this - plus, you get waves from the new 996 owners.
Try this link for a wealth of info:
http://www.rennlist.comJust click and drag down "Web Forums" from the upper right corner.
