Right, I've been spending far too much time again in all the wrong places like ebay, mainly looking for a runabout. And this is where it's getting complicated.
Basically, I'm planning to do trackdays this year - the more the merrier - but not in either of my RX-7s (the convertible is far too nice and the FD is not exactly what you want as a novice, plus it'd cost a bomb if I crash it). Oh, and potentially some drifting. So I went out and bought an MX-5. Decent handling, not too much power and pretty much ideal for the trackday novice. Oh, and it's RWD as well. The main problem with it however is that it's useless as a runabout - driving to the airport with the suitcase balancing on the passenger seat is a tad, well, crap.
Sooo. The quandary. I have a shiteoldovlov that I don't like driving anyway, so I can replace that with something else that's eligible for classic inswearance. Problem with that idea is that it means I'd have four cars again with the associated overheads and maintenance (heck, even polishing) nightmares.
Alternatively, I've got a buyer for the MX-5, so I could sell the MX-5 and the ovloV, then go buy something that I can take on the track *and* that's big enough to stick a suitcase in the boot. Oh, and hopefully cheap enough that when I stick it in the tyrewall, it was cheap enough to hawk out the remains on ebay and not lose a packet.
Somehow the second option appeals more. Not because I don't like the MX5 but because I can't realistically look after the number of vehicles I've got a the moment, so reducing that by one or two would be nice. It would be a good thing if I was able to do most of the servicing myself but as the car most likely wouldn't seem massive miles, even that's a nice to have. Oh, and it would have to be RWD (not a big fan of FWD) or at a pinch, 4WD. Plus the handling should be up to the standard where it makes sense to take the car on the track.
So far I've discounted most of the Italians that came to mind immediately (sorry SteveH, I'm *not* getting another 75 or Alfetta), which seems to leave a choice of German metal or Japanese stuff.
Obviously an E30 318is would be a good choice (and just about within budget), but they're not easy to find. And E36 may have potential if I could find one with an LSD. Drifting just doesn't work without one.
As another alternative that would probably be unsuitable for a trackday novice though, I've also found a couple of very nice early Mitsubishi Evos (unmodified ones, that is) that are very tempting. Even though they're no use for drifting. Trouble is, with an Evo I'm getting close to "expensive to run and maintain" territory again.
Anybody got any other ideas? Car should be big enough to seat four adults, not completely silly insurance wise (which rules out Skylines and probably the Evo), have a boot big enough for two suitcases and shouldn't cost more than 3k...