Hey guys, I'm 25 and currently dailying an E90 320d, so I'm looking to get a separate car to start doing some practice drift days with. I've done a session with Learn2Drift before, got a full day session booked at Donington (thoroughly excited for this!) and I play a lot of Assetto Corsa, which a lot of people class as a "drift simulator". Haven't posted much here but I've been reading a bunch of threads but haven't found many recent ones on "budget" drift cars for getting into the hobby in 2016. I hope I'm not asking questions that have been covered too many times before. I saw some quality threads from like 2007 which recommend E30s, which I would love, but those seem to be going for about £2k now, which seems a bit high compared to what they used to be (they used to go for like £500? really?!). I'm thinking about getting an E36 or MX5 for around the £800-£1500 mark, but I'm just wondering if there are any cheaper options that I'm not aware of, or whether the prices for decent drift cars have just gone up recently? I spoke to Sky Insurance about it today and they mentioned that if you get "the cheapest car you can" then insurers won't look favorably on it, but I'm not sure how much weight that has really as I don't know what price range "cheapest car you can get" classes as and I haven't done any quotes for drift cars yet. Thanks for any advice you can give! Sean
E36, could easily get one for under 1k, then a few cheap mods and youre away. You can buy a fairly sorted compact (with engine swap, hydro etc etc) for around the 1500 mark. That would probably be enough for your first couple of years drifting. The problem with them is alot can be very ropey (just search bmw drift on ebay and you will see!) so maybe have it as a little project and pick up a standard one from some old dear. Thats what im currently looking for now (an e36, not an old dear!). I would say 323 as a start point (though feel free to go higher), but thats enough power. You can drift with less but i think you would end up quite quickly wanting more.
Thanks for the info! I would quite like to get a stock one and do a few of the mods myself as a learning experience. I definitely don't have the know how to do an engine swap like but I could manage the basics I think. So a well looked after one sounds good! Where are the best places to look? I've mainly been looking on eBay and auto trader. The cheapest seem to be on eBay but these still are all very close to the 1k mark even as just a starting bid. I guess the e36 forums might be worth a look? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I'll add that to my list. Quite a few molested examples on there like! Must be some gems pop up eventually though. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
V6 omega, cheap to insure , and you'd pick up a tidy one for around 500. Paid 375 so can't really go wrong Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
E36. Mines been super reliable, cheap and fun. Mines the 1.9 compact and to start off with its fine, stick a 2.5 in it and it's a weapon.
Audi A4 Quattro obviously lol Seriously though, might be worth thinking outside the box a little about the less obvious cars for a bargain... (Omega would probably fall under this, as would Carlton, but they seem to be going up in value at the mo!?) I picked up a fully sorted MSA spec 2.8 v6 Audi A4 track/rally car for a grand and have converted it to RWD... Whether it'll make a decent drift car is yet to be determined, but I'm sure I'll have fun finding out!!!
I do like the e36. Unabused versions of the e36 are a lot harder to find than the omega tho so I will definitely consider the omega. Would've never considered that before! Had a quick look for carltons and yeah they seem to be falling into the 'classic car' price territory. Good luck with the a4 build. Interested to see how that turns out Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Ditto this, got my mostly mint one for less than £500, easy to get the wheels spinning in 2nd but I'm a total novice!
But the problem is, theyre cheap but can you actually get parts for them? Suspension, arms, lock mods etc etc. By the time you have all that custom made for an omega (i dont think there are any off the shelf items and probably not a sea of people who have experience modding the knuckles or extending the arms) it will have cost more than a BMW anyway. And all to save 1-200 quid at the start. Just doesnt seem worth it in the long run.
I think personally I'd be willing to pay 2 or 3 hundred more for an e36 if I can find one partly because the parts are easier to find and I'm not really great at custom fab work and from what I've read it seems like a better all round build quality In terms of the suspension, engine and power steering, but that entirely depends on wether I can find one that's not been tampered with already which is proving difficult Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
is there a reason you dont want one thats drift ready? buying a clean, standard e36 isnt going to be cheap looking at some out there for sale at the moment......
Certainly seems that way Part of the reason is I wanted to fit the mods myself so i could get some experience working on the car, but also it kinda worries me buying drift ready cars as they've likely been already ragged to death. I guess buying one from the forum would be more reputable than on eBay though. I tend to skip past any adverts that mention 'drift/track' in the title or description.
But by starting with a blank canvas, that's gonna cost the same or more as a ready to skid one, you've then gotta shell out more of your earth pounds to buy parts. Unless you get lucky enough to find a bargain of course. Just remember though, you won't be the only one in the country looking for a cheap drift car.
Also, (shameless I know), my wife's learner mx5 is currently for sale on here. It's ready to use, it has a pretty much full mot and is bang in the middle of your price range. Just saying..... [emoji6] Mk1 mx5 drift ready MOT http://www.driftworks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=250584
That's true yeah. I'd consider them if there was one for a decent price. Say under 1.5k with the essentials done. Haha have you got a link? It's not shameless if it fits my needs... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Maybe another question to consider, how are you going to get to the track? When I want to start drifting about a year ago, I purchased old drift ready Lexus for about £500, but never had this on track, because I couldn’t drive on the road and all the transport was bit expensive. Than I had a different approach and got road legal MX5 with LSD, so I can drive it on the road and to the track and back home – but if you don’t have any extra transport, the MX5 is way too small for extra wheels and tyres. You pay for the car as much as you want and do your mods, seats, coilovers, whatever you want, but everyone around seems to be using car and don’t care about any scratches or bumps, so this is another thing to consider.
Good question. Was planning on getting insured so it's road legal. I recently found out you can get insured with hydro, welded diff etc. So I'm getting some sample quotes. That's a good point about the space for tyres. Would probably go for an e36 for this reason then, but really I was hoping you could buy part worn tyres fitted at most tracks. Not sure if the bodywork damage would affect road legality at all. Guess it mainly depends on circumstances. But it doesn't bother me too much from an aesthetic point of view. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
