I'm Looking For A Post-Graduation Project Car! What Should I Buy?

Mason just finished grad school and has a job lined up, but the start date isn't for a few months. He wants to get a cheap project car that he and his dad can tinker with. He has a $5,000 budget for something fun, reasonably reliable, and ideally with three pedals. What car should he buy?

(Welcome back to What Car Should You Buy? Where we give real people real advice about buying cars. Do you want us to help you find a car? Submit your story on our form.)

Here is the scenario:

I just finished Grad school before the summer and I have a few months (potentially longer) before I start my new full time job in Chicago. In the meantime, I'll be living with my parents in Cincinnati and am looking for a fun car to tinker on with my dad before I move to Chicago to start work.

I'm looking for something that is cheap (sub $5k) and fun to drive that I can wrench on a bit, while still being reliable to drive a handful of times a month to get groceries and make day trips. It doesn't have to be practical either. I dare say, I want it to be impractical since this will likely be my last truly "selfish" car until I hit a mid-life crisis. Ideally, it'll be a solid car as-is but there'll still be room for a few fun improvements I can upgrade with my dad. I'd like the car to be fun to drive, so stick-shift preferred, yet still reliable enough to last another 5+ years without substantial or expensive work (student loans still need to be paid). It'd be great if I could keep this as a second car once my needs outgrow it, but not a necessity.

Quick Facts:

Budget: $5,000

Location: Cincinnati, OH

Daily Driver: Yes

Wants: Fun, cheap, ideally manual

Doesn't want: Practical

Mason, congratulations on your graduation. Grad school is no joke, and while I have some good memories of that time, I don't wish to go back. An excellent way to celebrate and transition to your next stage is a project car. You mentioned getting a "selfish" car before you hit a mid-life crisis; I say why not get it out of your system while you can still enjoy it. And nothing says mid-life crisis car better than a Corvette.

This is a 1985 model with only 85,000 miles. It has an excellent 80's color combo of white exterior, red interior, and awesome stripes. There is a "four-on-the-floor," pop-up headlamps, and a retro-fantastic digital dashboard. While this car looks pretty mint, I imagine at this $5,000 price point it probably needs a little work. But you have an old-school GM V8 and a robust 'Vette community for parts and support. This car will provide many hours of fun and cruising with your pop.

Oh man, you and your dad are going to have such a good time with this project, Mason. I also promise I get the urge to find something super cheap that gives the two of you near-infinite opportunities to get your hands dirty. But I also want you and your dad to enjoy yourselves instead of getting overwhelmed by projects. Maybe it's worth spending a little more to get a car that looks like it's pretty well-sorted and then start improving things from there.

For example, here's an orange 1979 MG B listed not far from you with 48,000 miles on it for $5,995. I know that's a little more than you wanted to spend, but it appears to be an entire car that runs and drives. You could take your dad for a spin in it the day you pick it up, kicking the bonding off immediately. That doesn't mean there won't be anything for you to do to it, though. "Very minimal rust" still means some rust, especially in Ohio, and it's British. Even in great condition, something else is always going to break on you. That's the MG guarantee.

It's also small and light, which should make it easier to work on, and parts should be pretty cheap. I mean, it's an old MG. It won't be safe in a crash, but you're young and don't have kids yet. Who cares? Just don't crash with your dad in the car. Or at all. Actually, that would make a solid first project for the two of you — upgrade the brakes on your new-to-you, near-50-year-old MG B.

Hey Mason, I hope you enjoyed life before entering a full-time big-boy job, it's all downhill from here! I'm kidding (sort of). I found a little bundle of joy in your price range that will bring you lots of smiles and lots of opportunities to wrench and upgrade it to make it even spunkier: a six-speed manual Cool Blue Metallic 2006 Mini Cooper S Convertible! It's a bit far from you, but if your dad is willing to tinker with you then I'm sure he's willing to drive you out to retrieve this beauty. 

If you want something fun to drive, an R52 is what you want. Its supercharged four-cylinder sends 168 horsepower to the front wheels through a Getrag six-speed manual transmission, and it only weighs a little over 100 lbs more than a coupe at 2,848 lbs.

This example has about 138,000 miles, and looks surprisingly clean for the price it's listed at. These first-generation Minis are not known to be especially reliable, but the ad says it runs and drives, which is a good sign! I bet you could haggle the price down a bit given that it's being sold as-is, so you'd have enough cash leftover to get started with some performance modifications to really take the fun factor to the next level. I know this is going to be the car for you, so let me be the first to welcome you to the Mini Gang!