Same old question, hopefully asked in a different way

[JerseyGuy]

Hey ladies & gents,


Matt from the east coast US here, and like everybody i saw too many videos on the internet and think drifting looks like a lot of fun now. But before i get into anything, this is a "what car is best question" Where i differ, at least slightly I hope, are my motives and how this version of the Q is built to reflect my specific wants & needs. The only disclaimer is: "as much/close as is possible" for most of the things said in this thread.

I'll jump right in, I don't want a good car- I want something dirt-cheap that i can learn to drive in. I don't even want a project or to modify the thing, I'd like to buy something road ready. My only concern is having fun & enjoying myself as much as possible and learning/getting better. My only want/need is that the car is able to drift and is cheap as dirt, while repairs are cheaper than dirt, because I anticipate bouncing it off of many things. I don't want to care about it or worry about it. I want to learn how to drive a car in general. (while being as uninhibited as possible.)

I've combed forums on this numerous times already and have seen a bunch of the routine questions the more experienced guys ask the newbie, so I'll take care of which ones I can recall. (I'm sure the answers will differ because people always go for the "best car they can afford" right off the bat, whereas I'm after the best option for Me specifically.)

What's my idea of "dirt cheap" for a CAR: under a thousand bucks, (if possible) but not more than 2 grand US.
What's more important, low purchase price or lower cost to repair: I'd rather pay more for up front for a car that costs less to repair.
Not carbureted
Maximum budget: $2,200. US
Region: New Jersey USA (North Jersey)
Age: 28
Driving experience: Jeep since license.
Knowledge & experience: Zero.
Luxuries I know are wasted breath: slightly cool looking car, not a volvo.

So that's about it. thanks in advance to everyone who replies & I look forward to telling you all about my horribly misguided adventures in motorsports as soon as possible.

take care.

 

[Stavros]

Miata.

Strong as hell, cheap to buy, cheap parts, but most of all, it will teach you to DRIVE better than any other car out there.

Which is what you want.

Once you get good at drifting in a Miata (ie what we call MX5s here) every other drift car you try will feel easy in comparison.

Best car to learn in by far IMO, as you can't get lazy and rely on power to powerslide everywhere, you have to truly DRIFT.

Get one, weld the diff, fit a drivers bucket seat, and enjoy.

 

[JerseyGuy]

Miata.

Strong as hell, cheap to buy, cheap parts, but most of all, it will teach you to DRIVE better than any other car out there.

Which is what you want.

Once you get good at drifting in a Miata (ie what we call MX5s here) every other drift car you try will feel easy in comparison.

Best car to learn in by far IMO, as you can't get lazy and rely on power to powerslide everywhere, you have to truly DRIFT.

Get one, weld the diff, fit a drivers bucket seat, and enjoy.

I couldn't have asked for a better reply, no matter how much more I over-informed or redundant I got in my initial post. This is exactly the kind of info I wanted, thank you so much. I'll admit, a miata wasn't something I had considered for the obvious jokes, but hearing what someone with your stature here on the site and almost 30 thousand posts had to say about it changed my perspective completely. Cannot thank you enough.


If you would allow me a follow up question- Do you recommend any particular model year, trim level, engine/trans variant over another?

Enormous thanks!
Matt