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Hi.  I am looking for a fun drive, first and foremost.  I would like a car that I can use everyday, but I would also like it to be a born and bread sports car.  To give you some incite:

1. My dream car right now would be the '06 Lotus Elise, but this is a $30k car which I can not justify spending, especially with all the expenses of owning a sports car.

2. I'm 23 and just graduating from college with a Masters in Engineering.  I'm looking to buy in the next 12-24 months after I get settled into a job.  But, I'm not even exactly sure what I can afford.

3. I am looking for something RWD, lightweight, and with a manual transmission.  Rare production is a definite plus, I'm looking to stand out on the road.

4. The cars I'm looking at currently are the Honda S2000, Mazda RX8, and the BMW M3.  

Am I crazy to think I could get this quality for under $20k even in a used car?  If so, any suggestions?  

If you are serious about your desires - true sports car, rare production, etc. then I have a perfect fit - A BMW M Coupe from the Z3 era (through '03 - aka Z3 M Coupe).  Some have slammed it as 'the car that looks like a shoe,' but I think they're very handsome, plus they are extremely fast and quite rare.  (The early Z4 coupes were entirely different - More boulevard cruisers than sports cars.)  

If a convertible would suit you, any Z3M fits your requirements, and a regular convertible Z3M will be MUCH easier to find than a Coupe - The Coupes are pretty rare ... like, maybe less than 2,000 total?  But, the Coupes are of course stiffer and I think they may be lighter as well.  As bonuses, a) the Coupes have an odd hatchback shape/arrangement, resulting in truly cavernous storage area for such a tiny car, and b) Z3s have a very active fan base (including whole mobs of engineers), so all the little fixes and hacks and custom items are easy to find on line (roadfly had a very active Z3 board IIRC).  

If you want to know what to look for in buying a used Z3, check out the top link at
http://www.waycoolinc.com/z3/essentials/fixit/index.html

Finally, because these were very often sunny-weekend-only garage queens (plus often owned by engineers), they tend to be low-mileage, in good condition, etc.


To me, the S2000 is too much like a dirt bike - the power band is all at the top end of the RPMs, so to drive it at its best, you're constantly winding the thing up to 6,000RPM (it redlines at 8,000), which, personally, makes me CRAZY - The noise, the vibration, it feels and sounds like an insane steroid-fuelled sewing machine is about to burst through the hood.

M3s are dreamy, though getting a used one which hasn't been thrashed within an inch of its life can be a challenge - It's everything you could want ... except not a bit rare.

Haven't driven an RX8 that I can recall, so I won't opine on that.

And - Good luck, be sure to come back and let us know what you get!

Clay

Edit - Poking around, I just now found that this very site lists the Z3 M Coupe as one of its 'Used All-Stars'!  

See
http://www.automobilemag.com/features/great_drives/0905_12_used_all_stars/1999_2002_bmw_m_coupe.html