Thats a little more than i had to spend on my car.. haha, basically search long and hard for exactly what you want, and it will come along at the right price eventually.
An e30 325is could be had for 2500-4000 and those are great cars, LSD.. pretty good power.
The three cars i was actually looking at when i was searching were e30 and e36 325's and 944's..
944 is a no go man, im sure they are at least somewhat reliable, but when shit breaks.. $$$$$
Also.. heres a car to look at.. e36 325is, 5 grand, 120k miles, look at the mods too.. LSD, and alot of other tight goodies.. i wish i had the money for that thing. The guy is desperate, i talked to him on the phone, he dropped a huge deposit on another car and needs to ditch his 325 quick.. 5k is as low as he will go.. haha, i already offered 4500.
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...d.php?t=396095
At 5k that is a KILLER deal.