My best advice to you would be to spend as much as you can afford on one now. The really high end ones are not much more money than the ones that need work. Even if you get one for free, that needed paint, tires, top interior, some mechanical, (you know the drill) it would be cheaper to buy one done. There is no money to be saved in buying a driver and fixing as you go. I know of a brown coupe that is essentially a new car. It has a 4 liter pumping about 240 HP, a tan leather interior, and new 15 inch panasports and tires. This car can be had for under 10 grand. A few weeks ago there was an orange, original coupe on ebay that went for somewhere around 7K. A huge difference in cars for only 3K. I also know of a really nice aqua conv with a 300HP+ 4.6, quaife rear end, and canvas top, for $10,600. The motor alone is worth north of $7K. I just saw a $4,000 paint job, and I wasn't impressed. In Cali, you have to be careful with the smog laws, so a highly modded car is probably out of the question.