Cheap AND Fun!

Alright, so with the last post covering the rare and uber expensive, I think it’s time to go the other direction and find something cheap and also fun. A car that is a hoot to drive, low maintenance, and most importantly: inexpensive to buy.

For this, we land on a 1991 Nissan Sentra SE-R over on Cars & Bids.

Yes, an early 90s Sentra, the quintessential 1990s econobox. But even thought they have roots as economy cars, these little coupes come packed with some features that make for a great purchase.

Starting life as a basic two-door Sentra, the SE-R trim came standard with a naturally aspirated SR20DE motor producing about 140hp which propelled the car to a 0-60 time of roughly 7.5 seconds. Far from a supercar, but not bad for something that is essentially a gas sipping commuter.

Crucially though, these things were light. They tipped the scales at 2,266 pounds, a weight unheard of in the modern era: A 2025 BMW M5 weighs two and a half times more. Plus, they all came with a limited slip differential and disc brakes on all four corners.

The interior configuration reads like something a modern Porsche GT3 buyer would seek out: cloth sport seats, manual windows and door locks, and a manual transmission. Though the front wheel drive layout would be a hard sell to said GT3 customer.

So, you got a car with all the right words: light weight, manual transmission, disc brakes, and a limited slip differential. All at a price that was $12,000 when new. Sounds like it fits our cheap and fun criteria. But what of the car on auction here?

Well, the condition is about what you would expect for a 160,000 mile 34 year old Nissan. The exterior paint looks pretty good, even down to the also very 90s pinstripe. The “SE-R” vinyl badges on the sides are a bit garish and not factory, though should be easily removable should the buyer choose.

Interior looks quite good, the seats especially. No major rips, stains, or tears appear visible, and the bolsters appear still in nice and supportive shape, without any obvious collapsing.

The roll cage and four point harnesses might be a tad much, and the wood grain interior panels are….interesting. The seller is including original panels that can be swapped in, if you so choose. Also, it appears the headlines is coming apart in many places, so maybe a buyer could go the wood grain paneling route on that as well.

One item that also caught my eye was the Alpine cassette deck. Although a seriously cool vintage piece, it’s older than the car itself, and I think would be a better fit in something like a 240z.

The beauty of stuff like the roll cage, harnesses, stickers, etc is that they are all items that can be removed in order to return the car to stock, or left in and enjoyed when blasting down the twisties.

And that’s where the SE-Rs excel. As mentioned above, these are light weight cars that are nimble with good handling and decent get up and go. Definitely checks the “fun” box.

This should sell for well under $10,000, realistically in the mid four figures. Also, thanks to being based off a mass produced Nissan, parts are plentiful and servicing is easy. This certainly meets the “cheap” criteria”.

So, there you have it,the 1991 Nissan Sentra SE-R, my “cheap AND fun” pick.

Would you choose one? If not, what is your pick?