This would normally be in teh New Car Sticky, but my case is a pretty specific one, so I was hoping to get some help....
I want to get into this tuner deal for several reasons.  I don't, however, intend to do any real racing. Maybe if some redneck in his truck thinks he can outrun me, I'd open it up, but mostly it will be just a hobby and learning experience for me, and maybe to show off a little bit.....
I'm on a VERY low budget. I don't make much, so I can't buy some crazy awesome car. I was thinking an older coupe, 4 cylinder, lightweight.... with the budget, and what I just said in mind, what might I want to look at? Most people say avoid Civics, but then again, most people are a lot more serious and competitive than I am. Like I said, this is for me to gain some knowledge about what goes on under the hood, because think about how muchj money can be saved if I can maintenance my car and not have to take it to the shop? Would something like a Civic be good for a less competitive, lower budget hobbyist such as myself? Are Mitsubishi 3000GTs generally pretty cheap? What else can I look into? If Civics, how might the hatchback models compare to the regular coupe?
Are there certain years of whatever car you can suggest that might be better than others for various reasons? I realize this post is very long winded. Thanks for reading, and looking forward to your input.  

the civic is your best bet. they are cheap and easy to work on and they run strong if you keep up on matinance i would personally buy a civic  

If you can find a good running CRX.  I'd get it.  My buddy has one, and it is by far the most fun car I've ever worked on.  The whole setup of the car is pretty straight forward/ not very complicated.  My friend got an already ZC swapped 89 for 2k.  We've put in only a few hundred, but have put in a lot of man hours.  Maybe it's just me, but I think these cars are quite fun all around.
 But Civics are a good bet too.  For one thing you won't have a hard time finding one.  And I'll tell you right now.  If you leave it stock, and just spend a few hundred over time one the engine.  You'll still waste Civics that have heavy body kits, cheap heavy wheels, and unnecassary spoilers.
 I don't think 3000GT's are very cost effective.  They're not really as cheap as a newer civic, and it will probably be harder to work on...  And weigh a billion pounds....  

I can't really offer advice on what kind of car to get but I can tell you this,nothing will give you more pleasure and satisfaction than building up your car and giving it your own personal flavor and this doesn't require tons of money.There are tons of things you can do. I'm not rich either but here are some suggestions; for wheels instead of shelling out hundreds for a set of spinners try an auto salvage yard,there you can find some decent looking wheels for practically nothing(just thoroughly inspect them first for damage)and most auto parts stores (pep boys,advance auto,auto zone)have tons of accessories to personalize your car. You have the right idea in doing your own maintenance,so best of luck and welcome to the tuner community  

Hmm... I didn't even think about the salvage yard, I'll have to check those out someday...

Now, if I can only get rid of my '97 auto tranny mercury sable and get me a nice little civic, I'll be in business.... wait a minute.... I can be the first to have a performance mercury sable..... LOL.  

A civic or crx are easy to find parts for.  I have a buddie that has blown 2 engines on a crx and he is always up and running within less than a week.  They are easy to tune, fix, and replace.  good luck in your choice  

I own a 3000GT, and they're probably not the best car to start with. They're just really hard to work on, there isn't much space in the engine bay.

And just like BennFussner up there says they DO weigh a billion pounds. I weighed mine and that is exactly what it weighs. One billion pounds. Too bad for everyone else they have twin turbos and AWD. When I'm running 15psi it kind of doesn't matter how light a civic is, it still gets beat no matter what. Hehh.

If you actually want performance I would go with a V8, like an older mustang. A civic just isn't a race car. You can spend a lot of time and effort on it and it still won't be all that fast. A civic might be okay for a daily driver but it's not the best thing if you really want to get into tuning and racing in my opinion. If V8's don't appeal to you I'd probably go for something like a 240sx.  

Just as Predacon said,

"If you actually want performance I would go with a V8..."

you can find some pretty decent V8's out there, i love and prefer muscle cars, much more then tuners, but i like tuners, because of what can be done with them and go crazy, lol. but the muscle V8's are pretty easy to work with, im 16, and have a 1972 Pontiac LeMans 5.7L 350 V8, not necessarily a muscle car, but the old american V8's have good amount of engine space, and are relativly easy to work with. you can find some pretty good and inexpensive muscle cars, but sometimes they are hard to find or expensive, if not, they are trashed. but if your lucky yuo can find one. the only dowside to basically all muscle cars is that they are freakin' tanks, when it comes to weight, but thats why they had alot of power to push it  

3750lb curb weight for the tt awd. yea dont ya love it pred!! hell my NA is 3200ish curb =(. And yaaa if your on a low budget i wouldnt go with one. The NA's arnt too expensive and are actually decently reliable compared to vr4's. But you get fun projects like- taking off your intake manifold to get to the back 3 spark plugs! oh cheer  

I as well would suggest a civic. I just bought a 2000 civic si and love it. The si costs more, probably a third. Whatever you get make sure you get a manual tranny.  

id go with a civic as a good base car to learn on, theyre easy to work on as every one said, and parts for them are relatively cheap and easy to find.  altho me personally, i cant stand em.  "civics are like tampons, every *** has one".  But if you want power, i agree with nitro and predicon, a v8 is a good way to go. something like a fox body 5.0 stang (blaspheming i know) is good and extremely versitile.  the 302 is easy to work on, and theres a whole buncha aftermarket support.  

rabble, you are quite right. that is blasphemy, a domestin in here tsk tsk. if i were you i would pick up a 240sx. they are cheap, i know theres mods out there for them, and they are pretty quick. but v8's arent a bad choice as well. although i happen to hate the fox bodies.