There are gen III Vipers out there at that price point. Vantages are not out there for 30-40K.
Personal opinion. Get a S2000 and keep it in good shape.
There are gen III Vipers out there at that price point. Vantages are not out there for 30-40K.
Personal opinion. Get a S2000 and keep it in good shape.
I love the FD, but the current prices are crazy IMO. Have you looked at an R32 GTR? For 30k, you can own Godzilla.... I may do this in a few years.
No 996 turbo? How about a 997 Carerra S? A 987s 2010-12 direct injection no IMS car?
How about a 12-13 Boss Mustang? Yeehaw and it’s built like a tank.
Or a 2014 scat pack challenger? YEEHAW smoke em if you’ve got em (tires).
How about a used 1LE SS camaro? Fun times just everything is now a blind spot.
C5 Z06 plus cash leftover. Great drivetrain surrounded by a mediocre build quality car with Corvette quirks. More smiles per dollar though.
03 or 04 Terminator Cobra... you can drive it; it’s fun and it might even hold it’s value. They are pretty flat right now and likely to hold 25k ish for a long time.
I don’t think an XKR or Vantage is done depreciating. An XKR has no real bottom to its price. I’ve seen early 2000s XKRs in the $2000 price range. Yes they were beat but even good ones are really cheap now. No reason a later model won’t follow the same curve.
A Vantage is different as it is more exclusive, but still at some point it’s just an old car and the original target market won’t be interested and the “cool old car” cache won’t apply yet. Astons hold their value better than Jags but they still depreciate.
Oh forgot about the 03-04 Cobra. Was a toss up between my Viper and a Cobra. Found the Viper first. Probably send it down the road in a few years for one of those.
As far as foot vs clutch on a Viper, not sure what you mean there.. Sure there is no dead pedal but its not exactly hard to drive at 5/10.
In reply to dculberson :
Well if we're only shopping for cars that won't depreciate then everything mentioned in this thread was pointless. OP doesn't seem like he keeps cars long.
Aite then:
Get a G-Wagon, MKIV supra turbo, or air cooled 911.
Raptor. They’re fun in their own way and don’t depreciate.
As always, Maita.
In reply to yupididit :
It’s right in the title: “help me beat depreciation.” A lot of cars that are done depreciating have been covered.
wearymicrobe said:There are gen III Vipers out there at that price point. Vantages are not out there for 30-40K.
Personal opinion. Get a S2000 and keep it in good shape.
I like the S2000 idea. Thanks for suggesting it.
noddaz said:As always, Maita.
Already got an NA that's not going anywhere. The car would be a replacement for the ND MX-5 I sold in November, but it doesn't have to be an exact replacement.
93gsxturbo said:Oh forgot about the 03-04 Cobra. Was a toss up between my Viper and a Cobra. Found the Viper first. Probably send it down the road in a few years for one of those.
Not a big fan of the new edge 'stang. I'd prefer either a Fox Body (owned one of these a couple of decades ago) or the S197.
As far as foot vs clutch on a Viper, not sure what you mean there.. Sure there is no dead pedal but its not exactly hard to drive at 5/10.
I've injured my Achilles tendon a few years ago (and by the looks of it, I did a bit more extensive damage than the doc originally thought I did). I'm about 80% healed and that's how far that got, so I'm pretty sensitive to clutch action and angle. For example, I had to sell my R53 Cooper S and the ND partially because I couldn't drive these cars for meaningful distances without limping afterwards. None of these have a particularly heavy clutch, but the angle of the pedal was enough to cause issues with my foot.
AnthonyGS said:I love the FD, but the current prices are crazy IMO. Have you looked at an R32 GTR? For 30k, you can own Godzilla.... I may do this in a few years.
I've owned an R32 GTS-T in the past - the R32 GTR has a certain appeal, but they're also pretty big cars. I might still consider one if I find the right one, though.
No 996 turbo? How about a 997 Carerra S? A 987s 2010-12 direct injection no IMS car?
If I'm buying another watercooled 911, it'll be a turbo. Problem is, they're outside my budget unless I want another potential headache.
How about a 12-13 Boss Mustang? Yeehaw and it’s built like a tank.
Or a 2014 scat pack challenger? YEEHAW smoke em if you’ve got em (tires).
I like Challengers, but I think prices have quite a ways to go. The idea of the exercise is to get something that doesn't lose a third to half its value in the next 2-3 years.
How about a used 1LE SS camaro? Fun times just everything is now a blind spot.
I've driven one. Pass.
C5 Z06 plus cash leftover. Great drivetrain surrounded by a mediocre build quality car with Corvette quirks. More smiles per dollar though.
C5 is on the list, but I'd prefer the hatchback and IIRC they didn't make a Z06 hatch. But even the normal should have just about enough oomph.
grover said:Raptor. They’re fun in their own way and don’t depreciate.
Drove one last year. They're fun in a truckish way but I can also guarantee they won't fit into the garage next to my wife's car.
yupididit said:In reply to dculberson :
Well if we're only shopping for cars that won't depreciate then everything mentioned in this thread was pointless. OP doesn't seem like he keeps cars long.
Depends. Some of the cars I buy don't hang around long, others can hang around for 5-6 years. Heck, I've got a couple of bikes I've owned 15+ years.
Aite then:
Get a G-Wagon, MKIV supra turbo, or air cooled 911.
I'm not sure if I can get a decent one of any of these for my budget, though. And I doubt I'd ever get the G-Wagen back from my wife.
Ex Esprit S4 owner here. Cool to own, just to check it off the list but it’s really not that fun of a car. It feels very fragile, transmission is awful, and the steering feel is way overboosted.
Elise are wonderful cars if you use them as intended, and have seemed to hover around the 30k mark for ages. I bought many 6 years ago for 27k from a Lotus dealer with fairly low miles. Daily drove it for two years and sold it for that same 27k.
2003+ E55 AMG. You’ll be way under 30 and they’re great cars.
CL63 AMG. The NA 6.3 is one hell of an engine and the pillarless coupe is a beautiful car. The NA CL63s are holding their value pretty well. I’ve been looking.
I also like the viper idea, but with your leg issues you’d want to try one out first.
Not sure why the micro cars are being thrown out there if the ND was too small.
The Elise would be fun and value is good too.
After looking at the Japanese Classics website: Classic Mini. A solid car won't depreciate much, if any. Few cars equal it in the smiles per mile factor. It does have a weird clutch motion, so that may be an issue for you.
Cotton said:2003+ E55 AMG. You’ll be way under 30 and they’re great cars.
CL63 AMG. The NA 6.3 is one hell of an engine and the pillarless coupe is a beautiful car. The NA CL63s are holding their value pretty well. I’ve been looking.
Something to consider, although I'm not sure I want a car as big at the CL. The E55, maybe. The garage it's going to be parked in is a bit on the narrow side so I doubt I can fit a large car in there.
I also like the viper idea, but with your leg issues you’d want to try one out first.
Agree - I do love the idea of a Viper, but it's no good if it becomes a garage ornament.
Not sure why the micro cars are being thrown out there if the ND was too small.
Not sure where you got that from - I had to sell the ND because of issues working the clutch, not because I didn't physically fit the car. I do fit an ND or an NA (in fact I still own an NA), at least if I ignore the bit about broomstick tests and helmets. Yeah, the NA needs a foamectomy.
Ian F said:After looking at the Japanese Classics website: Classic Mini. A solid car won't depreciate much, if any. Few cars equal it in the smiles per mile factor. It does have a weird clutch motion, so that may be an issue for you.
I've owned a couple when living in the UK, one of them triggering the infamous utterance from my mechanic - "Your battery needs a new car".
OTOH it seems to be possible to find a nice one (usually a JDM import) for about $10k, and that's nothing to be sneezed at.
AnthonyGS said:The Elise would be fun and value is good too.
Deffo agree on the fun part - I did own an S1 Elise in the UK, and based on that experience and with a more reliable engine, I certainly wouldn't kick one out of the garage.
So based on the suggestions above, I think so far the front runners would be an S2k, Viper or Elise, assuming that I don't run into issues with the clutch on any of them. I'm also reasonably sure that either of the three will fit the garage and still allow my wife to park her Range Rover in there.
The dark horses are probably still the Sonnett and maybe a Cosmo (although those things are big) or a Cappuccino if actually fit the thing.
In reply to BoxheadTim :
Viper or Cosmos. If you go with the Cosmos then get one with a 20b! I love their interiors.
The cars that don't depreciate fast also don't sell very fast so try to find someone that is a motivated seller and you should be able to get a better deal.
I had my viper listed for 4 months at a great price before anyone came to look at it. 97 GTS with 30k miles and I was the second owner, no accidents, purchased it for $33k and sold it for $34k in 2014.
BoxheadTim said:
I've injured my Achilles tendon a few years ago (and by the looks of it, I did a bit more extensive damage than the doc originally thought I did). I'm about 80% healed and that's how far that got, so I'm pretty sensitive to clutch action and angle. For example, I had to sell my R53 Cooper S and the ND partially because I couldn't drive these cars for meaningful distances without limping afterwards. None of these have a particularly heavy clutch, but the angle of the pedal was enough to cause issues with my foot.
For 30k, I'd be in an E9x M3, no question about it, rod bearings be damned. You can also get a DCT that's supposed to be pretty good, so you don't have to worry about your Achilles bothering you. Seems like the perfect DD-able sports car, though the gas mileage is supposed to be awful.
What about a PDK Boxster/Cayman. They are far better cars than similar year 911’s other than a turbo or GT3. Yes they are still depreciating, but they are easily 50-60% below MSRP and will never depreciate to zero like an XKR. Also now they’ve gone to the (relatively unpopular) flat 4 they’ve probably hastened their future uptick in value of the six cyl cars. Not that you keep your cars long enough for that to factor into your decision.
In reply to rothwem :
Not looking for a DD, this is supposed to be a quirky fun car.
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