Sunny Day Daily Driver Better Than an NSX?

Here's a twist on the "What Car" thread. I am looking for a second daily driver. I have a '90 W126 Mercedes for rainy days or anytime I need to carry people. I am looking for a car to drive on a semi-daily basis when I don't want or need the room/comfort of the Benz.

Here's the twist: I want to spend ~$40k for this next car. I can borrow at under 3% and I think we may be coming to the end of super-cheap interest rates, so I want to borrow some money and buy something interesting. I'm not interested in a $10k car that wins on paper. I actually WANT to spend that money.

I have a line on an early NSX. It ticks a lot of boxes. A LOT of boxes. But it's a lot of money for a car that is closing in on 25 years old. So what else is out there that I can really enjoy driving that isn't overly punishing in terms of suspension, operating costs, and ingress/egress in that price range? I flirted with a Corvette (seems like overkill), a newer Mustang GT (too, I don't know, muscle-y), and a BMW 3-series (great car, but I'm bored with them).

Another reject is the Cayman S. This is great car, and gorgeous. A serious contender. The difference is that I can drive the NSX for five years and probably sell it for what I paid. Not so with the P-car. My personal experience is that the driving public hates your guts when they see you and your Porsche. The true exotics get the awe they deserve without the class-angst baggage. Why I have no idea...

So, folks, what's it going to be? I'm putting a $40k '92 NSX with 55k miles on the table. What do you have that beats it?

How about a Jaaaaaaaag? $40k should get a lot of XKR.

NSX prices are on the rise. A few years ago I passed on a sweet, early car with 30k on it for $30k. I decided to pay off my grad school loans. Now the same car is much more expensive. I should have bought the NSX, drove it for a while, sold it for a profit and then paid of the school loans.

All is not lost for me. My new wife says find the right NSX and buy it, no matter what it costs. She's a keeper.

In reply to szeis4cookie: True. On paper, a fantastic car. Downsides? Complicated and service-intensive. And probably not done depreciating. But that's a solid suggestion. Thanks! I will take another look.

I agree with your financial logic. A well bought classic car can be bought and sold within five years for what you paid. If you have the buy-in, or consider the interest affordable, then its a no-brainer. I would also agree that you are looking at a good candidate for this gambit in the NSX. Once again, key to the game is buying the right car because you MUST buy it with the next buyer in mind.

996 Turbo. Yes, it's a Porsche, but it is the best value Porsche going right now. I can't see these depreciating much at all from where they are and you get supercar performance, a fairly modern and comfortable interior, decent storage space, lots of parts/knowledge base, and the indestructible Metzger engine.

Lotus Evora. The prices have been steady on these in the last year I have been watching them, and with Elise prices going up these may not fall much. From everything I've read they are very comfortable daily drivers. Ergonomics are a bit strange, but all major parts are not from Lotus and this easily sourced (Toyota driveline, AP brakes, eibach springs, etc).

I've looked very hard at both of these, and then I just end up keeping my Z4M coupe.

An NSX is a decent choice and prices are only going up.

Better options: Maybe a used Noble? But I think these are pretty uncommon in the US. They're quicker than an NSX out of the box and have more potential. Even the best-looking models aren't as pretty as an NSX though.

A cheaply built Superlite Coupe or Ultima? But these are edging into "PITA race car" territory.

A Corvette gives you near-supercar performance with muscle car running costs and comfort. Overkill? Perhaps. But you say you want to spend the money and it should tick all your boxes, so what's wrong with that? From the C5 to the C7, handling improved massively with each generation, so I'd say a used C7 Z06 might be your best bet. If not, get a Z51.

Edit: The Evora's a decent option too, sort of like a modernized NSX and more practical, but it probably won't become a classic.

Are previous gen SLK55s in that price range now? Because a topless surface-to-surface missile from Affalterbach with love is always awesome.

Pantera

Another thought: Aston Martin Vantage V8. For just a bit more than your budget, you get one of the best looking cars ever made. Plus, I really want someone on the board to get one to get a GRM kind of opinion on living with one.

Sonic wrote: 996 Turbo. Yes, it's a Porsche, but it is the best value Porsche going right now. I can't see these depreciating much at all from where they are and you get supercar performance, a fairly modern and comfortable interior, decent storage space, lots of parts/knowledge base, and the indestructible Metzger engine. Lotus Evora. The prices have been steady on these in the last year I have been watching them, and with Elise prices going up these may not fall much. From everything I've read they are very comfortable daily drivers. Ergonomics are a bit strange, but all major parts are not from Lotus and this easily sourced (Toyota driveline, AP brakes, eibach springs, etc). I've looked very hard at both of these, and then I just end up keeping my Z4M coupe.

Its funny that you mention the Porsche engine being bulletproof. In all my years of haunting car boards, the one indelible mental image that I have is that a Porsche owner will be coughing up for a new motor at some point in his journey. The calamity is always blamed on the owner or previous owner not doing some sort of maintenance and knowing that had he paid $5000 to replace a $5 part he could have avoided the $20,000 engine rebuild. Sorry, but that Emperors is starkers!

Combine this with the fact that most people on the street are going to hate your guts, and I will pass on the Porsche experience.

That's certainly often the case and has been part of what has kept me from Porsche ownership. On the other hand I have a few friends who have had 996 turbos and they have been shockingly reliable. One even has 325k miles last I checked, original unopened motor, original owner, well maintained, had to change the turbos at 250k. The turbo is the only 996 that I would own specifically due to it having the better engine design than the standard car.

New GT350 is just a hair over your budget.

Previous post pointed out that Elise prices are going up. Maybe one of those would be easy to get your money out of in a few years if you are bored?

Another idea is some pro-built pro-touring car that the owner is bored of. It won't be as good as the NSX, but it will be fun to drive on Sundays, go like hell in a straight line, consumables shouldn't be too bad, and it will probably hold value.

You said you're bored with 3-series, but it might be worth mentioning that E92 M3s are getting into the $30k range.

NOHOME wrote: Combine this with the fact that most people on the street are going to hate your guts, and I will pass on the Porsche experience.

Wow. berkeley them and what they think. Who are you buying a car for anyway? Buy what you want, not what you think the general public wants you buy.

NOHOME wrote: Combine this with the fact that most people on the street are going to hate your guts, and I will pass on the Porsche experience.

Yep, Porsches can punch way above their weight in snobby brand image because Porsche has gone to great lengths to intentionally cultivate this image. To the average Porsche buyer, this makes their cars a steal - they can get 6-digits of snob cred in a 5-digit car!

It's not an image I'd want to be associated with for sure.

Sonic wrote: Another thought: Aston Martin Vantage V8. For just a bit more than your budget, you get one of the best looking cars ever made. Plus, I really want someone on the board to get one to get a GRM kind of opinion on living with one.

He might actually want to drive it at some point and not maintain it. Vantages in my circle of friends tend to go full lemon at some point.

As for the NSX how tall are you, because in a early car at 6'0 I do not fit. I still kick myself for turning down a 03 for 39K about three years back. It had monster miles but otherwise was in really good shape.

Clown shoe? You might be able to find a decent S54 car for your budget if you look hard, and they seem to be going up in value.

pushrod36 wrote: New GT350 is just a hair over your budget. Previous post pointed out that Elise prices are going up. Maybe one of those would be easy to get your money out of in a few years if you are bored? Another idea is some pro-built pro-touring car that the owner is bored of. It won't be as good as the NSX, but it will be fun to drive on Sundays, go like hell in a straight line, consumables shouldn't be too bad, and it will probably hold value. You said you're bored with 3-series, but it might be worth mentioning that E92 M3s are getting into the $30k range.

List price is a little over his budget, but I have a feeling you won't find one selling for anything close to list price. If I can find one, I'll buy it myself, but I'm not optimistic.

AaronBalto wrote: My personal experience is that the driving public hates your guts when they see you and your Porsche.

I have not found this to be the case. Lots of people probably hate me, but I doubt that it has anything to do with what I'm driving.

The NSX is a good choice for what you want to do, but I think that borrowing money to get it done is a bad idea.

The Aston keeps coming up in my search, but you hear more tales of horror in the form of high parts costs than I can deal with. Great looking car. Remember, this has to be a near-daily car. This means that I have to get in and out of it a lot with my coffee and briefcase. I'm not dealing with Lotus ergonomics. The Mercedes offerings are all slushboxes. Not crazy about that. And Pantera? Daily? Um, no. And I already have a 308. The Porsche Turbo is tempting, but I think people are not really seeing how much hate they provoke. People won't let you merge, they purposely clog the left lane, the whole range of idiot behaviors. This crap used to happen all the time in my Boxster S. Ironically never in my 308.

I don't see anyone losing on NSX's right now. They're still going up in price, so I'll never get one. How much are good 996 turbo's going for?

Woody wrote:

AaronBalto wrote: My personal experience is that the driving public hates your guts when they see you and your Porsche.

I have not found this to be the case. Lots of people probably hate me, but I doubt that it has anything to do with what I'm driving. The NSX is a good choice for what you want to do, but I think that borrowing money to get it done is a bad idea.

Borrowing money to do it is the WHOLE idea. Why would I put up my own capital when I can use the bank's money at under 3%? Given the low rates, I don't have enough leverage in my balance sheet. I'll give you an example. I bought my 308 in July 2014 for $33k. It's worth $50k today. Total fluke. Rate of return: 51%. Not bad. But because I used leverage, I only have about $9k in the car (the bank provided the rest) so my rate of return is 188% less $900 in interest.

My mistake was not that I borrowed to buy a stupid car. My mistake was not buying ten of the damned things.

What does it take to get into an R8? They are more appealing to me now than they used to be. I'm guessing more than the budget allows.

It would be hard to not go the Porsche route for me. The Vette while a very capable machine comes off just a bit pedestrian to me. The Aston scares me to much from a reliability perspective.

I'm going to take you in an entirely different direction. And you will love me for it.

Nick_Comstock wrote: What does it take to get into an R8? They are more appealing to me now than they used to be. I'm guessing more than the budget allows.

Yeah they're nowhere near that cheap yet. Also, like the R35 GTR, the aftermarket knows that the owners are generally good for whatever number they put next to the stuff they sell, and prices parts accordingly.