$18k, modern, special....help me.

A big turbo Typhoon.

Kids and a lawn mower in the back.

My new crush lately.

JtspellS wrote: My new crush lately.

I'll sell you our V70R for $18k. Silly fast for a wagon!

V70R for $18k + side trip to IPD for another $18k.

You DID say the budget would double for six seats and the full IPD treatment would make it very special.

$10k for a V70R with the IPD treatment, and $8k on Karts for the kids...

Not sure if this is modern enough but, W124 500E sure is special:

On the more modern side, anything AMG can be fun: :)

And the Jags are just plain sexy...

Non-wagon CTSV might be cool too:

For more sporting cars, maybe Vette, NSX or some P-car. That's all I got on 'modern' cars in that price range. Except maybe a LSx powered 5 series wagon.

'06 MINI JCW GP

Rare - less than 500 in the US; each individually numbered on the roof.

Hoot to drive. Considered by many to be the best rendition of the R53 series.

$18K will buy you a nice one that's been driven a bit.

Downside: no back seat, so even the 911 is more practical... granted... it's not like a Vette has a back seat.

To me that spells "FD".

http://denver.craigslist.org/cto/4375640562.html

Prices have been coming down on '05-'09 S197s. $14-15K could get ya a nice Premium sub 35K mile car and there's plenty of garage kept toys out there yet. For a moderate build, $3K worth of easy bolt-on engine/ suspension mods makes it more funner.

CTS-V would be worth looking at.

C5 vette or v8 05+ mustang would be good. Dare I say MIATA . Boxster, z3/z4, jag xk, m3, 350z, rx8, 6 series bmw used. Or just buy an s2000 and call it a day. Or a used lotus.

mazdeuce wrote: Bonus, if it seats six, budget doubles, maybe tripples

Tesla

Maybe check out some leftover '13 Fiat 500 Abarths?

Racer1ab wrote: Maybe check out some leftover '13 Fiat 500 Abarths?

+1

I haven't seen another on the road in the week and a half I've owned mine. So, at least kinda special. And it's sort of Italian, if you count a car built in Mexico, with an engine built in the US, by an Italian-American company, domiciled in the Netherlands as Italian...

In reply to DaveEstey:

I forgot about those... Sky Redline and swap the wheels to something other than awful chrome. Pretty little things...

The interiors are, admittedly, awful.

JFX001 wrote: http://denver.craigslist.org/cto/4375640562.html

Holy load of yes.

JFX001 wrote: http://denver.craigslist.org/cto/4375640562.html

If I had $15K burning a hole in my pocket, that would be hard to ignore.

A S197 may be cheap, but doesn't really hit the "special" criteria, unless maybe if he gets a Shelby GT.

Off the wall suggestion? The nicest early 70's Saab 95 wagon in the world is well within budget and will seat 6-7. You'd easily have enough left over in the budget to make upgrades to the V4 and possibly add a custom A/C system (since you live in southern Texas).

Thought about an Abarth. My wife has a Fiat dealer in her parking garage and walks by them daily. The real killer is that it seats four. That makes no sense, as two seaters are fair game here, but it would annoy me that I couldn't drive all of the kids in it. I'm weird. Solstice/sky twins are an option. Tracking down a coupe would be cool.

You could find a Greenwood for $18k....

mazdeuce wrote: Bonus, if it seats six, budget doubles, maybe triples. Complication, no trucks.Land Rovers aren't trucks, Land Rovers are Land Rovers

In reply to Adrian_Thompson:

My wife was looking at FJ40's last night and I was arguing that Series 3 Landies were better. More awesome anyway. I do have that dead Range Rover in the back yard, so there is historical precedence for one in the family.