Just watch bringatrailer.com until you find something you can't resist.
Just watch bringatrailer.com until you find something you can't resist.
S2000s, Mazdaspeed Miata, BMW Z3 Coupes or the early M coupe. Needs to seat 3 pretty much counts those out but you do mention cars like that, lol.
Porsche 944 S2 and 968, they seem to be on the upswing. So are any Alfa Romeos like the GTV6 or Milano.
white_fly wrote: Just watch bringatrailer.com until you find something you can't resist.
The top car at BaT right now is an E30 M3 with an asking price of $50,000.
Wahahahahahahahahahahaha
nderwater wrote:white_fly wrote: Just watch bringatrailer.com until you find something you can't resist.The top car at BaT right now is an E30 M3 with an asking price of $50,000. Wahahahahahahahahahahaha
Ya BaT, used to like that site but I now prefer daily turismo.... it's like BaT but for regular people.
Whats funny is you have people in comments for E36 M3 like that always defending it to the death.
First gen Cts-v all the way!!! Can't imagine it going down much further than 12k. It also compliments the cars you have by offering some variety.
Also I second the Impala ss, but its older drivetrain might mean more maintenance.
S2k seems to be doing it. Values have risen on early cars in the 3 years since I bought mine, later cars seem to be bottoming out just about now.
I'd try to find a Corvette Z06 with some miles on it
It may sound strange, but, as a car dealer, when it comes to cars I've kept for myself, for a year or more, I've lost the least money on cars that had high-ish miles to begin with. I bought a 97 Boxster in 2009 with 74k on it. It has 90k on it now, and the car is still worth what I paid for it. I think that, within reason, what looks like high miles when you buy seems like low mileage if you've kept the car long enough. My vote is an 80k mile Z06 Vette. Drive it, don't let it turn 100k miles & lose $0 when you're done with it.
M5 ? Or a 540 I sport?
Jag XJS for V12 goodness
kanaric wrote: Ya BaT, used to like that site but I now prefer daily turismo.... it's like BaT but for regular people. Whats funny is you have people in comments for E36 M3 like that always defending it to the death.
I have been somehow unaware of daily turismo up until now.
Productivity, let me introduce you to nice Mr. Window.
As a car dealer, I disagree with the, "get a 1980s car" advice, unless you buy something very desirable like a 3.2L carrera or a Ferrari 308 (not quite in the budget). I've never lost more money on a single car than I did with a 1987 Mercedes 560 SEC. The time for 80s cars is coming, but it hasn't really happened yet. So, unless you want to be in for the long haul, get something that's already very desirable to the mainstream market.
I know it's not a car, but I have never owned or sold a vehicle that holds its value better than a Jeep Wrangler. You could buy a nice TJ Rubicon model for that money, and probably turn around and sell it a year later for close to the same amount. I actually made money on the last one I sold. May not be what you're looking for as far as speed, but they are a lot of fun, and kids love to ride in them. I've had 2 TJ's and have toyed with the idea of another.
kanaric wrote: S2000s, Mazdaspeed Miata, BMW Z3 Coupes or the early M coupe. Needs to seat 3 pretty much counts those out but you do mention cars like that, lol. Porsche 944 S2 and 968, they seem to be on the upswing. So are any Alfa Romeos like the GTV6 or Milano.
I don't know that i'd recommend the Mazdaspeed Miata.
Earlier theories as recently as even a year or two ago thought that the price on that car had already bottomed out.
But prices have nose dived in the last year. You see lots of them listed for $15k, then eventually sell for $10k in a few months after they realize they aren't getting $15k.
And $10k is for a NICE example.
Correctly modded ones command a small premium, but to be honest, i'd struggle to sell my car for what i paid for it 2 years ago, and it's MUCH improved since then.
These will likely continue nose-diving for awhile, and i'm not entire sure they will ever recover. Sure, there's not a ton of them out there, let alone nice ones at this point, and that number will only go down, but the demand seems to be waning as the normal NBs continue to get REALLY cheap. People are realizing that it's often cheaper and almost always better to just boost a normal NB.
These will likely only be worth something to people who NEED a Mazdaspeed for some reason.
M030 - This may be food for a separate thread, but I'd imagine that I'm not alone in having a fist full of questions that I've always wanted to ask a used car dealer about that market and the business. Is that something you'd be up for?
In reply to nderwater:
Ask away! I'm happy to fill you in about whatever you would like to know
BMW 8 series, specifically the 840Ci. They are all 20 years old or older, which means most are probably right around the bottom of their depreciation curve. They're still fantastic looking, and like the 7 series, the V8s are more friendly to ownership than the V12s.
I see one in my hood every now and again. It's pretty sweet.
What about a 2004ish VW R32. The later models with the auto trans are easier to find but don't appear to hold their value. The earlier models with the manual trans certainly hold their value.
These are great suggestions. I'd love to hear more. I think that mustang must be sold since I emailed right away and haven't heard back yet. I've been searching s2ks. The impala is out since my wife hates them even though my friend has the most kickass one ever. No Vw's will ever grace my driveway. I like the 8 series. It reminds me of a girl I dated in highschool whose dad had one. Man that was fast. If you have a teenage daughter and a stupid fast car, hide the keys 
You still have the blue Miata for auto-x and general hooning, right? I'll go with what I have some knowledge and/or experience with (and only 4 seaters):
Personally, I'd go with a Mustang for the intended use: extremely low depreciation risk, simple to work on, cheap parts, V8 rumble, cheap classic car insurance.
The E36 M3 is possible.Nearing the bottom of the curve for nice ones, harder to work on than the Mustang and parts will be a bit more, the S50/52 makes a nice noise when you get on it. If it has one big down-side, it's rather under-stressed in day-to-day driving, so if you're pushing it, the consequences of failure can be dire. Not sure what insurance in ON would be like. Unlike a classic car, could useful as a back-up DD.
Non-M E30? Kinda like buying an E36... only with better looks and more annoying to work on... The lower end of your price range will get you damn near the nicest one in either country.
Classic Mini - Definitely seem pretty stable in the $10-15K range. An absolute blast to drive, although don't expect to win any races... with anything... loud and rough-riding. Classic car insurance.
An 8-series could be an interesting choice... or maybe an older 6 series? Those seem to have bottomed out in the $5-10K range for decent drivers to really nice examples. There's a lot down the street with a 6 series with $3495 on the window... black too... I'm almost tempted to buy it solely because it would irk my ex-g/f (she loves them).
I'd almost say Volvo 1800 if your kid is small... and likely to stay that way... (a back seat pretty much in name only).
The blue miata is actually gone. I have,a 97 that's close to stock. It's currently waiting for me to find time to put the torsen in thats sitting in the garage.
Or try to find a super clean, unmodified, late year Fox Mustang.
mw wrote: These are great suggestions. I'd love to hear more. I think that mustang must be sold since I emailed right away and haven't heard back yet. I've been searching s2ks. The impala is out since my wife hates them even though my friend has the most kickass one ever. No Vw's will ever grace my driveway. I like the 8 series. It reminds me of a girl I dated in highschool whose dad had one. Man that was fast. If you have a teenage daughter and a stupid fast car, hide the keys
The mustang is still available. The owner is at Hot August Nights and is a little slow with replies. I think I'll be able to put you in touch with him today.
The correct answer is, what ever I do NOT buy. Truthfully, this is difficult as anything we say is a guess. It's going to have to be something that has bottomed out and has shown a steady growth pace. A 240Z comes to mind, but what is the top end? Are we there? Then again, who would have thought TR6's would sell for what they do today.
And of course, condition is everything in cars like this. Not just any car of a certain make will increase in value. It needs to be a top tier car to bring real money. By that I mean a car in great condition, and generally speaking, stock versions retain value better than modified ones.
The biggest hurdle I see with '80's cars is that newer ones are soooo much better. Don't get me wrong, I love MR2s, etc., but for big money, I can pick up a much better preforming car. I think what drove much of the '60's car boom for years was that many newer cars didn't really perform better than they did. In the '90's that started to change, but they were already ingrained.
If I had to pick a newer car, I'd go with an Integra Type R, NA Supra, RX7TT, 951, 944S2, and perhaps even a MR2 Turbo. And if you can still find a good '80's 911 in this price range, they are leaving the port as we speak.
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