Any car bought well can work. Like folks say about flipping. The money is made at the initial purchase. That said, early boxsters are about bottomed out, turbo 944s heading up, 996s. E36 m3 if you can find a non beater - prices are pretty much bottomed out. E46 m3s are about double your budget. Perhaps BMW z3/z4s to stay new enough for the safety stuff you want. The euro stuff can also wipe out any savings with any deferred maintenance that unexpectedly rears its head.
mtn wrote: Because I drive enough to need *a* car, and if I need any car I might as well be able to go have fun in it every once in a while. I've got an Accord right now. My first ever appliance car that is "mine" and not shared with someone. It is a wonderful car, but I just miss having something that is cool in some way.
That's a good answer- with the reply- which car do you like the best in your list? Get that one.
This doesn't really fit your bill, but i've been looking at 3/4 ton pickups and it's crazy how well they hold their value.
Low mileage, well kept, documented 944 turbos are heading up. Those are a very small slice of the cars out there. Most are high mileage money pits.
S2000? Wranglers hold value as well.
mtn wrote: Perusing the local craigslist... Anyone know what the going rate for a 150k mile Miata LE would be? Owner describes the rust as "minor rust on bottom of both rear rockers and small spot on Left Rear Fender above the tire". Or, in other words, what is the least it could be worth? Interior is in decent condition.
My opinion of the 93 LE is that it's one of the few Miatas with investment potential, but it's all dependent on the quality of the car. The interior especially, and particularly the quality of the driver's seat. Rust on the body means that it's basically just a normal Miata from a pricing standpoint. Don't pay extra for it, and it might be worth $500 more than a typical Miata down the road.
NBraun wrote: This doesn't really fit your bill, but i've been looking at 3/4 ton pickups and it's crazy how well they hold their value.
Which is why I bought mine new instead of used 
S2000 isn't a bad idea. A good Integra Type R would probably be a really good investment. But I don't know if you'll find the latter in your price range.
Wrangler.
Tacoma.
Ninja 250 (well used).
That's about as low as you are going to find an S2000. I second/third that recommendation .
Integra GS-R? Certainly not going to be worth as much as a Type R, but they only made so many of those and they're already on their way up. I suspect a GS-R in decent shape should holds its value fairly well, assuming you can stop it from getting stolen.
X308 jaguar xjr 
You might be able to find an S2000 for $7k, but it would be pretty ragged. They're definitely holding their value, but I doubt you'd find a decent one for under $10k.
codrus wrote: Integra GS-R? Certainly not going to be worth as much as a Type R, but they only made so many of those and they're already on their way up. I suspect a GS-R in decent shape should holds its value fairly well, assuming you can stop it from getting stolen.
I recently went on a nation wide hunt, and couldn't find a decent one below $7K. Of course, the hunt was prompted by a $4500 one with 105K miles in Atlanta that I couldn't get to in time. But, yeah, I agree, those are going to climb fast.
yupididit wrote: X308 jaguar xjr
Just supporting the local devil...
We have an x308(not an xjr though) 
. Super smooth, plenty of power, and gas mileage only a rich kid of Instagram could love. $1800 with a tick under 100k on the odometer for a car that in any better condition from almost any other manufacturer would be five figures still. Ain't hailstorms and the perception of British reliability wonderful!
W126 Mercedes ticks the boxes. Bad ones will be cheap for another decade or so, but nice ones are trending up nicely.
Or get a Chevy SS. Sure, it'll cost a bit more but you can probably get $10000 off and 0% financing from GM. I think it'll be recognized as one of the Car Guy Specials once it's no longer available, like the G8.
wheelsmithy wrote:codrus wrote: Integra GS-R? Certainly not going to be worth as much as a Type R, but they only made so many of those and they're already on their way up. I suspect a GS-R in decent shape should holds its value fairly well, assuming you can stop it from getting stolen.I recently went on a nation wide hunt, and couldn't find a decent one below $7K. Of course, the hunt was prompted by a $4500 one with 105K miles in Atlanta that I couldn't get to in time. But, yeah, I agree, those are going to climb fast.
I just checked the local CL ads, out of curiosity. A bunch of beat-to-E36 M3 ones for $4K, and a cherry one for $12K. (!)
Keith Tanner wrote: Or get a Chevy SS. Sure, it'll cost a bit more but you can probably get $10000 off and 0% financing from GM. I think it'll be recognized as one of the Car Guy Specials once it's no longer available, like the G8.
Just make sure you spec the manual trans.
G8 GT's are cheap. G8 GXP's with a manual are $$.
How long is your commute? Short commute this is do-able, but if you have a long commute it'll be tougher to pull off.
xflowgolf wrote:Keith Tanner wrote: Or get a Chevy SS. Sure, it'll cost a bit more but you can probably get $10000 off and 0% financing from GM. I think it'll be recognized as one of the Car Guy Specials once it's no longer available, like the G8.Just make sure you spec the manual trans. G8 GT's are cheap. G8 GXP's with a manual are $$.
Sorry, I just assumed that you'd get the stick as a car guy :)
Keith Tanner wrote:xflowgolf wrote:Sorry, I just assumed that you'd get the stick as a car guy :)Keith Tanner wrote: Or get a Chevy SS. Sure, it'll cost a bit more but you can probably get $10000 off and 0% financing from GM. I think it'll be recognized as one of the Car Guy Specials once it's no longer available, like the G8.Just make sure you spec the manual trans. G8 GT's are cheap. G8 GXP's with a manual are $$.
I haven't actually called dealers, but looking on autotrader I haven't found any of them with rates low enough for me. Yet. What did these start at? Seems like you can get into them at $40k. $40k financed though is more than I'd care to take on if the value drops--unlikely, but possible. I may call dealerships and see what they can actually do, but that still seems a little too practical of a vehicle while I don't have kids.
mtn wrote:Keith Tanner wrote:I haven't actually called dealers, but looking on autotrader I haven't found any of them with rates low enough for me. Yet. What did these start at? Seems like you can get into them at $40k. $40k financed though is more than I'd care to take on if the value drops--unlikely, but possible. I may call dealerships and see what they can actually do, but that still seems a little too practical of a vehicle while I don't have kids.xflowgolf wrote:Sorry, I just assumed that you'd get the stick as a car guy :)Keith Tanner wrote: Or get a Chevy SS. Sure, it'll cost a bit more but you can probably get $10000 off and 0% financing from GM. I think it'll be recognized as one of the Car Guy Specials once it's no longer available, like the G8.Just make sure you spec the manual trans. G8 GT's are cheap. G8 GXP's with a manual are $$.
We had one here, $46K but it had all two options that you could add on to a '14. It sat on the lot untouched for 2 years, no one would look at it even because no one knew what it was, not even the salesmen. It went out the door for $10K off just to unload it.
I'm thinking any of these classic Chryslers are probably fully depreciated. 
I think a lot of it depends on where you are located:
In a salt free state, tons of nice cars can be DD'd with no significant loss in value. 7.3 Powerstroke trucks and Excursions come to mind, those have held steady on price for close to 10 years now, but run one in the rust belt and it will be close to worthless after 5 years of salt exposure. Same could be said for pretty much anything else on your list.
And like everything, buying it right is critical. Don't buy something needing work unless its cheap. If you want something with mods, buy something already modded.
NickD wrote:mtn wrote:We had one here, $46K but it had all two options that you could add on to a '14. It sat on the lot untouched for 2 years, no one would look at it even because no one knew what it was, not even the salesmen. It went out the door for $10K off just to unload it.Keith Tanner wrote:I haven't actually called dealers, but looking on autotrader I haven't found any of them with rates low enough for me. Yet. What did these start at? Seems like you can get into them at $40k. $40k financed though is more than I'd care to take on if the value drops--unlikely, but possible. I may call dealerships and see what they can actually do, but that still seems a little too practical of a vehicle while I don't have kids.xflowgolf wrote:Sorry, I just assumed that you'd get the stick as a car guy :)Keith Tanner wrote: Or get a Chevy SS. Sure, it'll cost a bit more but you can probably get $10000 off and 0% financing from GM. I think it'll be recognized as one of the Car Guy Specials once it's no longer available, like the G8.Just make sure you spec the manual trans. G8 GT's are cheap. G8 GXP's with a manual are $$.
Yeah, they're a sales disaster. Deep discounts.
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