What about the stereotype of buying a flashy car?
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wrote on last edited by [email protected]
What about the stereotype of buying a flashy car? Arguably that’s the one I fell into: spending far more on a car than I ever have to get something flashy and different, and purely thinking of me for what felt like the first time in my life.
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What about the stereotype of buying a flashy car? Arguably that’s the one I fell into: spending far more on a car than I ever have to get something flashy and different, and purely thinking of me for what felt like the first time in my life.
I bought a roadster ... which turned out to be probably the best financial decision of my life. $11K (used, obviously) and I drove it for nine years and then resold it for $5K. The thing about roadsters is that they're thoroughly impractical, so dudes buy them and then keep them in a garage for a decade or two and then sell them for next to nothing. I have no friends so I don't even need the one passenger seat let alone a back seat.
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I bought a roadster ... which turned out to be probably the best financial decision of my life. $11K (used, obviously) and I drove it for nine years and then resold it for $5K. The thing about roadsters is that they're thoroughly impractical, so dudes buy them and then keep them in a garage for a decade or two and then sell them for next to nothing. I have no friends so I don't even need the one passenger seat let alone a back seat.
wrote on last edited by [email protected]I came really close to doing that as a younger adult. At one point it was almost a club, so many co-workers had an older mg. Unfortunately they are no longer as plentiful or cheap.
Now I’m tempted from time to time but would never spend the time to care for it myself, which is one of the reasons to get an older vehicle.
At the moment I have the practical needs that both my kids are driving but sharing one car and can’t yet afford their own. This is the first summer that coordination will be a challenge. I took a Quick Look into long term rentals and short term leases and they’re just too expensive. I don’t want to buy them a car that will just sit and rot for 10 months they’re in college. I am so tempted to get myself another fun car. Maybe a project or classic. For the summer I’d have one more vehicle to share for the family. If there was an issue with my main car, I’d have an option. And if it’s a fun car for me I don’t mind having it the ten months of the year they’re in school
That Slate is so promising, but obviously more expensive than an older used car. I’d be tempted to get the open air configuration despite living in the northeast where it’s not practical most of the year
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I came really close to doing that as a younger adult. At one point it was almost a club, so many co-workers had an older mg. Unfortunately they are no longer as plentiful or cheap.
Now I’m tempted from time to time but would never spend the time to care for it myself, which is one of the reasons to get an older vehicle.
At the moment I have the practical needs that both my kids are driving but sharing one car and can’t yet afford their own. This is the first summer that coordination will be a challenge. I took a Quick Look into long term rentals and short term leases and they’re just too expensive. I don’t want to buy them a car that will just sit and rot for 10 months they’re in college. I am so tempted to get myself another fun car. Maybe a project or classic. For the summer I’d have one more vehicle to share for the family. If there was an issue with my main car, I’d have an option. And if it’s a fun car for me I don’t mind having it the ten months of the year they’re in school
That Slate is so promising, but obviously more expensive than an older used car. I’d be tempted to get the open air configuration despite living in the northeast where it’s not practical most of the year
Z3 master race.
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Z3 master race.
Can older ones be had in reasonable condition for reasonable price? I never looked into those on the assumption they cost more and are not very common.
While I liked mg’s when I was younger, more recently I was a fan of Miata’s.
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Can older ones be had in reasonable condition for reasonable price? I never looked into those on the assumption they cost more and are not very common.
While I liked mg’s when I was younger, more recently I was a fan of Miata’s.
I bought my second one a few years ago for $8500 with 70K miles on it, with the 2.5L and near-mint condition. You can get the older ones with the 1.8L engines even cheaper, maybe around $5K or so. I've driven most of the roadsters at least once and I think the Z3 is at the top of the list in terms of bang for the buck. Miatas are not bad but they cost around the same (or more) and they don't really have the power and handling of the Z3, although they're generally cheaper to maintain (especially in terms of tires - the back wheels of a Z3 have a severe toe camber so tires barely last 10K miles even with regular rotation). I think a Z3 is easy to find as long as you're willing to buy on eBay or Autotrader (I've bought one on each) and fly somewhere to pick it up. If you're only buying local it would probably be very hard to find one.
My holy grail car is an M Roadster, which looks almost identical to a Z3 but is apparently an entirely different car from the ground up.
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Can older ones be had in reasonable condition for reasonable price? I never looked into those on the assumption they cost more and are not very common.
While I liked mg’s when I was younger, more recently I was a fan of Miata’s.
Yes. We’ve had two. Still have one. The only major problem with them is that sometimes the unibody starts to crack above the rear end. It doesn’t happen to al of them. You can still buy them for $3k-$10k in ok to pretty good shape respectively depending on the miles and engine type. Maintenance costs are reasonable for an older car.
They are really fun little cars, even the 4 cylinder is great.
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I bought my second one a few years ago for $8500 with 70K miles on it, with the 2.5L and near-mint condition. You can get the older ones with the 1.8L engines even cheaper, maybe around $5K or so. I've driven most of the roadsters at least once and I think the Z3 is at the top of the list in terms of bang for the buck. Miatas are not bad but they cost around the same (or more) and they don't really have the power and handling of the Z3, although they're generally cheaper to maintain (especially in terms of tires - the back wheels of a Z3 have a severe toe camber so tires barely last 10K miles even with regular rotation). I think a Z3 is easy to find as long as you're willing to buy on eBay or Autotrader (I've bought one on each) and fly somewhere to pick it up. If you're only buying local it would probably be very hard to find one.
My holy grail car is an M Roadster, which looks almost identical to a Z3 but is apparently an entirely different car from the ground up.
wrote on last edited by [email protected]First M3 I see on auto trader is $73k. That’s where I get off the bus
edit: Ooooohh, “Z3”. That’s very different
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First M3 I see on auto trader is $73k. That’s where I get off the bus
edit: Ooooohh, “Z3”. That’s very different
Yeah, M Roadster != M3 lol. The cheapest M Roadster I can find on Autotrader is $16K. Looks really nice, too. God damn it.
