Opinions on affordable luxury sports cars. Wanting to do something different.
 

Im waiting on a wire transfer to go through, but it looks like I have sold my 1964 Galaxie. I looked around my garage and just kinda felt I had multiple cars that did the same thing. So the Galaxie got put on the market.

Now Im looking at adding something a little different to the stable. I want AC and overdrive for sure. Im such a fair weather drive with my current cars, I would like something a bit more versatile. Which I could add those to a muscle car, but its a PITA so Im kinda looking at buying something newer. Im even leaning.........European. Ill pause for everyone to finish their gasps.

Budget is going to be about 25-32k. I could maybe stretch that to 40 if some things break right, but Im definitely more comfortable at $28k than I am at 38k.

Ive found that there are a shocking number of what are sorta borderline supercars from the 2000-2015 year range that fall in that price range. Cars that cost well over 100k and have just hit bottom. I like the idea that like buying a classic Pontiac, you might have an appreciation over time with these as opposed to me buying a 2017 Challenger and watching it further depreciate.

What I am afraid of is getting into something and not being able to afford to fix it if it breaks. My dad's buddy owns a shop and says that some of the independent warranties actually pay out and arent scams. So I may look into that. Buying used cars is always a gamble but I would like to try and mitigate it.

My leader in the clubhouse is a 1999-2008 Porsche 911. They have the IMS issue but most on the used market have it documented as replaced. And compared to other models I'll list Porsche seems to have a reputation as being reliable. There are more independent shops for them, and while parts are cheap. They arent brutal. Porsche people also tend to keep pretty good service records. There also seem to be more places that do Professional Porsche Inspections than other brands.

2009ish Maseratti Granturismo. Shockingly affordable. Ferrari built engine which is cool. But calls for a $2000 service per year. Even assuming you dont break anything. Do you REALLY need to replace belts every year or is that just Maseratti bilking the idle rich?

Jaguar F type. This would be the newest one I could afford. Ive seen them in my price range as new as 2015.

Early Dodge Viper. I havent looked hard at this yet. The first couple of years seem affordable, but I would probably want a second gen as they had standard AC and airbbags. There seems to be a price jump there that might not be affordable to me.

Porsche Panamera Turbo. I actually really like these and would probably easily be the fastest of the bunch. The problem I have with these if they are only available in the PDK automatic. The Galaxie was my last manual ride. While Im not a 4 speed elitist, I struggle with the idea of being a car guy who doesnt own a single standard shift transmission.

Several Mercedes Benz AMG models. I like the V12 Bi Turbo cars the best, but it doesnt seem they have the best reputation for affordable maintenance or reliability. Also not often found in manual trans.


I had a c6 before, so Im also considering a Z06 C6 or maybe an early C7. CTS-V too would be on the list. I trust the repair costs on these more, but Im kinda looking for something I havent owned before. The other corvette issue I have is I take my dog for rides all the time. Im not sure if she would ride in the hatch area and my GF wouldnt enjoy being told she couldnt come. This is partially why the 911 is a leader. Fold down the back seat and its a perfect dog pad.

Im open to realistic opinions on ownership, driving, maintenance cost of some of the models because I have ZERO real world experience with any of them sans the Corvette. Also open to other considerations.

My all time favorite is the 1999 Corvette 6spd. I sold it 8 years ago and still miss it.

Given the cash and a spot in the garage, I'd be searching for a 911 of some kind. I'm a BIG fan and would like one myself one day.
I'm not sure 40K would get you much though.

Ive been looking at those the most. You for sure have options from 20-30k for 996 cars and from 28-40 for 997.1 cars. The 997.2 cars from 2009+ are where they jump way up over my budget.

The 996 headlights are very divisive still. While those cars have begun to climb, they are still behind the round headlight 997 cars.

Like many cars, they have jumped a ton over the last two years. If I would have been in the same market 2 years ago I probably would have saved 5-8k across the board.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/20...11-carrera-85/

This ends in two days, should be a fun gauge to watch. Im betting this guy lands around 32K. Nice car, IMS done. Lots and Lots of silver cars from that generation. I really dont want a silver one.

Also fun fact ive noticed when corvette shopping. Reguardless of generation, if you dont mind the color yellow, you can save money on a Corvette. Yellow cars are consistently cheaper than other colors. Especially with C3s. I wouldnt mind an LS swapped overdrive C3 so Ive been looking at those too.

My wife had a 2004 Boxster S Special edition. Needed more power but fun to drive. High quality. She got tired of the manual trans and got a 2006 C55 AMG. That was a good car (had balls) also high quality. Never had either one long enough to deal with repairs though.

Strange, I've had a few Porche 911's, including the 2012 Targa 4S that I sold earlier. I've never heard of the IMS bearing issue on anything outside of the Boxster engine.
But if you do get a 911, I'm sure that you will be pleased with the driving experience.

The boxters, Cayman, and 911s through 2008 all had the same general engine architecture. Except for the Turbo cars which I sadly cant afford. So the IMS and bore scoring are a potential issue on all of them, but its likely overblown. Real numbers seems to indicate it probably affects 1-5% of them. The IMS as a mentioned is often taken care of already, Bore Scoring I think is actually the potentially scarier issue. 2009 alleviated those issues, which is part of the reason for the price jump.

That and making sure I avoid a car optioned with the carbon fiber brakes that cost like 15k to replace. Thats on the Panameras too.

I like the 2014 Cayman S cars, but similar to the 2009 911 price jump, the next gen Caymans jump to mostly over 40k. Also no place for the pup to ride.

We just traded my wifes 2013 Camaro SS in for a 2017 Camaro SS. The dealer where we bought the 2013 from 4 years ago, offered us $2,000 more than we paid for it. We bought the 2017 for $41,000. It only has 12,000 miles. The old car ran and handled really well but the 2017 6th gen is even better. I can't comment on the foreign stuff. All of my friends who keep there fancier stuff after the warranty is up, usually complain about the costs when it goes to the dealer.

Having owned a Mercedes, all I can say if you buy a european be prepared to pay the bill. All of those kind of cars are great for the original owner. The guy that can afford $100g on a toy, drive it sparingly for 2 or 3 years then sell it. That is when they are at their best. Second hand of course but I have heard that Maseratis are trouble prone. All of these cars you speak of now are highly electronic dependent (but what car isnt these days), we all know what happens when those kind of problems start. It wasnt too long ago one could get a later model Ferrari for 60k, but like you mentioned they come with an $15k oil change/timing belt service!!
I had a friend with a fairly new Z06, I think he said the back tires were something like $1k a piece! Getting an exotic car sounds like a lot of fun, but there is a lot more to the cost than the buy in. From what I understand Porsche may be the best built. I know BMW and probably MB have a lot of that tends to go bad after a few years.

I have always been a benz kinda guy and not crazy about Porsches, but I think for the kind of money you want to spend I would get the oldest, lowest mile model available. Hopefully one that is independent of all the electronic crap. Then it may go up in value.
More touring than sport I think the 500sl's are also a car in their best buy category at the moment. Good ones are starting to go up in value.

Yea, I wouldn't buy a european luxury car. The 6th Gen Camaro is an excellent choice.

I had a 2019 camaro ss as a rental. I couldn’t fit a set of golf clubs in the trunk. That irritated the crap out of me and soured me on them. If I were buying something like that it would be a challenger.

I thought my corvette was way more comfortable and honestly even more practical than the Camaro. I actually put an entire Christmas tree in my c6

To be clear here, I completely understand that the service cost is going to be more. I’m trying to figure out what the ones that are above average, vs ridiculous are. At this point I think a 911 with a spin on oil filter adapter that has already had its clutch and brakes replaced is likely to probably be good for years with just oil changes.

I should also point out I’m not looking for a daily driver. I want to drive it more than I do my other hot rods, but not everyday. 3-4000 miles a year probably.

Look at a corvette convertible then. I've put clubs in them personally.

Best bang for the buck would the latest model corvette you can afford, and likely a lot less work than a European car.

Is the luxury or performance more important? I love our Hellcat, but it doesn’t scream luxury. Same with a viper- I like them but not too cush inside. I totally get your goal here- something different, fun and you won’t smell like Gas when you get out of it.

I like the 2003-2008 Viper (hardtop preferred ). Not luxurious but badass
F type Jag- again the hardtop is a beautiful car and from what I understand the new ones are reliable
Any Porsche is going to be fun to drive- I would look for a wild color to keep it from blending in
What about an Aston Martin? They should have some cool options
Maserati’s look good and sound even better- but aren’t that fast and maintenance is a killer

What about the new Supra? I did a drift ride along in one and it was pretty amazing and actually roomy inside
Mazda MX-5 hardtop Miata?
An older skyline? Different, would most certainly go up in value but doesn’t really fit the luxury request.

Going to enjoy this thread and what people come up with.

If you buy a Porsche, make sure you have a good mechanic who knows them. We had a relatively low mile 944 several years ago. A blast to drive, but that car always needed something done to it. And not every shop had the knowhow to look at it.

The CTS-V you mention in your original post would be a car with excellent performance, luxury and plenty of room for your golf clubs in the trunk.

Interesting question, and I dont have an exact answer. I would probably order it

1. Exotic
2. Performance
3. Luxury

If I could afford a Hellcat, that would be the choice. I dont think I can. Especially when I would prefer to keep it more like 30k than 40k. As I mentioned I owned a corvette when I lived out west. Great car. Huge bang for the buck. Corvette people wave to each other which is cool, but honestly they are sorta normal. Whereas when I drive my old cars I get attention everywhere.

So I definitely wants something that stands out. A racecar red 911 in rural Indiana fits that bill, and Porsche also has a pretty cool driver club feel from my limited experience. Even here there are people that get together with them. At the same time, I would target a 2002+ because they got 315 HP instead of 295. So the performance is still important to me. Luxury takes a back seat as long as it has AC, nice radio, and all that. I really dont care if it has imported Italian calf leather.

If I were to buy domestic a 2nd gen CTS-V is probably my first choice, with the Corvette second. But if I bought one of those I would probably go out of my way to get one that was all black, lowered, black wheels. The ones that look really evil and standout. I dont just want a standard white stock corvette like I had before.

A mercedes would be same category. Big difference in the attitude between a bone stock AMG and one with a little razzle dazzle thrown at it.

I considered a v8 Vantage, but I felt they probably fall into the Maserati too
expensive to maintain category.

I dont know much about them but an XLR-V wouldnt be out of the picture either.

This falls more into the classic car, which Im trying to avoid in general, but Ive always wanted a late C4 ZR-1 as well. I really think thats one of the cars that could explode if you hold onto one.

My 2011 CTS-V was hands down my favorite car of all time. The Recaro seats are worth looking for imho.

Don

If you want a manual transmission, of course that will eliminate some of the cars on your list.
I only know what I've seen in magazines and on YouTube about Porsches, but I get the impression that the 996 models will really begin to appreciate in value in the future. I watched a video on fixing the IMS bearing, and while it is a fairly involved process it doesn't seem to be out of the reach of a competent DIY mechanic. As mentioned Boxters are probably the best value right now; personally I prefer hardtops so I'd look at Caymans too.

Its already happening. Which could be the uptick that basically all cars are getting right now, but they were depressed for a LONG time because of the air cooled Porsche elitist crowd. That stigma is largely dying. The 911 has been water cooled for over 20 years at this point and it didnt begin the apocolypse.

And yeah I looked into it too, though I would far and away prefer one that already has had it done. I see lots of them available with recently replaced clutches, brakes, and rear main seals along with the IMS fix, which again, is why thats my likely choice. I just feel like you can shop carefully, get one that has had most of its major maintenance done and feel like you have a good chance of getting years of easy driving out of one.

Tony Angelo from Hot Rod Garage bought a basketcase one on his YouTube page and said that they arent bad at all to work on compared to the reputation. Fun videos too if anyone wants to kill an hour.

Im also pretty much hardtop only.

The CTS V at this point is probably 2nd place, unless I find out I can afford a viper. The problem I have with CTS-Vs is A. The manual cars are few and far between, and more expensive. B. Ill see one and think it looks badass. Then Ill see another and think it looks like a grandpa car. Color means a lot on those cars. The dark red is the way to go.

Panamera turbo is high on the list too if I decide I handle being an all automatic garage.