You are an auto enthusiast. You are the type of person who knows what a Chevrolet Citation is, knows that every time someone asks why their Civic is losing coolant the answer is certainly “Head gasket”, and knows that any situation in life can accurately be represented by an automotive analogy. However, you are also an average person of average means with an almost unstoppable sense of pragmatism; and you might be writing this all in the third person so as to not feel alone. So how do you reconcile those two things and own a sports car? Well, that can be difficult, so in generous fashion, we have compiled a list of sports cars made within the last 20 years that you can own for not too much money!
It would be remiss to not mention the Ford Mustang. As Darren would say in his yet to be published hardcover book “The Answer is Always Mustang”, well, the answer is always Mustang. Mustangs have been in production for 50+ years, so which Mustang is right Mustang? Currently, the best bang for the buck on Mustangs is the S197 (2005-2009) GT. It strikes that balance of new enough to be reliable and old enough to be affordable. The other huge advantage with Mustangs is the infinitely deep ocean of aftermarket and enthusiast support. It is likely that you would never be venturing into uncharted territory with one of these so there are loads of “DIYs” and “how-to’s” to help you out every step of the way. Sure, the 4.6L three-valve V8 has a questionable reputation but as mentioned before, there is a wealth of know-how available for free on the internet to keep you out of trouble. Right now you can get into a decent condition early (2005, 2006) S197 GT for around $7,500. Also, this is the only car on the list that has a V8!
Number two on the list is pretty obvious, the Mazda Miata. Sure you could buy somebody’s clapped out drift missile turned stance-mobile for $1000 or less; but you want a nicer example, one that hasn’t been, well, molested. You may as well forget about buying an NA (1989-1997), trying to find a clean one will prove to be a frustrating endeavour, finding a good example for a sensible price is even harder. You need to look for the less adored and less iconic NB (1998-2005). It doesn’t have the cute pop-up headlights, and it’s 200lbs heavier than its predecessor, but it makes up for that by being more powerful, with a 1.8L making 140hp sporting forged internals. Also available, a limited slip rear end and slick six-speed transmission. They still are holding their value pretty well with better examples coming in very close to the $10,000 mark.
Hyundai Genesis might not be the first thing that pops into your head when it comes to sporty cars, and that’s understandable. The Genesis was two cars at the same time which is a strange branding choice, one was a full-size sedan and the other was a sports coupe. We are only considering the latter of course. The Genesis is a car that looks fantastic on paper but doesn’t totally live up to expectations. It has the right recipe, RWD, two doors, choice of peppy 2.0L turbo or powerful 3.8L V6; where it falls short is in terms of real-world performance; where the 2.0L turbo fails to compete with base model contemporaries like the V6 Camaro or Mustang. Nonetheless, it is a pretty decent deal and a good junior sports car at around $9,000 for a 2010 model with a 2.0T and a manual transmission.
Number four might be a bit of a surprise, it’s a Japanese luxury marquee, a coupe platform sporting RWD, a 296hp V6 with a 7000rpm redline. Any guesses? You can buy a 12-year-old Infiniti G35 for well under $10,000. Yep, the car that was very similar but not quite the same as a 350Z for under $10,000! Depreciation hasn’t been kind to this but it has been kind to you, the buyer! If you play your cards right you can have a well equipped one with the six-speed manual and limited slip rear end for around $7000!
The final car on this list is not for the faint of heart but none the less it is definitely a very obtainable sporting car. *Deep breath* The Mazda RX-8; oh yeah these can be a handful to own, but the prices on these are down, way down. For used Toyota Corolla money, you can have a RWD, high revving, six-speed shifting sports car. The caveat? You will own a rotary powered car. The engine lifespan for these cars is unfortunately low at around 130,000km. There were several small fixes applied though and the newer (2009-2012) versions have an extra oil injector to alleviate the lubrication problem that kills the seals. The internet approved quick fix is to run mixed gas like a 2 stroke in the earlier versions. Thankfully the rest of the platform is good news, great handling due to excellent weight balancing, smooth precise shifts from a fantastic gearbox, and a stylish comfortable cockpit; as an added perk this coupe has four doors (sorta). You can get a well cared for early model at a totally reasonable $6000. If you want to spend a little more, you can get the newer more reliable version for just under $10,000.
So there you have it! Five surprisingly affordable sports cars made within recent history for under $10,000. Do you have any stories about affordable sporting cars? Do you think that we missed a lot of affordable sports cars? Please let us know, leave a comment, hit up our facebook page, stalk us on twitter and instagram!
GTC Darren
Matt Plooy
