If you had US$50K and had to purchase a classic car, sports car, and daily driver for your budget dream garage, what vehicles would you pick?
I saw a video by Throttle House with this premise and thought it was a fun one. What three cars or trucks would you want in your budget garage?
Let's assume that you can only buy vehicles legal in your country, but that there are no costs for importing. For instance, it might be illegal to import or drive a car with the steering on the opposite side as normal, so that's out. But you can import a legal car for no additional cost. Prices are today's prices, but if your prices are not in US$ then don't feel obligated to be exact down to the dollar/euro/CHF since exchange rates fluctuate. And to keep things easy, there is no VAT/sales tax.
If you'd prefer to spec out a wishlist for a country you'd like to live in (like Japan or Germany) you may do that instead, but same import rules apply. :)
For instance, my garage might look like:
Daily Driver: Subaru Outback 3.6R (2014) - $17,500 ... I'm not too familiar with the pros and cons of this spec, but this seems like a decent fit for commuting needs, unless I should look at a newer car with a lower trim?
Sports Car: Mazda RX-8 40th Anniv. (2008) - $13,000
Classic Car: Chevy Corvette (1969) - $17,500 ... I'd prefer pop-up headlights, but it says it has under 6K original miles???
Total: ~$48,000
$50k in this economy for 3 cars? A new "entry" vehicle starts at 30, 000 as is. The cars I was looking at was already in the 50-60k range. The woes of a high CoL area.
Well I'll try:
sport car: all the Vipers start at $50k so that's out. I decided to go back to my Ben 10 roots and find a Dodge Challenger. I see them aroind the 10-15k range. I chose a 2010 year (yeah, Kevin's car in the movie the 2009. Close enough) that was 13k.
daily driver: wanted an FEV, but finding one under 25k was a fools errand, and I sure would be miserable in a Nissan Leaf (I'm a tall guy and barely fit into my sedan lol). I compromised with a hybrid and saw a decent looking Chevy Malibu for $16k, 60k miles.
Classic: I don't have any strong attachment to a classic one, but I decided on a Porsche 911 Carrera (i believe that was the cover car I saw for a very old Need for Speed Game. The original Hot Pursuit I think?) . I saw one I liked around $16k or so, so it fits with the remainder of my budget.
I'm 6'3", did do a few test drives in a Leaf.
If I didn't need to have anybody sit behind me, it was quite nice. But having to leave sufficient legroom for an almost-as-tall 13 year old ruled it out.
Well, that and a lack of trunk space, which is really a killer for FEV.
Let's see...
Classic car: 1980s Toyota AE86. $7-20K. Let's say $12K, since I found this listing.
Daily driver: I already have a 2007 Honda Fit I'm perfectly happy with, though it could use CarPlay. I paid about $5K for it and it's still holding that value, from what I've seen. So any used Fit in that range would, uh, fit. That leaves $33K for a sports car....
Sports car: Subaru WRX. They run a hair over $32K new. The Civic Type R sadly is out of the price range.
I only do 4 cylinder JDM for any type of car.
Pretty sure that's an AE92 in that listing. I doubt you will find and AE86 for that price unless it no longer runs. Those AE86 Trueno cars have ridiculous levels of fame inflating that price significantly.
You're right, that is a different one. I was overly quick in browsing. I have seen good prices on faded red ones; if you avoid the desirable paint job you can save a bit in some cases.
They're also a lot more plentiful in Japan and can be imported, but that comes with its own costs.
Ok does anyone know why that Toyota was originally listed for almost $1,000,000 then marked down to $12,000?
Classic: Volkswagen Rabbit Pickup
Sports: Volkswagen Rabbit Pickup
Daily: Volkswagen Rabbit Pickup
Think I could buy and restore three of them - or similar - for under $50k.
I'm going to convert this to £50k if that's okay?
Let's start with the fun sports car. I've owned a Skyline R33, driven many sports cars including Mustangs, Porsche and some interesting mid-range sports Toyota's; but I'm going to have to say, to keep within the budget, I'm going to pick a Nissan 200sx either S14 or S15. If you buy without mods, you can still get them for between £10-£15k
Yes, they do not look like much, but with a little hard work they are the most fun you can have going sideways: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg4wItLDVl8
For the daily, I'll stick with Jap based and go for a [Honda Type-R DC5 or FD2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Civic_Type_R#FD2/FN2_(2007;_based_on_eighth_generation_Civic). That just ate another £10k.
That leaves me with a cool £25k for a classic. I think a Jaguar XJ-S would be in budget.
So, final list is simply:
I'd still have some change in my account to improve them.
Daily: Honda HRV: Subcompact SUV with great headroom front and back, only 180 inches long.
Classic car: Probably a 1970 Volkswagen Beetle. My dad had two at various points and they're fiddly, slightly temperamental machines, but I like them. '70 because then I can flex on anybody that it was the last year they were made anywhere but Brazil (they were superseded by the Super Beetle).
Sportscar: A Mazda Miyata. The thing would live with the roof down because I'm probably too tall for it, but like the idea of squeezing into one.
I’m 6’2 and daily drove a NA Miata for a couple of years. It wasn’t bad, roomier than you might expect. The only issue I had was being too tall for the seat headrest; I’m pretty sure I would’ve been paralyzed if I was ever rear ended.
Great choices by the way!
Daily: used prius (~$10k).
I would have chosen a budget EV but at this price point, I feel like there's too many things that are compromised.
Sports: used BMW R NineT (~$11k)
Is a motorcycle cheating? If it is then a miata is the obvious pick for fun:price ratio.
Classic: remaining budget could pick me up a nice '60s-'70s classic roadster convertible. Really any would do, mgb, triumph tr6, alfa spider, datsun fairlady, etc. Something small and fun that you could imagine cruising down some windy coastal road in.
I was hoping we'd have some motorcycles! It's an awesome bike no matter what, but what variety of NineT would you get?
Probably the scrambler but I also really like the styling of the racer.
Well no cars, it'd be all motorcycles:
Daily: Custom Scrambler (unused budget goes here :)
Sports: RE Himalayan (the newest one) (~7k)
Classic: Ural (~16k)
I was hoping we'd have some motorcycle garages! The Ural with a sidecar is just so cool, but all of these would be head-turners for sure. I'm sure the insurance would be eye-watering, but luckily that doesn't matter here. ;)
Ride safe!
Classic car: 1957 MGA Roadster. Pristine ones cost $30 - 40,000, but you can get them in drivable/restorable condition for as little as $10k.
Sports: 2016 Mazda 3 s Touring Hatchback. I loved driving this car in a completely NSFW way and would unhesitatingly spend $15k on it again. I know it's not an official "sports" car, but between the 2.3 L, 184 HP engine and the nimble suspension, it feels like one.
Daily: 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV - $15k for low mileage used.
Mazda do some magic things with their suspension. Mazda 3 sport was easily one of the best cars I've ever owned for daily driving enjoyment
I've owned a Mazda 2 as well and they managed to cram the 3s suspension into a popcan. It honestly felt like driving the 3, but with a fishbowl lens on my glasses. It was a wicked fun driver with a manual in the city. It was a short shift too, so very racy. Like driving a top end go kart because it was low to the ground. 60 felt like 90 so it was easy to keep close enough to the speed limits around town...
Daily driver: This is probably going to be a $15k 2015 Sienna soon, so uh. Hey, 1/3 of this dream garage down! :^) Assuming my wife could take care of that, probably a Mk6 or 7 GTI, assuming it had the timing belt deflector work done...
Sports car: I think $20k-$25k into a serviceable Z4M would probably do it well for me. Comfortable, new enough to be somewhat safe, drop-top, and I'm used to working on BMWs enough that I'll eat some of the horrible maintenance. If not that, a solid AP1 S2000.
Classic car: Cobble together the rest of the money here, find a blue 2.5RS frame for $4k-$5k, LEGO a WRX engine in there, and call it a day with my janky makeshift-USDM GC8 WRX.
Daily: Toyota Sequoia, first generation. Because its built like a brick sh*thouse and will go for 400,000 miles with very little repair. Generally around 5-8k.
Sports: Porsche Cayman. Sexiest body Porsche ever made. Around 25k.
Classic: C3 Corvette, should be a chrome bumper model with a 454 and standard but those arent cheap enough so Id have to settle for an 78-81 for about 15k
That leaves 2-5k left over for filling each tank. Twice.
Excellent and very shrewd choices! Having a corvette and a Porsche would make you welcome at any gathering of any kind ever! :) Would your Cayman be a hardtop or convertible, harsh winters notwithstanding?
Daily: 2010s Honda Odyssey, because I both love and need a minivan. Only caveat is that I know very little about them, so I'm assuming the middle seats either fold down or are easily removable. If not, change this to a Dodge Grand Caravan $10k
Sports: I'm going to stretch the definition here and say "sports" also includes Wheeling/Off-roading: Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon $20k. Compared to a 4Runner they're dirt cheap, same goes for parts. Plus two solid axles, lockers, disconnecting sway bar, even bone stock this is going to do everything I want to do when I hit the trails.
Classic: 1995 Ford Taurus SHO $15k
I struggled with this one, but decided to ultimately fall back on an old favorite. I owned one when I was a kid, but it had a janky engine swap and a bit of body damage and I didn't have the money to really fix it up and get it right, so I sold it after a short period of ownership. Do I regret it? Not really, but I certainly wouldn't mind having one again, especially a prime example and they're not too expensive.
Total: $45000
This is a much more practical garage than I was expecting to see. Awesome and certainly enjoyable! :)