5 Fun And Affordable Used Cars You Might Be Overlooking

Gasoline is nearing report highs, and there isn’t any finish in sight for the inflation disaster ravaging your checking account, however you continue to wish to drive a enjoyable automotive. Don’t fear, we’re all in the identical boat. Whether you are shopping for your first enjoyable automotive otherwise you’re downsizing from one thing dearer, there are many causes to need low cost thrills. And when you’ve got a enjoyable driving itch to scratch, however not some huge cash to scratch it with, so you have to stretch your {dollars} within the used automotive market. 

In the worth bracket that the majority regular automotive lovers can afford, you are not going to seek out depreciation-proof collectibles, so do not even attempt to consider preserving the miles low. These are vehicles that are supposed to be pushed, and darn properly needs to be. Get your self one thing enjoyable, pile a bunch of miles on it, and create a lifetime of recollections within the course of. 

This listing is not going to be populated with the usual fare, like Miatas, E30s, GTIs, or Mustangs, although — we’re coloring a bit outdoors the traces right here. These are automobiles you may’ve forgotten, or been overwhelmed with suggestions for, and also you’re simply making an attempt to do one thing a bit totally different. However, I did attempt to get one thing on this listing that might attraction to everybody, so whether or not you are in search of a long-legged grand tourer or a compact machine for autocross or monitor days, hopefully I’ve discovered one thing for you.

The Lexus SC is a kind of vehicles that simply does not get sufficient consideration, nevertheless it delivers as one of many best grand touring vehicles of the Nineties. While it was technically out there with a naturally-aspirated 2JZ inline six, the higher transfer for lengthy highway journey freeway motion is the 4.0-liter 1UZ V8. It drives like a dream, has loads of energy, and if correctly cared for, will outlast each human being on the planet. It’s not, maybe, the quickest, the quickest, essentially the most frugal, or essentially the most enjoyable to drive on winding roads. What it’s, nevertheless, is an especially competent private luxurious coupe on par with (or higher than) something popping out of Germany. 

If you need any form of proof of the SC’s accolades, a period review from Car and Driver favorably in contrast Japan’s Sport Coupe to an Aston Martin. 

“The SC400 costs only one-sixth of the astounding $250,000 price tag of the Aston Martin we tested in May,” says tester Larry Griffin. “The Lexus turns the Aston into an instant aberrational anecdote—a shaky tale told in the face of another projectile about to go ballistic for real.”

The V8-powered SC400 will run a low-15-second quarter-mile, and even on outdated tire tech from the early Nineties, it was able to 0.86g on the skidpad. It’s a bit lackadaisical by 2026 requirements, the place even our luxurious SUVs have stiff suspension and Nürburgring lap occasions, however that is okay. Lean all the way in which in to the Nineties aesthetic and get your self an extended fats tie, a Halliburton briefcase, and a telephone in a bag. Leave your iPhone behind and go for a pleasant cross-country highway journey in fashion and luxury. With dozens of examples presently out there under $10,000, it suits the invoice as inexpensive, even when the enjoyable is an acquired style. 

The earliest Porsche Boxsters, the non-S 2.5-liter vehicles from 1997 to 1999, are the most effective of the breed when you ask me. While later Boxsters obtained extra energy and a sixth gear within the transmission, they misplaced a little bit little bit of the rawness of those early vehicles. The 2.5-liter engine makes a raucous growl, and the consumption noise at full throttle is a kind of belongings you write residence about. The mid-engine dynamics and roadholding skill are tough to beat for the cash, as you possibly can ceaselessly discover these for lower than their Mazda Miata counterparts. Some of you may not wish to admit it, however this can be a higher automotive than the Miata. 

The 986 is not styled to everybody’s style, however I prefer it. There’s one thing so easy and unadorned about this automotive that it appeals extra to me with each passing 12 months. I have had the red example shown above for a few years, and I’ve liked each minute spent behind the wheel of this factor. It’s simply so enjoyable to drive. These early vehicles are extraordinarily analog as properly, missing trendy driver aids like traction management. Aside from the usual ABS, this automotive is just managed by your two toes and your two palms. 

You will doubtless have heard of the intermediate shaft bearing failures that plagued Boxster and 996 house owners for the final couple of a long time. While the failures do occur and do not supply a lot warning, in my expertise, the failures are comparatively uncommon, and there are methods to mitigate the harm or keep away from it altogether. Replacing the sealed bearing with an oiled bearing, for instance, appears to be an answer. Fortunately, the overblown nature of the IMS bearing failure mode has brought on a variety of lovers to keep away from these vehicles altogether, driving the worth down.

It’s completely attainable that the C5-generation Corvette was absolutely the pinnacle of American automotive building. Sure, there have been sooner vehicles constructed since, heck, there have been a lot sooner Corvettes constructed since, however the C5 was the very best mixture of design, affordability, and world-beating functionality. There was one thing within the water in Bowling Green again within the mid-Nineties, and the C5 may beat virtually something the world threw at it. 

The recipe right here is straightforward, however efficient. With the now-legendary LS V8 below the hood, a strong six-speed handbook transmission, and easy, low-slung fiberglass bodywork, the C5 Corvette was an unbelievable sports activities automotive proper out of the field. Okay, so it does not have a pleasant inside, and it shares its underwhelming stereo system with each different late-Nineties General Motors product, and the match and end are precisely what you’d anticipate from a Big Three product on this period, however the engineering behind the automotive overshadows every little thing else. 

Chevrolet made so a lot of these items that they virtually litter the bottom wherever you look. Peaking at more than 35,000 units per year, the C5 era was one of the crucial profitable sellers in Corvette historical past. It’ll value about $10,000 for a working venture automotive, so when you’re mechanically inclined, you can get a very whole lot. The nicest collector-grade Z06 mannequin will run you into the $50,000 vary, however you do not really want to do all that. Throw some coilovers and bolt-ons at a cut price basement driver-grade automotive, and you will have a track-capable machine for below 25 grand. 

It may not make a variety of sense {that a} six-figure odometer, eight-year-old Honda is on this listing, however wait till you drive it. The Accord Sport 2.0T with a six-speed handbook is considered one of my favourite trendy each day driver candidates on the market. Not solely is the engine mainly a detuned model of the one discovered within the Civic Type R, however the Tenth-gen Accord is maybe probably the greatest sedan chassis ever — and relying on mileage and situation, they are often had for lower than $20,000. 

It goes with out saying that Honda is aware of how one can construct a very good automotive, and this model of the Accord has lengthy been my favourite. If it’s important to be a grown-up and also you want area for you and your loved ones, or to haul a few colleagues to lunch, you’ll need one thing that feels a bit mature, which is strictly what the Accord is. It’s the platonically good mid-sized sedan, nevertheless it’s enjoyable sufficient for an fanatic. 

Imagine this automotive with a set of reducing springs, light-weight wheels wrapped in sticky tires, a short-throw shifter, a number of bolt-on energy mods, and a 300-horsepower tune. With a manufacturing unit ranking of 252 horsepower, it isn’t that lofty a aim. Combine that with a automotive that refuses to depreciate, together with legendary Honda reliability, and you’ve got a enjoyable automotive you possibly can rely on for possibly the remainder of your life. Twenty grand is an enormous deal, nevertheless it’s lots much less of an enormous deal when you maintain the automotive for one more 100,000 miles or extra. Buy it as soon as, purchase it for all times, proper?

In 2026, you possibly can’t purchase something with a blue oval for below $30,000. Just over a decade in the past, nevertheless, the diminutive jellybean Fiesta ST would set you back just $21,000 from the dealership. These days, a well-used Fiesta ST will be had for below $5,000, and the nicest examples on this planet can nonetheless be had for below $18,000. I do not know if I’d pay up for a cherry unit, however on the low finish of the market they’re an absolute steal of a deal. And we could not make this listing with out together with a sizzling hatchback, proper? 

If you are in search of one thing that may hustle on a again highway, rock an autocross, or sustain with far more costly equipment at a monitor day, this can be a sensible choice for many. It doubles as a utilitarian each day driver, with metropolis automotive dimensions for straightforward parking, and a comparatively fuel-efficient four-cylinder below the hood. Stay out of enhance, and also you may see close to 40 mpg in steady-state cruising. That’s fairly respectable. 

While the Fiesta ST ended right here within the U.S. for the 2019 mannequin 12 months, they nonetheless had sufficient tech and pace in them to maintain a contemporary fanatic sated. This is a kind of vehicles that you simply’d be completely proud of for over a decade of enjoyable driving. The interiors aren’t penalty containers like most sizzling hatches will be, particularly with the optionally available Recaro seats, nevertheless it’s value declaring that they definitely aren’t as comfy as, say, the Lexus SC. If you are seeking to rack up a ton of miles, otherwise you reside in a metropolis with notably tough roads, this one may not be for you.