Sports Cars in 30K - 65K range

Well, this being Ferrarichat.com - a Ferrari 328 is a pretty obvious choice.
A couple of non F-car ideas that spring to mind are: Porsche 993 C4S or NSX.

Any of these should be towards the middle of your price range & leave plenty of budget for repairs etc.

 

There are many factors. Is insurance a concern because of his age? Are you concerned with reliability and all that? Depreciation and mpg matter to you? Will it be a daily driver?

Used:
NSX
Dodge Viper
Corvette Z06
Boxter S
BMW M3
BMW M5
Porsche

New:
Nissan 350Z
Audi S4
Corvette

I could go on and on..so if you could put some criterias, it would be easy for us to help you.

 

In that case

M3=see them dime a dozen, however they are great cars. A true useable sports car (trunk, rear seats)

NSX=a true exotic, without the hefty maintenance costs. Very good examples can be found. Much more rare, thus more attention, and exotic. Only downside (not for me) is its basically a 1991 model car w upgrades.

Lotus=fun little car, almost no creature comforts for daily driving.

I would pick
1)NSX in spa yellow pearl 2000 model
2)M3, six speed, in white or the phoenix yellow or that smurf blue
3)Lotus...
I would rather get a lotus espirit v8, TT, used.

 

If you value your son's life, don't get him a sports car. I manage to push the Volvo my parents gave me enough to know that had I been given the sports car I wanted (Porsche 928S, around 10k) I would of gone off a cliff.

Oh, but that statement above depends on the age of your son. Is he 16, 22 or in his late 30s and living off of you? Obviously the proper answer to your question varies a lot on the age.

 

completely disagree.

There are 16 year old kids who are mature and skilled enough to ride a Busa 1300 or drive a NSX-t supercharged by comptech.

There are spoiled 25 year old idiots, who can neither drive a corolla or ride a vespa.

Depends on the person, not the age.

lastly: I don't think he is here to ask us advice if he should get the car or not. Its a car thread, that he is asking options for. I don't think we should help him parent. Lets help him pick a car, instead

 

While I do generally agree with that sentiment in general, a 16 year old who has not spent his early life on the track will not be able to fully understand the mechanics of driving enough to be trusted with a sports car.

However, those 16 year olds who can be trusted with a Busa or a supercharged NSX are few and far between.

 

And we do not know if his son is one of them do we?

 

:shrug: Fair enough.

In that case, the good sports car choices between 30k and 65k are...

Porsche 930
Porsche 911s
Porsche 928 GTS
Ferrari 328 and 308
Acura NSX
Honda S2000 (cheaper than 30k isn't it? still a good choice)

That’s my general opinion about the various sports cars in that price range, expanding it too sports coupes throws in

BMW M3/M3 Convert.
Acura RSX-S (cheaper than 30k)
BMW 330is

And that’s just about all of the ones I can think of. Of all of those I think the M3 would be the best choice because it is much more practical than the rest
.

 

Yes 33K new. THere have been few changes made this year. 20-23K used, easily.

 

What a lucky kid, I hope he respect and appreciate his parent. Eventhough my parent kinda have monies. My first car I own in high school they bought was a blue 4 doors Toyota Corrola 1.8 in the late 70's and early 80's- a babe magnet, ha ha. Remember those? I haven't seen one in the last 15 years- probaply all end up in junk yard. That car was a dog. I had it until my 3rd year in college. Lots of memories in that car though. Compare now what I have- rags to riches.
Don't get me wrong, my parents are great and I love them,w/o their commmitment. I won't be what I'm today

 

Man, my 'rents would NEVER trust me with a 930 or even a M3 sedan (which is one of my favorite cars). Id say I am a safe driver, but no way in hell I would trust myself with a Busa. I just know Id sneeze or something and flip over.

Id spring for the Elise, or maybe a Shelby GT500.
MMmmmm...

 

You must be freeking joking! You are going to buy a 17 year old kid a 65,000 car. I think he should keep the S-10 until he can afford a better car.
And you should see a doctor.

 

None of the cars on that list are 65K.

 

Frigin A... I wish my father thought like you, I bloody well graduated from high school midway my sophomore year. Haven't done much since then though…

Out of the ones you have left the two best options are the M3 and the Lancer Evo (or its correspondent the WRX STi). I personally would rather have the M3, but many other kids my age would rather have the Jap stuff.

Wait, what the hell am I saying? Our neighbor had an anniversary Espirit and that car was like Darth Vader. Get a black on black Espirit!

 

Great choice. It is one of the most fabulous cars on the road. Don't listen to the people who say it doesn't have "soul" and other BS.

Here is a basic run down:

1991-1994 are the coupe bodystyle. You can't take off roof. Good ones can be found in this range in the low to upper 30s. They had 3.0 liter engine 270hp

1993 cars had cupholders and added airbag and changed the rear alignment because too many people were complaining about excessive tire wear.

1995 is the year the NSX-T was introduced. The 95/96 NSX-T aren't the highest in demand, because they were the "slowest." Since they had the 3.2 liter motor and the extra weight of the targe. There were new wheels added in this light upgrade. The targa also has a bit different suspension rates than the coupe.


1997+ this is when the larger motor was introduced. 3.2 liter, producing 290hp. They added a 6th gear.

1999--Had the Alex Zanardi Edition NSX that was released. There were 50 I think (don't quote me, this is off the top of my head). These was a weight reduction, and it had the BBS wheels.

2002-THis is the year of the cosmetic redesign. No more flip up headlamps. THey also have bigger wheels. Front and rear fascia was midlly changed


**all the horsepower quoted are for manual tranny. Auto tranny cars I think had 250 or 252 hp. Personally I would buy a 97-01 Spa Yellow Pearl NSX. I don't like the 02 changes.


Ok if you have any other questions don't hesitate to let me know.

Like I said earlier, you don't have to justify buying a car for your son to anyone. This thread is not about what is right or wrong, at the end of the day, you know your son the best, and you should give him what you think is best. For the naysayers, don't worry about them. There are plenty of kids on this site that have gotten Ferraris at 17. Nonetheless, lets get back to the cars.

m3--like i said, its a great all around car. Depends on where you live, this could be a dime a dozen (not that it is a negative).

NSX--you can see what I wrote above. Though this is the most exotic on the list, I think its the best choice.

Elise--track car imo. Lacks too much creature comforts and in/out a bit tight. However, toyota celica motor, super reliable.

Espirit--since this will have to be used (to stay in your budget), I would make sure all maintenance has been done, and everything is up do date. We have a few mmembers here with the Espirit, and I am sure they will chime in. They are great cars.

Lancer EVo--personally I wouldn't buy a mitsu becuase of the tranny problems they have had in the past. I would rather get the Subaru wrx. That said in the same budget, about 30K, I would rather have a s2000 used or a 92 nsx. IMO both of those cars are more "sporty" since that is what you are looking for than an evo or wrx, which are basically 4 door econoboxes with great engines and suspension.

 

Just get the elise then. You like the way it looks, its new, it has warranty, and it has a toyota motor.


Problem solved, now try to go order one ;

 

I hate to nitpick.. but its ESPRIT, not espirit. The Elise is a great car but might not be the best as a daily driver but then again your son being young might love it as one and would not have as much ingress and engress problems as some of us slightly "older" fellows. Get on a list now or buy for a mark up. In 2 full model years there will be or should be a new Elise. So this could be the last of the bare bones Elise driving experience. But you could always buy used.

 

Corvette Z06 or Viper GTS. Train him early with the fastests cars in that price range. The street cred for both is immense.

 

The US Elise has a Toyota engine and gearbox. It should hold up just fine.