I'm not into driving, but what's the best/fun toy car that can be had for $15-18K?

[zinfamous]

One of my friend has a BRZ and loves it.

But he's tiny. Are you tiny?

you mean like, down there?

 

[dasherHampton]

lol - I think he's tiny everywhere. But he has a beautiful wife.

 

[repoman0]

I'm going to go with the crowd here .. Miata. I drove an 06 in California for a week, manual of course, and loved it. Top down was way more awesome than I thought it'd be and everything about the car was just right. Precise short throw shifts, nice weight and linear feel to all three pedals, heavy and responsive steering. It felt like a lighter version of my 05 M3, which I would not recommend in the 15-18k price range at this point by the way. E46s are $20k minimum now, more like $25k between half decent sorted car and the two big things that need to be bulletproofed, the VANOS and rear floor, and newer ones go up from there.

 

[Paratus]

One of my friend has a BRZ and loves it.

But he's tiny. Are you tiny?

I’m an impressive 5ft 10.5 in. Or manlet in ATOT terms. The BRZ fits me just fine but if you are expecting entry like getting into SUV none of these cars will work.

you mean like, down there?

Hey some people are growers not show’rs.

Wait. What are we talking about?

 

[dasherHampton]

I have to be clear that I've never been in a BRZ. My friend is probably 5"8" (he looks kind of like Doug Flutie).

I had an IS 350 as a loaner and at around 6'1" and 200 lbs it's way too small for me, as great as it was.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Here's a more thorough list.

Miata (NA->current gen)
Ford Taurus SHO
Ford Focus ST (Fiesta ST)
FR-S/BRZ/86
Charger v8
Challenger v8
Civic Si
Lotus Elise
R32 GTST (a semi clapped out R32)
Nissan Laurel
So many JDM cars can be had for that price

 

[dasherHampton]

Lotus Elise? For under $20,000?

 

[jlee]

Lotus Elise? For under $20,000?

lol, not remotely.

 

[dasherHampton]

He might have meant Espirit. But I wouldn't touch one that's available for under $20,000. You'd most likely be buying someone else's (big) problem.

Ones that are well kept are still over $30,000.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Well this sucks I just fucked up my work computer. Tried to update firefox but it broke stuff, so tried to roll back. Now it won't let me restore my bookmarks.

Lotus Elise? For under $20,000?

lol, not remotely.

He might have meant Espirit. But I wouldn't touch one that's available for under $20,000. You'd most likely be buying someone else's (big) problem.

Ones that are well kept are still over $30,000.

I meant Elise, but I guess they weren't as cheap as I thought they'd be.

 

[snoopy7548]

Another vote for Miata. I've never driven one, but if I ever got a second car as a fun car, that would be my first and only choice. Manual transmission is a given. You can find them all over in great condition for ~$5k, which is perfect for a "toy" car.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Used Mr2 should be as option if you can find a good one in your price range. They are lighter than the miata and tend to carve corners a bit sharper... They are becoming harder to find though.

 

[Midwayman]

Everyone says Miata, but honestly that's used corvette money.

Miata you can really wring out without getting too extra-legal. That's a lot of fun.

The Corvette is honestly fast though. I had a c5 for awhile and it was great fun as a car. Trouble with the corvette is that you're so far over the speed limit in a blink of an eye that it feels like you're always idling the car.

Depends on what you're looking for though.

 

[Yeroon]

Miata on the low power/low cost of ownership side.
Sky red line/ solstice gxp for a miata on steroids.
350/370z for a 2 door with more power, space, and moderate increase in wearable item costs
c5 z06 for something legit fast, but still reasonable. Though a z06 in that price bracket might need some work.

 

[jlee]

Used Mr2 should be as option if you can find a good one in your price range. They are lighter than the miata and tend to carve corners a bit sharper... They are becoming harder to find though.

I've decided to sell mine (switching over to Corvettes), but it's likely a bit of a handful performance-wise and maintenance-wise for most.

 

[IronWing]

Everyone says Miata, but honestly that's used corvette money.

Miata you can really wring out without getting too extra-legal. That's a lot of fun.

The Corvette is honestly fast though. I had a c5 for awhile and it was great fun as a car. Trouble with the corvette is that you're so far over the speed limit in a blink of an eye that it feels like you're always idling the car.

Depends on what you're looking for though.

The thing about Corvettes is that I've never seen anyone drive one fast on the roads. Maybe they're such cop magnets that the owners don't even try.

 

[jlee]

The thing about Corvettes is that I've never seen anyone drive one fast on the roads. Maybe they're such cop magnets that the owners don't even try.

https://www.uniden.com/

wait..I mean...yeah, you're absolutely right. Nobody drives them fast. Ever.

 

[Midwayman]

The thing about Corvettes is that I've never seen anyone drive one fast on the roads. Maybe they're such cop magnets that the owners don't even try.

Heh. The majority I ever saw were right lane cruisers. There is a reason they have stupid low insurance rates for its performance level. I did track days in mine . Though FWIW how often do you see any car driven 'fast' on the street? I mean that usually equates to some arsehole weaving in and out of traffic. That could be anything, doesn't need to be fast.

Don't let anyone tell you that you *need* a z06 to have fun though. Even the base models are fast cars. I would suggest getting the z51 suspension package if you can. Its not hard or expensive to do it after market, but the normal suspension is kinda squishy for a sports car.

 

[jlee]

Heh. The majority I ever saw were right lane cruisers. There is a reason they have stupid low insurance rates for its performance level. I did track days in mine . Though FWIW how often do you see any car driven 'fast' on the street? I mean that usually equates to some arsehole weaving in and out of traffic. That could be anything, doesn't need to be fast.

Don't let anyone tell you that you *need* a z06 to have fun though. Even the base models are fast cars. I would suggest getting the z51 suspension package if you can. Its not hard or expensive to do it after market, but the normal suspension is kinda squishy for a sports car.

They're great highway cars -- I drove mine from AZ to NJ and it was surprisingly comfortable. Set cruise with traffic and go...I even got mid-20's mpg out of it, and if I didn't have a Z06 it'd have been higher.

I keep eyeing 08+ C6's (LS3) to go along with my C5.

 

[Midwayman]

They're great highway cars -- I drove mine from AZ to NJ and it was surprisingly comfortable. Set cruise with traffic and go...I even got mid-20's mpg out of it, and if I didn't have a Z06 it'd have been higher.

I keep eyeing 08+ C6's (LS3) to go along with my C5.

My c5 FRC would get just over 30mpg on long freeway trips @ 70-75mph.

 

[JCH13]

There we go. One from every generation.

I also love my RX8, which is basically just a Miata with 4 seats and a roof.

When Miata is not the answer, I like these:

Mk3 MR2
FRS/BRZ
C5 Corvette
S2000
Sky Redline
Solstice GXP

However, it's real hard to beat how much fun you have in a Miata on a twisty road at or around the speed limit. It doesn't have so much grip that it's boring to drive at only 5-10 over the limit.

 

[KeithP]

Miata or a Corvette would be my choice.

-KeithP

A Honda S2000 would also be a possibility.

-KeithP

 

[dasherHampton]

I guess S2000's haven't quite reached that collectible status they were projected to. At least not yet.

You can still get them for well under $20,000 in my area. I remember reading an article on "must own" cars that were sure to rise dramatically in value and the S2000 was near the top of the list.

 

[Elfear]

A lot of great suggestions. One more that hasn't been mentioned is a Focus ST. Easy to find them in your price range, super fun little hot hatches, very durable, and you can mod them cheap for more power. Probably doesn't handle as organically as a Miata but the combination of being very tossable with a decent amount of horsepower and a manual trans makes for a very fun package.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

How are those Mini-Coopers? And the other day, I saw this marvelous BMW sports-car convertible -- emerald-green. Don't know the model name. It must cost a pile of change. And the Mini-Coopers don't have an economy-model price, either. . . .