$20k sports car that is NOT a project ?

[sugarwood]

Friend is looking in this category.

$20k budget.

He has an old truck, and does not want two DIY cars.
This poses the issue. For a car not to be a project, it can't be that old.

Any 911 or Cayman is too expensive.
E46 is too old. (He does not want a project)
No convertible unless hardtop available.

I was thinking a Mustang/Camaro.
Or a Subrau BRZ.

Any ideas?

[86 ssinit]

Honda S2000. Should be able to find a good one in that price range. Lots of aftermarket parts if he wants to play around with it later. There going up in value, not to many on the road and a lot of fun to drive.

[id10t]

Cut the budget in half and did a quick google - Classic Cars magazine has had a few facebook things on "best sports car for $10k", couldn't find the one I remembered but this search set may get you some interesting things to think about.

https://www.google.com/search?q=classic+cars+magazine+best+sports+car+for +%2410000

[sugarwood]

Nice list in that link, but the problem is that those cars are all over 10 years old.
The trick here is is there a sporty car that is newer and is more turnkey?

S2000 with hardtop sounds like a great answer.

[scott540]

370z?

[Ayles]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

Nice list in that link, but the problem is that those cars are all over 10 years old.
The trick here is is there a sporty car that is newer and is more turnkey?

S2000 with hardtop sounds like a great answer.

How tall is he? S2000 isnt exactly brimming with leg room. Id think anyone over 6ft tall is going to find it tight. Im at 6 4 and i just dont fit.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

Friend is looking in this category.

$20k budget.

He has an old truck, and does not want two DIY cars.
This poses the issue. For a car not to be a project, it can't be that old.

Any 911 or Cayman is too expensive.
E46 is too old. (He does not want a project)
No convertible unless hardtop available.

I was thinking a Mustang/Camaro.
Or a Subrau BRZ.

Any ideas?

Boxsters of just about any year can be had with a hard top.



1990-2005 miatas can be had with a hardtop.


2005-2015 miatas can be had with a power retractable hardtop.


apparently, you can get a hardtop for an MR2


Honda S2000 can be had with a hard top


BMW Z4 hardtop

[Brian 162]

What about an RX-8?.

[Arizona_928]

He could get as corvette... Blah

[aschen]

Pristine c5 or early c6 vette is a no brainer good choice

[LWJ]

Z4 coupe is sweet. Cayman with an auto fits the budget as well.

[Alan A]

TR8 Coupe. $20k will get a nice one. If you can find one for sale.
Newer, get a Miata.

[ckelly78z]

My 79 year old FIL just bought a really nice one owner 99 Miata for $5000 with only 80,000 miles. This car needs nothing but a good polish. A Miata doesn't really interest me, but is a cool, cheap, convertible, with a spirited feel.

[ben parrish]

Scion frs?? Have a friend that has one for his kid...good looking car and he like it a good bit. This guy has great tast in cars and has some seriously nice, powerful cars....72 240 with a 500hp motor, new Focus Rs, mid 2000 high hp Supra, etc.

[Eric Hahl]

My FRS is like a modern day 944. Not fast but it sure is fun.

[look 171]

Lower mileage, none abused by young drivers S2000 are a little to find, but they are around just about that price range. They are pretty damn reliable. I drive a 2000 model and have only replaced the clutch and one coil with 69000 miles on it.

[Tobra]

What is he going to do with the car? How tall is he?

The answer is probably Miata, maybe the Italian flavored one, I like the looks of it better. Could get a practically new one for that amount of dough

[jorian]

1999-2001 996.

[look 171]

The S2000s are a lot of fun, but I would suggest your friend test drive the Miata. I had a first gen, a NA but the newer ones are little less raw, but they all handle well, very well. The later models are faster then the first gen.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Sorry but your reasoning of "for a car to not be a project, it can't be very old" is wrong. There are a lot of nearly new cars that can turn into nasty projects, like a modern BMW or Audi. My daily driver is a 2003 986S, it is dead reliable with very minimal effort. I daily drove a 2000 996 for over a year, again dead reliable with minimal effort. The focus should be on getting a quality car, not simply blindly picking the newest one. My list would be:

Miata - because Miata
S2000 - if you can find one sans rice
RX8 - second gen was reliable, R3 is wicked
FRS/BRZ - not fast but fun
Boxster - minty 986S or 987
911 - nice base 996.1 easily in this range
350/370Z - not sure if the 370 is $20k yet
G35/G37 - Z with luxury
Camaro SS - meh
Mustang 5.0 - a little better
Hyundai Genesis - like a Z
Pontiac GTO - cultured Camaro
C5 Corvette - nice Z06 for $20k