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Well I feel I sacrificed a little to retire earlier than anyone I know. I’m still young, but for many years I put my love of cars on the back burner. I been driving a Prius for 11 years now.
On the very bright side - I did this for a reason...now I’m in a position where I could easily spend $5,000-$6,000/year to drive cars I even looked at in over a decade. Retirement is covered. Savings. Travel budget, etc.
Any recommendations on what vehicle I should start with?
I’m thinking a new Civic Type R...I loved import tuner cars when I was teen. It seems like 1-2 year old models are selling for about $3-4K less than new. I’m open to anything though as I’ll be swapping cars often.
Btw - I will keep the Prius and don’t plan on driving whatever car I get more than 7-8k miles per year so that should keep resale value high.
I am presuming, you will be leasing new cars, not buying them? You have nowhere enough in your budget o BUY a new car every year, with downpayment and monthly. even if no downpayment, still not enough. There will be fees plus other expenses.
Also, it will cost you much on backend, coming out of lease every year.
This is not really automotive question, this is economics.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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This just doesn't come anywhere close to penciling out.
Your $5,000-6,000/year as awfully low. The average new car is now $37,000, and 1-2 years old would still be about $30,000. With 10% down that's a loan of $27,000, for one year at a great rate of 3% interest, payments of $2,288/month.
If you get a 4 year loan it's going to be $599/month, still way more than your "budget" but then you will still have a huge payoff when you buy again a year later.
Your example 2017 Civic Type R (2 years old) is about $35,000.
OP is almost certainly talking about leasing or some other program to flip cars regularly. I'm thinking sticking to a 2 year cycle is a better idea when leasing, of course.
Some cars on my radar:
Ariel Atom
Civic Type R
ND Miata
Lotus Elise (used, of course)
Any Tesla
Maybe the 2018 RAM diesel with a manual gearbox
BWM 5 series wagon, diesel + manual
I drive a Honda Insight (~1800lbs) with the same Honda K24 motor that's in the Ariel Atom and it's hilarious to embarrass Mustangs and Camaros in what appears to be an economy car.
OP is almost certainly talking about leasing or some other program to flip cars regularly. I'm thinking sticking to a 2 year cycle is a better idea when leasing, of course.
Some cars on my radar:
Ariel Atom
Civic Type R
ND Miata
Lotus Elise (used, of course)
Any Tesla
Maybe the 2018 RAM diesel with a manual gearbox
BWM 5 series wagon, diesel + manual
I drive a Honda Insight (~1800lbs) with the same Honda K24 motor that's in the Ariel Atom and it's hilarious to embarrass Mustangs and Camaros in what appears to be an economy car.
My brother-in-law and his wife flip cars like crazy. They participate in all sorts of motorsports like AutoX, rally car, and frequent Laguna Seca/Buttonwillow/Sonoma. They owned the following:
NA Miata
NC Miata
GG WRX
VA WRX
AP2 S2000
Integra Type R
W20 MR-2
5th Gen Mustang
E30 325
F80 M3
What's surprising is that they are able to have all this fun without spending a lot of net money. They sell their cars for pretty much what they paid for them...sort of a sportscar consignment if you will. I've given on tuning my own car...I just drive theirs when I'm in town.
As for the OP: Get yourself a Turo account and test drive (respectfully of course) some models that you're interested in. It's a good way to experience driving the car for a few days before you commit to buying one.
Well I feel I sacrificed a little to retire earlier than anyone I know. I’m still young, but for many years I put my love of cars on the back burner. I been driving a Prius for 11 years now.
On the very bright side - I did this for a reason...now I’m in a position where I could easily spend $5,000-$6,000/year to drive cars I even looked at in over a decade. Retirement is covered. Savings. Travel budget, etc.
Any recommendations on what vehicle I should start with?
I’m thinking a new Civic Type R...I loved import tuner cars when I was teen. It seems like 1-2 year old models are selling for about $3-4K less than new. I’m open to anything though as I’ll be swapping cars often.
Btw - I will keep the Prius and don’t plan on driving whatever car I get more than 7-8k miles per year so that should keep resale value high.
If you're in the area. Check out BarNone auctions. (Sacramento, CA and Portland, OR) various years go for various prices.
I am presuming, you will be leasing new cars, not buying them? You have nowhere enough in your budget o BUY a new car every year, with downpayment and monthly. even if no downpayment, still not enough. There will be fees plus other expenses.
Also, it will cost you much on backend, coming out of lease every year.
This is not really automotive question, this is economics.
Talking about buying a car cash for say $40k. Drive it say 1 year or so and resale it for $35k...maybe even $33-$34k. My net loss is $5-7k per year and I get to drive a different car every year.
Another possibility I thought of is the Tacoma...maybe something cool like a Tacoma or 4Runner Pro? Those seem to hold value extremely well.
I am sorry, your stipulations are rather unrealistic. You will lose money on the front end and on the back end. You will lose all registration and dealer fees. they WILL downprice your trade in badly, as that's their job to do. Your car WILL lose 15% right after you bought it.
You may think otherwise, but you just go ans spend some time with dealerships. Always ask for OTD - out the door price, not sticker price.
Your budget should be more like 10K and, if you want my opinion, is total waste of money, to do what you want. But, that your money and your life and your pleasures. To be honest, for $5k a year, I'd rather buy old nice cars - supercharged Riviera, MArkVIII, and have fun with them. Old Impala. You'll look original (maybe a skosh like drug dealer), have safe and very comfy cars, and fun to drive. Toss it and buy something else next year.
But that's me.
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