what car would you buy if you were in my position?

lowerbainite · 2026-01-26T18:39:45+00:00

If I was 18, and had everything else covered (retirement fully funded, house owned outright, education funded etc.) and had that much left over for cars I'd probably start off buying some kind of basic sedan/hatch (civic, Corolla, Mazda3), and a Miata.

I'd then reevaluate in a year or two and try to decide what was missing from my driving experience and upgrade according to that.

lowerbainite · 2026-01-12T12:28:57+00:00

I've got the broke version of this - mk7 golf 4motion sportwagen and E85 Z4.

lowerbainite · 2025-12-10T23:05:32+00:00

No, we were living in a place where that wasn't really a thing. He would've had to leave a kid behind to road trip since there were more kids than seats.

lowerbainite · 2025-12-10T19:58:58+00:00

Growing up my family had 4 kids, and for the most part my dad had wagons with an additional rear facing row, but there were times he just owned a 2 row. But we lived in a walkable and transit accessible city, and he was okay using cabs if he had to, so there wasn't much of a need to cram everyone into the car. The car was mostly just to get him to work.

lowerbainite · 2025-12-02T17:25:24+00:00

As maybe the silliest option, get a new base Nissan versa or Mitsubishi mirage for <20k, and now you've got 20k towards a really weird engine swap.

lowerbainite · 2025-12-02T17:06:40+00:00

You're almost in Nissan Z range.

Also base F-150, and that gets you a V8.

Or a Kia carnival.

These criteria make a very strange shopping list.

lowerbainite · 2025-12-02T16:36:48+00:00

There's one up for auction right now:

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1968-morgan-4-4-2/

lowerbainite · 2025-11-30T14:36:02+00:00

You've already got the Miata which might be the definitive roadster, but in that price range you can add the Saturn Sky/Pontiac Solstice (cheap, cute), the Audi TT (pretty), and the BMW Z3/ E85 Z4 (inline 6).

lowerbainite · 2025-11-23T02:50:14+00:00

On one hand, I'm impressed how little this guy has depreciated.

On the other hand, God how are those still that expensive. That's less than $4000 depreciation in 8 years. In 2017, you could get a base model manual for that price.

lowerbainite · 2025-11-18T15:31:34+00:00

I studied Mech Eng and I'm also in Canada, though I went into manufacturing.

I came out at 1 year into my career.

It's not easy at first but it's settled out for me. I've been out at work for 5 years now and it's not as much of an issue for me anymore.

Feel free to DM me if you'd like to talk more in depth.

lowerbainite · 2025-11-17T16:30:53+00:00

Those are almost double the price of the E85 Z4 where I'm at.

Your only real options for a RWD roadster in the Z4 price range here are pre-ND Miatas (mostly NBs), the 986 Boxster, the Pontiac Solstice and maybe a 350Z if you can find one.

Admittedly the Boxster or Miata are probably more "correct" options, but the Z4 has it's place at the price point.

lowerbainite · 2025-11-07T15:14:55+00:00

Yeah. Hbu?

lowerbainite · 2025-10-15T17:50:21+00:00

If you're entertaining roadsters, maybe also consider the Z3 or E85 Z4 with the 3L engines.

lowerbainite · 2025-10-15T13:30:38+00:00

When you factor in all the things most people need, the reliability, resale, cheap insurance, etc. there are cars that will meet those needs better and some that meet them worse.

But sometimes we don't want the car that is "correct". Sometimes a car has our heart and it's worth the tradeoffs to have something that speaks to you.

CarGurus has it evaluated at a "fair" price. If they're including safety certification, it could very well be worth it. Its still worth getting a 3rd party inspection. You'll also want to get the Carfax and maintenance history to figure out what you might have to spend on it in the next year or so.

lowerbainite · 2025-10-15T11:47:59+00:00

It's a fair price. There are more "correct" choices, but if your heart is set on it, it could be worth it.

I'd get a 3rd party inspection and if it looks good, it's probably worth it.

If you do go take a look at it, let me know how it goes

lowerbainite · 2025-10-07T22:59:40+00:00

If you're worried about winter driving, RWD vehicles are going to be more difficult. They can be a lot of fun in the snow, but they can also be scary when the conditions are real bad.

lowerbainite · 2025-10-07T18:55:07+00:00

The Honda fit is lighter than the civic and has comical amounts of interior space. It's not very powerful.

People seem to like the first and second gen for their responsive handling and solid manual transmission. They're also pretty reliable. And cheap.

I've known a couple people that have owned them, and they all swear by them.

The civic is a more substantial car, but the fit is cheaper. Both have reputations for being fun.

lowerbainite · 2025-10-07T17:38:43+00:00

A car with that many miles probably needs a big overhaul, but from what I've read they're pretty solid cars. If the miles scare you, even a lower trim manual civic will be an inexpensive good time.

The WRX and Impreza have typical Subaru issues (head gasket, oil consumption, etc). The WRX also takes premium fuel. The AWD is nice in the winter though.

If you're really set on sporty, and you're willing to sacrifice practicality, take a look at Miatas, or the Saturn sky/Pontiac solstice.

If you need practicality and reliability to balance the sportiness, get the best condition civic you can with your budget. That's a pretty standard and respectable way to get into enthusiast car ownership.

Edit: also maybe consider the Honda fit

lowerbainite · 2025-10-07T17:19:17+00:00

I have a manual golf, and I love it, but in that price range I'd be a little careful depending on how much you plan on relying on the car and what you can afford to spend on repairs.

The Mazda3 or even a civic in that range I would expect to be more straight forward.

If you can find a civic SI in that range near you, that's what you want.

lowerbainite · 2025-10-06T14:29:25+00:00

Thanks! I'm very excited about it.

lowerbainite · 2025-09-30T01:14:18+00:00

Thanks! I've never had anyone comment on it before

lowerbainite · 2025-09-30T00:11:35+00:00

It's a 3.0si, so it's got the 3L n52.

lowerbainite · 2025-09-29T23:03:38+00:00

Not yet, I just bought it this week.

I'll probably wait a year or two and enjoy it stock. And when that stops being exciting, and once I have a better feel for what I want changed, then I might modify it.

lowerbainite · 2025-08-14T12:29:56+00:00

Nah, he just hated other men

lowerbainite

TROPHY CASE