You find a tin lamp and, while trying to clean it with a paper towel, a genie pops out. “Thank you for freeing me! As a reward, I will give you the car of your dreams…as long as it costs $20,000 or less and is for sale within 100 miles. You find the car, I buy it for you.”
I found (via Auto Trader) a no-accident, one-owner 2021 Hyundai Ioniq for only $19,000 that I would be most happy with, and it is only 84 miles from my home.
So, what car do you want the discount genie to fetch?
Quick search shows a Nissan Leaf in the price range. I’d want to do more research, though. My goal would be to find the best used electric far I can afford with the restriction. I’d definitely use this opportunity to ditch the ICE.
I would go looking for my first car, a 69 Camaro. I think that $20k would get me a decent project car to play around with.
If I had to pick Right Now, I’d take a 2017 Fiat 124 in the local area. $2 under budget!
No Ferraris on sale, I guess?
$20,000 might talk Son-of-a-wrek into digging my Gremlin outta the kudzu in the the boneyard out back.
The Fiata Spider? What a coincidence-There is a 2017 Fiat 124 Spider Lusso for sale just 8 miles away with only 39000 miles on it for $19999.
I beat you by a dollar. And mine is the Classico. In Black.
How many miles on it?
Can I fight the hypothetical and have two wheels instead of four?
Edmunds.com suggests there are 36,000 used cars <$20K within 100 miles of my zipcode in greater Miami. Which practically means anywhere within greater Miami since more than 100 miles of ocean or swamp separates us from the rest of the planet. Good thing.
Color me skeptical that number is real. But there’s still a metric buttload of cars. Even choosing a funky color leaves me hundreds to pick from. Looks like I can get a red Jetta with the small engine, or an older C-class red MB. Neither are bad cars, although the turbo-big engine Jetta is a LOT better.
This was a fun exercise. I went to Auto Trader and got several results, and these caught my eye:
$15,000 — 2013 BMW 328i Convertible, 94,537 miles
$16,500 — 2010 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport, 118,300 miles
$18,918 — 2016 Ford Mustang Premium convertible, 65,679 miles
$18,455 — 2016 Chevrolet Camaro LT with the RS Package, 74,426 miles
$18,000 — 2014 Dodge Challenger SXT, 51,090 miles
$17,999 — 2010 MAZDA MX-5 Miata Grand Touring, Premium Pkg, 21,525 miles
$17,998 — 2016 BMW 428i, 82,907 miles
$18,995 — 2017 BMW 230i Coupe, 52,505 miles
$12,850 — 2006 Porsche Boxster, 145,125 miles
There are some nice selections here. I then selected for a manual transmission and these were among the many available:
Manual transmission
$18,455 — 2016 Chevrolet Camaro LT with RS Pkg, 74,426 miles
$19,955 — 2016 MAZDA MX-5 Miata Club, 57,282 miles
$18,989 — 2014 Dodge Challenger R/T, 79,455 miles
$10,900 — 2006 Nissan 350Z Touring, 91,314 miles
$18,993 — 2017 Ford Mustang Coupe, 52,399 miles
$17,999 — 2014 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport, 112,885 miles
$12,850 — 2006 Porsche Boxster, 145,125 miles
$19,590 — 2017 FIAT 124 Spider Classica, 26,550 miles
Among all of these, it’s difficult to choose! But in the end my choice would be (drumroll please):
$12,850 — 2006 Porsche Boxster, 145,125 miles
Thank you, Genie! NSFW — https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FiOg9PXXgAIpLLx.jpg
My dream car would be a 1970s or early '80s Porsche 911, but anything under $20K would be a “project car.”
Autotrader shows me a 2002 Boxster, with only 45K miles, for $16,999. I’d take it!
I would too!
But Mine was a Dollar cheaper…
