You might want to look through “Hemming’s Motor News” I think the title is, as have not read it in years. It may even be online.
It has loads and loads of wonderful cars that may be 10-15 years old that are reasonably priced. Years ago I got a 20-year-old Bentley for about $20K. It was a dream to drive and the finest car I ever owned. Every time I parked or went into a gas station, people came up to gape at it, ask what it was, or just congratulate me for having such a boat.
And, a car like that actually appreciates in value over the years. I sold it eventually for well over what I paid to buy it.
We bought our Corvette used for a little over 20K. It get about 27mpg, as long as we don’t stretch it’s legs, which would be illegal. At 10 years old, it still has less than 80,000 miles, since it’s our second car and I don’t go far. We call it my grocery getter.
We’ve been looking at the Toyota concept car for a couple of years now, hoping that it shows up in the showrooms soon, and it keeps getting pushed back. If there is a Toyota contender when we’re ready to buy, that would be great, but we’re not holding our breath for it any longer. The Mustang is the top of the list right now.
They do make really distinctive, cool-looking cheap cars. Or at least, they did. The Volkswagen Beetle looked every bit as distinctive as the Porsche 911, and in many of the same ways, but it was also a very inexpensive and practical car.
I don’t think that interchangeability of parts within a model run is a useful definition of “mass produced” (in this context, at least), since almost any modern maker of cars, even a low-output specialty manufacturer, won’t hand-build cars to the extent that individual components are unique to a specific car. That would be insanely inefficient and expensive. ISTM that “mass produced” properly has to do with the size of the production run.
For instance, only 399 Ferrari Enzoswere made, only 300 (or maybe 450) Bugatti Veyrons were built, and only 1,200 Tesla Roadsters have been sold. Most of these cars were only produced for a few years. I don’t think they qualify as “mass produced.”
True mass-produced cars, such as most models of most major manufacturers, are made in the tens or hundreds of thousands each year for many years. Major best sellers, like the Honda Accord, the Ford Focus, and the VW Beetle, have been produced for decades and number in the tens of millions.
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How much did you have to spend on the maintenance, though?
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Very little. However, had something gone seriously wrong, I have to admit I would not have known where to find a reputable mechanic, and what the parts might cost.
Even with a big engine, it got a little over 20 mpg.
So, as far as I am concerned, I had a wonderful, powerful, beautiful car and made a profit on it when finally sold it. What’s wrong with that?
I posted that not to brag but to offer the OP an idea where he might find the kind of car he was looking for at a non-exorbitant price.
The way I look at it if you buy the most powerful version of a car, usually the re-sale seems to really hold up.
Thus, maybe not as expensive as one might think.
Our Zo6 was first quoted $10.000 over sticker, then about 5 months later, $17.000 under sticker.
We notice it’s re-selling a for a little more than what we paid for it on those hot rod auctions ya see on tv like Mecham and Barrett Jackson.
Perhaps it’s all about what you pay for it.
I’ve always felt the dealer invoice price is all baloney.
BTW our 2010 427 cu in Zo6 gets about 26 MPG, and our s2000 4 cyl gets about 18 MPG.
Both weigh about the same.