I'm Finally Able To Get A Real Enthusiast Car! What Should I Buy?
Jon is from Pennsylvania and has been into cars since he was younger, but never really had the opportunity to buy an actual "enthusiast car" until now. With a budget of up to $30,000 he wants something that won't depreciate hard and is reasonably reliable. What car should he buy?
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Here is the scenario.
I have been a car nut since I was a kid, but have never owned what I would call a proper enthusiast car. I am now married with three kids and am in the market for a sporty daily driver. I am having trouble focusing in on the right car. I am a financial advisor, so would need something somewhat adult-looking. I already have a family car, so am looking for a sedan, wagon or coupe. I would need a rear seat, but it does not need to be roomy. Something fun, sporty that can be enjoyed daily is a top priority. I would like it to be average or better reliability. My price range would be $20K – $30K, but I am more concerned with depreciation. Nothing that depreciates like a falling piano. Bonus points for a manual! This car would not be driven more than 8000 miles a year, so gas mileage is not a concern.
Quick Facts:
Budget: up to $30,000
Location: Pennsylvania
Daily Driver: Yes
Wants: Fun, good resale, rear seats
Doesn't want: A roadster
Expert 1: Tom McParland - A Real Enthusiast Car
Certain cars are quintessential "enthusiast cars." The Porsche 911, BMW M3, even the Mazda Miata. The first two are out of budget and the Mazda lacks the practicality you need, but the Volkswagen GTI is also one of those cars that gets you enthusiast cred but without breaking the bank or being too over the top. As a GTI driver myself, I have a little bit of a bias here, but when I bought mine back in 2015 I had the opportunity to purchase nicer and more expensive models, but I had a hard time justifying their price premium over what the GTI offered.
Granted, as a sample size of one, my experience can't be extrapolated, and while there are certainly GTI owners who have had their fair share of reliability hiccups over the past ten years, I haven't had to spend much on this car beyond tires, and oil changes. And I still believe that it offers the best balance of usability and performance that you can buy for a daily driver. Also, unlike some more extreme hot hatchbacks, you don't feel "bored" when you are just driving it like a normal car. As for depreciation, GTIs hold value better than the average VW, but if you score a used one any subsequent drop will be reasonable. I have a preference for the MK7 generation, and you can get a nice one of those for under $20,000. But if you don't mind the tech interface of the MK8, examples with reasonable miles can be had under $30,000.
Expert 3: Collin Woodard - What even is an adult anyway?
Let's see, you want something practical, reliable, comfortable enough to drive daily and sporty enough to be considered a proper enthusiast car, but you also want it to be "adult-looking" and cost less than $30,000? It sounds to me like Tom has once again taken the correct answer for himself, leaving the rest of us to come up with suggestions that aren't quite what you're looking for. Unless we all decided to recommend GTIs, that is.
On the other hand, what even is "adult-looking" anyway? With performance cars, that usually means luxury, and cars from luxury brands tend to depreciate like crazy. As a financial advisor, you already know that worrying about what other people might think is often terrible for people's finances, too.
So I say take the advice you'd give your clients and buy a car that will make you happy instead of one that will make other people happy. After all, you already have a perfectly acceptable family car.And that car, my friend, is the Honda Civic Type R. You probably won't find one with less than 100,000 miles on it for less than $30,000, but that's fine. It's a Honda. It's also about an absolute blast to drive, while still having that back seat you were looking for. You'll also probably won't find one locally, but what about liberating this beauty from Texas? Take your oldest with you and make a road trip out of it, even if they aren't old enough to drive. You're gonna love it, I promise.
Expert 2: Amber DaSilva - Something grown up
Jon, I'd like to introduce you to my close personal friend. There are few cars I've enjoyed my time in more, across all my driving for Jalopnik, and maybe none that I've been more loath to get out of. It's the Acura Integra, and it's the right car for you.
Collin is close with the Civic Type R, but the Civic is a teenage dirtbag. You're a grown adult, you've got kids and some sort of job, and you're not trying to signal your membership in the tuner in-group. You want something a little more mature, and that's the Integra.
Beautiful chassis, a fun engine, a manual transmission, and rear seats that are actually usable — the one requirement stopping me from recommending you a Toyota GR86, as I imagine dealing with car seats in that interior would be a hellish endeavor. The Integra is not hell, it's heaven, and it's right for you.
Here's one within your budget, but you can trip over these for the amount of money you're looking to spend. Find the color and condition you like, and go wild. It's the right pick for you
