what late model (5-10 yr)sports car would you get - maint., economy, handling, style?

[aspeck]

Re: what late model (5-10 yr)sports car would you get - maint., economy, handling, st

If you want something a little older, I have a '76 50th Anniversary T/A I will sell you (not for sale yet, but when the youngest turns 16 I might have to!)! Less than 42K miles on her, produced a tad over 1800 of them ... we are close in numbers!

 

[WIMUSKY]

Re: what late model (5-10 yr)sports car would you get - maint., economy, handling, st

If you want something a little older, I have a '76 50th Anniversary T/A I will sell you (not for sale yet, but when the youngest turns 16 I might have to!)! Less than 42K miles on her, produced a tad over 1800 of them ... we are close in numbers!

Do not sell. Let me repeat that, do not sell! You know you'll regret it down the road. Just keep Jr or Jrette away from it........... My daughter turns 16 in a year. Her classmates always ask her if she will get to drive my '68 GTO to school. She knows better.....

 

[mphy98]

Re: what late model (5-10 yr)sports car would you get - maint., economy, handling, st

I have a 90 vette for fun and my wife has her 07 Mustang GT convert. They are both great fun cars. Not to tick any one off but isn't a sports car supposed to be a 2 door? A 4 door is a performance sedan! I'm just sayin

 

[ezmobee]

Re: what late model (5-10 yr)sports car would you get - maint., economy, handling, st

Not to tick any one off but isn't a sports car supposed to be a 2 door? A 4 door is a performance sedan! I'm just sayin

I have to drive a 4 cyl Accord every day. Damn near anything is a sports car in comparison. Let me have my 4 doors

 

[mnypitboat]

Re: what late model (5-10 yr)sports car would you get - maint., economy, handling, st

If you want something a little older, I have a '76 50th Anniversary T/A I will sell you (not for sale yet, but when the youngest turns 16 I might have to!)! Less than 42K miles on her, produced a tad over 1800 of them ... we are close in numbers!

Damn, I love the 76 and older Firebirds and TAs. Very nice man.

 

[mnypitboat]

Re: what late model (5-10 yr)sports car would you get - maint., economy, handling, st

I have always had some sort of muscle car, GT car, sports car. I sold my 98 Z28 about 2 years ago for far more than it was worth. It was over 500hp, and a bit more torque, RS ground effects, t-tops, etc. I bought a 95 Corvette with the horrible LT1 in it and hated it, and sold it a few months later. I have not had a sporty car since. I say sporty, due to the whole sports car debate. It was fun, but it got to the point where I didnt want to drive it anymore. Honestly, where do you drive something like that to its potential. If you go to the track you break stuff.

So the idea was to buy a stock Z06 in 3 years, then I did something strange. I bought a 73 CJ5. Holy Crap are Jeeps fun. ANd you can take them off road anytime and entertain that kid inside you and my family, that normally hates my cars, loved going with me. I sold that about 6 months ago and got a 95 Wrangler. I bought it primarily because my wife and daughter loved it. My daughter will be 16 in 3 years, and this Jeep will be hers. I plan on building a CJ8 Scrambler between now and then. I do not regret not getting my Z06 at all. I never dreamed that a guy like me that has never been without some grosely overpowered toy would enjoy a Jeep.

 

[Mark42]

Re: what late model (5-10 yr)sports car would you get - maint., economy, handling, st

Get a 2002 Pontiac Trans Am. Fast, Style, and reliable. Can be had a reasonable prices with low miles. Fun to drive, great handling, and LT1 V8. And with the fiberglass body panels (except rear fenders) you never see them with rust. Can be had in hard top, T top, or convertable.

 

[mnypitboat]

Re: what late model (5-10 yr)sports car would you get - maint., economy, handling, st

Get a 2002 Pontiac Trans Am. Fast, Style, and reliable. Can be had a reasonable prices with low miles. Fun to drive, great handling, and LT1 V8. And with the fiberglass body panels (except rear fenders) you never see them with rust. Can be had in hard top, T top, or convertable.

02 has the LS1. The LT1 is a hunk of junk in comparison. For 20g he could get an anniversary Ram Air car too.

 

[mnypitboat]

Re: what late model (5-10 yr)sports car would you get - maint., economy, handling, st

Just sitting here thinking about this. Something else to think about is a Honda S2000. They are reliable as hell, well its a Honda. Fun as hell to drive, and a 2 seater convertible. Oh and they get decent gas mileage. Unfortunately not as good as the Corvette, at least not with me driving it, but not bad.

 

[arks]

Re: what late model (5-10 yr)sports car would you get - maint., economy, handling, st

Just sitting here thinking about this. Something else to think about is a Honda S2000. They are reliable as hell, well its a Honda. Fun as hell to drive, and a 2 seater convertible. Oh and they get decent gas mileage. Unfortunately not as good as the Corvette, at least not with me driving it, but not bad.

I'm surprised it took 50 posts to mention the S2000.
Great SPORTS car, and it's been on my 'wish-list' for awhile!

 

[ezbtr]

Re: what late model (5-10 yr)sports car would you get - maint., economy, handling, st

wow what great answers!!! Hmmmm I'm thinkin C5 Vette, and i guess i mis spoke when I said sports car, I meant, fast, reliable, decent on maint, not too thirsty and fun!! I'm just thinkin out loud guys, but wow i appreciate the opinions and info!!

 

[ezbtr]

Re: what late model (5-10 yr)sports car would you get - maint., economy, handling, st

hows the maint on vettes? Rear end ok? I know the 5.7, is in my yukon, can imagine it aluminum and in a lighter car! Power to weight ratio sounds nice! and yes a stick!!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: what late model (5-10 yr)sports car would you get - maint., economy, handling, st

So the idea was to buy a stock Z06 in 3 years, then I did something strange. I bought a 73 CJ5. Holy Crap are Jeeps fun. ANd you can take them off road anytime and entertain that kid inside you and my family, that normally hates my cars, loved going with me. I sold that about 6 months ago and got a 95 Wrangler. I bought it primarily because my wife and daughter loved it. My daughter will be 16 in 3 years, and this Jeep will be hers. I plan on building a CJ8 Scrambler between now and then. I do not regret not getting my Z06 at all. I never dreamed that a guy like me that has never been without some grosely overpowered toy would enjoy a Jeep.

You have my full support I'd love a CJ-7 that someone already tubbed out and V8'd.

 

[ezbtr]

Re: what late model (5-10 yr)sports car would you get - maint., economy, handling, st

oh also - I guess since being debt free, no ex crap, gettin new rifles - I'm not used to it, LOL!!! Is amazing what you can save up for - and yes i pass this on to my kids! And paying cash!

 

[mnypitboat]

Re: what late model (5-10 yr)sports car would you get - maint., economy, handling, st

You have my full support I'd love a CJ-7 that someone already tubbed out and V8'd.

My CJ5 had a V8 in it. It was scary.

 

[Philip_G]

Re: what late model (5-10 yr)sports car would you get - maint., economy, handling, st

hows the maint on vettes? Rear end ok? I know the 5.7, is in my yukon, can imagine it aluminum and in a lighter car! Power to weight ratio sounds nice! and yes a stick!!

they're fairly low maintenance. the ls1 can have some piston slap but it's really not a problem. The transmission is in the back so clutch changes can be a little harder.

s2k is a great car, I need more HP though.

 

[mnypitboat]

Re: what late model (5-10 yr)sports car would you get - maint., economy, handling, st

hows the maint on vettes? Rear end ok? I know the 5.7, is in my yukon, can imagine it aluminum and in a lighter car! Power to weight ratio sounds nice! and yes a stick!!

The C5 does not use the 5.7 as most people know it. What year Yukon? If it has a 5.7 I suspect 90s and vortec. The LS1 or LS6 in the C5 is awesome. I have owned several cars with this engine in it. It is a 346ci all aluminum and is mated to the 6 speed. The transmission is the weak point in the car, but easy and cheap to have rebuilt. Or you can build a bullet proof unit for a little more. I have never heard of a stock Vette with general maintanance performed losing a rear end, unless they are being raced regularly.

When driving them, go out and beat on it a bit. Make sure it shifts into all the gears while getting on it. They are famous for shifting perfect under normal driving but then when you get on it they wont go into 3rd or clip the other gears. Syncros get beat up pretty good. They have a second gear lock out, and under easy driving it pushes you into 4th gear, but that is normal.

You should be able to get over 30mpg with the 6 speed.

Personally, for $20k, I would look for a Z06 C5. Might have to go a little more to get a nice one, but the differance from regular C5 and C5 Z06 is worth it.

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: what late model (5-10 yr)sports car would you get - maint., economy, handling, st

EDIT

The Mazda RX8 is a great car, but the engines die like clockwork @ 155K miles. Nobody knows how to work on a rotary engine anymore.

The Porsche Boxster is affordable in it's earlier years, but $20K will not get you a late model car. Upkeep is high, but it's a great car. (Note: They're not made by Porsche--but made in Finland by a log skidder company.)

There are a lot of C5 Corvettes out there, many of which have low miles. Performance is good for a car that only cost $40-45K new. Prices will go down to a level and just hang for a few years.

For half what you could buy a Corvette, you can be driving a much, much more exclusive car--a Jaguar XK8 or XKR (convertible or hardtop.) My 99 XK8 convertible cost $78K new, and it only has 59K miles--and was bought for $9K. My car has been kept inside under a cover its whole life, and has never had a bug on it's nose. The styling is classic--and it's stunning from every angle. For the speed freaks, the XKR's are all supercharged, and they're absolutely rockets--and also affordable.

Jag owners are high income 55 years old, and have 4 cars for two people families. There are many cars on the market with 4-6K yearly mileages. While there were some reliability problems up until 2002, XK's from 2003 on are actually very reliable--especially since 2005. R.L. Polk initial reliability ratings show Jaguar now to be in the top 3 marques for the past two years running--very few problems. They're now up there with Honda and Lexus.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: what late model (5-10 yr)sports car would you get - maint., economy, handling, st

As I said, I love there types of threads, they always bring some great info to the party, and it is always fun to read the various likes and dislikes!@

 

[ezbtr]

Re: what late model (5-10 yr)sports car would you get - maint., economy, handling, st

As I said, I love there types of threads, they always bring some great info to the party, and it is always fun to read the various likes and dislikes!@

absolutely!!