yakswak

Hello!

I currently have three cars...'17 Highlander Hybrid, '15 Mini Cooper S (4dr), and a '04 S2000. I have two little kids. I may be in a situation soon where I'll need flexibility to drive one or two of the kids in my sports (or sporty) car, and am thinking of cars that I could replace the S2000 with. The S2000 gets driven around 2000mi a year, but is valued above what I paid for it a couple of years ago and expect slow depreciation over the years. I thus do not mind the low miles driven on this third car. If I were to replace it with something else so that I can occasionally use the backseat I'd like a similar situation (slow depreciation, or slight appreciation). Can you guys think of cars that would fit this description in the $20k range?

As you know the S2k is the perfect third car for the family man...hardly costs anything to upkeep, very reliable, and very low depreciation (or slowly appreciating in some cases). I want something like this, but with backseats! The other option is to go through the trouble of deleting the airbag in the passenger seat so I can occasionally tote one kid.

I'm probably asking for too much, and my best bet would be to do the airbag delete. Any ideas?

white98ls

I believe a handful of people on this board have fitted a passenger airbag switch.

I struggled with finding a fun, light 4-seater that is reliable. First things that come to mind in your price range are WRX/STi/Evo, GTi or Golf R. Maybe a 1st-gen CTS-V if you're willing to trade some age and weight for torque, or an E46 330i ZHP.

rob-2

You ask for too much

TommyDeVito

Top vehicles for resale in the entire industry: 2 different Jeeps, your Highlander, and the wrx and sti.

yakswak

I was hoping for an out of the box idea I hadn't thought of. I can think of cars like BMW 1M that would hold onto value really well but I was hoping to have a bit less into the car. My last car was a '07 M Coupe that also did well based on my timing for purchase (sold for $5k more after 5yrs and 25k miles of driving).

darcyw

consider a manual shift Porsche Cayenne. They are only available used now. They are much sought after.
Volvo 850 T5R- again, manual shift - there are very few around but they are stout cars.
BMW 1M.
Manual shift Toyota pick up trucks- last forever.
Honda civic Si 4 door (minimized depreciation against similar cars)

Try bringatrailer.com. They usually have some interesting stuff there.

What you want is a car where the depreciation is minimized. Or, just buy a $1000 car and keep it until you can't afford to repair it. wash, rinse, repeat.

good luck

darcy

yakswak

Thanks Darcy, great idea about BaT I forgot about that site. Should give me some good ideas there...

LUV2REV

I previously owned a 2009 6 Speed Cayenne GTS. I had to replace the clutch & flywheel at 138,000 KM's and it cost over $5K, that is exotic car money for a very non-exotic vehicle. You could also get a manual with the V6 Cayenne which may be a little cheaper, don't know. A bigger concern with any 955, 957 & even some 958 V8 Cayenne's is the cylinder wall scoring that is becoming a real problem and requires a new engine or re-build ($$$$$). Is it worth putting a new $25K engine in a Cayenne that is worth half that or less ? Cayenne's have earned the acronym PIG for good reason. I would stay well clear of any older Cayenne.

jeffbrig

$5k? Was that at a Porsche dealer? I had to replace the clutch and flywheel in my Cayman last year, and it was less than half that price at an independent specialty shop.

ealand0001

Used evo.