What 5 cars are in your *BUDGET* dream garage?

[Mephistopheles Janx]

I've seen a lot of these prompts but they usually involve a ridiculous amount of money... so I thought it would be fun to talk about a way more budget friendly garage.

Each car must be, currently, listed for sale at no more than $10k. No project cars that need to be worked on... they need to be able to move at least 2 people around reliably and legally on city streets.

Mine are as follows...

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The Daily Driver - 2009 Pontiac Solstice GXP w/91k miles - $7,250



I actually have this car and it is my daily driver. Well... not THIS one but the same car in the same color. This is just a better photo than what I have. Yes, it basically has no trunk but I can (and have) gotten 300lbs of goat feed in this thing. It is a blast to drive. It has been extremely reliable. It is fun to look at. I can take it to AutoX. Got mine well below $10k.

The Farm Truck - 1993 Honda Acty 4cyl / 4x4 - $10,000



So I mentioned goats. I would love the flexibility a vehicle like this would provide me while managing my herd of goats and the 10 acres I'm on. I'm also in the middle of nowhere and on a dirt road so having the ability to have an extremely light 4x4 vehicle pretty much ensures I am not getting stuck While not highway legal... it is city legal where I live. Listing found on FB Marketplace.

The Work Truck - 2007 Toyota Tundra SR5 with a 5.7l V8 / 4x4 / 170k miles - $9,500



The listing I found wouldn't let me screenshot it so I used a stock photo. Being on a homestead I, on occasion, need something with a lot of grunt to get things done be it pulling a loaded trailer or carrying heavy things for the farm. It could pull my tractor down the road with no worries at all. Bonus... this Toyota will probably still be running like new at 400k miles with just regular maintenance. Listing found on cars.com

The People Hauler/Loaner - 2013 Mazda 5 Touring at 61k miles - $9,500



There is absolutely nothing sexy about this pick. It is there to serve a purpose and nothing more. You damn well know that if you have a 5 car garage... someone is going to ask you to borrow one of those cars at some point. You need something you can lend out without really being overly concerned that they are going to try to go fast or drive aggressively. Also, none of the other vehicles listed so far are really capable of, comfortably, carrying more than 4 adults and even then they would be tightly squeezed in the back of the truck. So... we have a minivan. At least it is a Mazda so I expect reliability and it has low miles. Listing found on cars.com

The Saturday Night Special - 1938 Dodge Brothers Fast 4 Rat Rod Chopped / 350SBC / Unknown Miles - $10k



There is nothing else on the list that has this aesthetic. This car would be for the sole purpose of getting people to look at it. It should also be, relatively, easy to work on, if needed... it is a rat, as the engine is completely exposed and is extremely common. If I'm going out and want to make a spectacle... this is the car that I'm going in. Listing found on FB Marketplace.

[loochy]

I don't know how much traffic this thread will get since everyone can just buy those things if they want them.


I have what I want already....I'd just like some kind of beater pickup (mechanically sound, who cares about the rest) to take to home depot, move things, and haul a boat or kayak...but I need to build an outside garage before I add more vehicles.


I'd also LOVE to have a Mercedes Sprinter that is decked out like an RV. I could spend an entire summer in that fly fishing....going up the rockies from New Mexico up to Alberta and BC, then back down the Cascades and Sierra Nevadas...but that's WELL out of the price range of this conversation

[Rain Man]

I don't want multiple cars. I'd never know which one to drive. It would be the equivalent of a quarterback controversy.

[Easy 6]

My humble dream garage would be...

1 - a 70s Corvette with those classically sexy coke bottle curves in electric blue... with a seriously beefed up 350 and killer shocks

2 - Ram 1500 crew cab with all the whistles, and a Hemi

3 - Ram 3500 with a Cummins, pull anything with it

[poolboy]

Ferrari, Lambo and Porsche....there has to be some beaters out there somewhere...
right?

[lewdog]

Need $20k for budget cars today. $10k gets mostly dumpsters.

[Mephistopheles Janx]

Originally Posted by lewdog

Need $20k for budget cars today. $10k gets mostly dumpsters.

OP shows 5 excellent examples of non dumpsters for $10k

[Megatron96]

Wish I'd kept my Taco.

When I was a teen-ager, I always wanted an Alfa-Romeo Spider Veloce.

An old 1969 Datsun Z would be fun to drive, and tinker on.

A C3 Vette (gotta have a Vette)

Can't beat a '60s Mustang for cool factor.

[srvy]

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Megatron96

Wish I'd kept my Taco.

When I was a teen-ager, I always wanted an Alfa-Romeo Spider Veloce.

An old 1969 Datsun Z would be fun to drive, and tinker on.

A C3 Vette (gotta have a Vette)

Can't beat a '60s Mustang for cool factor.

I think you'd have to tow those home for under $10K, and then buy an engine and transmission and interior from where it got burnt up in the fire. And that's only if you found a really lucky barn car.

Honestly, for under $10K maybe I'd try to find my old BMW Z3 or Fiero or something. It looks like they're both around $12K, so maybe I could find a deal. My old BMW Z4 can be had for about $22K, and that's still an attractive deal.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by poolboy

Ferrari, Lambo and Porsche....there has to be some beaters out there somewhere...
right?

I looked into getting a mid-80s Porsche before used car prices went crazy, but those cars are so underpowered compared to now it wouldn't even be fun. I'd like a Datsun 280z.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by srvy

My father has that exact pickup rotting in his driveway and refuses to sell it. It's infuriating. He gets sentimentally attached to vehicles and is always in financial straits, but he just lets that pickup sit there in the weather and rot.

[Megatron96]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I think you'd have to tow those home for under $10K, and then buy an engine and transmission and interiod. And that's only if you found a really lucky barn car.

Honestly, for under $10K maybe I'd try to find my old BMW Z3 or Fiero or something. It looks like they're both around $12K, so maybe I could find a deal. My old BMW Z4 can be had for about $22K, and that's still an attractive deal.

Probably. Haven't checked prices on any of these in years. Didn't know the cut-off was $10k. Thought I had more wiggle room, like 20k.


But I wouldn't mind tinkering on an old Datsun Z or Mustang. Even an old MG.

[Easy 6]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

My father has that exact pickup rotting in his driveway and refuses to sell it. It's infuriating. He gets sentimentally attached to vehicles and is always in financial straits, but he just lets that pickup sit there in the weather and rot.

Heh, dammit dad you can't take it all with you!

Its a story that plays itself out around the nation a thousand times a day, the old codger will never be reasonable about it

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I don't want multiple cars. I'd never know which one to drive. It would be the equivalent of a quarterback controversy.

Women always seem to own a crazy number of shoes, so maybe we just need to get in their head on how they choose day to day.

Or even easier, if your wife has 5 pairs of shoes, just choose 5 vehicles that match the general style/color theme of each pair of shoes, and then when she gets dressed for a night out, glance down at her shoes and you'll know what you're driving.