Top 10 Used Exotic Cars: Get that Aston Martin for the Price of a Honda
Unless you've been vacationing on a peaceful atoll since, say, last August, you may have heard some news about the economy. Hint: it's not great. There are two ways to look at this. One school of thought says to batten down the hatches and close your wallet, because everything's horrible and the experts who told us our houses were very valuable last year are now predicting that implosion of the concept of money. But savvy investors zig when everyone else is zagging. So maybe what you should really do is buy a sweet used car. Think of it this way—when the economy kept going up, you had to feel guilty about sinking money into a great car, because you could've been using those funds to earn 200-percent returns on timeshares in Boca. Now, you may have less money, but you can feel free to spend it on something that brings you joy, secure in the knowledge that you were probably just going to lose it anyway. So here are 10 ways to stick your thumb in the eye of Old Man Economy with some bargain-priced automotive decadence.
By Ezra Dyer
2001 Porsche 911
Original list: $66,500
Target price: $25,000
Power: 3.4-liter H6, 300 hp
Because Porsche styling evolves at the pace of Illinois political reform, a seven-year-old 911 looks a whole lot like a new one. Car geeks and valets will know that the blobby headlights signify an older car, but in terms of performance the 996-model 911 is plenty contemporary. For twenty-five grand, you can have an automotive icon with 300 hp hanging out over the rear axle. While the current Cayman S is flirting with the same sort of power numbers as an older 911, it still costs far more and is much less likely to enervate your drive with lift-throttle oversteer.
Our Find: 2001 911 Carrera in California. Silver with black leather, 81,000 miles. Short-shift kit, Porsche GT3 wheels and factory aero kit. The owner doesn't say, but this is probably debadged, to further the GT3 pretense. $25,000
Target price: $25,000
Power: 3.4-liter H6, 300 hp
Because Porsche styling evolves at the pace of Illinois political reform, a seven-year-old 911 looks a whole lot like a new one. Car geeks and valets will know that the blobby headlights signify an older car, but in terms of performance the 996-model 911 is plenty contemporary. For twenty-five grand, you can have an automotive icon with 300 hp hanging out over the rear axle. While the current Cayman S is flirting with the same sort of power numbers as an older 911, it still costs far more and is much less likely to enervate your drive with lift-throttle oversteer.
Our Find: 2001 911 Carrera in California. Silver with black leather, 81,000 miles. Short-shift kit, Porsche GT3 wheels and factory aero kit. The owner doesn't say, but this is probably debadged, to further the GT3 pretense. $25,000
