Sports car?

[Ronstar]

Bought a new corvette in 2001 and spent 13 summers driving it to work. Now that I'm retired, it mostly sits in the garage.

 

[Ronstar]

My retirement present was a brand new 2003 GMC 4WD pickup truck that replaced the 18-year-old '85 Chevy pickup. It now has 97k miles on it and I have no plans to replace it anytime soon. It probably will be the last pickup truck I own though because at 67 I just don't use that capability much anymore.

Maybe I'll get a sports car then....

You may want to keep the truck. Sports cars are not easy to get in and out of as we get older.

 

[Walt34]

You may want to keep the truck. Sports cars are not easy to get in and out of as we get older.

Come to think of it, you're right. We're already having slight issues with the Honda Accord and my knees are not going to get better with age.

 

[Pilot2013]

Already bought it, will keep it in retirement. I'ts "only driven on Sundays, when it's not raining".

Tried to insert pic, but apparently not tech savvy enough.

Figure it out...

 

[W2R]

Did you buy a fancy sports car when you retired?

I have my eye on a nearly new Porsche Boxster but don't want to be a cliché

....or maybe you 'treated' yourself to something else as a retirement gift...from you...to you?

I retired in 2009 and bought myself a brand new top of the line 2009 Toyota Venza SUV. A perfect seat height to get in and out, comfortable ride, easy to drive, and big enough to take lots of stuff with me in hurricane evacuations. Here's a photo of it the day after I bought it, at my old house.

 

[Texas Proud]

One of the things you can do is buy a nice sport sedan...

I owned a '97 Firebird Formula 350.... it was quick for the times and handled pretty well... but was a piece of junk if you wanted reliability...


In '04 bought a nice Acura TL 6 speed... it has more HP, but less torque... it was quicker to 60 and 1/4 mile than the Firebird... it had HP tires and handled better... and to top it all of it was a 4 door!!!


So, unless you want to get rip roaring acceleration, I would go with a practical car most of the time that had the extra ability to give you some fun.... I hate these cars, but lots of people buy BMWs to get just that...

 

[Danmar]

I have my eye on a nearly new Porsche Boxster but don't want to be a cliche ?

Early in my retirement I had a 911S on order but backed out. Got an M6 convertible instead. Agree about the cliche thing, "another old A-hole in a Porsche". They are great cars though. Love the M6.

 

[bhoferp]

Don't have the $$$ most of you have, but we bought a 2015 Dodge Challenger RT Shaker. Comfortable and fun to drive. Going to get groceries today, was asked again by someone who wanted to take a picture of it. Always tickles us.

 

[Bamaman]

You can buy Mercedes benz SL 55 or 63 AMG and get 500 supercharged horses for around 20-30K. Lots of value, but when it breaks down, bend over

Popular Mechanics has a link to a 100 page long blog where a gentleman had the head bolts fail on a R63 Mercedes station wagon. The customer repaired the engine although it took him 10 months to execute the fix.

Cost of engine from dealer: $49,000 plus $150 labor per hour to install.

Mercedes is well aware of failures with this engine, but refused to help the customer because he didn't purchase Mercedes' new and he doesn't deal with Mercedes dealers regularly. The dealer just gave the customer lip service and tried to rip him off on parts.

The moral of the story is stay away from ultra high tech/high performance automobiles unless it's within warranty or covered by an extended service plan.

That said, I've purchased a low mile Jaguar XK convertible in my retirement years.

 

[ejman]

Yes ! next spring when DW and I are both retired we will get a sports car . I have already looked at the Porsche Boxter and decided it is more problem then I want . Some cars that I am looking at and this is just opinion but check out the maintenance on the Porsche.
If you like the Porsche mid engine , check out the Toyota MR II real dependable and cheap to maintain.
Probably the top rated roadster for the money are the Mazda Miatas.
Tons of Camaro's Mustangs out there used ones are pretty cheap and easy to maintain.

I know this is crazy as hell but we took one of the Fiat 500 Abarth's out for a test drive . We loved it . It seemed like we were driving a go cart on public roads . ...........But again they are not one of the top rated cars by any means.
The old days I used to rebuild Triumphs and MG's so easy to work on . Older brother still does Jags.

Many moons ago I owned a Fiat 124- what a blast to drive, probably the must fun car I've owned. I did my own maintenance then and over the 80,000 or so miles I owned the car the only thing I remember is I had to do frequent tuneups for top performance. Spark plugs, points, condenser adjust the timing - that sort of thing. I also owned an MG and frankly the 124 was a lot more fun.

No idea what the Fiat 500 is like but if it is anything like the 124 I'm sure it's a fun drive. It seems like Italian cars are designed with the idea that the owner/mechanic will fiddle with them all the time as part of the "fun"

 

[aja8888]

It seems like Italian cars are designed with the idea that the owner/mechanic will fiddle with them all the time as part of the "fun"

It's this getting stranded along the roadside thing that they are trying to help the owners figure out. But as unreliable as the old Italian cars are, they would not hold a candle to the 70's Jensen Healy I had for a while (short while).

 

[JoeWras]

Older neighbor won't part with their BMW Z4. They also can't get around enough to drive it. They ask me to take it out for "joy rides" to keep the seals supple, let it breathe, burn off the moisture, etc. (No fallacy there, the machine needs to get exercise.)

I guess in a way this is a good deal. No cost, just fun and time.

 

[bradaz2488]

Many moons ago I owned a Fiat 124- what a blast to drive, probably the must fun car I've owned. I did my own maintenance then and over the 80,000 or so miles I owned the car the only thing I remember is I had to do frequent tuneups for top performance. Spark plugs, points, condenser adjust the timing - that sort of thing. I also owned an MG and frankly the 124 was a lot more fun.

No idea what the Fiat 500 is like but if it is anything like the 124 I'm sure it's a fun drive. It seems like Italian cars are designed with the idea that the owner/mechanic will fiddle with them all the time as part of the "fun"

Wow.. Blast from the past... The first car I bought was a 1978 Fiat Spyder (fix-it-again-tony). Fun as hell to drive and got a lot of attention back then, but the most unreliable car I have ever owed. Did a lot of the work myself. It was fun... Loved it so much I kept it for 12 years... Only car I felt sad selling...

 

[Midpack]

Many moons ago I owned a Fiat 124- what a blast to drive, probably the must fun car I've owned. I did my own maintenance then and over the 80,000 or so miles I owned the car the only thing I remember is I had to do frequent tuneups for top performance. Spark plugs, points, condenser adjust the timing - that sort of thing. I also owned an MG and frankly the 124 was a lot more fun.

No idea what the Fiat 500 is like but if it is anything like the 124 I'm sure it's a fun drive. It seems like Italian cars are designed with the idea that the owner/mechanic will fiddle with them all the time as part of the "fun"

You can buy a brand new 2017 Fiat 124 Spider now, should be more reliable since it shares a lot of parts with the Miata.

http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/la...-spider-abarth-short-report-article-1.3215875

 

[JonnyM]

No, however 10 years into retirement, when we both hit 60, we needed to replace an aging auction Lincoln Mark VIII that was beginning to fail. Donated it. Found our perfect car was the last Scion XB to haul my Music gear, and our Irish Wolfhounds, plus the last Miata MX-5 with a retractable hardtop for the fun drives (just us). We used other peoples money at 0%, spent about 40K total one day Jan 2016. Should be good to go for the foreseeable future...

 

[Breedlove]

Something to think about , you can buy a really over powered car that you can never run out . Or you can buy a slower car and hit the back roads , like what the Triumphs and MG's were for . I don't think these cars had 100 HP but on a curvy back road it was fun . This is why we are watching the Fiat 500 Abarths they call them a street legal go cart.

190 HP 2300 lbs a tiny car that goes 130 MPH . Slow compared to the Mustangs or Vettes .

 

[Car-Guy]

Something to think about , you can buy a really over powered car that you can never run out . Or you can buy a slower car and hit the back roads , like what the Triumphs and MG's were for . I don't think these cars had 100 HP but on a curvy back road it was fun .

With a forum name like "Breedlove", and after reading your post, it's would seem clear to me you are probably not related to Craig Breedlove. If you grew up in the 60's and loved really fast cars, you'll know who that is without looking it up.

 

[Scuba]

I got my sports car fixation out of my system in my 30's and DH & I both have cars that are comfortable, reliable and reasonable costs to maintain. Our big splurge was remodeling our home. Completely gutted it and replaced the builder finishes with what we selected, sparing no expense. Did it before we RE'd and glad we did. Otherwise we would have had to make compromises we may not have liked.

 

[Hermit]

I bought a 2004 Audi TT turbo roadster in 2010 for $15,500. It had 34,000 miles on it. I wanted something with all wheel drive so I could drive it in Colorado when I retired. It now has 67,000 miles on it and is still just a hoot to drive. No major mechanical problems. I don't drive it as much as I would like because the roads out here to my place are very rough a lot of the time. I'm thinking of trading it in on a Ford or Chevy 1-ton pickup after I finish my house. I bought a 2013 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon just before I retired as my daily driver in Colorado when I retired. I like its capabilities for off-roading, but it is a maintenance nightmare.

 

[6miths]

Tesla Model 3 on order, but not really a sports car.

Same here. Close enough!

 

[Dreamer]

My DH had a 1972 Corvette Stingray for 16 or so years. He decided he was tired of working on cars, and traded it for a 2007 Z06 Corvette. His engine had 21,000 miles on it, when it blew. It is in the shop now and is getting a new engine. Chevrolet is well aware that the engine has problems and was sued over it. They do not want to hear anything about it.

 

[SpinDr]

If you're looking for something that is a ton of fun to drive, and very reliable, a used Honda S2000. I had a 2004 that I sold a few years back and I still want that car back! A classic style as well.

 

[CRLLS]

Something to think about , you can buy a really over powered car that you can never run out . Or you can buy a slower car and hit the back roads , like what the Triumphs and MG's were for . I don't think these cars had 100 HP but on a curvy back road it was fun . This is why we are watching the Fiat 500 Abarths they call them a street legal go cart.

190 HP 2300 lbs a tiny car that goes 130 MPH . Slow compared to the Mustangs or Vettes .

I've had my share of old British cars, from Spitfires, to Sprites, to MGA's. They are fun. They say it is a lot more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow. I had a lot of fun. I loved each and every one of them. I ended up just selling my last (?) sports car last month, a home-built 160HP Lotus Seven replica. 160HP is not a lot until you put it in a 1400 pound car! I think that is now out of my system. Not sure I'd have another sports car. At least not right now.

 

[Koolau]

Had a Vette in my early 20's. Kind of got it out of my system though there are times I would like to have a sports car again. Right now, I really don't have a good place to drive one nor a place to store it. I can't even seem to replace my 3 17+ year old cars. Looks like the Miata will remain a minor fantasy.

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

Not retired yet but one of the original retirement goals was to buy a Porsche 911.

I bought an "entry level" turbo awd sports car as my second car. Did a lot of work on it upgrading various components. That was pretty fun. However, I eventually sold it about 10 years ago and have been sharing my wife's car supplemented with the local car sharing programs in town. It's freed up so much money to allocate to savings and investments.

I'm targeting to retire in about 5 years and think I'm going to need a true second car. However, it's likely going to be a second hand Japanese import (or where ever they're made nowadays). I still want to get a sports car eventually but I probably would want a few years confidence of how much income my retirement portfolio is spitting out before I splurge on one. I'm hesitating now whether I'll eventually want to get a Porsche 911 or get a luxury car that's a bit more practical like a Porsche Macan, BMW M series sedan or SUV, or an electric car like a Tesla.