The $25,000 question: With 25 grand in your pocket and fun a prime motivator, what do you go for: a modestly sporting new car or a flamboyantly exotic used one?
Given 25 grand to spend on a car that’s fun to drive, what would you
buy? Would you take the safe road and get a new car such as a Mazda MX-5
Miata or a Volkswagen GTI, which come with the security of a warranty?
Or are you a risk taker willing to go after something special that might
be a decade old and have serious wear issues and plenty of miles, maybe
a used Acura NSX?
It’s a dilemma that will be argued noisily forever, but we’re here to
stick our collective necks out in hopes of providing some answers. We’ve
gathered nine cars—two are new and seven are used—that can be purchased
for about $25,000.
The cars were chosen by the staff for a lot of personal reasons,
including performance, style, and relative practicality. Several are
cars that we have long lusted after but most of us never could have
afforded when they were new.
Used-car prices fluctuate all over the place, so we relied on the Kelley
Blue Book 1993–2007 Used Car and Truck Guide—using the estimated prices
for cars in good condition that are sold between private parties—as
well as the used-car Web site AutoTrader.com.
We don’t own a used-car lot, so we had to borrow cars from owners. We
asked the owners to meet us at GingerMan Raceway in South Haven,
Michigan, for a free-for-all day of driving. We cycled through the cars,
driving both on the racetrack and public roads around it. Since all of
the used cars were in varied condition—the 1999 Mercedes E55 AMG we
borrowed had almost 200,000 miles on it—we didn’t rate them by our
ritual rules that govern comparison tests. In the pages that follow, we
recount what the cars felt like and what items buyers should be wary of.
We also rate the used cars in three categories—operating costs, curb
appeal, and fun to drive.
So which one is the most fun? Which one would we buy? That depends on whom you ask
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