I kinda want another car (not Prius)

Yes it is a waste of money. However I have a few of those types of "sunday drive" and/or "late night whomping" cars parked next to my Prius. The added cost of insurance, the extra room it takes in the garage and overflow into the driveway, maintenance costs, and of course fuel costs make it financially stupid.

But if you enjoy driving as I do, then it is worth it which is why I do it.

If you want something sport and fun to drive, a nice honda civic or S2000 if you like sporty cars is nice to drive around winding mountain roads. If you want to race, then you either need to rice out the honda which I find to be blasphemous, or buy something nice. An old Lexus IS is always a good buy, but I honestly despise the previous generation (pre 2005 I think?).

I am more into unique and or fun to drive cars, not necessarily the fastest or greatest cars. If this will be your only secondary car, then I suggest a Honda. Reliable and cheap enough to be a secondary car and still fun to drive. And putting lots of miles on it won't really matter. Some of my cars everytime I take it out of the garage I get this warning in my head on how not only am I putting physical wear and tear on the car, but I am diminishing its value every time the odometer tenth rolls up a bit.

Edit/Addition:
If you want something fun but don't care that you will spend 10 hours a week fixing it so you can drive a couple hours on the weekend and maybe breakdown anywhere you go, then the world of cheap sports cars may be acceptable to you. You can get an old Porsche or BMW for a few thousand. They are horrible, but fun in their own ways. I have a 1989 BMW 325xi coupe and it is a blast to drive. Leaks gas, leaks and burns oil, the electrics don't work, shocks are shot, and more but great fun in an empty parking lot. I don't have any Porsche, but an old 80's or early 90's Porsche usually work pretty well.

 

Acura integra or honda civic

 

Abandon four wheels altogether and get a motorcycle.

 

I don't like those circular tail lights, it bugs me big time. I hate that look, same on some of the old acuras too.

Acuras ride nothing like a civic. Both of ours are in pretty good condition, but they do require more repairs than any of the Toyotas.

 

Buy a crotch rocket. That'll cure your need for speed

Mike

 

The IS300 is much sportier than the IS250/350 that replaces it. You can pretty much drift an IS300 but not the newer IS. The new one is much cushier and luxurious. Daily driver = new IS, a drivers car = IS300.

I also want another car. Prius is an okay daily driver, but I'd love to have an FJ.. even though I'm sure 90% of this forum and my friends probably think its crap. I'd love to have a porsche too but I dont have that kind of money lolol. 2012 911? BOING!!!

 

A crotch rocket -

I think you're from the Bay Area too. Like another said, hang up the 4 wheels and go 2 for Saturday morning rides.

I've been on a couple a hundred Group Rides w/ South Bay Riders - Powered by vBulletin groups, www.bayarearidersforum.com groups and more here ..

Woodside Rd, Alices Restaurant, Hwy 84, Kings Mtn, Skyline, Stage Rd, Bear Creek, Alpine, Pescadero, Cloverdale, Gazos Creek, Hwy 1, Swanton, Bonny Dune, Smith Grade, Empire Grade, Hwy 237, Jamison Creek, Alba, Felton Empire, Hwy 9, Mt Hamilton, Mines Rd, Del Puerto Canyon Rd, Niles Canyon, Redwood, Grizzly Peak, Skaggs Springs Rd, etc...

I can't imagine 4 wheel carving being anywhere near as fun as on 2 wheels.

 

The problem is that where I live, people in 4 wheels and usually those in 5000lb 4 wheelers, cannot drive. I do not want to be near them without a few meters of crumpling metal. 2 wheels in my own yard or on a track is a different story. But out on the streets, hell no. At least 1 death per week in this town with bike vs. non-bike accidents. Just tuesday a pickup turned left at a light directly infront of a motorcycle at the bottom of the mountain so it was plainly visible. It didn't take long once the EMTs were there before they pitched a little white tent over the bike driver.

 

Hmmm, it might not be down in your price range, but how about an older Subraru WRX?

Or, how about an 02-03 Maxima? That might be cheap enough. I used to have an 02 Maxima and it was PLENTY fast w/plentiful power and a very smooth ride. Only problem is that its handling and brakes were crap compared to my 350Z.

You could look into an 02 or slightly later Altima V6. 02 was the beginning of a huge improvement to the Altima and the 1st year you could get a V6. Both of these cars are FWD though.

FWIW, unless the sale falls through, I'm selling my 350Z tomorrow instead of shipping it back to California. After being very torn about selling it and running some numbers about future expenses in the next year or so (i.e. tabs, front brakes, new front tires, smog test, alignment, insurance, oil changes, etc.) besides the ~$1K to ship it enclosed, I've decided to part with it. Boo hoo. I will probably cry a bit inside.

I'd added up the numbers and didn't even account for future depreciation and gas costs (gets ~1/2 the mileage of my Prius and requires premium). I'm not short on dough and didn't need the money, but those expenses are money I won't get back. At least w/selling it, I receive some $ and the expenses on that car stop.

If my next job (in CA) is comfortably within the Leaf's range (has to be able to do it w/o charging at work), that's going to be my 2nd car.

 

If you're going to get a fun car then go all out and get something with a turbo that you can mod for speed or buy a used Trans Am/Camaro. They are cheap now and the 6-speeds can run 12s with just sticky tires and a couple basic mods. They get 28-30mpg freeway. lol I had a lot of fun in mine.

Even Asian people drove cars like mine so you're cool.

 

If you want to go new, wait a few months and pick up the all new Civic Si with 2.4L and manual transmission. That should be a nice one!



btw, this has same size tires / wheels as Prius V. Sorry, but I still think this combo is a little overcooked on Prius V, but they look appropriate on this car!

 

I concur with the two-wheeler proponents. Fun factor and bang for the buck, a motorcycle beats a car any day.

 

Here's a teeny tiny picture (lost the original) starting some fun on Swanton Rd which runs off/on Hwy 1 some 5 miles N. of town called Davenport which is N of Santa Cruz -



or get one of these hehe -

Here's a guy having weekend fun -

 

I agree with the two wheel recommendation . I've got 2 of them, and no, they aren't crotch rockets, either. You can find some good foreign cruisers/muscle bikes that are fun to ride, too, and are pretty cheap.

If you're stuck with wanting 4 wheels and a metal cage around you, I'd recommend a coupe sports car for fun. How about a new vette? If you can tolerate sitting on the ground they can be fun.

 

I love motorcycles. Just not on public roads. That's why emergency doctors call them donorcycles. But if you have one, just make sure to wear the best helmet you can get.

And try to wear protective clothing.. Road rash with clothing on is not a pretty sight. Imagine clothing fibers seared into your flesh. You'll need a skin graft.. but only after they pick off all those burned on clothing. Even worse is if you wear some sort of synthetic fiber like polyester... Jeans are not considered protective.

For 10k though, an IS300 is a pretty good choice for a sporty car. I wouldn't go too vanilla because that just really defeats the purpose. RWD w/ power.

 

Buy the biggest oldest beatup Chevy Suburban you can buy and spend weekends intimidating those pickup truck drivers!

 

I've always knew of the risks of motorcycles and took riding quite seriously. I totally agree that leathers only save your skin, but if you hit an object, you could be a bag of broken bones and organs.

I started riding to cut my commute time going to work. I hated sitting in traffic, going nowhere. My commute time went from 55 minutes to about 30. This was in 1988. Turns out I really liked motorcycles. So I rode 'til '93. Then from '03 to 2010.

Thankfully, not only did I not have even a moderate accident, I never had to witness anything more than a minor spill of another rider. Accidents happen, and the risk is elevated, but it's not so common that every ride is like playing with one's life. Otherwise, pretty much no one would ride.

Non-riders often make motorcycling out to be worse than it is.

One other factor is motorcycles have a tendency to bring the idiot out in a number of people. They have amazing power to weight ratios and are therefore quick and fast. For many, they are like toys. They are fun but demand a level of respect and skill.

Year ago or so, I saw two complete idiots weaving like maniacs in and out of freeway traffic. This is the idiot behavior. 10 miles up the freeway, one of the same persons went into a tankslapper and was sliding on his nice person/back on highway 101 just past SF airport. His bike was likely a POS to start with, but that's part of how idiots let things get out of control.

And I would have loved to be a trackday junkie, but at $200 a pop, 300 mile drive r/t to get threre, motel and meals, plus needing a better pickup, it's not the best option.