I have good news! You found a lamp lying on the ground and after rubbing it, an oil-covered genie appeared! Even better, this ghostly wish-granting broseph just gave you exactly $135,220. Look, I don’t know why the genie didn’t give you an even $135,000. Maybe it started off as $136,000 but he had to take a finder’s fee. Either way, you now have a cool $135,220 in your bank account. You could do the responsible thing and invest this money, pay off bills, buy property, or do whatever is considered to be adulting. However, you’re an Autopian, and you’ve been inspired by David rebuilding his car collection in California or by me and my fleet of aging German disasters.
If given exactly $135,220, what cars and how many of them would you buy? Since I love boats, motorcycles, planes, and trains, those will be acceptable, too.
This oddly specific dollar figure comes from the mind of Matt Hardigree. See, our Publisher has fallen into the trap of playing with a car configurator. Today, he configured a Porsche 911 Carerra T, a lovely sleek sports car with a starting price of $124,900. For that price, you’re getting a 911 992 with a rear-mounted 3.0-liter twin-turbo flat-six good for 379 HP. Spec the car with the Sport Chrono Package and a manual transmission for a sprint to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds, 3.8 with a PDK. Sounds fun!
Matt’s spec would include Ruby Star Neo paint ($3,270), a smooth pink-ish color. He also added in the Front Axle Lift system ($2,770) and picked the manual transmission option and some other bits. Honestly, that’s not important. What’s important is what vehicle thing would you do with $135,220 burning a hole in your pocket?
The first thing I would do is buy a Smart Crossblade, like this one currently for sale in New Jersey for $59,622.
Admittedly, I’d haggle on that price, but mint condition examples of the Crossblade have been selling for around $50,000 for at least a decade. Why would I pay that much for a Smart? Well, it is the Holy Grail of all Smarts. The Crossblade was a concept car put into limited production with less than 2,000 units known to exist. It’s not just all show, either, as Smart waterproofed the interior so you could drive the thing in the rain, or through a car wash.
Anyway, with my prized Smart in possession, I’d next run down the list of my dream motorcycles.
I’ll also want a Honda CBX, which will likely run around $12,500 for one in decent shape. Of course, I have to get a Royal Enfield Diesel. We’ll say that’ll set me back $5,000. No motorcycle collection would be complete without a Hayes M1030M1 jet fuel military bike. And beside them all will be a Suzuki RE-5 rotary motorcycle for about $8,500.
Surprisingly, that leaves me with $49,558 in the bank. A really nice Volkswagen Phaeton W12 will set me back about $20,000. I’d spend the rest of it on imports like an MGF roadster, an Autozam AZ-1, and a Smart Fortwo with a manual transmission.
Matt theoretically would spend that $135,220 on just a single car. I could score four rare motorcycles and five cars for that price. What would you buy with $135,220?
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At my current price range preference, that’s about 135 rusty old pickup trucks. Where do I sign?
*ROFLMAO emoji*
I would like to spend most of that on a shop and tools.
Other than that, probably a fleet of old 4x4s. Broncos, Scouts, maybe a Blazer, Jeeps, various 4×4 pickups(especially an international), and this one Justy 4×4 that’s rotting into the ground not far from my house. 135k will buy quite a bit of the stuff I’m into if you don’t buy it beautifully restored at Barrett Jackson.
My brain could go a lot of different ways, but I’m in full new dad mode…..so I’d likely go a Volvo XC90 Recharge for standard family duties and wife’s go to ($78k). I’d need something utilitarian for outdoor adventures and, well, utility….so let’s do a Maverick XLT Hybrid. ($32k).
Then, I’ll cheat a little. I’ll trade in my Subaru for some extra equity to go along with the $25k I have left and grab a Miata RF.No need to cheat, I’ll go used on the Mazda MX-5 RF.Family, luxury, tech? Check
Dipping tow into electric? Check
Utility, outdoorsyness? Check
Weekend fun? Check
There are two possible ways I see this going.
1) Buy my wife a new Ram TRX, spend the remaining few grand on whatever I find from this list, in project car condition, not running condition:
1939 Pontiac
1952 Pontiac Chieftain
1955 Pontiac Safari
1966/67 Charger
1966 Newport/New Yorker/300 in Wagon preferably or Sedan if not wagon
Datsun Roadster
1955 Ford Cabover
Or 2) I build a shop with about $75K – $100K including some new fun tools, and then buy everything on my list, plus a few more because the stuff I want is $1K to $15K each, plus drivetrain donors, etc.
For me its much more about the build than it is about the owning, so I would buy projects and an even better place to build them.
I’m gonna assume this is US$. And I’m assuming I can’t use the money for anything except cars or car-related stuff
So for me, I’d spend about $80,000 of it on a new dual motor Tesla Model S. And I’d spend the remaining amount of $55,222 on a used Lotus Elise to get my manual driving fix… like one of these:
https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicle/697685101
https://www.autotrader.com/marketplace/buy/lotus/elise/2005/SCCPC111X5HL34627
Now having said that, if I got the money and could use it for anything, then I might only get one of these two and invest the rest of the money either for my retirement or in upgrades for my house.
Kia Carnival (family hauler)
Volvo EX30 (modern replacement for wife’s aging BMW i3)
BMW M2 (track car, to complement my daily driven M3)
Bonus: sell our Telluride and i3 and maybe get a Bronco or an E60 M5 or a Boston Whaler…
If the VW XL1 is able to be driven in the US, I’ll get that. Probably takes the whole budget, too.
If not, probably get
~75k – V60 Recharge
~45k – Rav4 Prime
~13k more solar panels.
It’s not able to be registered in the US because it’s not homologated and isn’t 25 years old.
Of course, the cheaper you can buy it the more money you have left over to bribe the customs guys and your DMV. And/or hire somebody to falsify the title and pass it off as a modified Golf.
“It’s not able to be registered in the US because it’s not homologated and isn’t 25 years old.”
Though for a car as rare as that, it might qualify under the ‘show and display’ rule.
That’s true, although I understand the show and display rule is really just for showing and displaying, and you’d get in trouble if you daily drive it.
Yeah, that’s where I thought I would run into trouble too. And I’m not going to get the thing to just show and display it. I’m going to drive the thing.
Ok, on to my plug-in hybrids it is!
Though the S&D isn’t verified, so you could just get it here and then “figure it out” later.
Meh… so take it to C&C regularly. And given how expensive and rare they are, you probably wouldn’t want to use it as a daily driver anyway.
A Hornet for myself and a new Compass for my sister. The leftover money would go to accessories for both cars, Direct Connection parts for the Hornet. Maybe even gas cards.
I park in public, and already pay $31.50 per month in my small town to park in the towns parking lots. Can’t justify more than one car, and there’s nowhere to charge.
I’m assuming this is an OG Hornet and not the mediocre rebadged Alfa crossover yes?
It’s the “Everything built by Chrysler sucks because it’s Chrysler” CUV, not the “let’s use everything from everyone else to build a car that’s comparable to a Yugo” AMC.
Gross.
It’s not a Chrysler that sucks because it’s made by Chrysler, it’s an Alfa Romeo that sucks significantly worse because it’s an Italian car.
And AMCs are dope, and in my experience rather well built.
Add one more to your opinion. Being given $132K and WANTING a Hornet is…….something.
I can’t even have a Compass in my public parking lot without it getting hit by some douche in his 22-foot-long HD truck parking in a lot he can’t fit in… So, I can’t have a massive vehicle. I’m also not traveling an hour plus to any reputable dealership for other brands. Weighing my options of local dealerships (if anything goes wrong, I want to at least be local to whatever I own, just in case), I could: get a Maverick at some random price my local Ford dealership decides to sell one at, a Z in NYS, a Chevy EV I don’t have anywhere to charge, or a CUV on a hellva deal that’s not much bigger than my current car, actually has some get up and go, and likely match or beat my current MPG I get in my Jeep.
If things were different for me, there’s be a lot of other options. Decided on something I’m ok with in my current situation.
What could be worst than Dodge reliability?!
….Alfa reliability, that’s what
It is a Chrysler product, it’s under a Chrysler brand. Like the Raider, or the Stealth, both being Dodge products, but being built by Mitsubishi.
And by extension, that means if it’s a Chrysler product, it sucks because it’s a Chrysler product. Companies have had duds that make the comparable Chrysler product look like a Camry or Tundra, and people would still choose that product over one built by Chrysler because, what’s the public perception? Chrysler sucks.
I also like AMC’s, but being better built then the Big Three isn’t something I’ve heard often.
I guess you don’t spend much time around Jeeps. The legendary XJ is an AMC, and is so great because of excellent AMC engineering.
The defense of a dead company of whom sold those legendary XJ’s with the legendarily terrible GM 2.8 V6 and that stupid Renault/Bendix fuel injection on the 4.0 that most people would rather have the Chrysler designed system is…. remarkable.
But, please, tell me more.
They sold the terrible v6 until they could replace it with Superior AMC Engineering(tm). The Renix fuel injection is totally inferior to the Chrysler High Output but not actually bad. A Renix 4.0 Cherokee or YJ is still one of the most dependable and unkillable vehicles on the roads today.
Of course, even the 2.5 4cyl Cherokees are reliable, just gutless.
The AMC straight six was known for being unusually torquey and dependable long before fuel injection, and the 258 in my 1974 j10 still runs great.
When they bought parts from other companies, they had a mostly pretty good track record for buying good parts, like Ford Duraspark, Chrysler 727 transmissions, and the most legendary Spicer/Dana transmissions and axles(my j10 has a t18 and Dana 44s).
Life is weird lately. I’m realizing the importance of minimizing frustration and aggravation and being very careful about ambitions and how they fit into the everyday. Sure, it’d be great to list a truckload of vintage whatevers, but is that what really works and what does what I want to do? Probably not.
So: A new Audi A5 Sportback and a new Miata.
The balance of the budget goes toward parking here in Manhattan.
That’s about what a decent Lancia Delta Evo 2 runs, and I’d take that over a 911 any day
I love this game and this is a really interesting amount to play with. It’s not quite enough to go buck wild and get some truly ridiculous shit but it’s a bigger chunk of money than most of us will ever have to spend on cars. I know a lot of the commentariat is going to submit their dream hooptie fleets and while I thoroughly respect that approach I would tap into my fancy side and go with my usual “have something for every application” approach.
I mean, there’s an argument to be made that I could just get the most bonkers Cayenne possible or an RS6 Avant and have everything covered in one ludicrous vehicle, but with this much to spend I’d be remiss if I didn’t spread it out. So what I’m left with is $135,220 for an all weather daily and one pure fun car. I think that’s the best move.
I’d start with the daily. Honestly I’d throw in a wildcard here and track down a certified X3M. I see them listed in the low 50s frequently in my area and holy cow are they a lot of car for that price. 450ish horsepower from the S58 twin turbo straight 6 that’s actually pretty robust, seating for 4 adults, an excellent all wheel drive system for all weather capability, and it’s a hatchback. I’ve made my case for the performance CUV in my member rides feature yesterday so I won’t make it again, but boom. I’d have the Kona N’s final form. Great daily I’d probably have 70ish leftover if I buy a certified one.
That money goes to the weekend toy which would come down to a 718 or C8. Give me mid engine. Each car makes a strong case. The C8 because it’s an everyday supercar and V8 go brrrrr. 718 because it’s total Parsh perfection bro and can be had in stick. Right now I’d lean manual 718 Boxster T in the exact same color as this 911 or Frozen Berry Metallic. If that winds up over budget I’d simply buy a less nice X3M or just get an X3 M40i because it’s a great car too.
Or if I’m including the wifey I’d get her the new Lexus RX PHEV in that fabulous rose gold color and pick up a CT4V BW or IS500 for myself. Maybe I’d even save a bit and do an Integra Type S. But in fantasyland I like to be a selfish bastard 🙂
The RX PHEV is unreasonably expensive. Starts at $70k. Meanwhile the RX350h versus 350 is like $300 difference.
It’s way too expensive, I agree. You can get a well equipped CX90 PHEV for nearly $20,000 less. But this is pretend money damn it!
I need a new daily and I need interior space for “reasons” I’d spend around $50k on a pre loved Yukon. Then the rest for projects/collection. I could get four for about $20K a piece in decent shape XJR, XKR, CX, Boxster. The remaining $5220 would go on repairs on my current truck.
Probably just a few (5?) rad era weirdos. Definitely a Coupe Quattro then whatever caught my attention on BaT.
Easy peasy.:
I will have one of your finest Donzi Black Hawk Edition vessels with the gold bezeled instrument cluster and the hawk bow paint scheme. I will use the remainder to procure the most roadworthy and well-maintained gently used CT4 Blackwing.
Done and done.
I very quickly got a 2024 Corvette Z06 up to $129,440 (including destination and gas guzzler tax) on the chevy site so I think I’ll stop right there, call it a day and be a happy camper
Boomer!
Only if he keeps it in the delivery diaper for the rest of its life and wears New Balances
Hello catman
Yeah, a 2LZ just how I would order it is about $131,000
Hope you’re spot on with sales tax calculations
I would buy a nice MGB (67-69) that’s in good condition. Drop in the Rover V8 and a T5.
Then I would invest the rest
For 135,220:
I’ve already got 1/5 of my dream cars (1994 Miata).
1969 Superbee $70,000
1983 Toyota Trekker $25,000
1960’s Morris Traveler $20,000
That leaves me 20K, give or take.
Can’t afford the final dream car (Amphicar), so I’d sell my Mazda 3 (+8000) and my 2004 Tacoma crew cab (+20000) which leaves me 48,220. I would then buy a 2015 Volvo V60 T6 R Design (-18000), a 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado 5 speed (-15000), and use the rest to buy a slightly ratty 6.2 Raptor.
That, or I could blow it all on a Raptor R, which would be admittedly a great option.
None, actually, I’m reasonably well set with cars right now but have a long punch list of crap I want to do around the house
I’m a simple guy. I’d buy one car for me and one for my partner. I’d get a Kona N (Big thanks to Nsane In The MembraNe for his comments when sedans/hatches were discussed and discussing the size of the Kona with me when I was curious about it) in Sonic Blue and I’d get her an RDX with AWD and the A-spec Advance package in Apex Blue Pearl. Lets round up and say I’d be in for 92k. That would leave me a little over 43k that would be split between a vacation, investments… And a little for spare wheels and tires for the Kona N because reasons.
Or or or! In fantasy land Ford would make a PHEV Maverick and I’d buy 2 of them! A his and hers, I’m sure my lady wouldn’t completely hate it.
Am I allowed to use part of the funds to build a garage? If so, that leaves me with around $90k left, which uh, would go to a 1967 GTO for me and a 1970 Chevelle SS for my girlfriend. So 2 cars!
I also would defer funds to storage. Not much use buying a fleet just for it to weather away. $50K.
I’d like a used service body 3/4 ton to dedicate to maintaining the rest of the fleet. Something in the $15K range.
A classic full size wagon in the $10K range so it’s a useful daily but not a show car.
An older restoration prewar touring car, for slow driving, $20K.
A 70’s Rolls Royce, probably a Silver Shadow for affordability reasons. $30K.
That leaves me a bit over 7K to fill the rest of the garage with nonsense from FB Marketplace. Won’t know it until I see it.
These are always so hard because I know I wouldn’t have it in me to go really wild with the money. I’d get a really nice import Subaru Sambar, maybe, a good practical vehicle for sure, and hopefully something fun. (Okay, actually, that money would go toward a house, but I’m trying to play the game, here.)
But, for the purposes of this, let’s see what I can do. Looks like I can max out a dual motor Rivian with the max pack for $109,940 with more accessories than I even want. So I have $25,280 to play with. That’ll get me a respectable wagon. Maybe even a little motorcycle for around town, too.
2024 Prius Prime (for commuting)
2024 Mustang GT manual convertible (duh)
2024 Highlander Hybrid (for my wife)
Not much left but I’m sure I can find interesting things on Craigslist.
Ya’ll ever heard of the GRM $2000 challenge? You buy a $2000 (or less) shitbox, and with wheeling and dealing, trading, and a few other caveats, you go racing.
Plus registration, hotel, and a few other things, it’d be $3-4k depending on how hard you wanna roll up there.
So 135,000/3,500 = 38ish Challenge cars.
Or I’d just fix up my Dad’s original 914-6 and my ’67 Mustang
I’d buy a fleet of modestly priced vehicles. Offhand a BMW R1200RT, a Toyota HiAce camper, a Citroën with hydropneumatic suspension (tie between CX, GSA and BX, wagon natch), a Landrover Defender or pre 90 coil spring model, and a KLR 650.
I would be very tempted to buy this one 911, I’m not gonna lie. Here’s what I’d probably do instead:
1x Ford Maverick Hybrid XLT – $33k as optioned
1x Volvo 242 GT – $12k
1x Ford Escort Cosworth RS – $55k
1x 2010 Panamera Turbo – $25,650
1x A shitty BMW i3 – $8570
I know a guy that has been watching the Panamera prices depreciate. He’s salivating.
Wait, Panameras are in the low 20’s now??