"Mid-life Crisis" Car Purchase

[DDXdesign]

I wouldn't say that I am actually having a mid-life crisis. I turned 50 in January and as some of you may already know from a couple of my other threads I'm about to be single again. ... Now I'm looking at modern muscle cars and since I'm a Mopar guy I'm leaning toward either a newer Challenger or Charger. The Charger is a bit more practical since it is a four door sedan but I really like the look of the Challenger. I'm going to check out the Camaro and Mustang as well. Whatever I get it will be used, probably in the range between 2012-2015 and I would like to stay in the low $20K range as my max price.
Curious who else has made a less practical car purchase and did you later regret it?
What are some other models I may want to check out?

Hey gjb - I've been down this road a lot in the past 20 years. I'm only 39 now, but I've had over 20 cars** - I'm just a car lover and my needs and whims change quickly. I bought my first Corvette at 26. I've had 2 Vettes (first one very briefly, second for 3 years), 2 Chevy SSRs (first was a lemon that GM bought back), coupla Jeep Wranglers, and even a couple German convertibles, which don't really fit the mold I guess... I've had some "appliance" cars and trucks too.

... But my favorite car purchase ever is my 2013 Challenger. It's comfortable, it's gorgeous, it's spacious, and it's relatively quiet and efficient too! (to be fair, corvettes get 30+MPG highway easily) - you can get used ones under $20k all day, but when I bought mine, brand new was only a couple grand more than used, so I went that way, and USAA pricing was super sweet.

Bought it brand new and surprised the wife with it; we had both gone gaga over them when the concept came around at the auto shows. I didn't even bother getting the Hemi; I had a slog of a commute at the time and, even more importantly, I can go as fast as I ever actually need to with 6 cylinders; I'm a cruiser now, not a racer. Of course, I later gave the Challenger to the wife when her back injury got so bad she had to get rid of her stickshift Fiat, and I now drive a Magnum RT Hemi wagon, but I too am about to be single, and she's giving me back the Challenger because she can't afford to keep it. I'll be so freakin' happy to have that car back. If I could afford 2 cars at once I'd keep the Challenger and get another Jeep for top-down overland mayhem.

**Note: do NOT go down this road. In my 20s I had more credit than common sense (or actual money), and I've spent my 30s digging out from under it; likely will also go deep into my 40s.

 

[DigMe]

Most of those cars would leave me in the dust. Not that a low 10 second car is anything to sneeze at, but my all motor 3600lb backhalfed slob is no match to a bunch of hairdryers and multiple stages of nitrous in a tube chassis flexi-flyer.

How any of those cars can be considered a "street car" is beyond me..... I can't remember the last time I saw a Lamb strutted Lenco shifted Pro-Mod banging potholes in my hometown. I'll bet half those cars don't even have a legitimate VIN tag. In that respect, at least my Camaro is truly a street car.

Yeah, man. Those cars are so over the top and then sometimes when they show up to race the other guys' cars are even moreso. You're probably right about the VINs. Though there have been a couple that seemed slightly more street worthy than the others.

 

[hbarcat]

You can't go wrong with any of the new Big Three American V8 muscle cars. I'd probably lean toward the Mustang but would be happy with the Camaro or Challenger.

Still, there are some alternatives that are cheaper and more practical that will give you nearly the same "practical" street performance and fun factor in real world daily driving - while keeping your insurance rates reasonable.

Consider:

Subaru WRX
Ford Focus ST
Fiat 500 Abarth
Dodge Neon SRT-4
VW Golf GTI
Mini Cooper S

Granted, none of these a have the brute force feel of a true V8 muscle car, but being compact cars with smaller, turbocharged engines, they do have their enthusiastic fans.

 

[Alkali Ike]

I can get 40 MPG in my GTI when driving on 2-lane country roads & observing the 55 limit. Overall I'm getting 32 MPG in about 35% city / 65% highway.

Insurance is cheap. They seem to think it's just a Golf. Ha!

 

[Fat Freddy]

Insurance is cheap. They seem to think it's just a Golf. Ha!

They don't now!!!

 

[GIBrat51]

I'm only 48. Who's got $250G's I can borrow?

What, only 48?? I was looking at one of these Kawasaki H2s today; and I'm a week shy of 65. Sadly, it has a chain (which is why I prefer my K1200S Beemer), and it was already sold. To a younger guy - he's only 62... If you really want the Honda, you'll find a way (and no, I don't have that much, either)...

 

[ESPweasel]

View attachment 869756 What, only 48?? I was looking at one of these Kawasaki H2s today; and I'm a week shy of 65. Sadly, it has a chain (which is why I prefer my K1200S Beemer), and it was already sold. To a younger guy - he's only 62... If you really want the Honda, you'll find a way (and no, I don't have that much, either)...

That's encouraging ...But, there's lots of 60+ y/o's in my group. and they're much faster/smoother then me.

I lave my Kawk and that H2s would be perfect. This is all fun to talk about, but in real life I'm selling all 3 of my bikes & the Mini so I can but a truck and move cross country to NC

 

[Clark Dark]

I recently ended my crisis with the purchase of a Honda Odyssey Touring Elite

 

[Fat Freddy]

Thought that this thread concerned CARS

 

[DDXdesign]

You can't go wrong with any of the new Big Three American V8 muscle cars. I'd probably lean toward the Mustang but would be happy with the Camaro or Challenger.

Still, there are some alternatives that are cheaper and more practical that will give you nearly the same "practical" street performance and fun factor in real world daily driving - while keeping your insurance rates reasonable.

Consider:

Subaru WRX
Ford Focus ST
Fiat 500 Abarth
Dodge Neon SRT-4
VW Golf GTI
Mini Cooper S

Granted, none of these a have the brute force feel of a true V8 muscle car, but being compact cars with smaller, turbocharged engines, they do have their enthusiastic fans.

In this class of car, I think aesthetics wins the day, so whatever you like to look at is good! All the hot hatches in the world might be able to autocross circles around a musclecar, but they don't have the look. The coke-bottle waist and hips. The wiiiiide snarl of grille expanse. Note: I think the newest Mustang, like the latest iterations of the Corvette, is great looking, but it's traded in its James Dean flavor of cool for James Bond instead, with all the tech gadgetry and euro-inspired lines. I think the Challenger hews closest to the original muscle-car spirit and form in that regard, but I'm super biased; the 60s to early 70s were simply the pinnacle of automotive design IMHO.

I did have a Mini Cooper S convertible for a short while; lots of fun to drive even though it's FWD! ...but it's a bit short on sexy =0)

 

[hbarcat]

In this class of car, I think aesthetics wins the day, so whatever you like to look at is good! All the hot hatches in the world might be able to autocross circles around a musclecar, but they don't have the look. The coke-bottle waist and hips. The wiiiiide snarl of grille expanse. Note: I think the newest Mustang, like the latest iterations of the Corvette, is great looking, but it's traded in its James Dean flavor of cool for James Bond instead, with all the tech gadgetry and euro-inspired lines. I think the Challenger hews closest to the original muscle-car spirit and form in that regard, but I'm super biased; the 60s to early 70s were simply the pinnacle of automotive design IMHO.

I did have a Mini Cooper S convertible for a short while; lots of fun to drive even though it's FWD! ...but it's a bit short on sexy =0)

I agree with this 100%. I've owned several true muscle cars and they have a totally different vibe and feel that a hot hatch cannot touch. And it's different for each.

In the late 80's, I had a 68 Mustang fastback with the 289 and 4 speed. It was amazingly crude and unsophisticated. But fun, fun fun.
Later I had a 76 Camaro with a modded 350 (330 HP) Also fun, but in a different way.
Had a 88 Mustang with a 351W and lots of upgrades. best performance car I've ever owned.

My brother had a 2003 Cobra. I drove it a few times and realized how much of a monster that thing really is. It was a chick magnet for him and he had to sell it, partly because his wife wanted it gone.

The muscle cars of the past few years are so much more powerful and better performing in every way compared to even ten years ago. It's astonishing just how much the technology has improved cars in such a short time.

 

[Pilgrim]

I drove a '66 GTO for three years. There is NOTHING that feels or sounds like a big V8 sitting there idling, or the bass roar you get when you put your foot in it. Mine was the 389, 4-speed, Positrac. My brother had a 1967 GTO with the 400, tri-power and 4-speed. My best friend had a '66 Lemans with a GTO engine and 3-speed manual. All three had Cherry Bomb mufflers, and we used to park all three in the driveway and listen to them idle.

Gas mileage was lousy (13 on a highway cruise, 10 in town) but no one with a brain bought a GTO for gas mileage. Mine was the same color as this - Barrier Blue.

 

[DDXdesign]

My brother had a 2003 Cobra. I drove it a few times and realized how much of a monster that thing really is. It was a chick magnet for him and he had to sell it, partly because his wife wanted it gone.

LOL. I haven't really seen a whole lot of chick magnetism with my cars, except my 2nd Vette (2005, first year of the C6) - I got one pair of breasts flashed at me while driving once, and another time I had my then-girlfriend/now-wife making out with another girl on the hood (and then both in the passenger seat, and then both back home...)

 

[DDXdesign]

I drove a '66 GTO for three years. There is NOTHING that feels or sounds like a big V8 sitting there idling, or the bass roar you get when you put your foot in it. Mine was the 389, 4-speed, Positrac. My brother had a 1967 GTO with the 400, tri-power and 4-speed. My best friend had a '66 Lemans with a GTO engine and 3-speed manual. All three had Cherry Bomb mufflers, and we used to park all three in the driveway and listen to them idle.

Gas mileage was lousy (13 on a highway cruise, 10 in town) but no one with a brain bought a GTO for gas mileage. Mine was the same color as this - Barrier Blue.

SEE? 60s american cars look like pure sex.

If Pontiac had gone retro with the 2004 GTO, instead of the 120% scale Cavalier they did make, they'd have sold a zillion of them (see contemporaries like the 05 mustang). I know retro is passe now but I loved it.

 

[Pilgrim]

SEE? 60s american cars look like pure sex.

If Pontiac had gone retro with the 2004 GTO, instead of the 120% scale Cavalier they did make, they'd have sold a zillion of them (see contemporaries like the 05 mustang). I know retro is passe now but I loved it.

ABSOLUTELY. I have never been more let down than the 2004 GTO. I can't tell one from a Chevy Cavalier! They totally screwed the pooch on the car's design. I was even thinking about looking for money to buy one - then I saw the pictures and dropped the idea.

Another time when GM totally dropped the ball when they had the chance to recapture history - like they finally did with the new Camaro.

 

[Stewie26]

ABSOLUTELY. I have never been more let down than the 2004 GTO. I can't tell one from a Chevy Cavalier! They totally screwed the pooch on the car's design. I was even thinking about looking for money to buy one - then I saw the pictures and dropped the idea.

Another time when GM totally dropped the ball when they had the chance to recapture history - like they finally did with the new Camaro.

Yep...the 2004 GTO was a hugh dud. It just looked like another boring car. What the heck was GM thinking?

 

[Pilgrim]

2004 GTO:

2004 Cavalier:

What a waste of a great project to make a GTO look like a cut-rate econobox.

 

[DirtDog]

View attachment 867925 This is my answer to "mid life crisis" vehicles. Top speed is governed to only 185 mph (silly European rules), but... to each his own. Personally, I would get the Challenger instead of the Charger; mainly because I found the small doors on the Charger very hard to get in/out of. Sadly, at my age that's become a major consideration; and the list of cars I can't have gets longer every year. But, I actually liked the Challenger more, anyway. Unfortunately, with 3 motorcycles in the garage, nothing bigger than a VW New Beetle will fit in there. A John Cooper Works Mini would fit nicely, though...

A '67 Camaro is on my list. But this is what I got when I had my mid-life crisis a few years back! Got 25K miles on it now, about 35% off road - including going as far north by road as you can in Eastern North America!

 

[Razman]

2004 GTO:

2004 Cavalier:

What a waste of a great project to make a GTO look like a cut-rate econobox.

Precisely!!! Good to know I'm not the only one to have noticed this.

And why do you need "Sport" emblazoned on the side? Seriously - if it's 'sporty' do you really need to tell people that? "Hey! Look at me! I'm SPORTY, cantcha tell?"

When do you see Lamborghini Gallardo SPORT or Ferrari F40 SPORT? Once at the mall I saw this morbidly obese woman wearing a red shirt with 'SEXY' on the front in bold, black letters. Maybe to someone but not me personally.

Anyway, if they would have followed the retro styling trend they probably could have saved the company. Oh well.

Back to thread topic - when I have the means (when my kids get out of the house in 3-5 years) a Dodge Viper or Porsche 911 is on the radar (used of course).

Raz

 

[Mike N]

The muscle cars of the past few years are so much more powerful and better performing in every way compared to even ten years ago. It's astonishing just how much the technology has improved cars in such a short time.

No question today's muscle cars out perform the 1960's & 70's ones, but imo they lack the personality of the older cars. 10 - 15 years from now I don't see a crowd of people going nuts for a 2015 Camaro, yet they will for a 1970 Chevelle.

There's just something about brute force and ignorance from then that the modern cars can't replicate in the same style.