Best interesting car under $10,000

Mike K

TCG Elite Member
Apr 11, 2008
13,214
2,586
I'm going to set you guys up for success here because I'm truly open to opinions (unlike the i8 :rofl: ). After getting the i8 I discovered some accident damage on it that wasn't properly repaired. It was nothing huge but I had to remove the back end of the car and install a new crash bar and in doing so, realized I didn't have the stock active sound module installed. This is basically a speaker that fakes exhaust noise outside the car to make it sound like... well, not a 3 cylinder engine. And so I set out to find out what the speaker sounded like and made a video of it because nobody else had done this to date. If you missed that one, here you go:





And so that got me thinking... I like projects. I like cars. I own a company that has a lot of really high end cinema cameras. I don't have a personality like a pool noodle. Maybe I should combine my passions and start posting videos on YouTube. I love Hoovies garage because he shows you all these once expensive, now absurdly cheap cars and what they cost to own. And really that's been my mantra for anyone that's followed me on TCG over the years. From my first 2002 Infiniti Q45 to the salvage Model S, the high mileage A8's, etc. My budget has gone up over the years but I'm always trying to get the most I can for the money I'm spending often at my own peril.

I'd love to grab something unique and once expensive that needs a bit of work. Fix it, drive it for a few months and then sell it fully fixed. What are some interesting cars under 10k? I paid cash for my i8 and I'm not trying to break the bank here. I was thinking of maybe a 2010+ Jaguar XJ. They're huge land yachts that nobody knows anything about, they're super cool and with high mileage they're super cheap, like under 10k. What are some other cars I'm missing?
 

Yaj Yak

Gladys
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May 24, 2007
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I paid cash for my i8
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10sec

I haz dat teddy bear smile.
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Jul 26, 2008
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Unfortunately people like drama, that's why Hoovies channel does so well. Whether or not his "problems" are real or not, people like to see him "suffer" so he takes massive advantage of that and buys cars that are "broken". He clearly doesn't ever have to actually pay to have any of his cars fixed (your bigger hurdle IMO) but it puts a ton of money in his pocket. In order to recreate that you must buy things that people are like "holy shit, this fuckin' guy bought this $100k car that's all fucked up" to at least get your channel started, and then you can do whatever. Tons of others are doing the same with a much more realistic human budget and nobody knows who they are.
 
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Mike K

TCG Elite Member
Apr 11, 2008
13,214
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Unfortunately people like drama, that's why Hoovies channel does so well. Whether or not his "problems" are real or not, people like to see him "suffer" so he takes massive advantage of that and buys cars that are "broken". He clearly doesn't ever have to actually pay to have any of his cars fixed (your bigger hurdle IMO) but it puts a ton of money in his pocket. In order to recreate that you must buy things that people are like "holy shit, this fuckin' guy bought this $100k car that's all fucked up" to at least get your channel started, and then you can do whatever. Tons of others are doing the same with a much more realistic human budget and nobody knows who they are.

I agree. That's why I liked the idea of something like this: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/3599888620023524

Or something like this though obviously more than I want to spend. But if I could get this for 15 - 16k and put a few thousand into a fix and document that. Then I could easily get out of it with a profit or what I paid.


I really like the idea of something that's mildly messed up like this. It looks intimidating but should be a straightforward fix.
 

Ron Vogel

TCG Elite Member
Jul 12, 2007
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Lol at that M5...money pit

I’m going to go out on a limb and say PO tuned it. Brought on the boost too early and bent the rods. Bumper came off during initial tow. Now that shop found out it’s complete engine replacement he’ll never get his money out of it by fixing it.
 

Mike K

TCG Elite Member
Apr 11, 2008
13,214
2,586
A little late, but if you run across another one be leery on any mods. Lots of rod bending on tuned ones

That entire range of engines is absolute trash. I wouldn’t personally own anything with the TTV8 for longer than it would take to flip.

Mid-aughts SL roadster. To me, anyway, I think they still look contemporary despite being almost two decades old.

2003 Mercedes-Benz SL500 Roadster
90,723 miles
$9,500

d133c273348e5e2b81d6cd1b9c2e0958.jpg



I love these and this would be a hard yes for me.
 

Mike K

TCG Elite Member
Apr 11, 2008
13,214
2,586
In all seriousness a Nissan 370Z i still see them all over and easy to find for under 10k and parts have to be a dime a dozen.

I don’t dislike these cars. I just don’t think there’s much interest in them. I know the videos that generally catch my interest the most are the cars that are traditionally really big money to buy new and expensive to maintain but cheap to buy used or high mileage/ beat up versions of super nice cars.
 

Mike K

TCG Elite Member
Apr 11, 2008
13,214
2,586
I should add that I think people watch the videos because somebody else is doing something they wouldn’t. I mean we’re not all driving e60 M5s because we know the SMG transmission is trash and the engine will spin a rod bearing if you blink at it. But it makes it a fun car to watch someone else experience.
 

Rent Free

TCG Elite Member
Jan 26, 2015
24,552
20,568
Nowheresville North Dakota
I don’t dislike these cars. I just don’t think there’s much interest in them. I know the videos that generally catch my interest the most are the cars that are traditionally really big money to buy new and expensive to maintain but cheap to buy used or high mileage/ beat up versions of super nice cars.

Budget Lexus aka Toyota Avalon or Lexus ES?

Both tanks. Both will sell easily. Both are plentiful.
 
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