Shane lives in Wisconson and has a Ram truck that served him well when he was fixing up his house, but he is tired of the poor MPGs and bad ride quality. He wants to sell the truck and buy two cars, a daily driver with modern features and all-weather traction, and something fun with three pedals. What cars should he buy?
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Here is the scenario.
Quick Facts:
I recently purchased a house and have done some home improvement and my truck has been wonderful a 2018 ram 1500, but with the lift and tires and exhaust the 13mpg average I’m getting is driving me crazy. I work at a Subaru dealership and enjoy the brand I work for, but haven’t owned a Subaru yet. With selling my truck I will have upto 45k to spend. I was looking at getting 2 vehicles, a daily driver that has awd or 4wd, heated seats, and android auto and then a fun second car that is manual and fun to drive and easy to maintain.
Budget: up to $45,000 for both vehicles
Location: Wisconson
Daily Driver: Yes
Wants: Vehicle 1 - AWD/4WD, modern tech, heated seats. Vehicle 2 - manual, fun, easy maintenance
Doesn’t want: Unreliable
Expert 1: Tom McParland - Double Your Subarus
Since you work for a Subaru dealer and like the brand, with a $45,000 budget this is an opportunity to own not one, but two Subarus. I also imagine that you can probably make a friend in the service department who can give you some good advice on parts and repairs.
The fun car option is the easy one with the BRZ, though and an argument could be made for sourcing a Toyota 86/Scion FR-S as they are all essentially the same car. As I was scanning the listings in the Milwaukee metro I noticed there were a lot of dealers selling salvage title cars so watch out for leads that seem too good to be true. If you cast a wider net you can score a pretty nice BRZ (or related models) for under $25,000. Here is a 2017 Limited trim with Performance Package and under 50,000 for $22,500.
For the daily driver, this is where you want to look at something a bit different than what everyone else goes for. Subaru crossovers like the Outback, Forester, and Crosstrek hold their value well, so a $20,000 budget either means higher mileage or older model years. However, the Legacy mid-sized sedan is the unloved model and gives you all the features you expect from a Subaru minus the crossover body style. For about twenty grand you can score something like this 2019 Legacy Premium with under 25,000 miles.
Expert 2: Bradley Brownell - Why Settle For Boring?
There are so few good enthusiast options for daily drivers out there today, so I’m going to go a little off-script for my answer. You don’t have to settle for a boring Crosstrek or Legacy!
It’s going to take a little bit of legwork, this 2004 WRX STI needs a bit of work to make it perfect, but it’s priced way below the market at just $13,995. With just 29,000 miles on the odometer (but somehow needing a clutch replacement, and a misfire dealt with) this AWD snow-season machine is ready to be your new daily driver. Okay, it doesn’t have Android Auto, but it can easily be retrofit with any number of aftermarket double DIN head units. And heated seats can similarly be fitted after the fact from most any upholstery shop.
When it comes to a summer sports car you can pick up for under 30 grand, I’m going to recommend a Nissan 370Z NISMO. They weren’t exactly competitive in the market by the time Nissan decided to send it out to pasture, but it’s still a 300+ horsepower two-seat track-ready sports car with a stick. It’s tough to replicate that in today’s new car market at this price. Take it out to Road America a few times, and you’ll have a blast.
Expert 3: José Rodríguez Jr. - Have Your Cake And Eat It, Too
Shane, I know your pain. I grew up in big, lifted pickup trucks and tired of their fuel mileage and lack of comfort on the highway. When it was time for me to get my own car, I went the opposite direction with the smallest practical yet fun car I could afford. So let’s hit those extremes with a small car and small truck.
You should dedicate the majority of your $45,000 budget to your daily, since it’s the car you’ll be driving every day. But that doesn’t have to be a soul-sucking experience, which is why I’m suggesting the 2024 Mazda Mazda3 Hatch.
The difference between a lifted truck and small car is night and day. I’d say go with a Mazda3 2.5 Carbon Turbo, which will have AWD and a mild power bump over the base model while still delivering up to 31 miles per gallon highway. It starts at just under $33,000 leaving you with about $12,000. The Carbon Turbo hatch comes with an automatic transmission, but that’s fine as this will be your daily. Save the manual for your fun car, which ought to be a small pickup like this 1992 Mazda B2600, which comes with a five-speed stick!
There’s no good reason you shouldn’t keep the practicality of a pickup bed for later home improvement runs, or to augment the cargo area of the Mazda3. And the sky is the limit with compact pickup trucks. Get a single or extended cab. Go with RWD or 4WD. You can have a fun little off-roader, just mind the lift isn’t too high this time. Or go the other direction with a sporty, lowered Mazda you can take to track days. I chose two Mazdas for the sake of symmetry and because slammed Mazda B2Ks look sick. But you can always go with a Ford, Chevy, Toyota or Nissan.