[0:09] We're back to your dismay with 10
[0:12] amazing cars for under $30,000. And
[0:16] although they may not be what you
[0:17] expect, there's a good mix here, Jack.
[0:20] Look, we live in a world where cars are
[0:21] getting increasingly expensive and
[0:23] people are finding it very difficult to
[0:24] afford a $50,000 family SUV or $70,000
[0:29] enthusiast car. Good news is there are
[0:31] cars under $30,000 that you can buy and
[0:33] be excited to own. And before we get
[0:35] back to some of our more regular car
[0:37] content later this spring/summer, we're
[0:39] going to hit you with a list of five
[0:41] enthusiast cars and five regular cars
[0:43] that you can be excited to buy.
[0:49] Look, before Mark tells you that the
[0:51] Miata is always the answer, here are
[0:53] five cars that I've personally driven
[0:54] and in some cases lived with for a
[0:56] variety of years that you can afford
[0:59] under $30,000. And the first is a bit of
[1:01] a surprise. The S550 Mustang, the 15
[1:04] through 17 model year, specifically a GT
[1:07] premium with performance package is
[1:09] easily bought now for the mid to low
[1:11] 20s. They're very reliable. They are a
[1:13] great daily driver. I own one for 5
[1:15] years. that put almost 80,000 miles on
[1:17] it. You can drive it through the winter
[1:19] with snow tires. It can be your daily
[1:20] driver. And the aftermarket is
[1:22] absolutely enormous. You can turn it
[1:24] into a 800 horsepower monster if you
[1:26] choose. It could be a great longd
[1:28] distanceance cruiser. And if you want to
[1:30] make it an autocross or track day
[1:31] champion, you can do that as well.
[1:38] The next car is yet another V8. This may
[1:40] or may not surprise you. I'm about to
[1:42] recommend a Corvette. While most people
[1:45] will tell you to buy a C5 Z06 for this
[1:47] price point, the C6
[1:50] post 2009 or LS3 powered cars, the
[1:53] narrow body variants are surprisingly
[1:55] affordable and you get a great reliable
[1:58] engine that can be modified. It can be
[1:59] used as a daily driver, a long-distance
[2:01] cruiser. And because it does not have
[2:03] the prestige of a Z06 or ZR1 or even a
[2:06] Grand Sport, there are plenty of them at
[2:08] affordable prices. And the aftermarket
[2:10] and support network is absolutely
[2:12] enormous.
[2:18] For number three, I would recommend a
[2:20] BMW. The M235i and M240i can be bought
[2:25] sub $30,000 depending on mileage and
[2:28] various other factors. The M235i
[2:35] is sadly not a B-58, which caused me a
[2:37] little bit of sickness there. It's an
[2:39] N55 powered BMW. While there are
[2:44] standard BMW related issues with those
[2:46] engines, you can figure out how to deal
[2:48] with them relatively easily and they are
[2:50] a great driving do everything sports
[2:53] car/aily driver like the rest of my
[2:55] list. You can take them to an autocross.
[2:57] They could be a daily driver and they
[2:58] could even be a track day car.
[3:04] The other one is a surprisingly new
[3:06] offering. The first model year of the
[3:08] Elantre N. This was a car that we heaped
[3:11] praise on when it first came out as
[3:12] being that affordable do everything
[3:14] sports car, which is sort of the great
[3:16] value variant of the Civic Type R,
[3:18] offering you 95% of the driving
[3:20] experience with less cost. And
[3:22] unfortunately for those who bought it
[3:23] new, but fortunately for those who are
[3:25] buying it used, they don't have the best
[3:27] residual values. So you can get a very
[3:29] low mileage launcher end for about
[3:31] $25,000 right at a dealer, which gives
[3:34] you a tremendous value proposition in
[3:36] the vehicle.
[3:42] My last option for you, which is easily
[3:44] going to be one of the most affordable
[3:45] cars in this list, is the Veloster N.
[3:48] While again, it is not quite as good to
[3:50] drive as the Elantre N, they are even
[3:52] more affordable. There are lots of them
[3:54] out there, and they are a fun, quirky
[3:57] little do everything sports car.
[4:04] Now that Jack's done spouting his
[4:06] enthusiast nonsense, it's clear that not
[4:09] every single one of these cars are the
[4:10] absolute best option. They're just
[4:12] practical options that bring a lot to
[4:15] the table for your money. So, let me get
[4:17] started. The 2019 or 2020 Mazda MX5. I
[4:22] didn't say Miata yet, but yes, when you
[4:24] look at how many of these are available
[4:26] on the market, it's very clear that
[4:28] there are very few cars on the planet
[4:29] that deliver this much fun. be it an
[4:32] automatic or a manual, preferably
[4:34] manual. You will smile every single time
[4:37] you look at this car and you will smile
[4:39] every single time you go out on just a
[4:41] normal drive where you don't have to
[4:42] pile a lot of things inside of it. It's
[4:45] one of the rare cars on the market. The
[4:46] only thing you have to be a little bit
[4:48] creative with is making sure that the
[4:50] manual transmission hasn't been beaten
[4:51] to death because the earlier models are
[4:53] a bit more fragile, but this is a car
[4:55] you'll easily find in the low 20s.
[5:04] The next car is if you're looking for a
[5:06] family vehicle and you don't want to die
[5:08] inside every time you drive it. The 2023
[5:11] Mazda CX-5. It's a vehicle that has has
[5:15] really been out forever and it hasn't
[5:17] changed all that much, although they
[5:18] have rolled many manufacturing
[5:20] improvements into it. It's one if you
[5:22] get on the lower trimable side around
[5:24] 20. And if you want to get a one that's
[5:26] really, really specked out with a
[5:28] warranty, you're looking at around
[5:29] $25,000.
[5:31] And it's something that when you get in
[5:32] it, when you look at it, it's one of the
[5:34] better driving vehicles on the road with
[5:36] not a ton of drama.
[5:43] The next car is something that delivers
[5:46] something for almost everyone. It has
[5:48] refinement, it has great fuel
[5:50] efficiency, it looks good, and it's
[5:52] super usable. the 2025
[5:54] Honda Civic Hybrid. And depending on
[5:58] which trim you get, it's going to be a
[5:59] little bit more or less, but it's going
[6:01] to be around $25,000
[6:03] for essentially a brand new car with a
[6:06] warranty. It's a great first car. It's a
[6:09] car that you want to drive if you're
[6:10] older and want no nonsense. You don't
[6:13] want to have to do a ton of maintenance.
[6:15] And again, it's just one of the best
[6:17] cars on the planet.
[6:23] The next one is in a very similar vein.
[6:27] This is a car that you buy and like our
[6:30] previous video, you take it to the
[6:31] grave. And while you may not get the
[6:33] fully loaded variant, if you look for a
[6:36] 2020 Lexus ES 350, you're going to find
[6:40] these for under $30,000. That means
[6:43] tried and trueue V6 that has been out
[6:45] for about a thousand years. An automatic
[6:48] transmission that is very smooth. The
[6:51] ride quality is great in this generation
[6:53] car. It has super ergonomics on the
[6:56] inside with all physical controls. This
[6:59] is a car that blends into the background
[7:01] but still feels like you're getting your
[7:03] money's worth. And whatever you're going
[7:05] to pay, the car is going to be with you
[7:07] forever. And this to me, depending on
[7:10] your place in life, is one of the most
[7:11] exciting things about a modern car.
[7:19] Now, the last vehicle on my list is one
[7:21] we've recommended more than any other
[7:23] car we've driven to family members,
[7:25] friends, and that says a lot. This one's
[7:27] a used 2023 Toyota RAV 4. A middle trim
[7:32] or upper trim level will set you back
[7:34] about $25,000.
[7:36] It will also come with a warranty and
[7:37] the updated infotainment which gets you
[7:40] wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
[7:42] The reason why why this is constantly
[7:44] recommended is because the drivetrain is
[7:47] essentially bulletproof. If you keep
[7:49] tires inflated and you change oil, this
[7:52] is another car that's going to be with
[7:53] your family indefinitely. And this is
[7:56] where people want to be in trying times.
[7:59] This is a vehicle that people want to
[8:00] depend on. And while it again, it may
[8:02] not be the most fun, it makes up for a
[8:05] lot of its kind of mundainess with the
[8:08] fact that you can you can count on it.
[8:10] And that's super super important for a
[8:12] family vehicle.
[8:19] Now, there you have it. And our goal for
[8:20] this list was not only to give you 10
[8:23] cars that were sub $30,000. We wanted to
[8:25] hit you with cars that were not terribly
[8:27] old, things that were relatively modern,
[8:30] easy to buy, weren't in terrible shape,
[8:32] and you could get them with fairly low
[8:34] miles. Now, there are other cars out
[8:36] there that are more affordable than
[8:38] these or potentially more fun. And
[8:39] again, yes, you can get a Miata still.
[8:41] You can still get your 350, 370Z's, your
[8:44] Accords, your Camry, your F FRS's, but
[8:47] these are 10 options that we felt that
[8:49] were at least interesting and cars that
[8:51] you could genuinely be proud of.
[8:52] >> Yeah. And if you're a normal middle-
[8:53] class person that doesn't have a massive
[8:55] amount of disposable income, there also
[8:57] a list of cars that you could
[8:58] potentially still buy newer and get a
[9:00] warranty on, either extended warranty or
[9:03] CPOed or we picked safer older cars that
[9:07] you really don't have to worry about if
[9:09] you if you do your shopping. And they're
[9:10] widely available. That's the other
[9:12] thing, too. We don't want you to have to
[9:13] go, you know, searching 25 different
[9:15] sites and get a broker to locate
[9:17] something locally. So, this was a pretty
[9:19] comprehensive list and I look forward to
[9:20] doing another video where we get our
[9:22] hands on the more difficult part is
[9:24] finding things in the teens and like
[9:26] under $10,000
[9:28] >> and where we actually drive them
[9:29] ourselves.
[9:29] >> Yeah, exactly.
[9:31] >> And yours
[9:33] alone.
[9:36] You'll be the lion.
[9:41] You'll be the deer.
[9:46] Be like a tree.
[9:50] Let the dead leaves fall.
[9:55] Let your life become