It’s always the case ,cars you could buy for next to nothing suddenly become scarce. They start to appreciate, and suddenly, it’s too late to buy them. I can tell you firsthand this happened to me with one of my favorite models, the E36. Ten years ago, you could buy a 318is for dirt cheap—not in nice condition, but still, it’s an awesome little car. Fast forward to today, and my options are importing one from Germany or forever living without one.
When a model reaches 30 years of age, it triggers supply and demand mechanisms that are common in trade. The number of cars starts to drop for various reasons, but for cool cars like the E36, demand starts to rise. In short, I’m stupid not to have bought it sooner.
So this doesn’t happen to you, I have a list of cars you should buy now for cheap, so you won’t regret it later.
Honda Civic EP2
Not as fast as the Type-R; only has 108hp (81kw). The Type-R has a better chassis, suspension, brakes... and engine. They’re cheap now, but in 5 years, they will be worth some money… not a lot, but some. The same story always—top-of-the-line prices skyrocket, so everyone else wants the next best thing.
Mercedes-Benz CLK 320
218hp (160kw) in a heavy body means not great, not terrible. Find one in leather with good options. Dirt cheap. Can be expensive to repair. Usually rusty.
BMW E46 318 Ci
Slower than dial-up, bad engine in a great car. Oil, oil everywhere. Coolant, coolant everywhere. BUT it’s an awesome car whose value has already gone up (talking about the 6-cylinder, not this one). As always, there will be more engines than cars, so... do what you wish with this info. And yeah... DIRT CHEAP.
VW Golf Mk2
No matter the engine, you will not lose money on this one. Simple and cheap to fix, but can be rusty. Interior can be a disaster if the car was outside all its lifetime. Disassemble, spend some time and money, and in 5 years, you’ll double it... in 10, triple it? Maybe...
Alfa Romeo 145 1.7 16V Boxer
If you go this way, God help you. Some rust, some electrical issues, and usually tired-looking cars. Oil and tears usually found under the bonnet. Anyhow, they are rare as it is, and you may have trouble selling it. But when you do, it will be a nice payday... or this car will be forgotten, and nobody will want to buy it... it’s one or the other...
That’s all I have, go away now.
