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After years of touting how great it is to own and drive a classic car, you’ve finally convinced your friend, nephew, neighbor, or other unsuspecting soul to make the plunge and buy their first vintage automobile. What would you recommend they get for under $7500?
Here’s how Afshin Behnia, Petrolicious founder/CEO and incurable Alfista, answers the question:
“I’d recommend a 1970 – 1975 Alfa Romeo Spider. These 2-liter ‘Series 2’ Spiders are very fun to drive and easy to work on and surprisingly reliable. And because Alfa Romeo’s twin-cam engine design remained mostly unchanged from the 1300cc engines used in Giuliettas from the ‘50s, once you learn how to work on the Spider, you’ll be able to work on most other Alfas (and believe me, you’ll end up with more Alfas!)”
In case Afshin’s got you interested, check out the Spiders he recommends here on eBay.
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Now we’d like to hear from you:
What’s the best vintage car under $7500 for a first-time buyer?
I think I own (owned) three terrific candidates. My 65 four-carb Corvair Corsa is the most vintage of the group, then my 72 Volvo 1800 ES and now my too new to be vintage, even though it is 25 years old, 87 Alfa Spider. Three very different cars, all of them fun (yes the ES was fun) and all gathered attention wherever they went. That’s my 2 cents. Someday I’d like a 71-72 1800 E, and also a Triumph TR-6, but they’re not in the under $7500 segment anymore.
$4k? You’re lucky then.
In Belgium you can find them anywhere between €2500 and €10000 ($2800 – $11200) and they’re all somewhat rusty.
I got one for €5000 ($5600), and I think I’m among the lucky ones with having only one clear spot of rust, but I’ll get it repaired as soon as I have time.
“Each to his own” – a phrase of humbleness, but also one that would take things into consideration that exceeds personal taste. I’m thinking variations in climate, family situations, local gasoline pricing and so on. Being a devoted petrolhead, it’s easy to get carried away in this question and immediately start to search the back of your mind what kind of exotica one could get for this budget. But, if one truly wants to spread the enthusiasm and greatness of this passion to a novice, it might be good to start with something fairly usable, reliable and with decent supply of spares. Something that could lead to a long time devotion rather than a short term fling. For instance, being a fellow northern swede we have limited use for an open top two seater with a crappy heater.. (something that hasn’t stopped me though 😉
Well, here’s a little something to declare what i have in mind:
For the family:
[b]Early two tone Volvo Amazon[/b]. Not exactly unique in my country, but maybe where you live? http://www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/amazon-sedan.jpg
[b]For 1-2 persons:[/b]
[b]Fiat 500[/b] (Reliable?? Nah.. but beautiful, easy to work on and with good parts supply!) http://www.google.se/imgres?q=fiat+500+old&hl=sv&tbo=d&biw=1600&bih=834&tbm=isch&tbnid=w7J4IRHT3iF1YM:&imgrefurl=http://lottasplace.blogspot.com/2008_08_01_archive.html&docid=o22JepQ1ydZ29M&imgurl=http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_kVrWB6X9bMc/SKTnTYo4hoI/AAAAAAAAB6Y/6yr9JhqVnBw/s400/fiat\%252B500\%252Bold.jpg&w=400&h=298&ei=C0gCUf-CEImo4ATA6YHIBQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=4&vpy=282&dur=2979&hovh=194&hovw=260&tx=142&ty=118&sig=115234709563455344336&page=1&tbnh=143&tbnw=185&start=0&ndsp=37&ved=1t:429,r:8,s:0,i:102
So many potential answers to this question!! Lots of cool rides for under $7500 – but depends on what you want — my favorites.
Open top: Austin Healey Sprite Mk II
Muscle Car: Ford Falcon 64ish
Sedan: W111/W108 benz.
Some examples – not mine – no affliation.
http://www.dailyturismo.com/2013/01/5k-flash-1963-austin-healey-sprite-mk-ii.html
I’d concur on the open car, spreading it to all Midgets and Sprites 1974 and earlier. A hoot to drive, simple to repair, very few parts made of Unobtanium. The greatest enemy of these are the tin worm and the dreaded previous owners with the concomitant hack job repairs to wiring and other systems.
It’s truly much harder now to find value classics but the Porsche 944 definitely is one of these. You can get them in the 6 or 7 grand range. Solid construction, fun to drive. Great, unique sounding engine. These are on the cusp of increasing in value now because of how much the 911 has gone up. Datsun 240 and 280z’s are great as well. Not the quality of a Porsche but better styling than the 944 I think.
I’ll step out on a limb and make the odd recommendation.
I love Fiat Spiders. I have a 1979, but for under $7500 you can get any year you like. There’s a bit of variation through the range, early ones with smaller engines, up to 2liters from 79 to 85. Carbureted until 1980, then fuel injection.
It’s light, has enough power to be quite fun, and can be modified quite easy. My carbureted dual overhead cam engine sounds just awesome.
The best? probably not, since I always find myself wanting others to add, but maybe fortunate for my wallet I don’t have anywhere to put more cars… Yet 🙂
I love the lines on the Fiat, I don’t know how I skipped that in my first comment.
The 850 spider is a really cool little car too, smaller than the 124 spider, but still neat. They’re mid-engine, so they aren’t as easy as the 124 to work on, but shouldn’t be much harder than a 914? basically same mounting place. I haven’t driven one, but they’re suppose to be fun to drive, they have tiny engines though, 843cc. Not a whole lot of power stock.
Best and vintage are rather subjective. For example, if you want something pre-73 that is easy to source parts for, get a bug. Though if ‘vintage’ just means just 20+ years old then there’s nothing wrong with one of the 1.6 miata’s. The good news is that there are many options for all of us.
A Spider’s a very good bet, although there aren’t many in good condition for less than £4700. Over here, an MGB or a Spitfire is a great bet. A Midget is good too. Even something like a Jensen Healey, or any other overlooked British sportscar is good too, if you don’t mind a little fettling.
You used to be able to get a tatty but driveable Berty coupe for around £4000 here, but they’ve shot up recently. Shame, as I was getting close to being able to afford one.
I suppose Beetles are good too, but they’ve never really interested me.
Best vintage car…hmm. For the first-time vintage buyer, I say buy American. I’m not really brand-specific, but any ’60s American sedan will prove to be a simple, reliable car to own, drive and work on. Parts are readily available and fairly inexpensive. Why do you think I own a Dodge Dart?:)