- The Used Car Market Is Completely Whack
- Hiding Fun Cars Behind Exorbitant Paywalls
- Electric Cars Are To Blame
- Crappy Modern Enthusiast Options
- The Pickings Are Going To Get Slimmer
- Buy The Damn Car Now
We're living in a golden age for car enthusiasts without big budgets, but that won't be the case forever.
Far more than cars just being the means through which I make a living, cars are an obsession of mine. I spend my time before and after work consuming cars by any means possible; when I'm not at the track or local autocross event hooning one of my two Mazda Miata toys, I'm working on them, or watching car videos, or reading up on mods, or discussing cars in various forums, or meeting up with friends for breakfast runs and late night car meets. I am a car enthusiast, just like many of the readers on this platform. But just like many of you, I am not one with an abundance of cash to my name. That's one of the reasons I bought my first Miata instead of something else.
But last Friday night, while I attended a JDM-themed car meet filled with Toyota GR86s, Supras, Nissan Z cars, Toyota MR2s, and a plethora of other gold from the 1980s and 1990s, I was overcome by the realization that I soon may not be able to afford being a car enthusiast, and neither will a large portion of the car-loving population.
As things go at these events, a couple of friends and I got to talking about what car/s we wanted to buy next. Unlike the well-heeled, we weren't discussing the virtues of a 911 GT3 RS vs. the 718 Cayman GT4 RS, but rather whether we'd be better off putting a few thousand dollars into a GC8 Subaru Impreza WRX, an EK9 Honda Civic, or investing further in Miatadom – after all, have you seen the prices of used Miatas these days? They're firmly on the upward trend, and it won't be long before they start selling for Honda S2000 prices.
The dilemma we faced in our discussion was this: We have to buy these cars now because the used car market is all over the show. Enthusiasts are starting to realize that they're in possession of a commodity that is no longer readily available. That means we can't wait a few years, or even a year, because if we do, prices will climb to a point our salaries won't correlate with. For many of us, the future is looking pretty dire if we ever want to own all (or any of) the cool cars we dream of, and there are a few reasons for this.
The Used Car Market Is Completely Whack
Used car prices are utterly unhinged at the moment, driven by the madness we've witnessed over the last three years of the pandemic, supply chain shortages, and war-driven frenzy.
As someone who appreciates what it takes to keep a car in clean condition, I can fully understand why mint-spec JDM cars from 30 years ago sell for more than a new Honda Civic Sedan. Being in the Miata community, I regularly see posts about low-mileage examples auctioning for nearly $30,000, and I fully understand why. After all, you look at the used market, and you're lucky to find one that's only been mildly molested. Most for sale are completely butchered.
But when the enthusiast market sees a clean car sell for a crazy high amount, it seems to think it can sell any janky old JDM car for a crack-pipe price. People are no longer selling what they have but rather the potential of what it could be. And the worst part is that because supplies are limited, and some people have more money than sense, they pay these stupid prices.
Hiding Fun Cars Behind Exorbitant Paywalls
The upside, I suppose, is that clean cars appreciate, which bodes well for my 31,000-mile NA Miata (with a hardtop, which is worth its weight in gold). I've owned it for more than a year (I've owned my NB for four years), put on 7,000 miles in that time, and it's still worth more now than I bought it for. But I didn't buy my cars to sell them later; I purchased them to enjoy them for what they are.
Just last week, I saw another NA Miata come up for sale for 20% more than what my own clean, low-mileage model has been appraised at. While I'll admit this was a particularly clean example, it has more than 100,000 miles on the clock. When I spoke out about it being so expensive, others in the group where the car was shared advised me to keep quiet because someone would buy it, and it'd make my car more valuable. This should've made me happy, but instead, it made me angry.
Miata ownership isn't supposed to be some super-secret club that only the wealthy enjoy. That's not what the car is or was ever about. Not in 1989 when it first burst onto the scene, not when the second generation hit our streets in 1998, and certainly not when the fourth generation sparked my desire for Miata ownership in the mid-2010s.
I despise letting people pay stupid money just because it serves me selfishly in the long run. Because it means if I weren't fortunate enough to buy my cars when I did, I almost certainly would not be able to afford them a year from now, and in three or four years, I'd have to erase that dream from my mind entirely. The greedy capitalist in my brain likes that my assets are worth a lot. And it loves that they could be worth even more for absolutely no reason. But another part of me is far more dominant: my inner car enthusiast. And the car enthusiast in me wants everybody to experience how fun owning a Miata is and to do so like Mazda originally envisioned it being enjoyed – as an affordable sports car for the masses.
Sadly, however, too many don't see things as I do, and I fear they're killing the dreams of other young enthusiasts who don't have the luxury of having wealthy parents or a high-paying job.
Electric Cars Are To Blame
But do you know what the root cause of all of this is? I do. Electric cars.
Search my name on CarBuzz, and you'll find dozens, if not hundreds, of articles in which I extol the virtues of electric mobility. That's because I don't see EVs as the enemy in the way many enthusiasts do, and I feel that as the appliances 90% of vehicle owners intend to use them, EVs are far better for the environment, which in turn will let me burn synthetic gasoline to my heart's content.
Yes, this makes me a hypocrite, even more so when I now rant about how EVs are primarily to blame for killing car culture. I acknowledge this fully.
But why are EVs to blame?
Because the world is going electric (you can argue all you want in the comments, but electric will be the new mainstream by 2030), there is a finite limit to how long new combustion-powered cars will be produced. That finite limit has turned combustion vehicles into commodities of which there is no longer an infinite supply. And what happens when there is a limited supply of something people want? Those things increase in value.
Crappy Modern Enthusiast Options
Combustion cars have become that commodity and car enthusiasts have become their miners. Those fortunate enough to buy these vehicles in their prime likely did so at a time before they realized how close the end was, and now that they understand the value of the commodity they own, they won't let it go cheaply.
But it's not just broad-spectrum combustion cars that are the rare commodity. Instead, the small subsection within this of enthusiast vehicles, or at least cars with an enthusiast bias or inherent abilities waiting to be unleashed through the aftermarket, has become these diamonds we all seek. And you know what the last decade and a half of automotive production have given us not nearly enough of? Cars with an inherent enthusiast bias.
The '80s and '90s were a golden era for simple, rear-wheel-drive, manual-equipped platforms that we could enjoy. It was a time before electronic trickery ruled the world, and it was a time when car manufacturers gave a damn about fun factor rather than simply building as many cars as possible that did the job as soullessly as possible. Modern cars are competent, but they sure as heck aren't fun. There are a few exceptions, but on the whole, modern cars lack the specialness even middling old cars had.
The Pickings Are Going To Get Slimmer
The last 15 years have been pretty sad for the car world. While there have been great cars, very few started at anything near an affordable price point. Yes, they'll get cheaper in time, but greats like M3s and C63s will always be upper-crust machines rather than affordable enthusiast toys. The mainstream is filled with mundane appliances that leave you feeling colder than the fridge they were modeled – and in some cases – named after. These cars won't ever feel good and will not get a second lease on life in the hands of an enthusiast 30 years from now.
Because modern cars are so dull, we now have two generations of car enthusiasts sharing the spoils of a single age of manufacturing. Demand has doubled, and supply is halved. Factor in the number of great '90s and '00s toys that have rotted away or been crashed and trashed, and the pool from which to buy a fun car is even smaller. A dwindling supply of an already constrained commodity drives the prices further, meaning that even the crappiest cars can command an ungodly premium.
And the only ones that lose out are the grassroots enthusiasts who dreamt of building an affordable toy in their backyard with their friends.
Buy The Damn Car Now
So what's the solution?
Start living now, before it's too late. Buy that Miata, find that Subaru Impreza WRX, get the Nissan S-chassis, or that 350Z, or E46 3 Series. If you can afford it now, don't wait.
And when you have it, hang the hell onto it no matter what. Because tough times will pass, and your finances will fluctuate. But you know what you'll never have access to again? Enthusiast cars that are reasonably affordable and fun, and run on gasoline and pure passion.
So hang on to that car, and share that passion with other car lovers.
I'm not suggesting you let everyone drive your prized classic or that you sell it so someone else can enjoy it. Instead, I only ask that you share experiences with the people around you. Go to car meets. Attend track days. And for the love of God, when a kid comes around and stares at your car, open the door and let them sit in the driver's seat and dream. Flip those pop-up headlights, rev the engine, and take someone on a (responsible) joyride. Share the experience with as many people as possible.
Because when these days are gone, you and everyone who experienced them will be better off. And you will have made the last era of combustion enthusiasts the best it ever was.
Keyword: Enjoy Being A Used Car Enthusiast While You Can Still Afford It