What do you guys spend on your cars?
 

Keeping the thread pretty open-ended here.
- How much do you guys spend on your cars as a % of your income? In some ways our miatas fall under both vehicle and hobby categories.
- At what point do you think is the right time to "splurge" on something more fun? i.e. which life hurdles first? how much is too much?

To answer above for myself, married, own home, no kids. Our passenger vehicle is worth ~2.5% of our annual income, the miata is ~1.25% of our annual income in value, then I allocate ~2K a year for track days.

As much as I love my Miata car, as it's the car on which I've learned lots of skills, I'm getting a bit tired of fighting the rust, and wrenching on old bolts. I'd like to "step up" to a newer roadster. Perhaps one that is more comfortable and all-purpose...

Personally, I've had mine for 15 years now, and have probably dumped way too much into it over the years and various revisions and setups it's gone through, so I don't even keep track anymore.

Mine sat with a dying/dead motor for about 3 years while we built our house. Once that was done I started wrenching on it again and it's now my daily driver again. That said, maybe $2k a year on it for the last two years, then there were 3-4 years in a row where I spent $0 on it, so I don't really look at it like an annual budget.

I spent probably $30k over about 12 years including the car to build my first one. After the crash, I parted a lot out and took the build in a somewhat different direction - so at that point I kind of wiped the slate clean, cost wise. Over the last few years of that timeframe I had gotten a whole lot smarter... early on I wasted a lot of money on EFI bandaids, 17" wheels, cheap mods, not knowing the value of used parts I sold and taking a loss, etc.

On the second car I'm under $15k all in, most aftermarket parts came from the old car, so factoring that in.. And its reliable. And I still have a shed full of spares... probably a couple grand worth there when I get around to selling it all.

I do 0 track days, just fun weekend driving.

Kind of a bell curve type thing.

You discover track days and want to go faster.

Spend more money and go faster.

Costs go up yet love the pace, want more.

Spend more on faster car and more track days.

Eventually consumable costs are stupid so go back to Miata. Drive harder get faster have more fun while becoming better driver.

2K is like 2 track days. I want at least 8-12 a year $$$

I've had my first Miata (a 1990) since 2002. It has over 250K now. Been turbo'd since 187K. Daily driver. Rust free TX car. I drive it cause I like it. I've thought about getting a 2019 to share the DD duties and also as another available track car. May do that in a year or so.

I'm with you. I hate rust, having gone to high school in NE Ohio. There are a lot of completely rust free older Miatas down here.

For me it is simply a toy to amuse myself. I started with a $2,500 beater car and I tinker with it. If I started with a $25,000 car or a $250,000 car I would want to tinker with it. So why not start cheap? If I tear it up I will replace it with another and salvage as many of my go-fast parts as I can.

As for percentages, couldn't tell you. And I might not own up to it depending upon who was listening. The house is paid for, the kids are out, the vehicles are paid for, we are fully funding both 401K's to the limit, along with Roth IRA's to the limit each year. I spend too much money eating out at restaurants every weekday for lunch, always sit down quality. As for the car, sometimes I drop a few grand, sometimes I pinch pennies and run second hand parts into the ground. I typically run used tires, and even used brake pads a few times.

People fish, hunt, watch other people play sports, raise horses, build model trains, fly airplanes, play video games, masturbate, ride dirt bikes, ballroom dance, play musical instruments, make stained glass windows, shoot skeet, practice billiards, make origami, bowl competitively, runway model, sing karaoke, or just sit on the couch, and that's just Vlad. I don't know what the rest of the forum does with their money and time, but I just like to tinker on the car a bit.

I'd say $2k is 4 local track days, or 2-3 far away days, if lodging is needed..

My local track is 1.5hrs away. $225 to drive + $100 gas + tires and brakes, food
I figure about $400 per day.

I'm in my 5th miata, 3rd that's boosted. And after 4-5 years of tinkering with these cars, I no longer waste money on stupidity.

I probably have about 10k in my car, including the car purchase. Its reliable, hella fast and full creature comforts.

No annual budget. When I get an itch, I impulsively buy stuff. Like I just bought xidas, cause a member was selling a brand new set for a few 100's off retail.

From any rational standpoint I’ve spent too much on vehicles. Currently have four: 2016 Odyssey, 2018 Mazda6, 2000 Excursion, and 1995 Miata. LOTS of money sunk into the Miata, I don’t want to even think about it.

Figure $3k a year for track days. I sleep in the Excursion so that saves on lodging.

Milestones? Guess it was when we had our last kid and had the cash available. Sure, cash could have been put to “better” use I knew if I didn’t get it done now it probably wouldn’t happen. Hopefully I’ll be able to amortize the Miata spending over many years, which will make me feel a little better.

I've spent about 5x more on my race boat in 3 years than I have on the Miata in the 10 years I've had it.

Race weekend is over $800 doing it cheap. Could save a bit if I had a hauler / sleeping quarters but that would have its own expense.

I'd say I don't go over 15% of my annual salary, but it really doesn't matter right. We all have different incomes and live different lifestyles. I don't have kids or a grilfriend. So it's a stupid figure to toss out there. Spend what you can afford once you're fed and sheltered.

So true. Kids are expensive! Not just the direct costs ($2k a month for daycare, diapers, food, other supplies) but also the indirect costs. We have a much bigger home than we’d have without kids, larger cars, more life insurance, and less demanding (and therefore less lucrative) jobs. Totally worth it for me, but damn!

Wow, really intriguing responses guys. Thanks for walking me through your rationale. It sounds like a common theme is that Miata is the most cost-effective way to scratch the itch, but when it comes to properly prepping the car, you guys are quality and value oriented.

A few initial conclusions:

- Don't have kids... until it becomes the most rewarding event one's life, then baby them like Miatas
- I'm staying away from boats. Damn, Erat!
- I'd love to have a clean southern car
- A poorly prepped car is more expensive than a properly prepped car.
- Vlad sounds like a busy man

Some follow ups:

- Do you guys ever think about getting something slightly "nicer"? S2ks are running ~$10-15K these days, and ~50-60,000 mile elises in the $25-30K range, and NCs and NDs in between. These platforms are all more presentable and more significant-other friendly with comparable running costs and are getting pretty close to the "all in" costs some are quoting above after upgrades.
- I get the slippery slope of car upgrades vs working on the nut behind the wheel. Has anyone considered Karting to supplement their driving, or even fully replace the miata itch with karting? I do league karting in the winter here at a local track and love the tight "spec" competition and focus on race-craft in addition to running a perfect line - I rationally see getting into this more as it is much more economical than track days for more speed, but these are less presentable.
- How do you allocate your time to miata, vs other aspects of life (significant other, kids, other hobbies)?
- The 2K i mentioned was for entry fees which run about 450 a weekend around here.

I own a pro gas animal engine go kart, that thing fun! It will pull enough Gs to make your ribs hurt.

We have local kart club racing, it's super cheap, but I dont race it, not enough free time. I just show up at the track a couple times a year and blast around.

Between 3 little kids, miata, go kart, sailboat and ktm 500 motorcycle, it's hard to find time for all these toys

Generally i keep the yearly operating budget well under 10% of household income for cars. I might spend more than the 10%, but if so, that comes out of my "play money" that i can do whatever i want with.

I suspect the question you're really asking is one i'm wrestling with. It's easy to jump ship to something nicer in the context of a jack of all trades car you drive often. In fact, i would highly recommend it.

I have a 98 Montero that's pretty cool. I'd like to turn it into something boring like a 2nd gen Tacoma.

I built a stupid NB1. It sucks on the street, so i built another stupid NB1. It's a little better on the street, but not really what i was looking for, so i bought an S2000. It's better than the second NB1, but not in a huge way. Still needs some tweaking.

I don't know what the answer is. Late NC Grand Touring probably.

So yeah. I currently have:
1993 Miata
2000 Miata
2000 Miata
2000 S2000
1994 Land Cruiser
1998 Montero
2006 4runner.

Of the list, only the more aggro 2000 Miata and the 4runner are the "right" vehicles.

Good luck, fam.

Edited to better answer.

I spent about ..a huge chunk on my car, before I was married and owned a house. Now I spend a lot less on it.
No Kids

Every single one of those other cars/trucks are amazing. I love the boxy montero, 80 series cruisers, and mid 2000 4runners. N+1 is sounding pretty good...

As far as my earlier question goes, yes, I think you hit the nail on the head. I am trying to find a jack of all trades vehicle: A reliable, affordable, fast, track day car that is comfortable to drive to the beach and holds a nice idle, and does not overheat and isn't so heavy to carry financially even if it comes out to play only on the weekends.....ehhhh

At the same time, I am probably looking for you guys to say miata is always the answer, replace the rusty rocker, hammer the frame rails straight, change the bushings, hubs and bearings, tune the idle and keep on driving.

I’ve gone through these gyrations more times than I can count. I’ve had my Miata for 3 years, and probably have close to $20k into it. If I were doing it over again from scratch, I could probably get the same results for half the expense. Along the way I developed a wicked track habit that has become very important to me. When I go to track days, there are a lot of nice newer Porsches, Vettes, etc. and I know that I have the means to put myself into one of those cars if I really wanted. The following considerations have kept me from doing so:

- they don’t seem to be having any more fun than I am.
- actually, they seem to be having less fun than I am because they are worried about wrecking a valuable car, and I am not.
- I currently don’t bother with track day insurance, and they need to, which almost doubles the cost of a track weekend.
- tires and brake pads are practically free compared to those nicer cars.
- I am running full safety gear and they are running stock seats and seatbelts, because to justify such a car, you need to daily drive it.
- because I am safer and I give fewer shits about my car, my skills are progressing more rapidly than theirs are.
- I know myself well enough to know that if I got an $80k track car, I would still tweak on it just as much as the Miata. The upgrades would cost way more money though.
- As a corollary, I could build almost any level of performance into this car for less money than I would sink into those cars. An LS/Tremec swap would still be cheaper than a Cayman S, and the performance would still be better.
- the other Miata guys I meet at the track are generally good solid dudes who know how to drive and don’t need to brag. The rate of pretentious dicks starts to go up dramatically when you start hanging in the 911 part of the paddock.

Sometimes I’m still tempted, and ego is always at play. I think about getting into something like a Camaro ZL1 or a Mustang GT350, which would be pretty hard to outgrow from a capabilities standpoint. I have a great job that’s reasonably stable, but I sometimes think that all of this could go away tomorrow. I have a family to support and college to pay for in the future. At some point the things you own actually own you.

If there’s one thing I’d really like to change, it’s comfort to/during/from the track events. Driving a non-AC Miata for three hours on the highway in the summer sun is pretty brutal. It’s pretty likely that I’m going to trade my daily for a decent truck and start towing to the track. At that point, the rest is really for show.

Based on what you have said, Miata with MK Turbo kit, Xidas, V8R 11.75 brakes, and about 230whp will be perfectly balanced and reasonably priced forever. Durable, fun, competitive, and reliable for the long run.

Why do I keep making life difficult?

Dammit.

I'd go NC. NA/NBs just aren't near as pleasant on the street. If that's not important at all, then Sixshooter hit the nail on the head. If it is important, then screw a bunch of NA/NB, unless you want to buy my surplus NB. In which case, full speed ahead. A jack of all trades is a compromise, so whatever you're least willing to compromise on dictates the car.

There's a TON of cars that fit your list of wants on a sliding scale. To me it sounds like your displeasure with your current car is that it's just.... old and crusty, which means it's going to be a heavy compromise in reliability and comfort.

Yes, I think I will buy something like this for creature comfort... put my driveline into it over the winter, which is leafy's old trackspeed motor + 6speed + 6258, and then do all of sixshooter's spoonfed suggestions...

https://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/d...909886777.html

Thanks Mturbo, this forum definitely checks all the right boxes. Cars, cats, financial advice.

You forgot “Dr. Phil tough love” as well.....

I'm actually pretty happy with my car right now. I've spent a fair amount on it over the few years I've owned it but I stopped counting. I just started working again after finishing up grad school so it's all been pretty stupid but it's been fun.

I love the car but I'd be far more happy with it if it was quieter. That's honestly my biggest complaint... So I'm probably going to throw more money on it to figure out the exhaust situation.

It never ends. Sigh.

Yeah... wait. Aren't you going for 400 hp?

400? negative

More than I want to
But not enough to make the car as good as I'd like it to be

He's talking about my goals, not yours.

Yea...definitely don’t do that.

Buy a good, clean southern NA/NB and swap over you goodies. There are way too many nice clean cars down here (I’m in the Charlotte area) to bother with fixing a rusty northern car.

Don’t do it. I grew up in Iowa. I know what it’s like to work on rusty cars. I’ll never buy a used car north of the Mason-Dixon Line again.

i bought a '96 with 241000 for $1500. it was a little rough around the edges. last reading on the original odometer was ~315000 - had to change the cluster to an nb to accomodate the lfx engine. since then it's been completely redone. probably added $12000 but still in it for less than $15000. absolutely no regrets (well, maybe that spec clutch debacle). i'm retired, so the concept of a "daily driver" is a little misleading. i don't believe it's been driven in the rain for the last year anyway. iirc the last time in the rain was last year at matg. i don't believe there is a single bolt on that car that's not been touched in the last 13 years. after all the dust clears with my son's cars, i'd like to do a prht with an lfx if i could find a white one. why are they all red?

Nonsense!!! That's downright un-American!!

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5beee03b1a.jpg

I pity my heirs. :D

The 1990 Turbo Miata is hands-down my favorite driver. If I feel like I've had enough go-kart, I'll take the Eldo for a couple of days. That balances things out. 500CID Eldos are surprisingly fun to drive in a different sort of way.

In 12 years of ownership, I've probably got over $30-40k into my Miata. However I've changed setups a few times. I also parted out a few wrecked cars to suppliment my income. Over all, I try to keep my budget to around $5k a year and do 3-6 events a year (including paying for 2-3 Champ Car races). Overall, I'd estimate its about 3-5% of my yearly family income is spend strictly on hobby cars.

I keep my annual car-related expenses to about 5-7% of my annual income. This includes maintenance and modding. Luckily my IS300 and the wife's Fit are both pretty bulletproof so the MSM probably eats up the lions share of that budget as I fix/upgrade things. All 3 of my cars being paid off helps a bit here. I'm probably about $12-13k into the MSM including purchase price over the last 2 years of owning it.

For me the MSM is something to keep my mind entertained and for me to have my own hobby. Turning bolts and fixing things is therapeutic. It's also my "me" time.

HELL YEAH. You're making me want to move back to TX. I can't even find an affordable house with a three car garage around here, much less this kind of spread.

Holy shit. This looks like a 747 hangar!.

Much jealous

If we just dropped $20k on this damn Jeep over the last 18 months, I don't want to know what I've spent over the years on the miata, and it still needs paint.

I try not to look back at what I’ve spent. I’ve had the car for 10 years. I’ve gone through 2 turbo setups and am currently swapping to a k24. On that particular car I know I’ve got to be $60-70k in. I’ve sold some parts to recoup costs, but I bet I’m still in $50k.

This is like Schrodinger's cat
The following two answers are both correct at the same time :
1) Too much
2) Not enough

Interesting topic,

I've thought on it pretty hard as well, as I believe I fall in one of those "I spend way too much money on my Miata" groups. I would say over the last 11 years, over the span of two chassis I am probably in the 15-18k range.

This was much harder to maintain when I was a broke college kid, but now that I have a decent job "selling insurance" for the government ...It makes poor choices much easier. Still, though - it bothers me that I am not really much happier with the car as I put more and more money into it. Thinking back, I would prefer the casual sports package type route (5-6k range), allocating more money for seat time.

The discussion on "a newer" or "upgraded" platform also hits home. Most of my co-workers cruise around in BMW, Porsche, Vetts or > 1.00 Mach, so pulling up in my 2008 Chrysler Pacifica was rough for a while. I considered a 997 or M2.. but I just can't justify spending that much on a car when I know ill just turn around and put more money into upgrading it.

Actually, I've found a happy medium. I bought a rebuilt e36, that someone else spent way too much money on maintaining...put some decent H&R struts/springs, pads and a wheel package on it... and just drive it. It should be good for at least another 50k and I don't feel embarrassed driving it around town or into work. A good combination of sporty, classy and new, all for around 5.5k.

Overall, I think the money to value question is a tough one to answer for everyone. Personally, I find my happiness and range of affordability around 10-15-year-old cars.

- End Life Story -

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...dd681b2333.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...53e9e822f5.jpg

No Miata in the stable at the moment, but between buying/trading/building cars the last 12-13 years................I don't like to think about how much larger my 401k would be if I hadn't done things like spending $6500 on suspension and brakes for a track car, only to part it out a year later because I was stick and tired of replacing engines.

Joker, I've found it very easy to not spend money on fun daily drivers If that urge is being supplimented by a project car. /Boat

Just food for thought.

I have two race cars and I keep pretty meticulous records of what I’ve spent on both.

And I will throw my laptop into a speeding freight train before I ever admit to the numbers the spreadsheet shows.

Also, since building the first race car I’ve spent almost nothing on my street cars...so...it all evens out?

Y'all are making me feel much, much better about my miata spending. My spreadsheet shows a hair over $10,000, and I've owned my miata for a decade. Granted, half of that expense is the car itself + a hardtop. No track days, + a "good enough" low boost setup certainly helps the budget.
Part of the problem is that when I started modding, a turbo miata was an incredible value proposition. A whole host of quick cars have depreciated since then, and I'm casting a heavy eye towards the C5 Z06's that I see in the sub $15,000 range.
It's certainly interesting that quite a few folks who reach the pointy end of modding cars end up seeking out a bone stock example at some point.

Agreed. My new-found love of track driving has diverted all money that once went to fun street cars to my track-only build. It's still very much a budget build, but the thought of having to spend money on new brake pads for my street car makes me sad as I want every penny going to the track car haha.

I have absolutely no idea how much money I have spent on cars in the past or current. I don't want to know. It's all about purchases that are "manageable chunks" as my wife says.

I do, however, have a yearly "track budget" that I routinely go over. That money is SUPPOSED to be for track entry fees, consumables between events, any upgrades to the car, and theoretically gas for both the car and towing to and from. Realistically, that money covers track entry fees and some off-season maintenance/consumables, and MAYBE a mod here and there. But I often buy a lot of nickel-and-dime stuff outside of that dedicated account and also can't seem to find room to cover gas from that dedicated account yet. I try to do 6-8 events a year with entry fees alone being $400-500 per event. My monthly budget is $400 a month, so I often come up short...

But, just like with today's Monopoly money rules the government and other large businesses use, the numbers don't always have to add up in the end it seems. At the end of the day it's just a number on a piece of paper. Never mind what color the number is in...

I do not keep track of what I spend on my car.
I mean, I do not keep a spreadsheet on what I eat, either.

Working on my car and implementing harebrained ideas is something I really enjoy.
I enjoy eating, too.

Hell, between the garage rent, tools, upkeep, materials, parts, gas prices in Turkey, almost 6 to 1 currency rate, shipping costs and annual taxes, keeping track of costs would simply be demoralizing.
I am not in this hobby to get demoralized.

Well said commie. I started keeping a spreadsheet and a wise man told me to just stop.

Fact is, every single sportscar around me cost 4x as much and I'm pretty certain I'm far prouder of my ride.

More than any sane person would spend on a 29 year old non exotic car and WAY more than I'd admit to my wife.

Love the answers guys. Hornetball...that garage...Much Jealous!!


How much time do you guys spend on the Miata / wrenching? As I'm in Boston, my interest in wrenching tends to ebb and flow with the weather. I can only imagine how much time I'll have to allocate toward hobbies after kids. I find that my project list is often exponentially more ambitious than my ability to execute.

Same. Darn Craig's List!

I've got 3 simultaneous restorations going on right now, '74 Eldo, '66 Plymouth Sport Fury and '69 Lotus 61. Plus keeping everything else maintained and running.

I can't wait to get the '69 Lotus out on the track!

I used to buy/sell a lot of craigslist vehicles so I guess its second nature to track what I spend on all my cars.

A C5Z is one of the few cars I've considered moving into. I could buy a clean one with what I have into my NB (currently around $15k all-in for car + mods over the last 3 years), but I know I wouldn't be happy with one. The low running/maintenance costs of a Miata is one of the main reasons I love it. I can track it more often than I would be able to with anything else based on that fact alone. I also enjoy having something built by myself that is unique and different, even if it comes at a financial cost and isn't as fast in a straight line as other vehicles in its price range. I've thought about it a lot, but driving a stock C5Z doesn't really appeal to me. The only way it does is if I mod that car into the same expensive rabbit hole that my Miata is in with the major downside of vette parts being far more expensive (please refer to my previous running costs statement above on why this is an issue for me). I can’t count the number of times I've had people come over and say "Man, I usually hate miatas, but yours is incredible. Love what you've done with it!". That shit makes me happy. I love the thumbs up and smile reactions I get from kids and adults alike while street driving what everyone perceives as a "racecar" with all the aero bolted to it.

I daily drive the miata tow rig (a 2018 Silverado 1500 Crew Cab 4x4) that I picked up last year for a steal with the heavy GM incentives. It’s comfortable, warrantied, can be driven year round in Wisconsin without issue, gets 20mpg hwy, can seat 6, tow whatever I need, haul whatever I need for home/yard projects. What more could you want? I've kept mods on the truck to very cheap and basic cosmetic items just to make it a little different than every other truck on the street and I'm happy with it.

Overall, I spend about $12k/year on cars in current state with a good chunk of that being payments on my truck to get it paid off early. On average I spend probably about $5k/year on what I'd call "fun car stuff" like track days or projects on the NB. It's a comfortable number to budget for me that still allows me to travel places with the GF on nice vacations, put away money in the 401k, build up the savings, and complete never ending home improvements.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...566d804d33.jpg

Luckily the weather has no impact on the majority of the wrenching I do as my garage is (primitively) heated and air conditioned. Time spent wrenching depends more so on time of year for me or depending on how much overtime I feel like working. The majority of the wrenching on the Miata specifically comes during the track off-season which is Dec-Feb for me. During the season it's just minor maintenance and small repairs. I do, however, have plenty of other vehicles that seem to always require some sort of fixing or maintenance, so I still feel like I never have enough time for everything haha.

There are times when I set foot in the garage and do not leave for 24 hours.

Ideally, I shoot for maximum garage time. There is a kitchen, a bathroom, tea making facilities, a pretty large ashtray and pretty well placed speakers, so I really do not suffer there.
A Piaggio Beverly 500 (also modded) comes in handy if I need to leave the car on the lift for a while.

I prefer making my own parts to purchasing kits and stuff, and that means my projects take longer, but as the Buddhists say, it is the journey for me.
I am just happy as a pig in mud when I am drawing, making mock-ups and wrenching...

Everything after rent, food and other life BS goes to entry fees, consumables, maintenance and occasionally upgrades. Seat time > healthcare :dealwithit:

Seat time IS healthcare.

I did 35 track days in the Miata in 2018 (plus three in my '07 S4). No way I could afford to do that with another car, so I don't really care how much it costs. I grenaded the oil pump at Summit Point in late September, and had already committed to a four day soiree at VIR at the beginning of November, to include a day on the Grand Course. I contacted The Parts Group and had them send me a partout motor. Cost was not really a factor. It was the fastest way to get her back on track. While I'd love to have a C7 Grand Sport, I'd rather have a shit ton of track time.

I agree, that's a sharp looking NB.

I find myself browsing craigslist cars so frequently that the idea of buying and selling craigslist vehicles has entered my mind multiple times. What were your margins like? What price-points did you hover around? Did you carry debt or run it all cash? Did you get a dealer license? Was it worth the effort? Did you have the seller sign title over or simply pass it on to the buyer?

I may have gone in a totally tangential direction.

I tracked down a Factory Five USRRC FIA 289 roadster still in project form with a coyote / getrag driveline for less than the price of a new kit. The cost is a little more than a miata v8 swap, with a space-frame chassis and 300lb weight loss to go with it.

This build also will be a great way to spend some time with my father, with whom I've discussed building a FFR vehicle for close to 20 years "one day". The fact that we will build the car will give me the satisfaction that it is built not bought, even if I keep it "unmodified", and I believe running costs are low, as the resultant product is far lighter than the original ~3500LB mustang the wearables are intended to handle.

I think I'm starting to fall down the N+1 rabbit-hole, as I will likely still keep the Miata.

Start saving up for a proper garage . . . .

Your definition of proper may be different from my definition of proper!!!!

You really have to stick to one type of vehicle if you want to be successful so you truly understand local market buy and sell price. Couple good friends of mine do really well with 99-02 silverados/sierras. I did 1000cc sport bikes for a while. Everything in cash. Title jumping is illegal and not really worth the hassle if you try it, so stay away from that. Didn't do enough volume in a year to warrant a dealer license in WI. I usually held myself to the "if I cant make $1000 on this minimum, it isn't worth it" mentality. I typically never spent more than a couple grand on any vehicle. Had one non-running bike I bought for $1800 and sold for $3500 after a $5 electrical repair and about 3 hours of diagnosing. Had tried a running Subaru Legacy GT that I picked up for $1900, it blew up twice in 8k miles, and I still sold it for $1500 not running after the second engine failure. Win some, lose some. Overall, I came out ahead. I just bought a house so I don't have the free flowing cash like I did back then, but I wouldn't mind dabbling in it again soon.

I realize that I'm in the minority in this hobby, but I try to minimize my vehicular expenses. For a few years I was into sport motorcycles, including a VTEC VFR I bought brand new, but those were my only vehicles at the time, so still relatively modest. Then came the Miata as a toy/casual track car and convenient vehicle for someone who lived in a city where public transit is a viable option. I've used it to carry my mountain bike as well as a barbecue, and have driven it 600 miles in a day. It doesn't hurt that my work schedule has me commuting on average about 5 times per month. I lucked into a reliable but modest car that my parents gifted me after the dealer offered them $250 on trade. I drove that '04 Concorde to work, Costco, and as a general winter beater for nearly 3 years. Got $320 for it after a brake line blew.

Then I bought a house in the kind of suburb where people have horses, needed a more reliable car. Sought out a 2015 Mazda 3 Sport, found a nice one with RX-8 wheels on it whose first owner took good care of it and drove it little because he also owned an Audi and a Citroen DS.

My Swiss frugality took a hit in the shorts late last year when I decided to get into flying. Now I spend nearly CAD $300/hr to fly a 40 year-old little Cessna around in circles. If things go to plan, I'll one day be blowing my excess cash on a small sea plane or similar. Now that I'm a little older I have trouble justifying spending money on upgrading street vehicles which I'm forced to respect speed limits and surrounding traffic with.

Ain't that the truth. For many years I wanted a 911. Now that I have the means to own one, I decided that they're no better for driving around in traffic than any other decent vehicle, and they're way too nice to work on the track the way that I want to do it. It's really just an ego thing, and I'm getting to the age where I don't really give AF what people think of my car.

My big-picture goal right now is to get a nice new truck to daily drive and tow the Miata to the track with. These modern half-tons are amazing technology. I took a rental V8 F-150 on a 500 mile trip earlier this week; got over 22 mpg, which is 3mpg better than the Sienna minivan I drive now. Capable of almost 2,000 lbs in payload, or towing 10,000+ lbs. Plus it was really fun to drive!

I also agree that spending money on street cars has very much taken a backseat as I've gotten older. More importantly, one reckless driving ticket could potentially be a career-ender for me. My "fast" street car sits in the garage more than anything as I now devote my time and money to the track car and am fine driving a boring commuter as I can get all my "aggressive" driving done on the track.

I occasionally consider selling all my cars (commuter, street car, older truck tow rig) for a nice new truck to daily drive and handle towing duties, but it's yet to happen. Too much sentimental attachment maybe? Either that or not having a car payment means I can spend more on the track car...

I agree, dumping money into a fast street car is somewhat pointless if it cannot be used to it's full potential, and the cost of reckless driving far out-weighs the fleeting burst of excitement it provides.

For me, a fun street car is still very important, and mostly that means something that I can have a visceral / emotional connection to. Part of that is the soundtrack from the engine and gearbox, and the only requirement is that it has to be topless. The reason is one can hop in and cruise at any given moment, rather than wait for the next event. For the limited number of track days that I attend, it can be excruciating to wait for the next event over the course of a year while juggling other hobbies and commitments.