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When I was 20 I owned a 1993 Toyota MR-2 that had a front clip from a foreign MR-2 Turbo. Loved that car. When the hose from hell blew and the turbo's springed

When I was 20 I owned a 1993 Toyota MR-2 that had a front clip from a foreign MR-2 Turbo. Loved that car. When the hose from hell blew and the turbo's springed rubber oil gasket needed replacing, it took me months to discover a single Toyota dealership in Australia (seriously) that had the part. When it wasn't broken it was great, though. Owning a Tesla is all well and good while it's running. But you're limited by how you can refuel it and only one company can make the parts. Much like the exotic sports car, you simply cannot depend on being able to repair it yourself, so it should not be considered a daily driver. You should probably keep a $2,000 1998 Honda Civic in the garage just in case.

vanattab 10y ago
I recommend a 1990's era Honda Civic Del Sol. It's a great car and uses almost all the same parts as the Civic's and Accords of the era. It's a little 2 door sports car with a removable hard top, and the manual transmission version is supper fun to drive and gets like 33mpg. I got a 1994 with 89,000 miles on it a few years back for $2500 put another 50,000 miles on it and just sold it for $2500. Best car I have ever owned. I would be willing to bet the true carbon footprint of buying and driving an old del sol for another 100k is less then buying a new tesla and driving it for 100k.
- peterwwillis 10y ago
  I'm familiar with the Del Sol; I destroyed one's rear end when it stopped short in the middle of an intersection (my car's bumper was scratched) so for practical and safety reasons I recommend the 4-door Civic. But it's impressive that yours never lost value! If I wanted a fun sporty cheap 2-seater, the only choice for me would be the Mazda MX-5. For $2.5k you can cruise over to the autocross track with the top down, beat a Corvette's lap times, and then cruise home all without breaking 30mpg. (Okay, so maybe you'll need either amazing driving skills or race tires to beat the Corvette, but it's doable ;))
- macintux 10y ago
  I drove my del Sol for 14 years; most of that time, it was my only vehicle. Fantastic car until it tried to kill me. (Lesson learned: don't ignore noises from the front end.)

vanattab 10y ago

I recommend a 1990's era Honda Civic Del Sol. It's a great car and uses almost all the same parts as the Civic's and Accords of the era. It's a little 2 door sports car with a removable hard top, and the manual transmission version is supper fun to drive and gets like 33mpg. I got a 1994 with 89,000 miles on it a few years back for $2500 put another 50,000 miles on it and just sold it for $2500. Best car I have ever owned. I would be willing to bet the true carbon footprint of buying and driving an old del sol for another 100k is less then buying a new tesla and driving it for 100k.

peterwwillis 10y ago
I'm familiar with the Del Sol; I destroyed one's rear end when it stopped short in the middle of an intersection (my car's bumper was scratched) so for practical and safety reasons I recommend the 4-door Civic. But it's impressive that yours never lost value! If I wanted a fun sporty cheap 2-seater, the only choice for me would be the Mazda MX-5. For $2.5k you can cruise over to the autocross track with the top down, beat a Corvette's lap times, and then cruise home all without breaking 30mpg. (Okay, so maybe you'll need either amazing driving skills or race tires to beat the Corvette, but it's doable ;))
macintux 10y ago
I drove my del Sol for 14 years; most of that time, it was my only vehicle. Fantastic car until it tried to kill me. (Lesson learned: don't ignore noises from the front end.)