Is there a point where you would buy a car you normally wouldn't buy?

There are some cars that I don't have an interest in because they are expensive to repair, have poor reliability or not grassroots friendly.   But at what price point do these undesirable cars make sense to buy either to drive or part out.

For me I've seen a couple RX8s, 944s, 928s that fall into this catagory. I'm not really looking for another car, I just bought a second miata, but at some point these cars get tempting. My thought here is if it's cheap enough and the car is intact do you take a chance on someone's car that they gave up on and if you can get it running, great if not, can you part it out and recoup your cash?

I'm not looking to start a threat on why I shouldn't  buy the cars I mentioned those are just some examples i've seen recently. When do you stop looking away and say.....hey that might be worth seriously considering! 

I got really serious about an amg clk55 when I found one for 2 grand.  That's my threshold of "I'm not touching that german engineering" to "hey that'll be fun until it breaks"

ended up with a wrx instead

When SWMBO decides that the car she wants is the car she wants. If I just agree she doesn't say anything about my collection of E36 M3 boxes and "projects."

Monetarily speaking: when the sheet metal is way to rare and/or expensive to fix the previous owners neglect. Living in the rust belt gives you a whole different perspective.

Currently it is a Gen3 2001 Mitsubishi Montero bought for $1,700 in spectacular shape except for a bash in the front bumper.  $40k when new, 16 years and 200k ago. 

I am 5k miles into the ownership and have put nothing into it! 

Link

I paid $2400 for a front wheel drive Volvo in 2014 because all of my cars were busted and the deal was there.

Turned out to be one of the better buys I ever made, although the first year or two was full of throwing money at it to fix deferred maintenance.

Why do I want to get something else, again?  (I'm stupid, that's why.  I'd rather have more power than fuel economy and awesome handling)

Running and driving is Always worth 500 bucks. 

mndsm said:

Running and driving is Always worth 500 bucks. 

And passing emissions is worth $2000.

I was a hardcore Ford guy all of my life. I've always had Mustangs and Ford trucks (see avatar).

Anything else was subpar and effeminate (to be politically correct).

When my marriage imploded suddenly and I found myself on the other side of the country without my wife, my kids or the house I thought my kids would grow up in, I thought I'd broaden my horizons.

I traded my F150 in on a 2005 Dodge Magnum RT. A Chrysler product from the Daimler era. 

And you know what? I loved that car. It was huge inside, comfy, made good sounds and was pretty quick for a 4400lb wagon.

Of course automotive ADD struck and I traded it in less than a year of owning it (like an idiot).

The next 2 purchases were Chrysler products-a Ram 1500 and then a Wrangler, which I still own.

Then I bought a 30 year old Honda as a fun car. Pretty much the antithesis of a Mustang. I love that little crap box.

So basically, the worst event in my life led to a great appreciation of vehicles I would of never touched and would of chastised only a few years earlier.

Now, I'm not adverse to owning anything. I'm not brand loyal to anything anymore.

I'd like to try a European bruiser but I don't have the knowledge or money to do so right now. But its still on the list 

Yes, but at this point in my life it's more about aesthetics than price. My top two candidates for replacing my EV when the lease is up are a Porsche and Jag, both of which fall well within the category of too fragile and too expensive for what they are. I've been bit by the bug though, and the desire is there.  We'll see where I land after the new year.

For me it comes down to time. I don't have enough as it is so every purchase is always looked at in terms of how much of my time is it going to need.

I bought an awd e46 5spd wagon for 2k that my work was going to wholesale.

Wasn't rusty or beat to E36 M3 like most cl cars, so berkeley it. Might as well do something random once in a while.

Anything running and $300 is almost irresistible to me.  But, i enjoy fixing things and it's hard to lose money on $300 cars. My most recent acquisition is an 06 Chrysler van i bought for $300 (running). I would never have bought one under pretty much any other circumstances. Not because they're bad, but because i have two turbocharged Caravans and a Dajiban-ish lowered fullsize dodge van. I just don't need more vans unless they are really interesting. Or $300! 

Was looking for an e28 535i 5-speed.

tripped over a mint e39 530i automatic with an oil leak for $800. What’s the worst that could happen?  

Generally, I’m an opportunistic buyer with wildly varying taste, so I never really know what I’ll be in next. 

A Corvette for a grand. 

Vigo said:

...and a Dajiban-ish lowered fullsize dodge van....

Really?.....Pictures?

My limits is my wife's (admittedly reasonable) patience for projects lying around our property, and the amount of time I am willing to not spend playing with my kids.

When you really don't want an SUV, Subarus are too expensive and the only decent driving wagons left are from VW and Volvo you start to actually consider one of those evil, check-engine glowing money pits.

Of course I also said I'd never buy another Chrysler product after my horrid 30 days with a Charger 2.2 but the Jeep we currently have has been one of the better vehicles we've owned. Really had to convince myself to take the risk on that.

My Ford fanboi gene OTOH keeps me fixing the 93 Lightning which seems determined to perpetually piss me off. Those Silverados and Rams don't look so bad these days.

I picked up a Reliant K wagon one time because it was only $100 and was running (poorly) and driving, as well as an Escort wagon for $400 that ran and drove great but didn't have heat (PO told me it wasn't the fuse... it was the fuse). I'd say if I see something running and driving for under $500 I'm likely to jump on it, especially if I am in the market for a car anyway.

Those cheap RX-8s do catch my eye, and they're even cheap enough that I wouldn't feel bad about swapping it or parting it. I like to play the "cheap craigslist car" game and look at anything under $2000 with a title. You never know what you'll find for so cheap you just can't pass it up.

Just traded my RX8 in on an Acura TL.  I think I depleted the psychic energy needed. I didn't have constant issues but they were just frequent enough to offset the driving experience. I did buy it cheap and I look on the experience as a vacation. I had a good time and have great memories and didn't go into debt.

Cheap honda's. I cant stand the way they ride and drive but once there mechanically sound they always make me money! 

If you're confident that it will make you money, buy it.

An E30.  I've owned one. Drove it a lot. Hated damn near every second of the experience.  Hated working on it even more. Which was often since it was the most unreliable car I've ever owned.  No car was I more happy to see the tail lights of for the last time.

I still look longingly at them...

dean1484 said:

For me it comes down to time. I don't have enough as it is so every purchase is always looked at in terms of how much of my time is it going to need.

Same problem here, not enough time for the projects I already have. At this point, you'd have to pay me to take on a potentially troublesome car. If the car was offered for $1000 and I could flip it for a weekend's worth of work and a $3000 profit, that might count as paying me, though...

In reply to Ian F :

Little bit of Stockholm Syndrome, eh?

In reply to rustybugkiller :A Jaguar 

If it's cheap enough I'll find some redeeming feature to justify my yearning.  

Maybe parts, maybe turn into a race car,  maybe a daily driver and just ignore any rust.  I've spent my money and time on restoration and never made a dime plus I'm not the polish it and put it away kind of person.  I'd rather dive inside of someone at turn 5 Elkart Lake  and beat him into the Hurry Downs.