So let's say you buy a pimp used, mint cond. Gen 3 Viper for only cheap b/c your dealer friend hooks you up and goes to the dealer auction for you. You spend $2k on a 5 year bumper to bumper warranty that goes through 2014, so it's all good. After all the Viper's a pretty reliable car, you do the maintenance yourself, you're a safe driver who keeps the full throttle for the trackdays, all you gotta worry about is getting 8 mpg. Sounds like a great deal when your roomate / these other kids across the street are paying $40/50k for a 135i/335i that are a dime a dozen out there. But then you look up insurance and DAYUM PWN3D! (via insurance costing almost as much as your mortgage if you had bought a house outside California)

So I did a little experiment on Progressive to get insurance quotes and see which REALLY AWESOME CAR is cheap(er) to insure. To be AWESOME, it has to be a car that:
1. is "exotic" from the general public's perception (original msrp was $65k+ so no 2008 m3, those will depreciate down the wazoo in a few years)
2. not many of these cars out there on the road OR not many young people driving it
3. HELLA FAST. Like, hella, hella fast. Rip your eyeballs out fast.
4. relatively affordable for a young professional living on their own (like paying 1k-1.5k+ in rent/utilities, and the same for living expenses - no living at your parents house to make the car payments! No tacking insurance onto your parents for cheap!). So <$50k - no GTR here

I set it to:
- minimum liability
- collision w/ 2.5k deductible
- comprehensive w/ 2.5k deductible

I set the driver to:
- 25 years old
- 1 ticket (stupid carpool lane...) in the last 3 years
- recreational weekend second vehicle, 6-8k miles a year, vehicle has lojack

Baseline - 2003 wrx sedan: $100

I came up with monthly rates ($ as single vehicle / $ as second vehicle on top of WRX):

Cars that are HELLA awesome:
2002 911 turbo: $205 / $212
2006 chevy z06: $400 / $416
2003/4 Dodge Viper: ($381/$400) / ($313/$418) <-- doesn't make sense, prolly a glitch
2006 M5: $382 / $402
2006 Exige S: no data

Cars that are almost hella awesome (meaning they are indeed awesome, just not HELLA awesome)
1994 NSX: $115 / $158
2007 Audi RS4: $150 / $192
2007 Ford GT500: $194 / $232
2005 Corvette: $356 / $376
2005 Elise: no data



Conclusion: Among the hella awesome cars one would have to be inclined towards the 911 turbo. Insurance is probably cheap b/c mainly old guys drive it. The 996TT is supposed to be a pretty reliable car as one of my coworkers in North Carolina had one that he daily drove 100k+ miles since brand new, in rain/sleet/snow/ice with no major problems. The M5 is not nearly as awesome as the Viper or Z06 - both of which I would only be comfortable buying with the ridiculous insurance prices if I put a good $20k down in cash.

Unfortunately for the 911 turbo, it's older and out of even extended warranty, so I probably wouldn't gamble on it.

Among the almost hella awesome cars it would be a tossup depending on your personal preference. I personally wouldn't go for an '05 Corvette that costs almost as much to insure as the monthly car payments! The NSX while reliable is still old, and you will end up spending money on mods and replacement parts like a new bumper, new paint, new leather on the seats, etc. etc. Personally I might be more inclined towards that "dime a dozen" 335/135/370z/g37, or new sti/evo than an old NSX

 

What just happened?

 

I had too much time on my hands this afternoon, that's what

 

you mother ****er... you divided by zero didnt you....

 

edmunds did the top 10 cars for under 20k
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=155146

i-club gets a mention, lol

 

set the liability to HIGH...

you are driving a hi perf car.

the damage it will do is greater than that of a yugo.

 

Datsun 510 with a VQ35DE swap... STI rear end... Done!




bryan

 

That is indeed hella fast, and affordable, and unique, but not exotic, Bryan!

 

This, heh. Of course I can't say you'd be a safe driver at the wheel of a goddamn Viper

And liability for like, $250k doesn't cost much more than min insurance

 

My car's not really exotic, but not dime a dozen either. You should drive a 135i and find out

it also fits everything else you've described. .. not stock, but with a tune and some bolt ons.

 

What'd you put down? Is this the Dinan Staged upgrade that retains factory warranty? My roomate got that one done and I'm impressed you can get another 80 hp out of it with no mods (even though they recommended the oil cooler)!

 

What movies is that from?

 

I wouldn't go with Dinan because they don't have the rep they use to with BMW, and they replaces the warranty with their own, it doesn't retain the BMW warranty. JB3 is a very good tune (one that I plan to get) and with an intake and DP it will bring your WHP to around 378. Here's a dynosheet for reference:
http://www.jlevistreetwerks.com/imag...d%20Intake.jpg

you'll be able to take most of the mid price range touring cars like c63 AMG, e9x m3, ISF etc.

If you want to take it further, there's a turbo kit from ASR out for the car which boost the WHP to 450ish. The only thing i lament is the offset of the wheels. the car can't really fit a decent offset unless you run aggressive camber and roll the **** outta your fenders.

 

I don't think that the Audi or 'vettes qualify as exotic. The Audi looks like any other Audi, and there are thousands of 'vettes on the road. There's nothing wrong with either car, but when was the last time an Audi made you turn your head?

 

Dont those Dynojets read high? Plus that sheet says they ran 93oct.