4 Affordable Used Cars With Cool Features

Chris Callaway owns and operates a classic and specialty car dealership in Marshall, Virginia, called Callaway Classics out of what had been America’s longest-running Ford dealership. He specializes in American vehicles from the 1960s and 1970s — a ’60 Ford Galaxie Sunliner, a ’63 Corvette Split Window and a ’68 Shelby GT500KR are just a few of the gems that have come and gone recently.

His website’s photo gallery could be the wallpaper in Cool Used Car Heaven.

But glorious pre-owned vehicles don’t have to cost $99,000 like the ’66 Dodge Coronet 426 Hemi that Callaway lists for sale among his inventory. 

He’s curated a selection of consummately cool used cars for a range of budgets.

The Corvette has gifted the American automobile industry with beauty, bravado and a heaping dose of cool since 1953 when GM built all 300 of that year’s examples by hand on a pilot line in Flint, Michigan. If you can afford one of those, you’ve landed on the wrong article.

If not, keep reading. 

“The Chevrolet Corvette Generation C5 — years 1997 to 2004 — is one of the best bang-for-your-buck cars on the used car market in regards to looks and performance,” Callaway said. “This is the generation Corvette in which Chevrolet introduced the LS1 motor, which is a potent aluminum block engine with over 345 horsepower. The body styling is also elegant — very sleek but also has some curves to it. Relatively speaking, this is a very affordable sports car. An average condition car can be found in the $15,000-$25,000 range for a manual six-speed transmission, even less if an automatic and/or higher mileage car.”

If you can’t spring for the C5, Callaway recommended the previous and more affordable C4 from model years 1984 through 1996. “Not as much horsepower, but it has that classic ’80s retro angular look,” he said. “They had unique colors for some years. You can get into one of these for $8,000 to $15,000. I just sold one of the unique color ones last week. It got comments and thumbs-up everywhere I went in it.”

Callaway called the first-generation Mazda Miata “your ultimate budget fun car.” 

“Not everyone likes the styling, and they do not have much horsepower,” he said. “But they handle incredibly well and are a blast to drive on winding roads. It’s like driving a road-legal go-kart.”

A Car and Driver retrospective pointed out that the beloved Miata has remained virtually unchanged since its debut at the Chicago Auto Show in 1989. The first generation ran through 1997, and no matter which model year you choose, you’re guaranteed to drive off with what many people consider the coolest feature any car can have.

“An added bonus is that they are all convertibles so you can really add to the experience with the top down,” Callaway said. “You can get one for $3,000 to $10,000.”

The Nissan nameplate might not bring cool to mind — until you get to the end of the alphabet. 

“The Nissan 350Z is another underrated car that a lot of people forget about,” Callaway said. “Decent horsepower from the factory and a really sleek look. They handle well and had a few years with unique colors that really jump out.”

Nissan sold the 350Z in two generations between 2002 and 2008, and since it was following in the footsteps of the beloved Nissan Fairlady and 240Z, Nissan knew it had to be cool — and it still is.

“You can get an average condition one of these for $8,000 to $12,000 with a manual, even less in an automatic,” Callaway said.

Caddies defined cool for generations of movie stars, athletes and gangsters alike — and the CTS-V that ushered Cadillac into the second decade of the 21st century was among the last truly great ones in the lineage.

“This is a higher budget, but bang-for-your-buck, a very fast car,” Callaway said. “These cars came in two-door coupes, four-door coupes and four-door wagons. They all came with a 556-horsepower engine and excellent performance suspension.” 

Callaway said you can find them for sale from $25,000 to $35,000. 

“Not many cars on the market can get you that much horsepower that cheap,” he said. “The manual transmission and wagon body style dictate a higher price. I personally drive a wagon, and it is a blast.”