I Bought a Sports Car: 4 Reasons I Regret It
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Andrew Lisa
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Amber Barkley
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As the managing director of Auto Finance Online, Matthew Edwards spends his career at the intersection of money and vehicles — and an ill-advised purchase from six years ago put him in a head-on collision with both.
“I bought a sports car, a 2018 Ford Mustang GT, thinking it would be a lot of fun to drive,” he said. “However, I quickly realized that there were some financial regrets associated with owning it.”
His experience is typical of what happens when someone — even a pro like Edwards — falls in love with a vehicle they imagine themselves in without imagining the many associated hassles, headaches and costs. Nothing exemplifies this dilemma quite like sports cars. They’re sleek, sexy, agile and powerful. They growl, roar and vault into the distance when red lights turn green. They turn heads and exude style and bravado.
But they have a painful shortage of cupholders — and they’re not cheap to drive and they’re not cheap to own, as Edwards learned the hard way.
Everyone Envies the Ride — No One Envies the MSRP
Building powerful, high-performance vehicles with intense acceleration, high top speeds and otherworldly cornering costs a lot of money.
If you’re shopping for a sports car, Kelley Blue Book (KBB) advises, “We recommend you do some soul-searching in the early stages of your research and establish a realistic amount you can comfortably afford,” because “prices can range from nearly $30,000 to $300,000 or more.”
The Ford Mustang GT — a capable, muscular and imposing coupe — is on the forgiving side of that spectrum, with 2024 models starting between $42,000 and $52,000, although you can easily add five figures onto the high-end GT Premium Convertible with trim, package and add-on upgrades.
In 2018, when Edwards took the plunge, the Mustang GT started at just over $35,000.
It Costs a Lot To Maintain and Even More To Repair
Edwards quickly learned that the purchase price was just the start of his financial commitment to his new love.
“The maintenance and repairs were more expensive than I anticipated,” he said.
Loop Insurance addressed why sports cars cost so much more to insure than regular vehicles — more on that shortly — and much of it has to do with the high price of fixing them. The company wrote, “Sports cars, especially luxury models, are often equipped with expensive custom parts and finishes, which drive up the cost of repairs or replacement.”
It’s not just repairs. The cost of basic maintenance turned out to be not so basic, either.
“I found myself spending around $1,500 to $2,000 annually on routine maintenance alone, including oil changes, brake pads and tire rotations,” said Edwards.
For example, CJ Pony Parts says modern Mustangs require synthetic motor oil. According to KBB, a conventional oil change costs between $35 and $75, while a synthetic oil change will run you between $65 and $125 — and the hits just keep coming.
“The specialized tires for the Mustang GT cost me about $1,000 to replace, and they needed to be replaced more frequently due to the high-performance nature of the car,” said Edwards.
Expensive To Repair and Replace Equals Expensive To Insure
In answer to the question, “Are sports cars more expensive to insure compared to regular cars?” Loop Insurance wrote, “The short answer is, yes.”
Many factors impact insurance premiums, including things that have nothing to do with the car, like the driver’s age, gender and credit score, but sports cars almost always cost more because of their high horsepower and top speed, elevated repair and replacement costs and the fact that they’re more prone to theft and are masters at drawing the attention of police.
MarketWatch says the national average for full coverage is $167 per month for all vehicles. Edwards added to that tally.
“The insurance premiums for a sports car like the Mustang GT were higher than for a regular sedan, costing me an extra $100 to $200 per month,” he said.
A Familiar Face at the Pump
It takes a lot of fuel to feed all the power and performance that make sports cars so attractive. Edwards’ Mustang GT, for example, gets 14 miles per gallon in the city and 23 on the highway for a combined 17 mpg. That made him a frequent visitor to his local gas station.
“Fuel costs were another significant expense,” he said. “With the Mustang GT’s powerful V8 engine, I was spending around $60 to $80 per week on gas, which added up quickly over time.”
Edwards certainly doesn’t regret driving the beloved classic that was the first and is now the last remaining American pony car — but he does regret owning it.
“While the Mustang GT was certainly a thrill to drive, the financial costs associated with owning it were higher than I had anticipated, and I found myself wishing I had made a more practical choice when it came to purchasing a vehicle,” he said.
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