23 Surprisingly Affordable Muscle Cars

If you’re looking for a vehicle that’s good for the whole family, you probably shouldn’t spring for a Pontiac Firebird or Corvette Stingray. Gas-guzzling V-8 coupes, after all, aren’t exactly practical.

But if you have the means for a set of weekend hobby wheels and power is your passion, there are some mean muscle cars out there for the taking. From the classics that defined street-legal drag racers in the 1960s and ’70s all the way to the latest 2020 models, you can get yourself behind the wheel of a growling beast of a car that turns heads on the highway and intimidates at red lights for less than you might think.

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GOBankingRates examined a blend of current and old-school muscle cars that are currently up for sale and within the financial grasp of many Americans. There’s a broad range of options: some start at just over $10,000, while others go for more than $120,000. That means there’s technically something for everyone. The reality, however, is that once the cash price gets north of $45,000, muscle cars drift beyond the reach of the average Joe. Many of the cars on this list will remain pipe dreams for most people, but we’ve included some on the higher end for those with cash to burn.

Since the cash price is just one of the many costs associated with owning a vehicle, GOBankingRates calculated the true cost of owning each car over five years. This figure includes things like insurance, fuel, financing, taxes and repairs. True cost of ownership was not quantifiable for all models, however, so the cars on this list are ranked by total cash price from lowest to highest.

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GOBankingRates used publications including MotorTrend and CarMax to find examples of affordable muscle cars. Then, the pricing data was further refined using the Edmunds Inc. True Cost to Own pricing calculator for contemporary cars and sale/auction listings from Hemmings.com for classic cars. 

Keep reading to learn about the Shelbys, Vettes, Firebirds, Mustangs, Caddys and Camaros that you actually might be able to afford.

You may find that it’s possible to get yourself behind the wheel of one of the coolest cars ever made with money left to spare.

Last updated: Sept. 10, 2021

• Year: 1971
• Style: Ford 302-cu. in. OHV V-8
• Total cash price: $10,250
• True cost to own for five years: N/A

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• Year: 1970
• Style: 2 dr coupe 318-cu. in. V-8 attached to an RR833 4-speed manual transmission
• Total cash price: $14,000
• True cost to own for five years: N/A

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• Year: 2015
• Style: C63 AMG 2dr Coupe (6.2L 8cyl 7A)
• Total cash price: $20,211
• True cost to own for five years: $56,134

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• Year: 1979
• Style: Trans AM
• Total cash price: $24,900
• True cost to own for five years: N/A

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• Year: 1968
• Style: 273 V8, 4-speed transmission with Hurst Shifter
• Total cash price: $24,995
• True cost to own for five years: N/A

• Year: 1969
• Style: 351 Windsor cu. in. V8 engine 
• Total cash price: $28,500
• True cost to own for five years: N/A

• Year: 1985
• Style: 4-speed automatic (5.0L 305 V8)
• Total cash price: $29,900
• True cost to own for five years: N/A

• Year: 2020
• Style: EcoBoost 2dr Coupe (2.3L 4cyl Turbo 6M)
• Total cash price: $30,412
• True cost to own for five years: $45,574

• Year: 1970
• Style: 455 V-8 TH400 3-speed automatic transmission
• Total cash price: $31,995
• True cost to own for five years: N/A

• Year: 2021
• Style: 1LT 2dr Coupe (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 6M)
• Total cash price: $32,011
• True cost to own for five years: $47,420

• Year: 2014
• Style: 2dr Coupe (5.8L 8cyl 6M)
• Total cash price: $32,812
• True cost to own for five years: $59,138

• Year: 2021
• Style: SXT 4dr Sedan (3.6L 6cyl 8A)
• Total cash price: $33,311
• True cost to own for five years: $50,391

• Year: 2021
• Style:SXT 2dr Coupe AWD (3.6L 6cyl 8A)
• Total cash price:$36,694
• True cost to own for five years:$49,925

• Year: 2021
• Style: GT 2dr coupe (5.0L 8cyl 6M)
• Total cash price: $39,028
• True cost to own for five years: $53,397

• Year: 2015
• Style: 2dr Coupe (6.2L 8cyl S/C 6M)
• Total cash price: $42,216
• True cost to own for five years: $78,324

• Year: 2021
• Style: R/T 4dr Sedan (5.7L 8cyl 8A)
• Total cash price: $42,641
• True cost to own for five years: $58,172

• Year: 2021
• Style: R/T Scat Pack 2dr Coupe (6.4L 8cyl 6M)
• Total cash price: $49,712
• True cost to own for five years: $63,631

• Year: 2020
• Style: Luxury 4dr Sedan AWD (3.6L 6cyl 10A)
• Total cash price: $55,440
• True cost to own for five years: $75,364

• Year: 2018
• Style: 75D 4dr Sedan AWD (electric DD)
• Total cash price: $57,199
• True cost to own for five years: $71,674

• Year: 2021
• Style: 2dr Coupe w/1LT (6.2L 8cyl 8AM)
• Total cash price: $71,282
• True cost to own for five years: $76,040

• Year: 2021
• Style: AMG C 63 4dr Sedan (4.0L 8cyl Turbo 9A)
• Total cash price: $80,382
• True cost to own for five years: $96,047

• Year: 2020
• Style: 2dr Coupe (5.0L 8cyl 8A)
• Total cash price: $82,658
• True cost to own for five years: $97,026

• Year: 2020
• Style: 4dr sedan (5.0L 8cyl 8A)
• Total cash price: $91,556
• True cost to own for five years: $101,937

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Methodology: GOBankingRates, in order to find surprisingly affordable muscle cars, looked at various auto publications from CarMax to MotorTrend to find examples of both contemporary and historically popular “muscle cars.”

From these lists, GOBankingRates used the Edmunds Inc. True Cost to Own pricing calculator for all contemporary models (2015 and after) to find (1) Total Cash Price, which is the vehicle’s True Market Value‌® (TMV‌®) price plus any typically equipped options, destination charge, base tax, fees assessed by your state and, if applicable, gas guzzler tax. For all historically popular muscle cars, GOBankingRates found cars listed for auction/sale on Hemmings.com and used sale price or final bid price for its Total Cash Price.

In order to be deemed affordable, each muscle car had to either come in below the average cost of a new vehicle purchase for the month of February 2021 as sourced from Kelley Blue Book or come in below the average cost of a new vehicle from its manufacturer, also sourced from Kelley Blue Book. For all contemporary muscle cars, GOBankingRates also found the five-year totals for (2) depreciation, (3) taxes and fees, (4) financing, (5) fuel costs, (6) insurance, (7) maintenance and (8) repairs. Factors (2-8) were then added to give (9) 5-year true cost to own. Depreciation costs were shown for each year while the remaining factors were only given five-year totals. GOBankingRates kept the location for the calculations constant, using the ZIP code 90245 (El Segundo, California).

The Edmunds Inc. True Cost to Own calculations use the following assumptions:  -You will drive 15,000 miles per year -You are financing the vehicle using traditional financing, not lease financing -You have an above-average credit rating for the purpose of determining your finance rate -You are making a 10% down payment on the vehicle at purchase All data were collected on and up to date as of April 6, 2021.