[markjohnson]

If I had $30K in the bank, it'd be staying in the bank. Too many areas of the country haven't recovered from the recession and many never will. Picture a pyramid in your head with the wide base being potential buyers for cars less than $10K and as you approach the tip of the pyramid, meaning more expensive cars, the amount of potential buyers that have that kind of money to spend dramatically shrinks. Even the people that DO have that kind of money DON'T want to let it go as freely in the pre-2008 world. The era of laying all those stacks of $100 bills on someone's kitchen table to pay for that "toy" that's in the garage have become increasingly rare. Yeah, I miss those days too, but that scenario just isn't happening that much anymore in many parts of the country. I'd be scared to death to have $30K or more wrapped up in a car without knowing that I couldn't get rid of it in the case of a job loss or family misfortune. Cars aren't selling and the ones that do sell are taking a very long time to do so. If I had to scratch a performance/fun car itch, I'd buy a nice, low-mileage late-model Mustang GT (or something similar), for less than $10-12K with air conditioning and CD player knowing that I could drive it to work everyday if need be. Now if you STILL want an older car after reading this apocalyptic response of mine, make sure you stick with something VERY popular like a Camaro/Chevelle/Corvette, etc. in a popular color. This is NOT the time to purchase an off-the-beaten-path strange type of car of any kind with a narrow fan base. Stick to the very popular brand/models so it's easier to sell when the time comes to try to get your money back.