A Volkswagen GTI is a sporty, fun car that is economical and can handle regular day to day commuter duty, grocery getting, family hauling, as well as autocross and track time. And they don’t cost a fortune to run and maintain.

I’m going to disagree with most here and say that “you could get lucky” if you find the right car.

My 88 911 only cost me about $4k over 2 years, including a clutch that broke on the racetrack. It probably wouldn’t have failed if I didn’t track it.

My 2000 Boxster S only had about $2k in cost over 2 years. I had a failed fuel pump and a failed door switch.

My current 996, over the last 12 months and 7,000 miles suffered from a hood latch failure and a rear window regulator failure. I replaced both myself for $600 Total.

You can save a boatload of money in buying the most pristine car you can find. My 88 has a top end engine rebuild before me. The boxster S had 28,000 miles on it and was like new. My 99 996 has 48,000 miles and was like new. I didn’t do any preventative maintenance on the car other than fluids because it just didn’t need it.

So yeah, you can get lucky and get away with $1-$2k per year on aeverage if you buy smart, get lucky, and do some work yourself. These cars are pretty reliable, and they will Hold their value. But always be prepared for a large expense to hit every now and again. New convertible tops, clutches, or other major work can cost a pretty penny, so shop around and make sure you find a car that won’t nickel and dime you on all the other items.

I say buy American if you want lower maintenance costs and bang for your buck. A C6 corvette would be a good choice. Or how about a V8 mustang or camaro? Hard to beat American muscle for overall value. My Camaro SS is pretty awesome, and a totally different experience from an older German car. Or if you want German, go with a GTI.

I spent over $20k in a year fixing up my 996. Don’t buy one if you want to avoid high maintenance costs.

LOL! Counterpoint: Miatas rule. For 6' 4" you're going to have to modify the seats. I'm 6' 1" and actively avoid rollovers.

$2k for tires? Really? You got robbed dude! I got Michelin PSS (certainly not the least expensive tires you can buy) shipped and installed/balanced for a little less than $900 US. Sure 996’s are not inexpensive to drive and maintain but some of your cost estimates are just silly. DIY’ing the things you can saves a lot of $ as often the largest part of the bill is labor. Shop around and buy some tools. Bottom line is that any Porsche is going to cost you one way or another - the buy in may be cheap (on a 996/986), but ownership isn’t! If you skimp on maintenance you’re just kicking the can down the road...it’ll bite you later.

I also paid about $1100 for my tires - installed, balanced, etc.

Also, the folks that are suggesting a BMW would be cheaper than a Porsche - I would like to point out that my M5 cost twice as much to maintain as my Boxster S did. So, the model is what can drive the cost up or down. A base BMW will be far cheaper to maintain than an M car, but any German car can end up costing thousands per year if you are not careful. My sister has a 135i. A lovely car, and one I really strongly considered. But that car suffered from some expensive oil cooler cracking issues and some persistent brake squeal and ended up costing my sister several thousands to maintain - more than my Boxster...

If folks really want to save money on a performance car, pick a Japanese car. Miata are one of the best, the Toyota 86/BRZ is one, and there are others.

However, a good original Boxster S with a double row IMSB is likely to not have many issues if you find one that’s in excellent shape. I’m not a big fan of buying one that has had lots of work done either. Cars that have tens of thousands of receipts on them, even if those items were so-called “preventative,” might not have been preventative and could point to a car that’s been problematic. I like cars that have a 15-20-yr track record of nothing breaking down. That’s a good track record that might just continue on, if the car was treated well (garage kept, no salt or snow, cleaned, fluids, driven properly, etc.)