Oh dang, a youth whose only real requirement for her next car is a manual transmission? Your daughter sounds rad as hell, Brian. Clearly, you and your wife have this parenting thing figured out, so congratulations on a job well done. Seriously, you should be proud of yourselves. If I had a kid, that $25,000 would probably just go to a therapist or three. And since you raised a daughter who’s officially rad as hell, I’ve located an especially rad car for her that meets all of her requirements, except for that minor “factory warranty” thing.
What your daughter needs is a Mazda Miata. Specifically, a Mazdaspeed Miata. It’s objectively the coolest Miata, and you want your daughter to drive a car that’s just as cool as she is, right? It also has a trunk for transporting her photography equipment, and if she happens to have a few things that won’t fit, there’s also a passenger seat. Without a fixed roof, anything it lacks in horizontal storage, it will more than make up for with unlimited vertical storage.
I’m not kidding about it being right down the street, either. Head down Savannah Highway, and you’ll find this 2004 Mazdaspeed Miata with only 26,000 miles on it for a mere $19,995. That might sound like a lot of money to spend on a 20-year-old Mazda, but this isn’t just any Miata. It’s a low-mileage Mazdaspeed Miata, and as long as she takes care of it, it will only get more valuable. They only made like 6,000 of these cars, and while you can find cheaper examples, good luck finding one with fewer miles.
As someone who turned to Jalopnik for advice, you probably aren’t surprised someone suggested a Miata, but you’re probably still concerned about the potential repairs and lack of a factory warranty. That’s what makes this particular car so great, though. It has a turbocharger, sure, but so many of the things that go wrong on newer cars simply don’t exist here. Can’t have problems with all the electronic features if her car barely has any electronic features. And just look at that interior. The previous owners clearly did a great job taking care of it. Plus, you can always use the rest of your budget to get ahead of maintenance if you want.Will a manual Civic hatchback work? Sure. In many ways, it’ll probably work better. But will it be anywhere as cool or unique as the Mazdaspeed Miata? Absolutely not. Buy her the Miata, Brian. The Miata will make her happy.
