5 Best Sports Cars For Students Under 10k

Image by: SG2012

You are a student. You might not have a lot of money but, you want a car that should not have many major repairs down the line all while being sporty. Well, you came to the right place. Because ill go through a few options that might peak your interest.

Buying a car with minimal issues all while being a bit sporty, is very much possible.

Today, I have a few options that will be easy to maintain, reliable and great platforms to get into cars. This goes without saying, but these cars are a lot to handle, so if you cannot control yourself, then I would not grab one of these. Or, if you do, please be careful!

Welcome to AMnation!

If you want to learn more about cars, check out my other articles!

Here are 5 of the best first sports cars for students under 10k,

let us get started!

C5 Corvette 1997-2004 (19-28 MPG, 350-385 HP, 5.7L V8, 0-60: 4.4 Seconds)

Since the c5 corvette is made between 1997-2004, a lot of the interior is made up of cheaper plastics, like any early 2000s American car. Where the corvette lacks in interior, it makes it up in the stock performance it guarantees. Chevys famous ls1 engine is in many of their cars including the c5 corvette and has a 175mph top speed. These engines are well known for their power and reliability and It is not uncommon to see these motors running way pass 300k miles. Not only is the corvette stock with performance bits, it’s also a great setup to modify. Slap on some new heads and lightly turbo it, you can easily see 600 hp.

The corvette can be found with around 100k miles under 10k

This one is going for 9,500 with only 90k miles. It is also a manual transmission, which is somewhat rare because a lot of these cars are automatics due to them being weekend drivers for the original owners.

Here are some issues known with corvettes:

Anti-theft steering lock locking if key inserted improperly.
Leaks from the Targa tops
Some sensors going out, typical with older cars.
And tires going bald too fast. Which is not an actual problem.

1997 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra (18-26 MPG, 305 HP, 4.6L V8, 0-60: 5.4 seconds)

Image by: Crown Star Images

The Cobra is wielding a 4.6l engine, which is ford equivalent to Chevys LS engine. As expected, they also put these engines in just about everything, well at least the 2v version. The cobra wields the 4v 4.6l version, which debuted in 1993, and it has much more hp compared to the 2v that is in the Mustang GT. But there is a lot of argument as to which motor is better, because you can build the 2v motor to handle a lot of ponies. There are several of them reaching 1000 hp.

Anyways, if you want a solid sports car with a good amount of power right out of the box, the cobra has you covered. You will have to modify the suspension and handling, but that’s relatively cheap to do.

The short comings of the cobra are that the internals of the engine can only withstand 8lbs of boost reliably or simply add some bolt-ons to potentially hit 400 HP. if you are wanting to push for more power with the durable iron block that can handle up to or a bit more than 1000hp, you’ll have to throw in some high performance forged engine components.

These cars love both the track and sliding around corners. The best part is that you can have the reputation of owning a “Cobra” Mustang.

Here is one selling for right above $8,000.

What are the typical issues?

Squeaking noise while turning due to worn outer tie rods
Plugs get spit out of the head if they are not torqued correctly.
Rough idle due to stuck EGR
Oil leaks form the oil filter bracket.
Coolant leaking from the cheap plastic intake manifold which can be replaced with an aftermarket metal one.
Cheap plastics breaking.

2013 Scion FR-S (25-34 MPG, 200HP, 2L I4, 0-60: 6.1 Seconds)

Image by: zombieite

All FR-Ss in the US came with a Torsen LSD.

Yes, this car is pretty much identical to the Subaru BRZ. The scion is easier to find and cheaper compared to the BRZ all due to the name plate. I would rather have a Subaru than a Scion, but regarding these cars, they are all the same platforms.

Anyways, it is what it is. It is still a bad ass car. It does not pack a lot of power, but these are going to be the next drift missiles and they are easy to modify. And probably one of the better cars to start modifying due to its simplicity. To be honest, if they had a bit more power, I would definitely want to grab one myself. This is probably the best sports car for the money, regarding the year and quality you are getting. Comfortable seats, a four cylinder that has 200HP, LSD, decent gas mileage and its pretty good as a daily driver and on the track.

This one is selling for 8,500 with 116k miles.

But is all this too good to be true?

What are the issues of this Scion FRS?

Early 2013 models had an issue with injector seals melting, an ecu flash will fix this and should have already been fixed.
Fuel pressure regulator failing prematurely.
Throw out bearing going out, covered under warranty.
Oil leak, also under warranty
Oil control actuator going out at about 55k miles. Not an expensive repair.

2001 Honda s2000 (20-26 MPG, 240 HP, 2.0 I4, 0-60 5.4 Seconds)

Image by: crash71100

Who wants a two-door convertible sports car with Honda reliability? Right?! Who wouldn’t?

Honda ended the production in 2009 due to declined sells but If you were wanting a car that was developed by formula one engineers, then here it is. It is a quick two-seater, with great handling, braking ability, and it looks awesome! For the early 2000s, Hondas interior was still relatively cheap, but they were still miles ahead of most American sports cars. The seats are bolstered, the steering wheel feels aggressive and you have a seating position that allows you to truly command the car. Arguable, one of the most bad ass things about this car is the 9k rpm red line. The other is that its RWD and can drift if you would like it to. Imagine your car screaming through the curved roads of the mountains. That is where this car belongs.

Before you mention in the comment section, yes you can grab a cheap Mazda Miata for 2k and sink 8k into it and have a better driver’s car, but right out the box this is a pretty performance-oriented car that is really planted to the street.

This one is going for 9500 with 155k miles. These cars are very reliable and can easily hit 300k miles. To top it all, it’s a beautiful looking car.

Here are the issues:

The s2000 can burn/eat up to 1 liter of oil per 1000miles, so keep a close eye on that oil level. Keeping the engine topped off is really all you need to do. An oil catch can also fix this issue.
Clutch making a buzzing noise, which does not cause any harm to the car.
Cracked retainers due to poor maintenance.
The Honda s2000s value is just now rising, so get one before you cannot afford it.

2000 Pontiac Trans Am WS6 (18-27 MPG, 320 HP, 5.7 V8, 0-60 4.9 Seconds)

Image by: Jeremy from Sydney, Australia

Yes, this Trans AM is wielding the LS1, and can have a manual transmission. The ws6 package has a function “Ram Air” hood scoop that helps cool air enter directly into the engine. It also has a less restrictive exhaust, which allowed the car to make more power compared to the stock form. This car is quick! It is an old GM product, so expect a rough ride and cheaply made plastics like mentioned before. It does have skip shift gear, which is slightly annoying only to help you save gas. Due to the nature of the car and how it is built, it does have drastic blind spots, like the Corvette. Overall, for the money, this car is worth every penny. It’s Very unique looking and it has a reliable LS1.

This one is going for 9k with only 132k miles. A lot of people do not like the look of these cars, but I can beg to differ.

Here are the issues:

There is a good bit of clones so make sure there is a WS6 label on the sticker in the door jam, if it is not there, it is a clone.
Plastics in the interior breaking due to harsh sunlight
The drivetrain was built to handle its power for a long time, so the main components that may need replacing is the suspension and bushing, if it has not already been done.
it’s an LS engine, so expect it to be reliable if it has been maintained.

Guys, that is about it. All these cars are reliable and you can find them under 10k. The Trans am and the Honda may take time to find a good deal, but patience is virtue.

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