QOTD: The $40,000 Question

Matthew Guy
by Matthew Guy

With average transaction prices marching steadily northwards, thanks to the outsized Monroneys of pickup trucks and large SUVs, the internet is awash with digital ink bemoaning that the “average” American can’t afford a new car anymore.

We’ll leave that particular fulmination for another day. Now, however, we’ll put a question to you: with ATPs in the mid-$30k range, let’s round it up to an even $40,000. What single car, truck, or SUV would you buy for that sum?

This question was inspired by a conversation at our sister site AutoGuide, where the gearheads at that publication selected the BMW 230i Coupe, Genesis G70 Sport, and Audi S3. Inspired choices. My pick? The current model year Camaro SS.

Stickering at $37,995 including freight, the 1SS trim is endowed with the hand-of-God 6.2-liter V8 engine that makes 455 horsepower and an equal amount of torque. Brembo-branded four piston stoppers and 20-inch summer stickies, measuring 245 in the front and 275 in the rear, help keep a measure of handling once the V8 is uncorked.

Speaking of uncorking that excellent engine, the Camaro 1SS price tag allows for a few options, including the $895 dual-mode exhaust. With still a bit of extra change in my pocket, I’d also tick the boxes for a $215 strut tower brace and $610 front splitter that looks great but whose only functional purpose for most buyers will be to chop the feet off bystanders. In a fit of vanity, I also selected the $145 chrome Camaro fender badge. Out the door, it comes to $39,925.

My biggest beef with the 2019 Camaro SS is the new placement of its bowtie badge on the front fascia. Dropping it below the horizontal headlight line gives the thing such a long face that it looks as if it could use a Zoloft prescription. My suggested fix to Chevy is shown above.

How about you? On what vehicle would you spoil forty grand?

[Images: General Motors]

Matthew Guy
Matthew Guy

Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.

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  • FWD Donuts FWD Donuts on Oct 09, 2018

    2018 Dodge Charger R/T with Super Track Pack, Performance Handling Group, Nav, Beats Audio Group, and Houndstooth cloth interior. Put on a set of Hellcat replica wheels and have the houndstooth cloth dyed to match to surrounding cloth for a solid black interior and, boom, done. MSRP $37.5K. Street price after incentives probably $5K less. That is downright cheap for what you get. Could get a similarly equipped Scat Pack with the 6.4L -- but it stickers at $41.2K with a discount down to $36.5K. Would have to change out the awful seating surfaces, though. Insurance would be considerably more expensive as well.

  • Nrd515 Nrd515 on Oct 18, 2018

    Anything close to $40K would end up being over $40K with tax, etc, before trade in, if applicable. I made my choice in July, a Challenger Scatpack 392. As I got it, $48K sticker, $42K less trade: https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/640x480q90/921/gW9jDY.jpg

  • Redapple2 Let me think here. Big 3 sell 10,000,000 cars in the US in the last x years. Volvo, Toyota, Honda, MB sell 1.000.000. Big 3 have ZERO cars on the hi mile list.Hum: What does that mean? I know what it means.
  • THX1136 That's so cool. This one is close to what I had accumulated with the 84 Shelby Charger I owned. Since it only had a 5 digit odo no one would know it had over 406k. I kept track of everyplace it turned over with only 2 still lodged in my 71 yo brain. If I had taken care of it cosmetically as well as I did mechanically I still think I could have gotten to 500k which was a goal I set for myself. The Toyota mentioned is quite impressive at over 900k. Thanks for the write up, Murilee!
  • Kwik_Shift_Pro4X Nice to see. I like the Top 10 list and seeing "80s Mercedes" within.
  • Redapple2 jeffbut they (gm) dont want to ... their (gm ) pick up is 4th behind ford/ram, Toyota. GM has the Best engineers in the world. (gm has )More truck profit than the other 3 (manufacturers (ford, ram , toyota)). (The combined sales of ) Silverado + Sierra+ Tahoe + Yukon sales = (yields ) 2x ford total (profit from trucks) @ $15,000 profit per. (therefore gm has )Tons of $ (money ) to invest in the BEST truck. No. They make crap. Garbage. Evil gm Vampire. (expound / corrections )
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