BMW Z4. You want the convertible for those blasts down I-10 on the weekend. You want your kids to be jealous. It has the room, it has air, they are at the bottom of the depreciation curve.  

My thought exactly!

To buy surplus military (USA) equipment google DRMO sales. for all other gov’t surplus it’s the GSA. You’ll never know what’s for sales. I’ve seen everything from pencils to aircraft carriers on those sites.

One of the biggest problems with the current “pickup” offerings is that they are too big and brawny. My 1987 Nissan had a full sized bed on a fairly small truck (although not as small as my mid-70's Datsun). It was reliable (sold at 225,000 miles and still running), fairly good off road, carried a great load, and got…

I’d get a Nissan Frontier. Two wheel drive, because you really don’t need 4x4. Cheaper than a Toyota and drives more like a car. Can carry a canoe/kayak/boat or all the gear you need for a week in the deep woods. 4 cyl engine is almost impossible to wear out. Very good manual transmission. King cab if you want to haul…

Not only that but it’s the most likely to appreciate in value, run well, and impress the girls. That’s a ride you could take to Napa Valley for a weekend and people would think you belonged.

Except for galactic hitchhikers...

The sad part if this is there’s no way most of the cars mentioned could be made to retail anywhere near $15,000. Look at the specs and quality of a car in that bracket today.