Aging is inevitable and if confronted with the dreaded midlife crisis, a flashy vehicle is a common coping mechanism. In honor of Father’s Day, car search engine iSeeCars determined the best deals on vehicles to help weather this milestone for dads who have the need for speed but still appreciate a good deal.

“Whether it’s to replace a family vehicle after the kids have grown or to celebrate years of hard work or a paid off house, buying a sports car is common for people in the age bracket known as ‘midlife’,” said iSeeCars CEO Phong Ly. “We identified the best deals on almost new sports cars across a range of budgets to help alleviate sticker shock and restore the feeling of youth.”

iSeeCars.com analyzed more than 4.1 million car sales to identify the sports cars with the greatest loss in value after three years, when most leased cars enter the used car market. The automotive research firm identified the top 12 three-year-old sports cars that have higher three-year depreciation than the average vehicle.

Best Deals on Midlife Crisis Cars

German vehicles account for the vast majority of the list with 10 out of the total 12 models, with the ninth-ranked Japanese Mazda MX-5 Miata and the tenth-ranked American Chevrolet Camaro as the exceptions. Earning the top spot is the BMW M6, with the highest depreciation between new and almost new at 54 percent. Three additional BMW models, the second-ranked 6 series, the fourth-ranked Z4 and the eleventh-ranked M3, join the M6 to make BMW the manufacturer with the most vehicles on the list.

“While German vehicles are known for luxury and performance, they often have lower resale values because they are often leased,” said Ly. “The resulting lower demand in the used car marketplace along with higher prices to begin with contributes to a greater depreciation after three years.”

The other manufacturers with multiple vehicles on the list include Mercedes-Benz with the fifth-ranked SL-Class and the seventh-ranked SLK and Porsche with the third-ranked Panamera and the twelfth-ranked Boxster. “The Porsche nameplate has become synonymous with sports cars, which makes them an attractive option for prospective sports car buyers,” said Ly.

Three-year-old versions of the sports cars that provide the best deals range in price from the $19,505 Mazda MX-5 Miata to the $64,474 BMW M6 showing that high performance can be achieved across varying budgets.

“While sports cars aren’t considered to be practical vehicles, used car buyers can still take a practical approach to buying them,” said Ly. “Opting for a three-year version can result in significant savings and allow models to fit into your price range that may have been unattainable if purchased new.”

Methodology

iSeeCars.com analyzed more than 2.8 million new cars from model year 2015 sold between January and May 2015, and more than 1.3 million used cars from the same model year sold between January and May 2018. Sports cars with fewer than 400 new and 400 used sales were excluded from further analysis. Prices from 2015 were inflation-adjusted by 6 percent to 2018 dollars, based on data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The difference in average price for the same model across the two time periods was calculated as a percentage of the average price in 2015. This depreciation was used to rank models, and the depreciation for each model was compared to the overall average depreciation of 35 percent.

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