Cool Cars with Chris: Car Talk, Driving Tips & Auto Life Oct 27, 2025

006 | 7 Coolest Used Cars Under $20K in 2025 (That Still Turn Heads)

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Hey, let's face it. Nobody ever said, hey, cool minivan. But here's the good news. You don't

need Lambo money to turn heads. Today, I've got seven rides under 20 grand that'll make

strangers nod and say, now that's a cool car. Let's go.

Hey, what's happening? How are you doing today? Thank you so much for being here. I am Chris

and this is the world famous cool cars with Chris, man. You clicked on the right show

at the right time, baby. So today, obviously, we're talking about cool cars. Do you have

a cool car? Do you want a cool car? What is a cool car? Like, how would you define what

a cool car really is? And I think a cool car is something that not only, obviously,

you think it's cool because you enjoy it. It's cool to you. But also probably just

as important is that that cool car also turns heads when you drive by in it, when

you drive around and someone says, Hey, I love your car, cool car. That's such a cool

car. Or when you park the car in the parking lot and somebody is also in the parking lot

walking by your car and they say, Hey, that is a really, really cool car. And that is

what we're talking about today. So let's imagine that you happen to have an extra

$20,000 to spend on something fun, something cool, a cool car for yourself. Well, you

know, and I know that $20,000 isn't going to get you very far, even with a new, like

regular boring person's car, an SUV. I don't think you can get anything today, anything

new today for under $20,000, like anywhere brand new. It's not going to happen. I think

the average price of a new car has got to be what, in the 30s, maybe even early 40s,

$1,000 for a new car of any kind. I guess you get like a basic boring, simple, basic,

simple, maybe like something Kia, something Hyundai, something really cheap for maybe

around $20,000 starting price for like something basic. But that's not cool. What's cool

about that? What's cool about a basic, boring, simple little car? I'm talking about

something cool that you can drive, that you can show off, that when people see you

in that car, they're like, wow, that is a super, super cool car, something that

you're proud of, they're proud of, it makes you feel great. Just like wearing

a designer piece of clothing. You buy new clothing, makes you feel great. You look cool.

Same thing with these kind of cars and you do not have to spend a ton of money to

actually have a cool car. So today, I'm going through the top seven cool cars that

you can pick up for under $20,000 today in 2025. And when I say these cars are

$20,000 or less, that is what you're going to pay for them, depending on where you

live, depending on mileage, depending on the year. But being that it's a super cool

car, that the person that actually sees you in that car, they will think you

spent way, way more money than that $20,000 for that car. They have no idea

what you spent on that car because that car looks super, super cool. And to

the general public, they will have no idea. But most cars, people will

probably know. So you can't fool everybody with your $20,000 car. So

kicking it off with number seven. Now this car is iconic. This car is legendary.

This car has always been cool. In my book, I've always wanted one of these

cars. And today we're talking about the Chevrolet Corvette C5 specifically

from 1997 to 2004. Now, obviously, it's a Corvette. What is not cool about a

Corvette? They're super, super cool cars. And when you pull up in a C5 Corvette,

people always look. They always want to see the car and who's driving that

thing. It's got that super long hood. It's got that low roof line. It's

got the big hips and that V8 LS engine. It is a serious sports car. Now that V8,

the 5.7 liter LS1 LS6 is going to crank out somewhere in the ballpark of around

345 to 350 horsepower. Let's just say 350 horsepower, which is a decent amount

of power for a car like that. I know you say turbos and new cars can go more

powerful and the new V8s can go more powerful. Yeah, I get all that. We're

talking about a Chevrolet Corvette with a V8 for under $20,000. Now, typically the

price point on these particular cars, well, depending on the mileage and of

course, you know, maintenance and repairs and accidents, you know, play a factor

in all these kind of cars, salvage title, especially. But you know, you

typically can pay somewhere in the ballpark of right around 16 to

$20,000, depending on a lot of factors. Now, why would someone pick up a C5

Chevrolet Corvette? Well, of course, it's a big power. They got that big,

awesome V8 for the money. Now, a big V8 for under $20,000 in a Corvette. That

is super, super cool. And of course, a car is cool. And everyone who sees

that you in that Corvette is like that is a super, super cool car. It's

got that ultimate cool factor. Now, of course, there's lots of aftermarket

support and there's lots of aftermarket stuff you can do with this thing. It

is basically a blink canvas. If you want to go nuts with your, you know, C5

Corvette, you can go crazy with rims, wheels, exhaust intake, whatever you

want to do. Go crazy. There's lots of parts available for this thing. Lots

of cool thing. That's a Corvette clubs you can enjoy. I mean, once

you get a Corvette, you are like in the cool guy Corvette club and you don't

have to be like, you know, middle age, white guy, retired, they pick up a

Corvette and you can pick up a Corvette right now for $20,000. Go do it. Go

get it. Now, here are some of the problems, some of the cons that you

can have by owning this Corvette. Now, of course, like with any older car,

older tech is not cool compared to some of the newer cars that have

like the Apple CarPlay and all the cool fancier gizmos and gadgets that all

the new cars have. You are dealing with an older car. So you have to, you

know, understand that some of the tech, some of the odometer stuff, the

speedometer, most of that, if not all of that is all analog stuff. Not this

new fancy digital screen stuff like you're used to today. Remember, this

is an older car. So those are things you need to worry about if you're

considering getting an older car like this Corvette here and like with

any old car, maintenance can be an issue, especially on a V8 in a sports car

like the Corvette. So here are some things you really need to consider.

Consider this. Avoid getting yourself a high mileage

track car. I mean, those things are going to be beat to death. I know they're

probably cheap. I know you're paying it for a bargain, but they're probably

beat up. Inspect the transmission, gearbox, and rear differential. You

want to check for leaking seals, the engine mount condition, and the

cooling system history. Make sure that service records actually do exist.

Do a car fax or whatever kind of car check you want to do

on the vehicle. But just remember when you do these car checking services,

just remember that not all services were performed at a place that records

these car checking services. So for example, if somebody actually did,

you know, all kinds of repairs in their garage by themselves,

well, I mean, it may not be recorded. So that's something to be aware of.

So if you can find a car like this, check the car fax,

check all the records you possibly can. Hopefully the owner kept actual like

service logs of all the fluid changes, tires breaks, all that stuff.

Make sure it's all been updated. And like with any used car you buy,

always take it into a place to do a pre-purchase inspection.

Every single used car, you should always do that. That way it gives you peace of mind

that it's been checked through thoroughly before you put real money down.

And I think these pre-purchase inspection places really only cost like maybe

two or three hundred bucks. Maybe I know that's two or three hundred bucks.

I know it sounds like a lot of money. I get it.

But it gives you peace of mind that the car has been inspected

thoroughly by an expert and an expert shop with all the tools and all the things.

I can tell you this much. If you pull up to your local cars and coffee in your C5 Corvette,

you'll definitely get the looks. It says I'm serious about driving.

I'm also showing up with some swagger with my C5 Corvette.

Okay. Now moving on to number six. Now, number six kind of combines

two companies that kind of share the same platform of car.

They got their own names on this car, but they're both basically like shared components

and shared parts of a single car, which is super, super cool.

I remember when this car came out, I was like, that looks super cool.

Doesn't cost a very much money. Well, at least back then, when it came out,

it didn't cost a lot of money. It's gone up in price since then,

but I'm talking about the Scion FRS Toyota 86 or the Subaru BRZ.

Flip or flop, they're all the same. If you ask me, they're identical.

Just take one badge off one, put it on the other, the Toyota 86 or the Subaru BRZ.

They're prone to the same thing. And we're talking about the 2017 to 2020 model is the sweet spot.

Now, if you're lucky, you can pick one of these things up for under $20,000.

But what makes this car super cool is that it's obviously a super sporty, compact, very low.

It's got a low roof line. It looks very fast, even when it's just parked.

When I first saw the thing, I thought this design looks very similar to some of the Ferraris I've seen.

And I'm like, it has kind of this Ferrari design. And especially that,

that red color they came out with when they first announced that car.

I was like, man, that Scion FRS looks amazing. I wanted to get one.

Now, what's powering the Scion FRS is a very small engine. It's only a two liter flat four

engine cranking around 200 to 205 horsepower. 200 horsepower doesn't sound like a lot,

but it's a rear wheel drive. It's light. It comes in a stick shift or automatic.

So I prefer to get in the stick shift if you could.

Now, what is a flat four engine? Basically, you have your four cylinder straight up engine

where the pistons fire straight up in a row. You got the V style engine, which is the V6

and the V8s that fire vertically in a V, kind of fire sideways in a V.

And so the flat four takes a four cylinder and takes two pistons, flatten them out.

So you've got two pistons firing sideways to the right and two pistons firing sideways to the

left. It's a flat four engine, which means when they put the engine in that design

into the engine bay, you actually have a lower center of gravity. The car sits very, very low.

Everything sits very, very low. Now the pros of owning a Scion FRS BRZ 286, what do you want to

call? I don't know what you call this thing. It's like, it's like all these different names,

but one of the pros about having this car is that obviously it's super lightweight.

It actually does have a back seat. So you can put things in the back,

things, maybe some small people. I wouldn't say anybody bigger than an adult size,

because that back seat is ridiculously small. It's like a joke that even has a back seat,

literally, because when you sit in the car and you actually get to a comfortable spot where

you actually can drive the car, reach the pedals and do all the things with the steering wheel

and all that, you actually feel like the seat is all the way back touching the back seat

section. So literally anybody back there, I don't know what they're going to do if they sat

back there. So it's kind of a joke to back seat, how ridiculously small it is. But it does have a

back seat. So there is that. So which means you can use this as your daily car. So you can take it

to the store. You can, you know, possibly take kids around in it. I don't know, maybe take your

friends around it. If they're small people in the back, you possibly could do that.

And because it only has that small little motor in the front, little engine that could,

don't be trying to drag race anybody for pinks with your side on FRS. I'm telling you, it's not

going to happen. It is no drag strip hero. But what it can do is that it can be very fun in the

twisty turning curves, like say the back roads where things are kind of twisty up in the canyons.

It does very well with that kind of stuff. You can drift with a thing very easily. You

can do donuts with a thing very easily. It doesn't have a ton of power, but you can

slide it around a little bit and have some fun with, with a reason here. You know, when I get

crazy here. So let's say you pick up your Scion FRS to, I don't know what I'm going to call this

thing anymore. I keep calling it like three different names. Cause it's literally three

different cars really, but let's just call it the FRS right now. Okay. So you pick up your FRS,

you know, um, what are some things to really be concerned about if you were to buy one of

these cars? Like what things would you need to know about when you buy an earlier model

FRS? Well, now some of the earlier ones, like 2013, 14 range, some of these cars had common

oil, idle complaints. So if you stick to say like the 2017 to 2020 where possible, now I know

we're talking about 20 grand here and it's possible that you may not find one exactly

way like you want that I say at 2020 mile for that price point. So I mean, you got to pay,

give what you pay for really. And because these cars were fairly cheap-ish when they were new,

there's a good chance they've been modified. There's a good chance they've been taken to

the track and there's a good chance they've been beat the hell to death. So you really

have to inspect the clutch, the differential and need to check if any kind of like track

abuse. And when I say track abuse, I mean some serious damage to the undercarriage,

like maybe they, you know, damage to the drive shaft, heaven forbid, maybe, you know, damage

to the axle suspension, you know, check to make sure the clutch works properly, it goes in gear

smoothly. That's the issue when you buy cars that are under 20 grand in this category. Cool

car or not. A lot of these cars could or probably have been abused by their previous owners.

You just never know. So like I said before, if you can do an inspection report on the vehicle

and if you can't get that in addition to that, take it in for a pre-purchased inspection.

I would recommend doing that on any vehicle, especially a car like this one.

But if you do decide to pick up the FRS, let me tell you this car is an absolute blast to drive.

It's super, super fun. So it may not be like the, you know, you know, turn and burn full horsepower

and just do burnouts for days and chipping every gear and just, you know, lighten up the drag

strip. It may not pull that off, but it's super cool looking. It looks sleek. It looks

exotic. It looks like a super cool car. And let me tell you, you're going to get people

turning and asking me, man, that is a super cool car. I love your car. And that's what it's all about.

Okay. Moving on to number five. Now this car is very, very cool, but it's cool for a different

kind of reason. I think it's cool because it shares the same engine as another cool car that

I really like. And we're talking about the Infinity G37 Coupe from 2009 to 2013. Now,

you know, and I know that the 370Z has got that legendary VQ 37 engine. And this also happens

to have that same engine. But unlike the Z, the Infinity G37 version is kind of like the Z,

but more of like a grownup dressed up adult version of the Z. It's got a backseat. It's very plush.

It's very refined. It's literally a two door coupe luxury car is what it is. So because it's more

of a luxury car, you get more of the luxury people that drive it, not the kids, not the

tuners. Usually they're owned by adults, grownups, grandmas drive these cars. I know,

it's kind of weird. A grandma driving a VQ engine, you know, an Infinity G37. I know it's happened though

before. So when you see these cars, lots of them are usually fairly clean and usually

not modded. They usually don't have any exhausts or intakes or rims or anything like that on there.

Not saying you won't find those, but I'm saying a lot of a pretty clean,

usually owned by grandmas and grandmas not doing that stuff to her car. I can tell you right

now. So you can find them fairly well kept for under $20,000. Now, the cool thing about this car

is that I actually love the VQ engines. I've had them in multiple cars and it is a very,

very strong power plant. It is a very powerful engine in the mid range. And this car shares

that engine, but it's the same thing as the Z. But instead of the Z, this car is more

comfortable, which means you probably can enjoy it on a daily basis, driving to the store,

driving around town, taking it on long road trips. It's probably easier to drive around

and it feels like a regular car that has a ton of power with that engine. And because it's

probably more of like a sedan, probably more of like a luxury coupe versus say a sports car,

sports car, the insurance companies are probably going to be like a little lenient on that car versus

something like a Z. So it's also probably a little cheaper to ensure because it has a

V6, although it's a very powerful V6, it has a V6 versus say a V8 or a V10 or V12 or something

like that. You get the idea. Most insurance companies see that has a V6. Okay, it's a

simple basic car. Hopefully insurance is a little cheaper. Now versus the Z, this car has a backseat,

a usable backseat, which is actually bigger than the backseat in the Scion FRS, which is literally

a joke of a backseat. This has a slightly bigger backseat. Listen, it's not like it's like the

backseat of a limo. Come on now. It's a sports car, sports coupe backseat, a normal backseat

is what it is, which these cars are a little bigger than the Scion, of course. So they are bigger,

they're roomier, they're pleasure. So you do have a little more room in the backseat if you

want to put things in people in the backseat. Now the downside to the G37 is that I'm talking

about a 2009 to 2013 model. Well, the technology back then is different than it is today,

obviously. So you have to really understand that when you do get a car from this age range,

the 2009, even earlier than that, that sometimes the technology, the interior,

the way the buttons are, the way the radio sits, the way the gauges are, the way the odometer is,

it reads out a lot of that stuff is older technology. There's probably a cool back then,

but it's older today. So if you can kind of get past that, see past that, that goes with any used car

you buy, any car. You have to realize that you're stepping into a time capsule. It is not a 2025

edition. It is an older car. And if you only care about the tech, and you only care about updating

to the newest iPhone every single year, and the newest computers and the newest tech,

then probably buying a car in this range at all, would probably not suit you if that's

all you care about. But if you wanted to, you always can upgrade the radio. You always can go

to an aftermarket Apple CarPlay radio and install it in there. But there's nothing much you can do

about the gauges and the odometer and the actual interior itself. It's kind of the way it is.

I'm sure there are some modifications you can. Do you want to go nuts? Go nuts. But I'm saying

that if you buy a used car like this or any of these cars like this, you're basically

getting a really cool car for around $20,000. Now, things to really watch out for with this

particular car is that, like all these cars, you want to know the actual maintenance history

of this car. You want to see all the records, get the report, get the car fax, get the actual

pre-purchased inspection on every car you look at before you buy it. And this is no exception.

Now, the motor mounts, the power steering lines, and brake wear, these are things you need to be

aware of when you're buying a used G37. But the G37 is pretty cool because I would buy this car

as like my daily go to work, have some fun driving around. You can like hit the throttle,

you can punch it and throw you back. You can have some fun. That VQ engine sounds amazing.

You put a decent exhaust on. It'll sound great. I had an exhaust on my Z. It was fantastic.

So it is a really great engine. It sounds great. Lots of mid-range power. It throws you back. You

can have some fun. And at the same time, you can go to the grocery store. You can take the

kids to school. You can go to work. And it's your regular person's car, which is still

kind of cool to have. Okay. Moving on to the number four spot of the cool car that

you can pick up right now today for under $20,000 and still be considered cool everywhere you go.

And that is another Chevy on the list. That is the Chevrolet Camaro, specifically the 2010-2015

model. Now, why is this one cool? Well, have you ever seen the Transformers movies? Yeah.

The original Transformers movie in 2007 featured a brand new Camaro Bumblebee. It was the

yellow and black brand new Camaro coming out. And it was an absolute head turner. Everybody

saw that thought it was super, super cool. Now, thanks to Transformers, like that movie came out

and everybody wanted one of those cars, obviously. That's what happens. You see a cool car in a cool

movie and instantly everybody has to have that car. Unfortunately, when that movie came out,

that car was not available quite yet. But when it did come out, everybody got it,

picked it up. It was definitely a head turner. I think it still is today. It's a super, super cool

car. Engine-wise in that car, you had a few different choices. You had the V6, which kind of

ranged from like 300 horsepower to 323 horsepower depending which year you got. And of course,

if you want the big bad boy, you get the SS, which had the V8, the 6.2 liter V8,

which basically gave you somewhere around 400 to 426 horsepower and you get those things in an

automatic or a stick shift. I actually drove a stick shift one at a car show once. They had this

exhibit where you had a choice to drive one and they asked me, they said, hey, do you want to

drive the automatic or the manual? And I said, well, you guys have a manual one? I said, yeah,

we do. Now, is this manual in the V8 or the V6? Because if you have the V8, I'm all down.

And they said, yeah, we have it in the V8 version with the stick shift.

You want to take it around the racetrack? Let's do this. And I said, absolutely freaking yeah,

let's do this. So I hopped in the wheel of the Corvette. This is probably sometime around

this year of that car. And I drove it. It felt very nimble. It felt like a big car though

because it did feel bigger. I mean, the Camaro is kind of a bigger car as it is, but

I'm driving that thing. And when I punched it in third, I got out the third gear and I think

I was doing over 80 miles an hour and had that sweet V8 sound that grumble, that rumble. It sounded

fantastic. Now, you can pick one of these things up for under $20,000 for the V6, a ton of them

with the V6 for under $20,000. Now, the earlier SS is possible, but it's only possible

if they're super high mileage versions. That's something to watch out for. With any mileage car,

high mileage car, something to worry about is maintenance and repairs, obviously.

And some of the cool things about owning a Camaro of this era is that especially if you get the

SS, you will be the coolest car on the road with that SS and some sweet, sweet pipes in the

back, that V8 rumbling, that sound it makes, holy crap. That 6.2 liter sounds amazing once you get

it up there. And it sounds great. It looks super cool. Like I said, it can be very hard to find one

for under $20,000 like that. It doesn't have a ton of miles on it. Not saying it's impossible.

It's possible. Everything's possible. Anything's possible. But if you just want to focus on the

looks of the car, the way it looks, if your kind of person doesn't care much about the engine,

which is kind of like a weird person, if you ask me, maybe you only care about the looks of the car.

Okay, the car looks cool to you. It looks cool. Then you go with the V6. You can pick those up

for under $20,000. There's a bunch of them available anywhere and everywhere. Now, let's go

over some of the problems when you pick up this car because not every car is perfect,

obviously. Well, visibility is basically a letter box, meaning that it doesn't have a

lot of visibility in the car. That's one thing I noticed when I drove the car and I was driving

it around and I'm thinking like, man, I feel very claustrophobic in the thing. I feel like

there's a slight window in the back, little windows, and it just feels claustrophobic.

I don't feel like I get a good visibility around me like I could something else.

That's just something you need to worry about. That's a con, the visibility in this particular car.

But let's face it here. You're not buying the car because you want to look around.

You buy the car because you want to be seen in the car and be super cool. I get it. I totally

get it. Now, obviously, this car does have big tires and big wheels. It comes with maybe 20

inch wheels, things like that. So big tires are expensive, brakes are expensive on the thing.

And some of the interiors I heard actually do wear out kind of fast. Maybe they're cheap plastic

or maybe they're just cheap interior things to watch out for. Of course, these are with any car

you buy, especially a used car. Things do wear out and things do fall apart. So obviously,

when you do do a check on the car, a pre-purchased inspection on the car,

you want to make sure that the paint hasn't been mismatched. Maybe there wasn't any kind

of like accidents to worry about any like, you know, big quarter panels that have been probably

tampered with or things of that sort. It's like with these kinds of stuff. The clutch on the SS,

you know, worry about that. That sounds like expensive fix. The cooling and pushing health,

you got to worry about that. And that sounds like another big pain in the butt. Now, of course,

if you can, now that goes with any of these cars. Try to find something that is as close to stock as

possible. I know it may be hard. It's not impossible, but it may be hard to find one that has been modded,

tuned, swapped, whatever, you know, whatever people do. Pip Boy special go nuts, get crazy

with the paint and the graphics and whatever they do and the wheels and the whatever.

It's, it might be hard to find one that hasn't been tampered with. And I get that. I totally get

that. I understand. Okay. So that brings us to the number three, top three coolest cars you can

buy right now today for under $20,000, which is going to make you cool and you look cool and

you're in a super cool car. So coming in at number three is the Dodge Challenger 2015, 2018,

the V six, you can definitely pick up for $20,000. But if you're looking for like the RT with the V

eights, that's sometimes, sometimes you can find those for less than $20,000. And that'll be super,

super cool. If you did, because that thing's got a super cool Hemi V eight. That's right. But if

you're sticking to just the V six, say you pick up a Dodge Challenger because you like the way

it looks. And I think it looks super cool because it's very retro design. I remember when those

first came out, right around the time, I think the Camaro came out with its new design,

the Challenger came out with its new design, very retro, very throwback. It looks like something

out of like a seventies movie. In fact, the original Challenger, the design of the original

Challenger back in like the seventies and sixties actually looks very similar to this design,

but this is a newer car to get all the new features obviously and things like that. So

they made a ton of these and you can pick it up with their 3.6 liter V six, which gives you

somewhere around 300 horsepower give or take. And it's nothing the right home about. In fact,

I've heard some of these V sixes with exhaust on them. People put exhaust on these cars and it

sounds like, well, I mean, it kind of sounds like, like it's trying to be a VA, but obviously

you hear like, that's a V six. I can tell it's a V six. But aside from the exhaust,

the initial design of the car, the shape of the car, if nobody knows the difference between that car

or the V eight or which one, the Hellcat knows the difference. If nobody knows the difference

and it's all super clean and kept a super clean looking, I mean, you can get a cool looking,

looking car that's definitely going to turn heads. But I wouldn't pop the hood on your

V six and brag about that. That's all I'm saying. But if you want to go for the V eight,

you can get the 5.7 later Hemi. It comes in the RT edition. It comes with about roughly around

375 horsepower give or take. Now they are harder to find for under $20,000. If you do find one for

$20,000 and RT with the V eight, you are probably most likely going to have very high miles,

probably well over 100,000 miles on that car. Now the cool thing is that they are a fairly

big car. Like I don't know if I would even consider these a sports car. So if you want to

compare this car to say the Scion FRS size, yes, they bought that back seats. Yes, they're two

doors. Yes, they got that in common. But obviously the challenger is much bigger, much plesher. It's

got a definitely a big back seat with lots and lots of room. The front seats really big. The

thing feels almost as wide like interior wise. It almost feels just as wide. I have to do

the measurements, but it's probably pretty close to it. It feels just as wide as my full size

Ford F 150 truck does on the interior. Like from door to door inside my truck probably feels very

similar door to door on the inside of the Dodge Challenger. So you got that you pretty much

could haul a bunch of people in there. They're probably all fairly comfortable in there, haul

you know, different things in there. It's not an SUV. You can't like open the back,

but you can put like, you know, groceries, all kinds of good stuff in there, take it to work.

You can daily the car and it still looks fairly cool. I think it still looks cool even today

when you're cruising down the highway in a Dodge Challenger, it still looks like a really cool car

and people see it. They turn their heads every single time. I know I do. When I see a Dodge

Challenger running down the road, I check it out. I look at it and I would say, Oh, look,

it's just a V six, nevermind. But no, seriously though, when I do see one, I'm like,

that is super cool car. I get it. But things to worry about is that it's a very heavy car.

It's a big car. It's not a nimble sports car. It is not your side on FRS. It is not small and nimble.

You're not going to be, you know, you know, carved up the canyons in your Dodge Challenger.

It's just not that kind of a car. It's a throwback car. It's a classic car. It's,

I guess you would consider it more of like a muscle car than you would consider it like a

canyon carver kind of car. And of course, the things to look out for with any of these Dodge

Challengers is, of course, they were used in rental fleets, if you believe that. So people

who rented them with any rentals, they are beat to crap the death. People beat on rentals. I'm

talking like driving down the street with the e-brake on, kind of beating things up,

you know, hitting over curbs, going over like three foot drop off curbs, just because you can,

you know, things like that sort, things you need to worry about when you buy a car like this.

So obviously the suspension and the bushings and the struts can be damaged. It can be destroyed.

Like I said before, take this thing over and get a pre-purchase inspection on these vehicles.

Check them out. Check the brakes, because like I said, they could be driving around

with the e-brake on and just beating them to death, heavy foot, breaking the death. They are

big cars after all. So brakes are probably a big concern with a car that's really big like this,

any big car really. And of course, you also want to check out the panel alignment on those doors.

They are very long doors on these cars. They're not small. These aren't small cars.

They're big cars with big giant doors, big long doors. And those big long doors can get out of

alignment if you're slamming them or whatever. Even if they're, you know, in a slight accident,

they don't quite line the things up quite right. The panels don't get lined up right.

Those are things you need to consider when you buy a used Dodge Challenger. But they are cool.

I'll give you that factor. Okay, so we are moving on to the top two of coolest cars you

can buy for under $20,000 right now in 2025 that will make you cool and look cool and feel cool.

And everyone around you is going to say that is a super cool car. Now both of these cars,

I would gladly have owned. I've only owned one of them recently. And the other one is also a

very, very cool car. I saw one of these yesterday. It was super, super clean.

Some old dude was driving it. And I couldn't believe how clean this car was. And I'm talking

about the Ford Mustang GT from 2011 to 2014. Okay. So what makes this Mustang cool or any Mustang

cool? Hello, it's a Mustang. Get with it. Hello, Mustangs are always cool. No matter which year

you get the Mustangs are always cool. Well, maybe not the Mustang too. I take that back.

Yeah, throw the one out of there. But Mustangs are really, really cool cars. And this

Ford Mustang GT is no exception. I mean, you look at the thing. It looks great sitting still.

It's timeless. It's a classic. It's pure pony car magic. And I'm beginning to think that's

where the term pony car came from from the Mustang Mustang horse pony horse. I get it.

Pony car magic. It's unbelievable. When you see that thing, it looks great every single time.

And like the one I saw the other day, it looked amazing. I think it was probably a 2010 model

because it didn't say 5.0 on the side. I think the 2011 is when they got the 5.0 Coyote engine.

This might have been a 2010, but I couldn't believe how clean it was. It must have been like

super detailed or the guy just did some old guy driving the thing. Super detailed,

super clean. It was amazing. And you probably can find a bunch of these for $20,000 or

under $20,000. Now, like with any of these, the cheaper you go, the more miles you're going to have

on the car. So that's something you need to worry about when you buy any of these kind of cars,

the cheaper the price, the higher the miles is kind of the way it goes. So the cool thing

about this Mustang obviously is the sound. I personally have the third gen 5.0 Coyote

engine with an exhaust and it sounds amazing. It sounds fantastic. I love the sound of the thing.

It sounds great. I mean, you pair it to one of these Mustangs and you get, say, a catback exhaust

with an X pipe on the thing and some straight flow through mufflers. Holy crap. It sounds

great. It sounds fantastic. These Mustangs, for some reason, with all the GT Mustangs,

for the most part, they've really figured out a way to put sound, the engine sound, the exhaust sound,

as a priority when they build these cars. Ford, you got it down. You know what's up

about the exhaust. You know what's going on. And so you make these exhausts sound

great. And of course, you can even make them brighter. Now, the engine, of course,

we're talking about the 5.0 Coyote V8. Now, in these particular years,

that engine put out somewhere around 412 and 420 horsepower. It all depends. Now, of course,

you can pick these up in a stick shift, which I highly recommend picking these things up in a stick

shift. But if you can't, you can get it automatic. That's fine too. But there's plenty of these

under $20,000 available. But like I said, you got to worry about the mileage on any of these

kind of cars. And because it's a Mustang GT with a beautiful 5.0 engine, it's going to look great

turn heads. And who doesn't love a Mustang? Mustangs are iconic. They're super, super cool. I mean,

you're going to pull up to your local cars and coffee and people are going to be like, damn,

that is a super cool car. And when you pop the hood and it has all cleaned out because

you cleaned the engine, right? Of course you did, right? Yeah. And it looks amazing.

And it sounds amazing. Yeah. It's a super, super cool car to have. People are going to love it.

Now, some things you need to worry about. Now, there are some things, of course,

that you just kind of cars you need to worry about. And that is, well, it may be hard to

ensure a Mustang GT. Well, maybe not just hard to ensure, maybe more expensive to ensure,

because they know, and I know, and you know that a lot of these are wrapped around telephone

poles. A lot of these end up in a ditch and a lot of these people do burnouts and they drift

with these things and they try to slide a corner too aggressively and then have proper throttle

control or whatever they're doing. And they end up crashing their car. It happens a lot.

And because that happens a lot, when you find one for under $20,000, you need to watch out

for damages and all kinds of accident history reporting, you know what I'm saying? And a lot

of people who own these cars don't keep them stock. They don't keep them original. Most people

modify these cars like with the exhaust and wheels, brakes, you name it, body kit, wings,

you know, the list goes on and on. So to find one that has been totally untouched

is rare, not saying it's impossible, but it's rare. So obviously you need to figure out if this car

has been in any accidents, obviously. Now, some mechanical things to look for when you're buying

a used Mustang is that the differential could have this wine sound to it. Now, if it does happen,

well, it sounds like it's a bad thing. And you probably will hear the whining sound

when you drive the vehicle. And of course, there's always the cooling and transmission service.

Make sure it was service and it has not been serviced. You better get on that. And of course,

something to also look for is the clutch. If it is a clutch, it is a manual transmission.

See if it's been replaced recently, see which play it has in the transmission. And

hopefully it will not go out on you because I've had to go out on me. And it's not fun

when a clutch goes out on you when you're driving down the road, when you have like

frozen food in the backseat and take it home. It's happened. So obviously those are things to look for.

And steer clear, if possible, of sketchy drag builds unless you know what you're in for. Hey,

everybody loves the Mustang GT. And when you pull up in a Mustang GT,

everybody's going to be impressed. Everybody's going to take a picture. Everyone's going to

look at it and check it out. And of course, if you can few revs, rev that beautiful V8 Coyote engine

and with some sweet, sweet pipes on the end, it's going to sound fantastic. Wake your neighbors up.

I get it. I love it. Okay. And that brings us to the number one car that will be super cool,

looks cool. Even today, this car looks super cool. Not all cars can do that, especially a car

that actually debuted back in 2009. Not a 2009 design of a car can still look cool and turn heads

today and still make it look and appear that you have a car that costs way more money

than it actually does. And I'm talking about the car that I owned personally, that is the Nissan

370Z. Hallelujah. We finally made it to number one. Now I pick the Z as the number one car

because obviously I've owned one. But I can remember firsthand on multiple occasions

where I would be driving my Z just down a road. I got a stoplight. I always had the windows down

because I like to feel the rush of the air and I like to hear the sound of the exhaust.

I like to be kind of in tune with the road and the car at the same time as probably I drive

around with the windows down a lot if possible. Anyways, I'm driving down with the windows down

and these girls are walking on the sidewalk. They probably high school, maybe a little older,

I don't know. And they one of them screams out, cool car. I love your car. That's a super

cool car. And of course I say thank you. And another time when I was in the neighborhood

here, there were some kids that lived down the street and I would drive the car to work.

And I said I would drive the car to work. Every day I drove by that house with the kids

playing out front. Every single time I drove by my car, they would scream out, love your car.

Love your car. Such a cool car. I love your car. And on another occasion, I was at the grocery

store, putting stuff away in the car and another girl with her mom, she had to been like

maybe elementary age somewhere around there and she's with her mom and she tells her mom,

I want a car like that when I grow up. I want a fancy fast, cool car like that when I grow

up. And I was like, yeah, that's that's my car. It's cool. And it's a kind of a car that

still looks amazing even though it's older and you can pick these things up for 20,000 or less,

depending on a lot of factors, of course. Now, just like the G37, it's powered by that

legendary VQ 37. It's the V six, a 3.7 liter V six cranking out 332 horsepower. Now, depending

on some trims and depending on a lot of things, you can get this in either the six speed manual

with the sync rev, which was what I had in my car, or you can get the seven speed automatic.

There's lots of automates available. Finding one in a stick shift is fairly rare. And when I

found mine, I was like, yes, it hit all the boxes. It had nice wheels and rims on the thing.

It had the stick shift with the sync rev. That's all I needed. That's all I wanted. So the model

I had was a sport edition and I paid about, I think it was $19,000 is what I paid for my Z.

So yeah, under $20,000 for my Z. I think it had somewhere around 50,000 miles on the car,

but it did have a lot of owners on the car before I bought it. When I checked the car facts,

it had like, I think three previous owners before I got that car. And that's this little side note

here with sports cars, especially if you get into like exotic sports cars like Ferraris and

Lamborghinis, you'll see a car. It might be only be five years old that has like five owners

on the car already. Like, wow, it's crazy because people buy these cars as a fun car,

not as their main car. It's a two seat sports car. So it does not have a lot of room

in the car. And so you have the car and it's basically your fun weekend car or whatever kind of

car. And they usually have low mileage on the thing. I had 50,000 on my car and it was a 2011.

So, I mean, but when they do get over 100,000 miles, they're fairly reliable. They're fairly,

I mean, this engine, the VQ engine is said to go 250,000 miles without any issues,

supposedly that's what Nissan says. So, I mean, sometimes you can find ones that are completely

clean and completely stock, but sometimes you can't. Sometimes and most of the time I think about

they've been modified in some way or another. In fact, the guy who bought my car was telling

me he went through a bunch of other Zs before he bought my Z. And he said that he appreciated

how clean mine was in compared to the ones he was looking at. And I asked them, I said,

what happened to the ones you were looking at? Oh gosh, they were completely modified with new

hoods, wings, and they've been either salvaged title or their wrecked or their automatics or

they got all these issues and all those different things. And they've been totally like crazy

clown cars, you know, modified all kinds of stuff. And he wanted something that was

pretty close to stock as possible. And mine kind of fit that. I mean,

I did ask a few upgrades to the thing, like the exhaust and things like that. But

it was pretty clean and pretty, you know, kept well kept up, basically, because I think some

of the other ones are probably beat up and drifted and hit curbs and trees and telephone poles and

other cars and things like that. So that's an issue with any of these kind of used cars,

especially a sports car like this. So, you know, the, the, some of the cool things,

obviously, is that this car, not only does it look cool, but when you drive the car,

it's very raw and you feel very connected to the car. It's a real analog driving experience.

And I always said that the 370Z was a pure sports car through and through. That's what

it is. It's nothing else. It's not a sedan trying to be a sports car. It's nothing else.

It is pure, raw sports car. You look at the numbers. It is a two seat

mid-front engine, high powerful, high revving sports car, rear wheel drive.

That is a platform for a well balanced, fun driving, fast sports car that looks really,

really cool. It's low to the ground. It's got a wide stance. It can drift for days.

It can do a lot of cool things. It's fun in the canyons. It's great. It's a great car.

And it's actually surprisingly more powerful than you think it is. When you get behind the wheel in

the 370Z, Nissan, with that VQ engine, they know how to throw it on some power. It's got some punch.

It's got some power. Now I know it's not the fastest car out there. I know Mustangs are

probably smoking. I get all that. But this car, it's a two seat sports car. It feels and

looks when you're in the thing. You know that you are in something special. You are in

actual sports car. When I sat in the thing, there are many nights, I come home and sit in the garage

and sit in the car and just kind of like sit and soak it all in. And when I was in there,

just sitting in the car, just sitting there, looking around the interior, grabbing the wheel,

kind of feeling like this car felt to me like I made it. And even though the car wasn't very

much money, it felt very special to me. And I really enjoyed the car. Now here are some things

you need to look for if you're going to buy a used 370Z. Now, obviously my clutch went out on mine

and the master cylinder, which is the hydraulic master cylinder for the clutch

does go out and it went out on mine. And it was a horrible, horrible situation to be in.

But when the clutch goes out on this car, that's one issue it had on mine. So that's something to

be worried about if you're to buy a stick shift version of the Z. And another thing to look for

is the differential in the subframe and the bushings and all of that underneath

underwear of the car because people, they are low cars. I was scraping like everything.

I went over like every little like miniature bump. And I don't even know,

like even like a miniature speed bump. It was great because the car was so low

to the ground. It was very, very low to the ground. And so those are things to worry about,

of course. And of course, modifications and how the previous owner actually used the car.

And you hope that when you buy a car like this, within a used car, you kind of hope that

the previous owner like babied the car and literally like barely drove it and literally

took care of all the service records on time when they needed to be done. You hope for

that stuff. You hope for all that stuff. That's not always the case. So like I said,

you got to go have it checked out by a mechanic. In fact, that's what the kid that bought my car did.

I met him at the dealership and he paid for the full inspection on the car. And it passed.

It didn't have any like check engine lights. All the brakes were new. Obviously the tires

were brand new. Obviously everything came out with flying colors. It basically passed in the

very next day. He's like, here's the check. I want the car. So that's what it took to

buy the car. Great. I get that. And you should do the same thing if you're looking to buy a car

just like that. Now the 370Z, there's a lot of them out there. And hopefully you can find one

for under $20,000. I know you can. If you go over 100,000 miles on the odometer,

you should be able to find one. And hopefully it's not salvage title because I won't look

at these things. And I'm going to tell you, I was finding salvage title after salvage title

after salvage title. Of course there were like five grand or eight grand for a 370Z.

I'm like, that's a really good deal for a car. Turns out they've been salvaged title.

Yeah. That's why they're super cheap. So with any of these cars, try to avoid salvage title

because it'd be very hard to get registered and insured. So that being said, I hope you enjoyed

this cool car list of cool cars that you can pick up right now for under $20,000. And

I'll make you look cool and you'll feel cool. It'll be fantastic. It'd be a great car and a great

ride. And if you do pick up a car, well, let me know. Maybe own these cars. Let me know.

You can hit me up at coolcarswithchris.com. Everything is right over there. Links to videos,

links to social media, and ways to get ahold of me are all right there at coolcarswithchris.com.

Thank you once again. And I will see you on the very, very next episode.

About this episode

Chris dives into seven standout used cars under $20,000 in 2025 that still turn heads and deliver fun driving experiences. Highlights include the iconic Chevrolet Corvette C5, the sporty Scion FRS/Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ trio, the luxury-infused Infiniti G37, and muscle car legends like the Camaro, Dodge Challenger, and Ford Mustang GT. The top pick is the Nissan 370Z, praised for its raw sports car feel and timeless style. Chris also shares practical buying tips, common issues, and the importance of thorough inspections to ensure a smart purchase.

Chevrolet Camaro Chevrolet Corvette Dodge Challenger Ford F-150 Ford Mustang GTD Nissan 370Z Scion FR-S Subaru BRZ Toyota GR 86

Original notes

Hey, let’s face it — nobody ever said “Cool minivan,” right?

But you don’t need Lamborghini money to roll up in something that turns heads. In this solo episode of Cool Cars with Chris, I’m giving you 7 of the coolest used cars you can buy in 2025 for under $20,000 — and I’m not talking about boring commuter boxes.

These are the kinds of cars that make strangers say, “Now that’s a cool ride.”

Whether you're into American muscle, sleek Japanese coupes, or refined daily drivers with serious street cred, this list hits all the marks: looks, performance, reliability, and wow factor — without blowing your entire savings account.

We’re covering everything from Chevy Corvette C5s to Mustang GTs, Dodge Challengers, Toyota 86/Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ, and even a Nissan 370Z (yes, I owned one — and I’ve got stories). Plus, I’ll break down the pros, cons, hidden gotchas, and what to look for when buying each one used.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

What makes a car truly cool in 2025
My top 7 picks for used cool cars under $20K
Real-world buying advice (from someone who’s owned a few of these)
What to look out for: clutches, carfax reports, sketchy mods & more

- Why you don’t need a Hellcat to get noticed
Featured Cars:
- Chevrolet Corvette C5 (1997–2004)
- Scion FR-S / Toyota 86 / Subaru BRZ (2017–2020)
- Infiniti G37 Coupe (2009–2013)
- Chevrolet Camaro (2010–2015)
- Dodge Challenger (2015–2018)
- Ford Mustang GT (2011–2014)
- Nissan 370Z (2009–2020)
🚘 Perfect For:
- Car lovers on a budget
- First-time buyers who still want performance
- People who want cool daily drivers without a car payment
- Anyone searching best used sports cars 2025, cool cars under 20k, or affordable cars that don’t suck
👉 CoolCarsWithChris.com – Show archives, Social Media, Videos, and more!

00:00 – 🏁 Intro: Why Cool Cars Don’t Need to Be Expensive
01:33 – 🤔 What Makes a Car “Cool” in 2025?
03:36 – 💸 Can You Really Get a Head-Turner for Under $20K?
04:08 – #7: 🦅 Chevrolet Corvette C5 (1997–2004)
09:13 – 🔧 C5 Corvette: What to Watch Out for When Buying Used
09:27 – #6: 🌀 Scion FR-S / Toyota 86 / Subaru BRZ (2017–2020)
15:51 – 🚗 Why the FR-S Platform Is a Budget Performance Gem
16:15 – #5: 🎩 Infiniti G37 Coupe (2009–2013) – Grown-Up Power
22:00 – 🧰 G37 Buying Tips – What to Check & What to Avoid
23:10 – #4: 🐝 Chevrolet Camaro (2010–2015) – Bumblebee Vibes
28:03 – 😬 Camaro Cons: Poor Visibility & Cheap Interior?
29:24 – #3: 💪 Dodge Challenger (2015–2018) – Retro Muscle
34:13 – 🛑 Watch for Ex-Rental Damage & Big Maintenance Costs
35:17 – #2: 🐎 Ford Mustang GT (2011–2014) – Pure Pony Power
41:52 – ⚠️ Mustang Warnings: Insurance, Mods & Clutches
42:04 – #1: 🥇 Nissan 370Z (2009–2020) – My Personal Pick
49:07 – 🔍 What to Inspect Before Buying a Used 370Z
52:08 – 🎉 Final Thoughts & How to Get in Touch
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