There has never been a better time to be a filthy rich automotive enthusiast. From the $3 million Gordon Murray T.50, perhaps the most pedigreed and purist-oriented hypercar in human history, to the astounding new $5.5 million Bugatti Tourbillon with its purely mechanical instrument cluster and 276-mph top speed, the diversity and sheer opulence of upscale performance cars are greater than ever before. So if you’ve recently won the lottery or found a flash drive filled with Bitcoin, you can stop reading this article and go shopping. 

Alright, now that those folks are gone, let’s talk about a situation that isn’t quite as well-known: It’s also a pretty good time to be an enthusiast on a budget. The used-car bubble of 2020-24 has well and truly burst. A broad variety of interesting new vehicles has the dealer auctions and second-hand lots filling with inventory. And the return-to-office mandates have a lot of people reluctantly trading in their COVID dream cars for something better suited to the daily grind.