What are you driving right now? A Honda Accord? Toyota Prius? A Chevy Cobalt or Ford Focus perhaps? Would you rather be driving a Porsche, Aston Martin or Maserati? Don’t dismiss the idea as fantasy; you can find great deals on these cars if you know where to look. Every once in awhile I like to check out AutoTrader.com and see what kind of deals I can find. I’m not really in the market for a new vehicle, but perhaps some of you readers are so I thought I’d share some of my more interesting finds.

Many of you may fantasize about driving your own Porsche 911, but believe that they are too expensive and that the average Joe could never afford one. I’m happy to say that you’re wrong and that you can get your 911 for a modest twenty grand. I’m not saying you can get the latest and greatest Porsche has to offer, but if you don’t mind settling for an older model with a bit of mileage on it, you can score one for less than the price of a Civic Si.

I didn’t focus solely on the Porsche brand in my search. Below you’ll find a variety of higher-end makes and models with affordable price tags. I would caution you to be somewhat financially responsible. The vehicles below are steals at the prices shown, but keep in mind that maintenance may be higher and make sure you get an insurance quote before taking the plunge. The oldest car on this list is a 1997 model and is an exception to my general criteria for this list. My goals were to find cars made no earlier than 2000 and cost no more than $40,000. Also, I only searched for cars within 200 miles of my location so you may be able to find even better deals on your own!

Ok, enough of the boring stuff; let’s check out the cars!

Porsche 911
One of the first cars I looked for was the Porsche 911; it’s a classic. I was able to find some really good prices on some older models and some didn’t even have much mileage. The cheapest 911 I found was a red 2002 Carrera Coupe listed for $20,995. It did have a lot of miles at 115,000, but for a few grand more I found another red 911. This one was a 2000 Cabriolet with just 51,000 miles and an asking price of $24,600.

Porsche Boxster S
Next up was the Porsche Boxster. I wasn’t initially targeting the S model, but I actually found the best deals with those. The cheapest Boxster S I found was a 2002 listed at $12,500. This car had a lot of miles on it though, 127,000 to be exact so I kept looking and was rewarded. For $13,500 I found a 2001 Boxster S with less than 50,000 on it! That’s an incredible price for a car of this caliber.

Maserati Cambiocorsa
Next on the list was the Maserati Cambiocorsa. I was able to find a few Maserati vehicles for under 30 grand; one of which was a 2003 Cambiocorsa Coupe with 30,500 miles on it. That one was listed at $26,550. There was another Cambiocorsa, the convertible version, listed as well. This one was listed for $29,500 and only had 19,000 miles on it!

Aston Martin DB7
In order to find an Aston Martin under $40,000 I had to search for older vehicles so I set the starting year to 1995. After doing so, I found a black 1997 Aston Martin DB7 convertible with less than 17,000 miles on it. The price was a flat 29 large; not too shabby. The next cheapest Aston was a black 2001 DB7 Vantage which listed for $42,000 with 44,000 miles. Since I was trying to stay under 40 grand for this list, I didn’t make this my top pick.

Lotus Elise
The Lotus Elise is a beauty to behold. It sports an exotic look that rivals $200,000 supercars and costs a fraction of that – around $50,000 brand new. However, I was able to scrounge up a used 2006 Elise for $27,800. The car is a striking shade of blue and has less than 20,000 miles on it; what a steal!

BMW M Roadster
The BMW M Roadster may not tout the raw power of an M3, but it’s no slouch and weighs a good deal less giving it plenty of pep for a speed junky. The cheapest M Roadster I was able to track down was a blue 2000 with 90,000 miles on it. The asking price is just $13,991. However, I was able to find a much newer one. It was a lot more expensive at $27,500, but still well under the bar for this test. The car was a brown 2006 Roadster which sports the Z4 body style.

BMW M3
The BMW M3 is an icon. It gives you fantastic power and performance without skimping on comfort. The MSRP for a new M3 Coupe is nearly 60 grand, but I was able to find a white 2003 M3 for $16,800 and it has less than 50,000 miles on it. That’s a whole lot of car for the money.

BMW M5
Is an M3 not enough for you? Why not step up to the next level with an M5? The cheapest M5 I found was a burgundy 2000 sedan listing for $16,000. It only had 59,000 miles on it, but the body style didn’t really do it for me. I decided to keep looking and found a 2001 M5 priced at $25,900 with just under 48,000 miles on it.

BMW M6
The big daddy, the M6. I found just one for under $40,000…and just barely. For $39,999 you can nab yourself a 2006 M6 coupe with under 60,000 miles on it. A brand new one will run you over 100k so that’s saving you more than 50% off MSRP. Gotta love depreciation.

Dodge Viper
The engine in the Viper is a 10 cylinder monster factory and a new model will cost you upwards of $90,000. I don’t know about you, but that’s just slightly out of my price range. What I’ve got though is a black 2000 Viper with under 18,000 miles on it. The price? A much more affordable $33,900.

Chevrolet Corvette
The Corvette is an American classic and while you can grab a brand new one for around $50,000 I was able to find them used for a lot less. The cheapest Corvette I found is just $11,500. It is a 2000 model with 120,000 miles. It’s certainly cheap, but I kept looking in hopes of finding something with less mileage. What I found was a black 2000 convertible with only 42,000 miles and an asking price of $20,900.

Ford Shelby GT500
Sticking with the American muscle classics, I hunted down a nice price on a Ford Shelby GT500. A 2008 GT500 coupe with less than 25,000 miles was listed at $34,000. That’s probably the cheapest, and newest, 500 ponies you can get.

Lamborghini Gallardo
Technically, this doesn’t belong on the list since this car was listed over my $40,000 limit. However, it was such an extraordinary price, I couldn’t leave it out. A dealer in Miami had a 2004 Gallardo selling for $55,900 and it had only 46,000 miles on it! There was a catch though, a big one – the car was salvaged and had previous fire damage. Also, for some reason, it could not be registered in the US. However, it looks like it was fixed up nicely. In the pictures there were no visible signs of damage of any kind.

So there you have it; proof that the dream is not out of reach. Do some digging around on your own and see what kind of deals you can find; the results may surprise you! Good luck!