Ballin' On A Budget: 7 Cars That Look Good In GTA V And Don't Break The Bank You Just Robbed

If you’re like me, with too many hours logged in Grand Theft Auto, you might also be hard-pressed to find cars that look good without costing millions upon millions of your hard earned digital dollars. This list is dedicated to those car enthusiasts that want to take the Los Santos Car Show scene by storm, without breaking the bank. In a world full of Zentornos, T20s, X80s, etc, these cars are definitely gonna get heads turning towards you.

Note, some of the images below will contain mods that are unavailable in a normal copy of the game. These images are placeholders for the vehicles in general. Also, pricing for these vehicles will be based on fully-loaded specs, without custom paint and wheel upgrades.

Second Note: All of the vehicles on this list can be found around the island of Los Santos, so the price estimates include trackers and full coverage, but do not include vehicle price from either website.

1. Albany Emperor (Fully Loaded $96,725 before paint and wheels)

The Albany Emperor kicks off this list because with a sweet paint job and fancy wheels, you’re looking at $125,000, which in game can be had in a little less than an hour of play. I have one in Hot Pink with a Salmon Pink roof and white walls with chrome Classic Rod wheels and it turns heads every time I pull up to a car show. Based on a malaise-era Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham, this barge can barely get out of it’s own way in stock form, but with full engine upgrades and a turbo kit, it transforms into a completely different machine.

2. Albany Manana (Fully Loaded $98,250 as seen here before wheels and paint)

Think of the Manana as the two-door variant of the Emperor. Also available without a roof, the Manana is a low-slung Sport Classic ride with the looks of a late 1970’s Buick LeSabre. This car is pretty fast when it’s fully decked out. The Manana is another example of a car that can be fully decked out for about $125,000, which equals about an hour of gameplay. This particular neon blue and white example looks the business, and is definitely a great ride to show off to your SecuroServ group.

3. Karin Futo (Fully Loaded $222,055 before paint and wheels)

The Karin Futo is an incredibly fast automobile, and it’s a vehicle that can be found pretty quickly in the city portion of the island. The Futo is great for burnouts, highway cruising, and if you’re quick with the E-Brake, high-speed drifting. The optional Shakotan exhaust and huge wings can turn this humble Japanese coupe into an all-round beast. At $222,055 it’s quite a bit more than the pair of Albanys, but it’s totally worth it, and those decals on the side totally add like a million horsepower.

4. Bravado Gauntlet (Fully Loaded $95,600 before paint and wheels)

“Hello, does that car have a hemispherical combustion chamber?” This should’ve been the ad campaign for the Bravado Gauntlet, but sadly, it wasn’t. Nevertheless, this Dodge Challenger with a pointed nose is a great muscle car to crawl the boardwalk with, and of course blow out the rear tires from countless loud, colorful burnouts. At $95,600 in just mods alone, this makes the Gauntlet one of the cheapest cars on the list to mod out. Not to mention it’s incredibly fast, which is important for getting away from those pesky LSPD cars.

5. Canis Mesa (Fully Loaded $140,000 before paint and wheels)

For those who like finding cliff-faces and climbing up them instead of flying off of them, there’s the Canis Mesa. Based on the Jeep Wrangler, the Mesa can be found in civilian or Merryweather specification. Both of which come in at $140,000 with every box ticked at Los Santos Customs. The Mesa is relatively common in the northern section of the island, making it the perfect off-road addition to any garage.

6. BF Surfer (Fully Loaded $97,475 before paint and wheels)

The BF Surfer will never go out of style. It’s a fact of life. People dig this groovy van for it’s looks and wide arrange of roof attachments. For a little under $100,000 fully loaded, this is another strong proposition to your garage, and it’s definitely going to turn heads at the next car show down on the boardwalk. Based on the T1 and T2 versions of the Volkswagen Transporter, this ride is meant for running up and down the coastline with The Beach Boys blasting. It’s just a shame you can’t take the surfboard off and catch some gnarly pounders.

7. Annis Elegy RH8 (Fully Loaded $276,950 before paint and wheels)

The Elegy RH8 is an interesting vehicle, because it can be purchased online for free in GTA Online as long as you sign up for the Rockstar Social Club. That being said, fully loaded, the car comes in at around $276,950. I say around because this estimated price includes every maxed out price on each item (i.e. bumpers and wings). That being said, it is a fast vehicle, and something that has become a bit of a rarity on the auto show circuit. Based on the R35 Nissan GT-R, this thing is sure to impress, even in stock form. Did I mention it’s also free?

Hopefully this gives you some new ideas, and a reason to pick up a controller again. Although it doesn’t look like Rockstar will be releasing any cheaper cars in the future, this list can easily provide some additional pizzazz to your garage, and they should score you some compliments out on the streets of Los Santos.

Got a cheap ride that I missed? Or maybe just a favorite GTAV car in general? Comment Below!