13 Celebrity Cars You Can Afford

Celebrities love spending money on cars. There’s 18-year-old Kylie Jenner and her $320,000 Rolls-Royce Ghost. The month Charlie Sheen reportedly racked up an $800,000 bill to buy four new cars.

And the total worth of Floyd Mayweather’s garage has so many zeroes, adding up the cost of all the cars will break your calculator (last estimate: $15 million).

But not every member of the rich and famous elite lives such an extravagant lifestyle. Many celebrities seem to prefer practical – and less expensive – rides. The list is full of surprises, including a Toyota Prius (picked for its man purse-like qualities) and a 1992 Ford Taurus that remains a permanent fixture in one celebrity’s garage. With price tags below $70,000, here are 13 affordable cars that celebrities drive – and you can too.

NBA star LeBron James owns some pretty pricey wheels. With an eye for exotics, James has stocked his garage with cars like a Lamborghini Aventador, Ferrari 458 Spider, and a Maybach 57S. But one of his newer editions – though still foreign – costs far less.

James is the proud owner of a Kia K900, which has a starting price of $49,000. It should be noted that James is also a brand ambassador for Kia’s luxury car. But even before this partnership was announced, James was tweeting his love for this car. With a starting price of $49,000, the K900 is more affordable than many of its large luxury rivals, including the Mercedes-Benz CLS and Hyundai Equus.

Colin Farrell – the Irish-born actor known for his profanity-rich vocabulary and laid-back attitude – seems right at home in his 1996 full-size Ford Bronco. His SUV is about as uncomplicated as they come, wearing what is likely its original paint and sporting no obvious upgrades.

1996 marked the last year Ford made the Bronco. However, upcoming changes within the carmaker’s factories suggests Ford is likely making room to start building a new Bronco. If you don’t want to wait a few years for the new Bronco, Ford has plenty of other affordable large SUVs, including the Flex, Explorer, and Expedition.

Don’t let the beard and camouflage deceive you. Willie Robertson, reality star of “Duck Dynasty,” is far from dirt poor. As the CEO of Duck Commander, his net worth has been estimated at around $20 million. But Robertson doesn’t appear to let his wealth affect his taste in transportation.

Robertson loves his 2014 Ford F-150 (a new F-150 starts at $26,540). “It’s a great truck,” he said in an interview with Motor Trend. “I like the way it drives.” Robertson also appreciates all the storage the F-150 offers, though he supplemented the space with a storage compartment called a truck vault. “I can put ammo, guns, and extra clothes, and I can have it secure when I’m driving around,” explained Robertson. “And then, once you get out of hunting mode, all my hunting stuff comes out of it.”

Martial arts fighter Ronda Rousey says her dream car is the high-performance BMW X6 M – a $102,200 luxury-grade SUV powered by a 567-horsepower, twin-turbocharged V8 engine. One of her previous cars was its polar opposite: a practical (and affordable) 2005 Honda Accord.

Rousey actual lived in her Accord for a short period, struggling to makes ends meet in her post-Olympic days. Her family sold the sedan on eBay last summer. And the Accord’s as-is condition meant it came with an array of Rousey’s personal effects. “There are many of Ronda’s personal belongings inside the car including medals, UFC programs from past events, patches, hats, and all kinds of random Ronda items,” her family noted in the eBay listing. “Every time you open the door, it’s is like an archeological dig.” You can buy a new Accord for as little as $22,205.

Comedian and TV host Conan O’Brien has a sentimental attachment to his 1992 Ford Taurus SHO. Maybe that’s because this metallic green four-door was O’Brien’s ride to work when “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” was launched in 1993.

The Taurus was still in O’Brien’s driveway almost 20 years later – coated with a protective layer of dust – when Steve Kroft stopped by to interview O’Brien for “60 Minutes.” “In its day, this was quite a sexy car,” O’Brien tells Kroft, conceding that he still occasionally drives the Taurus. You can have a new 2016 Taurus for as little as $27,110, with the Super High Output (SHO) version starting at $40,275. Sorry, it’s not available in metallic green.

John Taylor is no stranger to the exotic and alluring. These were integral to the identity of Taylor’s band, Duran Duran. Music videos of the band’s biggest hits typically flashed tropical waters, steamy jungles, and scantily clad women across the screen.

Taylor still has an eye for sexy lines, as evidenced by his recent purchase of a Jaguar F-Type. “Oh, God, I like so many things about my car,” said Taylor in an Architectural Digest interview. “It’s the styling, the shape, the bodywork. It’s a Jaguar F-Type, and the lines are divine. I call it Foxy – let’s put it that way.” Though Taylor calls the Jaguar his biggest extravagance, the F-Type is one of the more affordable luxury sports cars. You can pick one up for as little as $61,400.

Mark McGrath is such a fan of the Cadillac brand, that for his second tattoo, he chose to brand the Cadillac logo on to his right hip. For years his ride of choice was a Cadillac Escalade. But he has since swapped his SUV for a 2015 Cadillac XTS.

McGrath, the lead singer for Sugar Ray, picked the XTS because he was ready for a change. He tells Motor Trend that when he was getting ready to order a new Escalade, he thought, “‘Maybe it’s time to move to a sedan. Let’s have something a little zestier and a little more of a fun driver.’ That’s why I went with the XTS. It’s the smoothest car you’ll ever drive.” A 2016 Escalade starts at $72,970.

To celebrate her 21st birthday, Selena Gomez bought herself something special. “I got a BMW X5,” Gomez said in

an OMG Insider interview. This $54,700 BMW makes for quite a birthday present, though, with a net worth estimated at $16 million, Gomez has the means to splurge even more.

Even so, the X5 is quite a step up from this pop singer’s last ride. “I’ve had the same car since I was 16,” said Gomez, referring to her 2009 Ford Escape. “I had the same car forever, so I’ve waited long enough and 21 was perfect.”

Brian Williams, journalist and longtime anchor of NBC’s “Nightly News,” has a dual personality. On the one hand, he’s a bowtie-loving SUV driver, saying his “base car is a Chevy SUV.” But on the weekends, Williams likes to let loose in his black 2008 Ford Mustang GT.

“I was born into an American-car owning family and I’ve always been a huge stock car fan and a gearhead,” Williams said in a Facebook Q&A session. “I have an ’08 Mustang (with some after-market pipes so it sounds real good) with a lot of horses that I enjoy bombing around in on weekends.” You can burn up your back roads for as little as $24,145, with a 2016 Mustang.

It’s probably not a coincidence that Adrian Grenier’s character on “Entourage” has driven a Tesla Roadster. The actor is an advocate for sustainability and told Vanity Fair he is “waiting for the electric car revolution.” Instead of a luxury-grade Tesla, Grenier’s personal car is a much more modest Toyota Prius.

Surprisingly, Grenier’s favorite feature of his hybrid is not its fuel efficiency. “It’s using my car as a big man purse,” he said in an Architectural Digest interview. “I like having a trunk to throw stuff in. If you want to be spontaneous – run to the beach or go to the park and play sports – you have a trunk full of stuff. Men never get to carry around stuff, so I get excited about that.” The Prius is available in three different versions, with the cheapest model starting at $19,560.

For some stars, owning a Toyota Prius may be almost as trendy as owning a Range Rover. Joining Adrian Grenier is a flock of A-list celebrities with this hybrid registered in their name. Also on the roster are Ryan Gosling, Drew Barrymore, and Leonardo DiCaprio.  

Bradley Cooper revealed to Vanity Fair that he liked his 2007 Prius because it was “much more feasible” than his 2004 Mercedes G55 AMG. His Mercedes SUV is not only expensive to own, but expensive to drive as well. Annual fuel costs for the G55 are estimated at $3,000, which is more than four times what you would pay to drive the Prius the same distance.

As a child, comedian Jim Jefferies loved to play with his Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars. “They were Ferraris, Porsches, Mustangs, Camaros, and Challengers,” said Jefferies in a Motor Trend interview. Now that he’s grown up, Jefferies has his own full-sized 2011 Dodge Challenger SRT8 to play with.

“I love, love the look of the car. I think out of all the Mustangs and the Camaros, the hottest-looking body out of all of them is the Challenger,” he explained. Jefferies also appreciates the Challenger’s back seat (a necessity when he’s out with his young son). “I’ve got my eye on those new Corvette Stingrays, which every magazine has reviewed it as being [the best], and I saw it on the street the other day.” Because the Corvette is only a two-seater, Jefferies opted to stay with the Challenger. This choice also saved him quite a bit of money: A new Challenger sells for $26,995, while a Corvette starts at $55,400.

Grammy-award winner Adele has a big voice. But she favors a small car. To drive around the streets of her

hometown – London – Adele prefers her Mini Cooper to anything more ostentatious. The small car also helps the singer keep an unpretentious profile.

“People think I hate being famous,” Adele noted in a Rolling Stone interview. “And I don’t. I’m really frightened of it. I think it’s really toxic, and I think it’s really easy to be dragged into it.” While her $20,000-ish Mini will certainly help keep her grounded, a glance in the rearview mirror reveals one significant distinction between Adele and most Londoners: her bodyguard following closely in a Range Rover.

Curious what others in the spotlight are driving? Check out the cars of the Oscar nominees and presidential candidates. Since you probably don’t have the kind of paycheck most celebrities are banking, take a look at our Best Price Program to save money on your next car. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter for more car advice and money-saving tips.