Mission Impossible: Stylish 4 Seat Coupe/Conv for £7.5KIsh?
Discussion
Mid life Crisis time!
Thinking of changing my 2003 Honda Accord 2.4 Type-S Petrol Manual for a Stylish Coupe or Convertible but the Accord's a tough act to follow; Runs like a Swiss watch, Lovely ride, superb seats, slick gearbox, goes pretty well & it never goes wrong. Ever
5 minutes on http://www.reliabilityindex.com/ & a few forums & often cars I thought would be great in fact go wrong quite a bit & could clean me out in repair bills
I know I'm asking a lot but here's the criteria
- Proper 4 seats (not a shelf!) Could be the biggest hurdle
- Petrol only - don't fancy an oil burner
- Reliable & ok as daily drive
- If convertible the roof mechanism must be reliable - read horror stories
- Reasonable Service & Parts costs
- Subjective but Tax / Insurance not too outrageous!
- Right Hand Drive
- Uk no Imports
- No offset pedals ( seems lots of German cars E.g. Audi can be)
Few of my dream cars:- Esprit S3, Porsche 928, Ferrari 308 & 512 BB, Lambo Huracan / Gallardo, Ferrari 458 Italia, Maserati Quattroporte
Back on planet earth :-) Few ideas:-
Alfa Romeo GT 3.2 2dr [ Want. But it's going to break isn't it...Nothing great about being broken down even if it looks amazing]
Maserati 3200 3.2 GT 2dr [ Want!! Presume maintainance & insurance will be way out of my price range...]
Audi S4 / S4 Convertible [ 2004 model V8 is cheaper tax :-) Insurance may be too high & I've read plenty of issues on forums ]
Merc CLK320 CLK500 CLK55 [ Always fancied a Merc tho running costs & insurance may be too high plus there seems to be certain years where they weren't that well built ]
Volvo C70 T5 Convertible [ Like. Only worry is will the folding roof pack in? ]
VW EOS Convertible 3.2 V6 [ Decent quality but again worry is will the folding roof pack in? heard stories. Had loads of Golfs & yes good but my Honda has been better in every way ]
Confused!
Any ideas welcome
Thinking of changing my 2003 Honda Accord 2.4 Type-S Petrol Manual for a Stylish Coupe or Convertible but the Accord's a tough act to follow; Runs like a Swiss watch, Lovely ride, superb seats, slick gearbox, goes pretty well & it never goes wrong. Ever
5 minutes on http://www.reliabilityindex.com/ & a few forums & often cars I thought would be great in fact go wrong quite a bit & could clean me out in repair bills
I know I'm asking a lot but here's the criteria
- Proper 4 seats (not a shelf!) Could be the biggest hurdle
- Petrol only - don't fancy an oil burner
- Reliable & ok as daily drive
- If convertible the roof mechanism must be reliable - read horror stories
- Reasonable Service & Parts costs
- Subjective but Tax / Insurance not too outrageous!
- Right Hand Drive
- Uk no Imports
- No offset pedals ( seems lots of German cars E.g. Audi can be)
Few of my dream cars:- Esprit S3, Porsche 928, Ferrari 308 & 512 BB, Lambo Huracan / Gallardo, Ferrari 458 Italia, Maserati Quattroporte
Back on planet earth :-) Few ideas:-
Alfa Romeo GT 3.2 2dr [ Want. But it's going to break isn't it...Nothing great about being broken down even if it looks amazing]
Maserati 3200 3.2 GT 2dr [ Want!! Presume maintainance & insurance will be way out of my price range...]
Audi S4 / S4 Convertible [ 2004 model V8 is cheaper tax :-) Insurance may be too high & I've read plenty of issues on forums ]
Merc CLK320 CLK500 CLK55 [ Always fancied a Merc tho running costs & insurance may be too high plus there seems to be certain years where they weren't that well built ]
Volvo C70 T5 Convertible [ Like. Only worry is will the folding roof pack in? ]
VW EOS Convertible 3.2 V6 [ Decent quality but again worry is will the folding roof pack in? heard stories. Had loads of Golfs & yes good but my Honda has been better in every way ]
Confused!
Any ideas welcome
You might just be able to get a BMW 6 Series for that, it's bottom end of the market though I would imagine.
In all honesty, nothing you've listed or that I can think of will match the Honda for reliability but very few of them will be likely to actually break down and leave you stranded, they will possibly develop expensive problems though. Used cars are always a gamble. Sticking to Japanese is the safest option but I'm struggling to think of a suitable Japanese car.
Alternative idea, keep the Honda and buy something really cheap and fun to run at the same time?
In all honesty, nothing you've listed or that I can think of will match the Honda for reliability but very few of them will be likely to actually break down and leave you stranded, they will possibly develop expensive problems though. Used cars are always a gamble. Sticking to Japanese is the safest option but I'm struggling to think of a suitable Japanese car.
Alternative idea, keep the Honda and buy something really cheap and fun to run at the same time?
danp said:
E46 M3 coupe/cab or 330i if you want lower costs to buy and run.
Thx, 330i maybe a goer on paper but not hugely into Beemers - tons of youff drive them round here especially 3 series - blacked out windows n all M3 would be fun but too expensive to run for me I think. Mate had an M3 & an M3 CSL cost him a fortune to run just in tyres & Insurance. He's now got a chipped 335D which goes like stink & holds the road well but the ride is rock hard & I thought the seats were pretty uncomfortable tho i know thats not the point
poing said:
You might just be able to get a BMW 6 Series for that, it's bottom end of the market though I would imagine.
In all honesty, nothing you've listed or that I can think of will match the Honda for reliability but very few of them will be likely to actually break down and leave you stranded, they will possibly develop expensive problems though. Used cars are always a gamble. Sticking to Japanese is the safest option but I'm struggling to think of a suitable Japanese car.
Alternative idea, keep the Honda and buy something really cheap and fun to run at the same time?
Thx. Do quite like the 6 Series (& the 8) but believe the back seats aren't that big & even the smallest engine ones are still pricey - possibility thoIn all honesty, nothing you've listed or that I can think of will match the Honda for reliability but very few of them will be likely to actually break down and leave you stranded, they will possibly develop expensive problems though. Used cars are always a gamble. Sticking to Japanese is the safest option but I'm struggling to think of a suitable Japanese car.
Alternative idea, keep the Honda and buy something really cheap and fun to run at the same time?
Yes it's tricky re: reliability. Bit of a downer if I buy what I think is a better car to find it's endless niggly problems - bit mad to go from Honda to Alfa I guess!
No room to keep the Honda +1 I'm afraid - otherwise I'd probably go for a Boxter if I could afford it
Early ls1 CV8 Monaro can be had for that budget.
Plus points include:
- built proof engine
- correct number of cylinders
- sounds great
- good handling and chassis balance for a big GT
- genuine (and spacious) 4 seater
- depreciation proof
- cheap insurance and servicing
- rare and not likely to be driven by anyone other than petrolheads
- great owners club
- huge tuning potential
Plus points include:
- built proof engine
- correct number of cylinders
- sounds great
- good handling and chassis balance for a big GT
- genuine (and spacious) 4 seater
- depreciation proof
- cheap insurance and servicing
- rare and not likely to be driven by anyone other than petrolheads
- great owners club
- huge tuning potential
dme123 said:
C70 roof is as reliable as they come, very few horror stories and my Volvo specialist said the only issue they had was when some fool fiddled about with it themselves. It's heavy though, and no sports car. Hard to find a manual T5 and the autobox isn't brilliant.
Thx. Sounds positive... Always liked Volvo - great cabins & seats - nearly bought an S60 instead of the Honda but on closer inspection the in dash CD changer was bust when the guy said everything worked! so I walked away...Always had manuals & my preference would be for a manual but I'm starting to think a decent Auto / DSG / flappy paddle effort would be nice for when u get stuck in traffic...
Don't want to get saddled with a sluggish auto box tho I guess that could be really irritating - thx for the heads up about the C70 box
Codswallop said:
Early ls1 CV8 Monaro can be had for that budget.
Plus points include:
- built proof engine
- correct number of cylinders
- sounds great
- good handling and chassis balance for a big GT
- genuine (and spacious) 4 seater
- depreciation proof
- cheap insurance and servicing
- rare and not likely to be driven by anyone other than petrolheads
- great owners club
- huge tuning potential
Interesting! Had wondered about them but assumed costs would be epic - it's £500 Tax Plus points include:
- built proof engine
- correct number of cylinders
- sounds great
- good handling and chassis balance for a big GT
- genuine (and spacious) 4 seater
- depreciation proof
- cheap insurance and servicing
- rare and not likely to be driven by anyone other than petrolheads
- great owners club
- huge tuning potential
How can a 6Litre V8 be cheap insurance? (Great if they are)
Cheapest on Autotrader is £13K at the mo but I'll keep my eye out
silvertypes said:
Interesting! Had wondered about them but assumed costs would be epic - it's £500 Tax
How can a 6Litre V8 be cheap insurance? (Great if they are)
Cheapest on Autotrader is £13K at the mo but I'll keep my eye out
CV8 uses the 5.7l V8. No idea why insurance its cheap, but when I was doing quotes it was considerably less than Honda S2000s, 350z, m3 etc.How can a 6Litre V8 be cheap insurance? (Great if they are)
Cheapest on Autotrader is £13K at the mo but I'll keep my eye out
Cars registered pre march 2006 fall under the old road tax structure so only £280 odd per year.
If you are seriously interested in buying one, it's good to get on the Monaro sub forum on pistonheads as good Monaros often sell without adverts going up.
Codswallop said:
CV8 uses the 5.7l V8. No idea why insurance its cheap, but when I was doing quotes it was considerably less than Honda S2000s, 350z, m3 etc.
Cars registered pre march 2006 fall under the old road tax structure so only £280 odd per year.
If you are seriously interested in buying one, it's good to get on the Monaro sub forum on pistonheads as good Monaros often sell without adverts going up.
Weird about the Insurance...but in a good wayCars registered pre march 2006 fall under the old road tax structure so only £280 odd per year.
If you are seriously interested in buying one, it's good to get on the Monaro sub forum on pistonheads as good Monaros often sell without adverts going up.
- Thats about the same tax i pay for the Accord so i cld live with that. I know it would get thru some Fuel but thats ok too I don't do big mileage - its all about total annual cost for me & amazingly this is cheaper than I thought it would be
Nice one thx
Get the CLK 500 for 7.5k you'll get a better car for your cash than the 55 AMG they're practical 4 Seats the rears fold down if you need the extra room I've had four & still own Two I can't fault them the running costs aren't huge parts are very reasonable message me if you'd like more details. Also for the money you're looking to spend that should get you a 7 speed 500.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2004-MERCEDES-CLK-500-CL...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-CLK-55-AMG-/111...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...
These don't suffer the rust issues of the earlier W208 CLK's so that's one concern you don't have to worry about.
Or if you want four doors, it needs lowering but not bad for a four door.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2004-MERCEDES-CLK-500-CL...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-CLK-55-AMG-/111...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...
These don't suffer the rust issues of the earlier W208 CLK's so that's one concern you don't have to worry about.
Or if you want four doors, it needs lowering but not bad for a four door.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...
Edited by ZX10R NIN on Friday 3rd April 11:43
Stumbled across this and it made me think of this thread: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...
Passat CC 3.6, always thought they were good looking cars for a 4 door.
Passat CC 3.6, always thought they were good looking cars for a 4 door.
poing said:
Stumbled across this and it made me think of this thread: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...
Passat CC 3.6, always thought they were good looking cars for a 4 door.
Thx. I was originally looking for a sports saloon & this or the Merc CLS where top of the list but I now reckon I could get away with a 2 door coupe/convertible as long as it has 4 proper seats so that's the main focus nowPassat CC 3.6, always thought they were good looking cars for a 4 door.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff