What sports car for under £10,000?

[Hallsty]

So i'm looking to buy a new car in the next week or two, I need suggestions!
Here is my criteria:

- Sub 6.5 secs
- Not FWD
- will be doing the odd commute to work (want something that is not 10mpg)
- less than £10,000
- Insurance not being more than £1000 (rules out s2k)
- Preferably Manual

What i've been looking at so far:

- MB SLK350 (Annoying as i want a manual, but apparently the auto is the one to go for)
- BMW Z4 3.0
- Porsche Boxter S 3.2
- Impreza WRX STI
- Nissan 350Z
- E46 M3 (A lot are dogs for under 10k)

Any help would be much appreciated!

Edited by Hallsty on Monday 25th May 16:56

[phil4]

doogz said:

Then I take my little MR2 out for a drive, and I love it too much.

I've had 2 of the Mk3, MR2's, and were fantastic fun (covered some 100,000 miles over 7 years in them). Not a million miles of your desired 0-60, great fun to drive, ~35-40mpg, not too bad to insure.

You just won't fit your mates in the back. Something of a deal breaker for some...

[SidewaysSi]

Lotus Elise S1 - none of the others are anywhere near it in terms of fun, feel and sheer brilliance. The fact that it will do over 40mpg and probably has the finest steering feel of any car ever made make it even more compelling.

A truly stunning piece of kit if you love driving and want fun on the road - far more enjoyable than some cars costing 5 times as much.

With the exception of the Boxster, the other cars listed are not sports cars IMO.

[Hallsty]

SidewaysSi said:

Lotus Elise S1 - none of the others are anywhere near it in terms of fun, feel and sheer brilliance. The fact that it will do over 40mpg and probably has the finest steering feel of any car ever made make it even more compelling.

A truly stunning piece of kit if you love driving and want fun on the road - far more enjoyable than some cars costing 5 times as much.

With the exception of the Boxster, the other cars listed are not sports cars IMO.

I agree they're not all sports cars, 'sports' was used loosely, my bad!

In regards to the MR2, they sound great, and i've heard good things about them. Just looking for something a bit newer!

The lotus elise is a good shout, but for my budget I'm right at the low end, I love the mpg, and that they hold their value so well. But i've heard that the elise's build quality isn't great?

[SidewaysSi]

Don't know what Elise S1 prices are doing these days as its been a few years since I bought mine. I would have thought £10k should get a good 118bhp car (in a 700Kg package, it is more than enough for road use).

There is very little in an Elise to go wrong and mine has been totally reliable in the time I have had it. I am sure things may go wrong at some point but no doubt it will be a lot cheaper to fix than it would on an M3 or Porsche. The fact that the cars hold their value so well (probably actually appreciating now) balances it out in my mind.

Depends where your priorities lie (there will not be any comforts and it does force you to think about your driving) but the Lotus is special in a way that the others are not. Of course, I am somewhat biased but even nearly 3 years on, I am still astonished as to how good my S1 is.

[SEE YA]

Boxster a lot of car for under 10k that is for sure.

[SidewaysSi]

For example, a well respected Lotus specialist has this:

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/l...

[Hallsty]

SidewaysSi said:

For example, a well respected Lotus specialist has this:

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/l...

The only thing that worries me is the milage, aren't they 1.8 rover engines? Whats the reliability like with the engines when they start creeping up to the 100k mark?

[orangesrule]

I bought this yesturday...basically had the same requirements, apart from the commuting requirement, although mpg will be around the 20's.

[Hallsty]

orangesrule said:

I bought this yesturday...basically had the same requirements, apart from the commuting requirement, although mpg will be around the 20's.

Nice buy, but i've literally just sold my RX8, so i don't think i'm going to consider a rotary for now.

[SidewaysSi]

Hallsty said:

SidewaysSi said:

For example, a well respected Lotus specialist has this:

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/l...

The only thing that worries me is the milage, aren't they 1.8 rover engines? Whats the reliability like with the engines when they start creeping up to the 100k mark?

That particular car is highish mileage (though you can argue that for the age, it is very reasonable). The K Series is a fine engine provided it has not been tuned to crazy power figures. I wouldn't be worried about a 100k Elise provided it has been serviced properly and cared for.

At the end of the day, it is a Rover engine - if the worst were to happen, you could probably get a new engine fitted for very little (I don't know exact figures but I have seen engines on the Lotus owners club going for less than £1k).

I would hate to think what a Boxster engine would cost. And they do have known documented issues which are far more serious than anything the K Series seems to throw up.

[Hallsty]

This is more what i'm leaning to at the moment, i never thought i would like an MB, and my mates seem to think i've got female genatalia for liking it. But 5.5 secs 0-62, and about a £9k price tag, seems quite good to me?

[Zoobeef]

VX220?

[sebhaque]

Zoobeef said:

VX220?

Came here to suggest this. Fantastic little cars - and surprisingly cheap to run.

[maurauth]

I'd second the Impreza not being worth it, seemed slow to me when I tested one out.

I'd recommend trying out the SLK, the R172 is lovely, although for sub 10k you'd be looking at an R171- not driven one myself but been told theres not much difference to handling etc interior on the R171s is still nice as well, not dated and the V6 is meant to be nice.

There's a really good SLK forum as well on the interwebs.

[irocfan]

If you're thinking Merc why not try a Crossfire SRT (also auto only) probably the quickest thing on here, certainly the rarest and likely the best value. If you can live with the looks....

[chris watton]

Hallsty said:

This is more what i'm leaning to at the moment, i never thought i would like an MB, and my mates seem to think i've got female genatalia for liking it. But 5.5 secs 0-62, and about a £9k price tag, seems quite good to me?

Nothing wrong with that!

Some of the (second hand) cars you can have for under £10k, some even under £5k are incredible, I think.

Edited by chris watton on Monday 25th May 17:58

[maurauth]

Hallsty said:

This is more what i'm leaning to at the moment, i never thought i would like an MB, and my mates seem to think i've got female genatalia for liking it. But 5.5 secs 0-62, and about a £9k price tag, seems quite good to me?

Find a black one and it looks a lot more agressive and less feminine in that body shape than a silver one

also they're less likely to call you a homosapien after you take them round a few country lanes with the V6 roaring haha

The varioroof is also really reliable if you fancy a fair bit of drop top driving.

I'd seriously recommend checking out the SLK forum if you're considering one, lots of advice and things to look for etc. SLKWorld

Not sure if linking to other sites is allowed here but if not please edit this out mods?

[Hallsty]

maurauth said:

I'd second the Impreza not being worth it, seemed slow to me when I tested one out.

I'd recommend trying out the SLK, the R172 is lovely, although for sub 10k you'd be looking at an R171- not driven one myself but been told theres not much difference to handling etc interior on the R171s is still nice as well, not dated and the V6 is meant to be nice.

There's a really good SLK forum as well on the interwebs.

Yeah that picture is of a R171, the only thing that was putting me off was the Auto gearbox. I prefer manual, but i've heard the manual in the R171 is not a scratch on the 7G auto? I've driven the BMWs with the SMG gearboxes, and they were okay, just kept thinking how much i would of preferred it with a manual!

[Frio3535]

Although not on your list in your position I'd go and look at a TVR Chimaera. Look at it, sit in it, hear it start, take the roof off and go for a drive. They can be quite persuasive.