Choice of 4 Cars..
Discussion
Boxter.
You can pick them up at most price points now. Roof down in the Alps will be very nice. They do handle deliciously and shrink around you. If a good 'un, will be easy to sell on (and might even stabilise or make money if you get lucky!).
You can pick them up at most price points now. Roof down in the Alps will be very nice. They do handle deliciously and shrink around you. If a good 'un, will be easy to sell on (and might even stabilise or make money if you get lucky!).
Edited by rog007 on Sunday 29th November 09:49
Thanks all for your replies. Definitely seems unanimous on the Boxster! My main concern with the Porsche has got to be running costs, are the repair costs etc as bad as people make them out to be?
TameRacingDriver said:
I had a 172 and was going to buy my mates V6 TT. Nice noise and a nice place to be, but I found it dull. I imagine the same could be said for the Cupra. From your list, I'd definitely be going Boxster.
What about a 350Z or Z4 Coupe 3.0 ?
350Z I do actually rather like - a friend of mine used to own one and got absolutely dreadful MPG from it, somewhere around 21 IIRC, I think I'd cry every time I got in the thing. Z4 I'm certainly open to the idea of, though I've heard they're not the best handling of cars?What about a 350Z or Z4 Coupe 3.0 ?
SideWaysSi said:
Lotus Elise.
Annoyingly, uninsurable at my age Bordtea said:
350Z I do actually rather like - a friend of mine used to own one and got absolutely dreadful MPG from it, somewhere around 21 IIRC, I think I'd cry every time I got in the thing. Z4 I'm certainly open to the idea of, though I've heard they're not the best handling of cars?
Sure enough the MPG isn't great on the 350Z, but they're not as bad as you might imagine. Its quite possible to get over 30+ MPG out of them on a steady run, and the 21 figure is mainly urban driving; thats what I got driving from the west end of Newcastle to South Shields, and mine was a convertible (heavier) with 19" wheels on (heavier), and it didn't get spared the beans. It should be possible to do 21 - 25 MPG in a coupe in average driving. To put that into perspective, I only get around 23 - 26 MPG out of my FN2 Civic Type-R, and I would imagine something like an Integra DC5 wouldn't be much better.Your Clio is pretty good on fuel but most fastish cars are generally in the 20 - 30 MPG range regardless so I wouldn't let it put you off.
I have heard that about the Z4 handling too, but not actually driven one so who knows. I was attracted to their supposed frugality - a claimed 32 MPG average, however, when I've been reading around about them, most owners report getting mid to high 20's. Unless your mileage is mega high, it may not make all that much difference in reality.
Whenever I buy a "performance car" nowadays, I basically expect sub-30 in day to day use, and if I get better than that, great. Ironically, one reason I bought my old 172 was for fuel economy, but it hit my wallet hard in other places so the 350Z proved to be cheaper to run would you believe!?
All the cars you've listed would be good fun, from your list, the Boxster S is probably the one I would lean to. However, if I was buying a 986 Boxster S, there are a couple of things I would do without fail. Check the status of IMS and RMS, particulalry the IMS. If this has been replaced, upgraded I would feel more comfortable. The other thing I would do (without fail) is get a borescope inspection done. The potential for some of the 986's suffering from bore scoring means this is another concern I would want to check up front. If that comes back clean and the IMS / RMS issues have been addressed, I would think about it.
That being said, as others have posted options outside your list, a late 350Z is a really good option. For the money you're looking to spend you'd probably get a decent RevUp or HR model with reasonable mileage and in decent condition. Different kind of drive to the Boxster, very much a mini GT. Probably 'feels' heavier than the Boxster, but in reality that's just the nature of the car. I don't think they are too heavy myself and certainly there isn't significant difference in ability to make progress on the road. They are fantastic value for money and most importanly, really very good fun to drive (cheap servicing too).
That being said, as others have posted options outside your list, a late 350Z is a really good option. For the money you're looking to spend you'd probably get a decent RevUp or HR model with reasonable mileage and in decent condition. Different kind of drive to the Boxster, very much a mini GT. Probably 'feels' heavier than the Boxster, but in reality that's just the nature of the car. I don't think they are too heavy myself and certainly there isn't significant difference in ability to make progress on the road. They are fantastic value for money and most importanly, really very good fun to drive (cheap servicing too).
bockaaarck said:
That being said, as others have posted options outside your list, a late 350Z is a really good option. For the money you're looking to spend you'd probably get a decent RevUp or HR model with reasonable mileage and in decent condition. Different kind of drive to the Boxster, very much a mini GT. Probably 'feels' heavier than the Boxster, but in reality that's just the nature of the car. I don't think they are too heavy myself and certainly there isn't significant difference in ability to make progress on the road. They are fantastic value for money and most importanly, really very good fun to drive (cheap servicing too).
I agree, I absolutely loved mine. People say they lack character, but I really don't see how. They sound marvellous, they look good, they are fun to drive, quick and can crush big distances in comfort and with ease. I'm actually really tempted to get one again next year. It might be worth mentioning that you can get an early one cheaper, they aren't much slower than the HR model, and you can get the uprev remap that will take the early model to 300 bhp and raise the rev limit by about 500 rpm. That's what I'm tempted to do next year as you can get a fairly decent Z for £5K, whereas you'll need something approaching £10K for a decent 3.0 Z4 Coupe, as good as those cars are I'm not sure they're worth double the price.It's also worth mentioning again the Nissan is very reliable and parts are not too expensive, so they are cheap to run in every other respect.
Agree with the other chap on the MPG point. If I enjoy my FN2 CTR, I can get down to 17 MPG quite easily. People go on about the Clios, but I had my 182 down to just over 20 MPG on many occasions enjoying that car. Most fast cars don't do good MPG unless they're one of these modern hot hatch with a small engine and turbo.
TameRacingDriver said:
I agree, I absolutely loved mine. People say they lack character, but I really don't see how. They sound marvellous, they look good, they are fun to drive, quick and can crush big distances in comfort and with ease. I'm actually really tempted to get one again next year. It might be worth mentioning that you can get an early one cheaper, they aren't much slower than the HR model, and you can get the uprev remap that will take the early model to 300 bhp and raise the rev limit by about 500 rpm. That's what I'm tempted to do next year as you can get a fairly decent Z for £5K, whereas you'll need something approaching £10K for a decent 3.0 Z4 Coupe, as good as those cars are I'm not sure they're worth double the price.
It's also worth mentioning again the Nissan is very reliable and parts are not too expensive, so they are cheap to run in every other respect.
Agree with the other chap on the MPG point. If I enjoy my FN2 CTR, I can get down to 17 MPG quite easily. People go on about the Clios, but I had my 182 down to just over 20 MPG on many occasions enjoying that car. Most fast cars don't do good MPG unless they're one of these modern hot hatch with a small engine and turbo.
I am sligtly biased, I have a 2003 JDM 350Z with the UpRev, which brought it up to 296bhp. Not a massive boost in power, as you know, only with Super/turbo charging will you get massive gains. The best thing about the UpRev was the throttle response, it really sharpened that up and makes the car a lot keener (not sure that's a word?) through the first three gears.It's also worth mentioning again the Nissan is very reliable and parts are not too expensive, so they are cheap to run in every other respect.
Agree with the other chap on the MPG point. If I enjoy my FN2 CTR, I can get down to 17 MPG quite easily. People go on about the Clios, but I had my 182 down to just over 20 MPG on many occasions enjoying that car. Most fast cars don't do good MPG unless they're one of these modern hot hatch with a small engine and turbo.
I have to admit.....I've been very tempted to buy another one even whilst I still have this one!
bockaaarck said:
All the cars you've listed would be good fun, from your list, the Boxster S is probably the one I would lean to. However, if I was buying a 986 Boxster S, there are a couple of things I would do without fail. Check the status of IMS and RMS, particulalry the IMS. If this has been replaced, upgraded I would feel more comfortable. The other thing I would do (without fail) is get a borescope inspection done. The potential for some of the 986's suffering from bore scoring means this is another concern I would want to check up front. If that comes back clean and the IMS / RMS issues have been addressed, I would think about it.
.
Bore score is only really an issue with the Boxster & Cayman S 3.4, so not a problem with the 986 in any form. IMS upgrade is definitely recommended as the first piece of preventative maintenance when you get the car. It doesn't cost a fortune, and removes a potential source of a self-destructing engine..
Just remember though, if buying a Porsche, it comes with Porsche running costs. These really aren't as bad as you might think - especially when you're going to a decent Indy for service & repair. Even the last 986s are eleven years old now, so expect to have to replace parts over the next few years, especially cooling system hoses and suspension parts - but this doesn't have to be all at once or prohibitively expensive.
bockaaarck said:
I am sligtly biased, I have a 2003 JDM 350Z with the UpRev, which brought it up to 296bhp. Not a massive boost in power, as you know, only with Super/turbo charging will you get massive gains. The best thing about the UpRev was the throttle response, it really sharpened that up and makes the car a lot keener (not sure that's a word?) through the first three gears.
I think I read that as standard, the first three gears are limited in power for some reason, and the remap removes this, so I'm not surprised it feels a lot stronger. I think the Zed is hard to beat for the money really, 300 bhp coupe with reasonable running costs and high reliability for £5K is a good thing! I only got rid of mine because I was at that time doing as many as 50 miles a day and was worried about my future employment at that time. Now things are steady I will likely look into getting another.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff