The £50k classic, convertible 4 seater

[Harry Flashman]

So I have been perusing cars as ever, and, having missed the boat on £60k supercars (Audi R8 V10 notwithstanding), I've been thinking about a replacement for my V8 Vantage, that will hit Lady F's requirements (automatic and room for small children in back) and mine (naturally aspirated, convertible and "future classic" status). I'd like to keep this car for about 10 years if I can: by which time I will be 50.

If I am absolutely honest about this, the ultimate handling capability of the car really is secondary. 95% of my driving is done in London and Surrey, where exploring the limits of a car are not at all possible. Far more important is a sense of well-being and occasion.

There are very few cars in this category, so let me know if I am missing anything. To remind you:
- auto
- convertible
- rear seats, even if tiny
- naturally aspirated, characterful engine
- sense of occasion

These are all around £40-50k:

Maserati GranCabrio.
Aston DB9 Volante
Aston DB7 Vantage Volante

Now the latter intrigues me - they are around the same price as DB9s, which seems odd, a generation older and less well-resolved - but are old fashioned hand-built Astons. And given the way that big Astons of old have gone, desirability-wise, I wonder if one of these would be a smarter choice than a DB9. To my eyes, the sytling is actually getting better with age, unlike the DB9, which looks like a blander version of today's Astons, for all that it was hailed as revolutionary for the company at the time.

Also, I'm 40 this year. A V12 cruiser with a drawing room interior and nice resale value has really started to appeal...

I am tempted to buy an Audi V10 R8 Manual spider and forget about the rear seats, but I know I will use a 4 seater more.

Any thoughts?

[CS Garth]

Sounds like a great choice to have.

This will be somewhat leftfield but I was in a similar position and ended up getting a W124 e320 sportline convertible in Azurite blue. It isn't a sportscar by any stretch but it is wafty in 3.2 guise, easily fits the kids in the back and is a sublime cruiser. I am fortunate to be in the position of having other vehicles which tick the sports car box but I dealy love the 124 and at 10k it was a bargain

[sato]

The window when small children fit in 2+2 rear seats is miniscule.
Child seats are so bulky now that they just won't fit, and by the time children are into the more slimline booster seats they will almost certainly be too tall to fit anyway.

Does it need to be a convertible?
Children burn in the sun easily and dont like wind/noise, plus hood mechanisms generally makes the rear seat space even smaller in these type of cars.

[Harry Flashman]

CS Garth said:

Sounds like a great choice to have.

This will be somewhat leftfield but I was in a similar position and ended up getting a W124 e320 sportline convertible in Azurite blue. It isn't a sportscar by any stretch but it is wafty in 3.2 guise, easily fits the kids in the back and is a sublime cruiser. I am fortunate to be in the position of having other vehicles which tick the sports car box but I dealy love the 124 and at 10k it was a bargain

I would love one of these, and I would just keep the V8 Vantage if I bought one. Any issues?

[TobyLerone]

If it was me, I'd see about trying to stretch the budget a bit to one of these.

Just imagine cruising around the south of France in one... Nice.



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

[Harry Flashman]

Lovely, but I think if you're spending £60k, a new world lives out there. Weirdly, at that money I'd abandon practicality, and just buy that R8 V10 spider manual, as the last affordable entry point into manual, naturally aspirated supercar territory, and ignore Lady F's requests!

[_Neal_]

TobyLerone said:

Just imagine cruising around the south of France in one... Nice.

I see what you (presumably) did there.

On topic, something more wafty the way forward. Merc referred to above is definitely appealing. And the DB7 looks horrendous with the roof down, with the roof in a big pile on the back. Rubbish.

[_Neal_]

How about a 911 Convertible? Mate of mine has a 996 (he had two kids, 3 and 6) and it works very well for him.

[Harry Flashman]

Good call! Would prefer a 997, but a last of the line be 996C4S may be a better bet.

Still have worries on the engine reliability front. And someone's point about the rear seats being actually of little practical use has been taken.

[SWoll]

How about one of these?

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

Not N/A, but does have 600bhp, wafts beautifully and has a definite sense of occasion.

[V8 TEJ]

For me the ultimate classic 4 seat cabrio is a Mercedes W111/W112. I know they have passed the £40k mark but had a quick search anyway. Closest I came up with is this:

http://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/mercedes/benz+...

Not a cabrio sadly but lovely all the same..

[_Neal_]

Paddy_N_Murphy said:

As said elsewhere though - rear facing Baby seats really need a proper 4seater to work in the back seats.

This is a very good point. Once kids are forward-facing the world's your oyster (for a short while until they're too big to want to go in the back of a silly 2+2). Rear-facing seats take up loads of room.

[Biglips]

CS Garth said:

Sounds like a great choice to have.

This will be somewhat leftfield but I was in a similar position and ended up getting a W124 e320 sportline convertible in Azurite blue. It isn't a sportscar by any stretch but it is wafty in 3.2 guise, easily fits the kids in the back and is a sublime cruiser. I am fortunate to be in the position of having other vehicles which tick the sports car box but I dealy love the 124 and at 10k it was a bargain

This is very nearly the correct answer. Keep your eyes peeled for the AMG E36 version like this one ( now sold)

http://aston.co.uk/cars-for-sale/mercedes/e36-amg/...

I had the estate version and it was an amazing car. Can only go one way in value

[Harry Flashman]

Oh wow!

[ZX10R NIN]

For me it would have to be the Maserati Grancabrio, I'm bias as I had a GT & loved it, plus just look at it.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

[jamiebae]

I saw this thread and thought W124 Cabrio as well. You could take a chance on an M3 but I'm not sure how desirable or classic they'll be, the same goes for a CLK55 AMG. Strangely it's hard to spend anywhere near the full budget for me - anything at that level has a long way to depreciate yet or is not practical enough.

Even buying from the purveyors of really really expensive stuff you can have this for £25k - https://hexagonclassics.com/cars/bmw-m3-convertibl...

[sato]

Ignoring everything you have asked for, as is the way with these things, your budget pretty much gets an Aston Rapide. A rare reasonably modern V12 which is practical enough for most things seems a pretty good proposition to me.

[Harry Flashman]

sato said:

Ignoring everything you have asked for, as is the way with these things, your budget pretty much gets an Aston Rapide. A rare reasonably modern V12 which is practical enough for most things seems a pretty good proposition to me.

I looked - £60k, really, and I think they'll depreciate more. On the watchlist, though...

[Harry Flashman]

There are a couple of 996 C4S cabs for sale at less than 30k, which seems pretty good. 997 is available too, but perhaps not as special? And don't 997s have even worse occurrence of engine failure?

[_Neal_]

Harry Flashman said:

There are a couple of 996 C4S cabs for sale at less than 30k, which seems pretty good. 997 is available too, but perhaps not as special? And don't 997s have even worse occurrence of engine failure?

Not sure on engine failure etc (you'd want a warranty with either I reckon) but I think the 996 C4S is a far better-looking thing, and looks like values are just starting to turn - so much car for the money. Child seat point holds though.