What car - £15k, fun, minimum depreciation

[ali4390]

Come January I'll be looking to change cars and am after some ideas to see if there's anything I've overlooked.

I'll have about £15k to spend and very little other requirements. Primarily it needs to be fun - I'm thinking 250BHP+ and RWD. Preferably it won't cost an absolute fortune to run, it will be a daily driver so no Caterhams etc, I don't need more than 2 seats. I'm coming from a new Fiesta ST which puts a smile on my face everytime I drive it. I had a Z4 Coupe before that which again was fantastic so it needs to live up to these two cars.

Current thoughts:
- Z4 Coupe/Z4 M Coupe - I loved my last one, it had great performance with reasonable costs, looked absolutely fantastic, sounded great and was generally great. The only thing stopping me is the fact I've already had one and so wouldn't mind fancy trying something different.
- Cayman - The look of these is starting to grow on me and everything I read is positive (ignoring typical Porsche engine worries). I could just about get into an early Gen 1 Cayman S which is the one I'd want but at this price they are getting into higher miles. Whilst I typically buy on condition rather than mileage, I'm aware that new clutches etc bring big bills with these sorts of cars.

I've also considered Boxster, Elise, Europa etc but don't know a huge amount about them. Am I missing anything blindingly obvious?!

Thanks!

ETA: I'll be getting a job car in 9-12 months when this car will be going so if it doesn't appreciate a huge amount in that time, that would be fantastic!!

[lewisf182]

Think if your looking for minimum depreciation over 9 months it has to be some form of Elise. A few Exige 190's have headed towards £15k recently

[JDMDrifter]

370z - Would be top of my list as they are very nice cars, although I think depreciation and running costs are rather hard on these

Audi S5 - A lot of car for the money and it has a V8, again running costs will be abit steep

Not the most sensible suggestions I know but 2 very nice motors.

[wemorgan]

Also ~£17k buys a Lotus Europa.

[T1547]

z4 coupe probably best fits the bill tbh. Could get the M to be different to last time

[ikarl]

minimum depreciation..... Clio V6

[ali4390]

JDMDrifter said:

370z - Would be top of my list as they are very nice cars, although I think depreciation and running costs are rather hard on these

Audi S5 - A lot of car for the money and it has a V8, again running costs will be abit steep

Not the most sensible suggestions I know but 2 very nice motors.

Both good suggestions and both cars I have considered but dismissed. I appreciate the enging the S5 is awesome but I don't need or want a car that big and, dare I say it, plain. I'd rather an RS4 but they are slightly out of budget and running costs would be quite high.

If I was to go for a car like that it would be an E90 M3.

[ali4390]

ikarl said:

minimum depreciation..... Clio V6

Now that is something I hadn't thought of. I pass a Liquid Yellow everyday and it looks fantastic, good suggestion!

Forgot to mention a Z3 M Coupe is another contender.

[Boydie88]

That sort of money will buy a Stage 4 VX220 turbo if you want some seriously frightening levels of speed.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/v...

Or a VXR8 for some V8 fun http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/v...

[Fat Albert]

Porsche 968 Club Sport would be immense fun and might even appreciate a little over that time, 964s seem a good buy too

944 Turbos are inching up also

[ali4390]

That VX220 looks mental!! The VXR8 doesn't do anything for me to be honest.

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b... however makes me have very naughty thoughts.

[LP670]

Id agree with the Elise S2 suggestion and if it were my money id be looking specifically at a 111S moodel.

[Dusty964]

968 club sport....
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/p...

[TurboBlue]

Renault Clio V6 255

[roystinho]

Use my Clio V6 every day for the little commute. Certainly makes it more fun. As for depreciation, what depreciation?;)

[ali4390]

Dusty964 said:

968 club sport....
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/p...

Again, these don't do anything for me.

Without having driven either, the Z3 M Coupe would win my heart over the Clio I think.

The Exige suggestion was a very good one...http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/lotus/exige-s2/lotus-exige-16v-190-touring-2004/1804401#

[jamieduff1981]

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

[lewisf182]

ali4390 said:

Again, these don't do anything for me.

Without having driven either, the Z3 M Coupe would win my heart over the Clio I think.

The Exige suggestion was a very good one...http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/lotus/exige-s2/lotus-exige-16v-190-touring-2004/1804401#

Jesus that Exige is stunning. Tbh it's hard to go wrong in this price bracket as they are all fantastic cars in their own ways? As said, for me though it would be an exige for something completely different

[ali4390]

jamieduff1981 said:

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

I would love a TVR of any description, I just don't want it to be useless as a daily driver and taint the brand for me. I don't buy all the scaremongering surrounding them but there is no question that they do have some reliability issues.

[Zoobeef]

VX220T with lots of mods or VXR220.