63 year old last decent car

[Alexcs]

Hey there,

Right so my dad is 63 (I'm 31) he's a fan of piston heads and not to bad on the tech front put posting this would be beyond him.

So he's had an array of cars over the years and is currently mulling over buying his last one as will be too old to drive fast after this (in his words).

It will be his second car so garaged, he likes low mileage and low owners so what would people recommend for around the £20k mark?

So far he has looked at but not been too thrilled by:
BMW Z4 35 sport roadster
Audi TT FSI
Porsche Caymen
BMW 335i Sport

He has only driven the 335i sport and the TT.

[Robert Elise]

Alexcs said:

So far he has looked at but not been too thrilled by:
BMW Z4 35 sport roadster
Audi TT FSI
Porsche Caymen
BMW 335i Sport

He has only driven the 335i sport and the TT.

if not thrilled by above then i propose an Elise SC.
He's still young enough.

[battered]

Caterham or Elise, if he can get in them and wants a really exciting drive.

After that you are further down the performance/comfort/practicality curve. But it's a second car. He can have what he wants.

[Impasse]

63 and he's planning his last whizzy car? Sir Stirling Moss is 85 and still drives the occasional ridiculous car, so your Pops has got at least another 20+ years of being a hooligan around his local B roads. Tell to him buy something impractical now and chop and change as circumstances dictate.

[Goggy]

Isn't the Mazda MX5 is still considered a great fun drive. For that money he would get a really nice low mileage one. Reliable too.

[Alexcs]

Goggy said:

Isn't the Mazda MX5 is still considered a great fun drive. For that money he would get a really nice low mileage one. Reliable too.

Nah he's far to into speed for an MX5 nice suggestion though but he'll save that for his funeral car

[Moulder]

Do I win a fiver?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

[kambites]

There's a number of different options with a TVR badge on the front. A Tamora might be nice?

[StottyEvo]

Alexcs said:

he likes low mileage and low owners so what would people recommend for around the £20k mark?

I don't think there are many more cars to suggest with these requirements, if he's happy to up the mileage/owners/age of the car then lots more special machinery drops into his budget, E90 M3 for example.

[berlintaxi]

Impasse said:

63 and he's planning his last whizzy car? Sir Stirling Moss is 85 and still drives the occasional ridiculous car, so your Pops has got at least another 20+ years of being a hooligan around his local B roads. Tell to him buy something impractical now and chop and change as circumstances dictate.

My thoughts exactly, 63 is hardly old so why is he so fixated with the thought of it being his last decent car?

[Alexcs]

berlintaxi said:

My thoughts exactly, 63 is hardly old so why is he so fixated with the thought of it being his last decent car?

Hopefully this will open his eyes!

Like the merc,

What's everyone's thoughts on the TT or Z4?!?

[superlightr]

if he has never driven a Caterham 7 then he must. If he felt the mx and others on the 'normal' list didnt float his boat then the 7 will either be a cure or a kill.

Sounds like a top driving bloke so the 7 has to be a good bet.

[Goggy]

Alexcs said:

Nah he's far to into speed for an MX5 nice suggestion though but he'll save that for his funeral car

Haha, fair enough.

[Rockettvr]

berlintaxi said:

My thoughts exactly, 63 is hardly old so why is he so fixated with the thought of it being his last decent car?

I would assume that at 63 its not an age issue but probably financial due to a reduced income because of retirement and being on a pension in the near future ???

My suggestion would be a TVR Griffith. Great noise, look good, open top, cheap classic insurance, and should appreciate in the coming years (you should be thinking about your inheritance too op)

[battered]

superlightr said:

if he has never driven a Caterham 7 then he must. If he felt the mx and others on the 'normal' list didnt float his boat then the 7 will either be a cure or a kill.

Sounds like a top driving bloke so the 7 has to be a good bet.

Only snag with a 7 is that it spoils you for other cars. Everything else is boring. M3? Yeah, just a fast saloon. 911? Yeah, just a sports coupe. Even a modest 7 will do this. I also found that diminishing returns set in very quickly with the higher power versions. 150bhp is "wow" quick, 180 not much better, 250 again not as different as you'd hope. They are all stunning. But afterwards other cars are dull, even ones that are faster on paper. Sure an M3 keeps pulling like a train beyond 80, 90, beyond 100, but it's still only a 3 series.

[JockySteer]

Moulder said:

Do I win a fiver?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

vouching for that!

[wile7]

A couple of left field choices? Will only go up in value...and both are stunning to drive.

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

Or

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

[stuart-b]

Alexcs said:

Hopefully this will open his eyes!

Like the merc,

What's everyone's thoughts on the TT or Z4?!?

Tell him to try the Z4 35is, although he will need to up his budget to around 23-25k to get the right one.

I've had mine 2 months and despite what some online journalists mention - changing the run flats to PSS transforms the car in all respects (same with my E92).

If you want to know more, let me know!

[Jasandjules]

TVR Tamora.

[stuartdenton]

A little older than your father but in a similar position so after a little look around got a 05 SLK55AMG very low mileage and immaculate. Very happy with it, however can be a little heavy on the fuel but don't do many miles so not a problem