thoughts on M6 vs XKR vs 911. £25-30k Budget
Discussion
Hi all,
I'm planning to by myself a present for my 40th birthday back end of this year. We have a Merc barge for family/commuting duties and a caterham for out and out fun so I'm after something that is an 'occasion' to drive. MPG doesn't really matter as it won't do many miles (<5K pa).
Criteria:
1) Be comfortable for a 6'5" tall driver
2) Be able to fit a passenger and 2 sets of golf clubs
3) Be 'special' to drive
4) 'Always start' reliable
5) Manageable depreciation (ie coule keep car for 2-3 years and still worth 75-80% of what I paid)
6) Manageable running costs (ideally £2-3K pa for service & warranty/repair fund)
7) Preferable to be able to fit 2 young kids in back seats.
The budget will be £25k or so.
Current thoughts are:
c.2007/8 M6 - probbaly a cabriolet
c.2009 Jag XKR (5L version)
c.2006/7 911 C2S (couple.. cab doesn't do it for me). Would be a manual.
c.2006 Aston Vantage
Does anyone have any direct experience of owning/running any of these? My current thoughts are the BMW will fit with the space criteria and be 'special' engine wise, but is a big car. 911 is the 'practical' option meeting most of space criteria and being the most rewarding to drive with fairly solid future values. Jag ok space wise, v8 engine note but possibly a little un-special, and aston wins on looks and future values, good to drive but tight on space (no rear seats at all).
All thoughts/comments/alternatives appreciated!
I'm planning to by myself a present for my 40th birthday back end of this year. We have a Merc barge for family/commuting duties and a caterham for out and out fun so I'm after something that is an 'occasion' to drive. MPG doesn't really matter as it won't do many miles (<5K pa).
Criteria:
1) Be comfortable for a 6'5" tall driver
2) Be able to fit a passenger and 2 sets of golf clubs
3) Be 'special' to drive
4) 'Always start' reliable
5) Manageable depreciation (ie coule keep car for 2-3 years and still worth 75-80% of what I paid)
6) Manageable running costs (ideally £2-3K pa for service & warranty/repair fund)
7) Preferable to be able to fit 2 young kids in back seats.
The budget will be £25k or so.
Current thoughts are:
c.2007/8 M6 - probbaly a cabriolet
c.2009 Jag XKR (5L version)
c.2006/7 911 C2S (couple.. cab doesn't do it for me). Would be a manual.
c.2006 Aston Vantage
Does anyone have any direct experience of owning/running any of these? My current thoughts are the BMW will fit with the space criteria and be 'special' engine wise, but is a big car. 911 is the 'practical' option meeting most of space criteria and being the most rewarding to drive with fairly solid future values. Jag ok space wise, v8 engine note but possibly a little un-special, and aston wins on looks and future values, good to drive but tight on space (no rear seats at all).
All thoughts/comments/alternatives appreciated!
contractor... thank you for the link.
I hadn't seen that thread. Interesting that some people think the XKR is rarer than the M6 when I think the numbers sold (or at least the number for sale 2nd hand) suggest quite the opposite. Only 420 RHD M6 Cabs ever sold I think. Finding an M6 AUC in my budget is going to be a long shot I think, so the mondial warranty will be the way to go (need to buy sub 60K miles and with full BMW history). The comments about 6'4" person not fitting in the Jag match with one of my concerns that the XKR might be a little tight space wise for me.
PJV,good to hear your thoughts. The 911 coupe looks to have quite a big more room once the seat backs are dropped compared to the cab as there is an area behind the seats that then comes into play (this space is where the roof goes on the cab I guess).
I had a '06 Cayman S for a while and loved the driving sensation but found it a little too small inside for me to use as my main car, which was the idea at the time. Now I'm after a '3rd' car to fit between the Merc E350 daily barge and the Caterham play thing.
I'm torn between the m6 and 997. I have never had an M car (ran E39 540i and E61 550i for 100K miles each) so quite like the idea of having one. But also worried that the M6 might feel a bit too familiar to my old E61 550i interior wise. Given how great the Cayman was to drive I'm thinking I might fall in love with the 997.
the other factor to consider is that the 997 will fit in our garage, where as the M6 is too long so would have to live on the drive. We have room on the drive so not a huge issue, though I'd need some form of cover as get a bit of tree sap in the summer coming down onto the cars.
I guess I'm going to have to try and find an M6 to test drive and see how I feel...
I hadn't seen that thread. Interesting that some people think the XKR is rarer than the M6 when I think the numbers sold (or at least the number for sale 2nd hand) suggest quite the opposite. Only 420 RHD M6 Cabs ever sold I think. Finding an M6 AUC in my budget is going to be a long shot I think, so the mondial warranty will be the way to go (need to buy sub 60K miles and with full BMW history). The comments about 6'4" person not fitting in the Jag match with one of my concerns that the XKR might be a little tight space wise for me.
PJV,good to hear your thoughts. The 911 coupe looks to have quite a big more room once the seat backs are dropped compared to the cab as there is an area behind the seats that then comes into play (this space is where the roof goes on the cab I guess).
I had a '06 Cayman S for a while and loved the driving sensation but found it a little too small inside for me to use as my main car, which was the idea at the time. Now I'm after a '3rd' car to fit between the Merc E350 daily barge and the Caterham play thing.
I'm torn between the m6 and 997. I have never had an M car (ran E39 540i and E61 550i for 100K miles each) so quite like the idea of having one. But also worried that the M6 might feel a bit too familiar to my old E61 550i interior wise. Given how great the Cayman was to drive I'm thinking I might fall in love with the 997.
the other factor to consider is that the 997 will fit in our garage, where as the M6 is too long so would have to live on the drive. We have room on the drive so not a huge issue, though I'd need some form of cover as get a bit of tree sap in the summer coming down onto the cars.
I guess I'm going to have to try and find an M6 to test drive and see how I feel...
thanks for all the replies guys. I agree that AMVs are more like 30-35K starting price at the moment, and seem fairly stable there. Also the 5.0l XKR start at 35K or so, but I'll be looking to buy end of this year (hoepfully a good time to be buying a soft-top) when they might have fallen to high 20s.
Looking at 'how many left' gives interesting comparisons of XKR vs M6. M6 new registrations seem to have dropped to <50 a year for 2007-09 where as the XKR is in the 1000s. So very different supply....
This makes me think that whilst the M6 might be more complex/fragile it's rarity might stop prices ever dropping much below 15K and maybe start to rise in 5 years or so as it starts to become a collectable. I can't see an XKR ever being like this (well not for 50+ years) nor a 'bogo' 997 C2S.
Looking at 'how many left' gives interesting comparisons of XKR vs M6. M6 new registrations seem to have dropped to <50 a year for 2007-09 where as the XKR is in the 1000s. So very different supply....
This makes me think that whilst the M6 might be more complex/fragile it's rarity might stop prices ever dropping much below 15K and maybe start to rise in 5 years or so as it starts to become a collectable. I can't see an XKR ever being like this (well not for 50+ years) nor a 'bogo' 997 C2S.
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