A what car for up to 150K Dhs thread for a slow Wednesday...
Discussion
Hi All
Any help or suggestions appreciated - Having been here for more than two years (and more importantly having been without a toy for that long) I've started to get an itch that I'd like to scratch.
At the moment I have a very sensible (albeit very nice) Merc GLK 350. Lovely engine, build etc but I live and work in the Marina so have a hankering to replace it with something a bit more fun.
Have always had a soft spot for German cars having owned various beemers in the past, but fancy something a bit more fun and with a big engine to take advantage of the fact that petrol is so cheap. Any suggestions? No real criteria apart from ideally 6 cylinder or above, something that won't break down on the weekend when I want to break out of the Marina traffic chaos and finally must put a smile on my face. Having put 50K miles on a Lotus before as a daily driver, I'm not adverse to silly or odd ball suggestions... I appreciate that with my budget the valets are never going to clear a space at the front of any hotel for me to pull in, but there must be some unusual or quirky cars out here that could satisfy my itch?
Got to admit that at the moment I'm leaning towards a Boxster which is neither unusual or quirky but stuck for other ideas. Dubizzle surfing is becoming almost a daily obsession!
TIA, Chris
Any help or suggestions appreciated - Having been here for more than two years (and more importantly having been without a toy for that long) I've started to get an itch that I'd like to scratch.
At the moment I have a very sensible (albeit very nice) Merc GLK 350. Lovely engine, build etc but I live and work in the Marina so have a hankering to replace it with something a bit more fun.
Have always had a soft spot for German cars having owned various beemers in the past, but fancy something a bit more fun and with a big engine to take advantage of the fact that petrol is so cheap. Any suggestions? No real criteria apart from ideally 6 cylinder or above, something that won't break down on the weekend when I want to break out of the Marina traffic chaos and finally must put a smile on my face. Having put 50K miles on a Lotus before as a daily driver, I'm not adverse to silly or odd ball suggestions... I appreciate that with my budget the valets are never going to clear a space at the front of any hotel for me to pull in, but there must be some unusual or quirky cars out here that could satisfy my itch?
Got to admit that at the moment I'm leaning towards a Boxster which is neither unusual or quirky but stuck for other ideas. Dubizzle surfing is becoming almost a daily obsession!
TIA, Chris
Well watch this space as I've dropped the person a message....
Why can I not draw myself away from looking at Porsche? You originally think there must be so much choice of different cars over here due to different marques etc, yet I've found it's the same story as anywhere, there isn't a lot of choice when you really get down to it.
I even tried to see a beautiful 1974 Mercedes 280CE coupe (vertical stacked headlamps) a couple of weeks back in an effort to go for style over speed, sold quicker than I could get to it
Any other thoughts?
Why can I not draw myself away from looking at Porsche? You originally think there must be so much choice of different cars over here due to different marques etc, yet I've found it's the same story as anywhere, there isn't a lot of choice when you really get down to it.
I even tried to see a beautiful 1974 Mercedes 280CE coupe (vertical stacked headlamps) a couple of weeks back in an effort to go for style over speed, sold quicker than I could get to it
Any other thoughts?
Thanks all for responses and suggestions - sorry, been offline for a few days whilst moving etc.
Have been in contact with the guy selling the 964 who is overseas at the moment. Apparently it's had a fair bit of interest but I've arranged to see it when he returns from vacation. Will wait and see.
Did have a drive in the meantime in a SLK55 AMG. A friend of mine has a pretty well sorted one over here, great noise, very smooth and fair bit of shove in the back so I had high hopes for the one I took out.... couldn't have been more different. Car was grumpy, reluctant to go, phrase 'all mouth and no trousers' sprang to mind as it just seemed to make a lot of noise without going anywhere. When id did actually get going it was skipping and bumping and felt almost over-powered? Same age car, you'd think similar underneath, couldn't have felt more different. Shame as I reckon they could be a bit of fun if you find the right one.
Has got me thinking about maybe a ZM though... always loved the breadvan and then the later Z4M coupe if anyone finds one let me know - seems they are rarer than anything!
Have been in contact with the guy selling the 964 who is overseas at the moment. Apparently it's had a fair bit of interest but I've arranged to see it when he returns from vacation. Will wait and see.
Did have a drive in the meantime in a SLK55 AMG. A friend of mine has a pretty well sorted one over here, great noise, very smooth and fair bit of shove in the back so I had high hopes for the one I took out.... couldn't have been more different. Car was grumpy, reluctant to go, phrase 'all mouth and no trousers' sprang to mind as it just seemed to make a lot of noise without going anywhere. When id did actually get going it was skipping and bumping and felt almost over-powered? Same age car, you'd think similar underneath, couldn't have felt more different. Shame as I reckon they could be a bit of fun if you find the right one.
Has got me thinking about maybe a ZM though... always loved the breadvan and then the later Z4M coupe if anyone finds one let me know - seems they are rarer than anything!
The Z4 in ADH? I thought the same. Shame as there were a few knocking around on here when I wasn't really looking. Not even any decent looking 3 litre Coupes at the moment. Haven't looked at the S2.
I'm guessing you've seen the advert for the breadvan that starts as an M before magically changing in pictures 2 and 3 to a tatty looking 2.8 complete with chrome side vent?
As for your dilemma, can't comment on the Clio as I've never been in one, although I know a bloke who had a Mk 2 and he absolutely loved it. Predictably he sold it for a Boxster and regretted it ever since.
For me, it'd be Elise S1 every time. Seriously regret selling mine. Wish I'd have been in a position where I could've bought it over here. Are you thinking just track use or road as well? Supply of good S1's seriously dwindling as more and more are raced or sold abroad. And UK RHD not allowed over here obviously making an LHD even harder to find. If you can get a good one then values are going up. 800Kgs feels ridiculous as well and plenty quick enough if you make a few simple tweaks like filter, exhaust etc, plus if you have the space they're pretty easy to maintain yourself.
I'm guessing you've seen the advert for the breadvan that starts as an M before magically changing in pictures 2 and 3 to a tatty looking 2.8 complete with chrome side vent?
As for your dilemma, can't comment on the Clio as I've never been in one, although I know a bloke who had a Mk 2 and he absolutely loved it. Predictably he sold it for a Boxster and regretted it ever since.
For me, it'd be Elise S1 every time. Seriously regret selling mine. Wish I'd have been in a position where I could've bought it over here. Are you thinking just track use or road as well? Supply of good S1's seriously dwindling as more and more are raced or sold abroad. And UK RHD not allowed over here obviously making an LHD even harder to find. If you can get a good one then values are going up. 800Kgs feels ridiculous as well and plenty quick enough if you make a few simple tweaks like filter, exhaust etc, plus if you have the space they're pretty easy to maintain yourself.
I'll have a look....if it's been there that long then there may be some room to manoeuvre for cash... Your point about 6/10's and using the torque is almost one of the reasons why I don't think I want a Boxster. I like the big engine style of driving, giving it a squirt now and then and not being so obsessed about ultimate cornering ability... although maybe it's because my daily drive was an S1 for so long in the UK I've aged prematurely and grown out of it!!
I'd be tempted to trade a degree of cornering ability for a shove in the back and a wallop of torque..... maybe V8 American is a way to go...
I'd be tempted to trade a degree of cornering ability for a shove in the back and a wallop of torque..... maybe V8 American is a way to go...
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