Mission Impossible: Stylish 4 Seat Coupe/Conv for £7.5KIsh?

[silvertypes]

Mid life Crisis time!

Thinking of changing my 2003 Honda Accord 2.4 Type-S Petrol Manual for a Stylish Coupe or Convertible but the Accord's a tough act to follow; Runs like a Swiss watch, Lovely ride, superb seats, slick gearbox, goes pretty well & it never goes wrong. Ever

5 minutes on http://www.reliabilityindex.com/ & a few forums & often cars I thought would be great in fact go wrong quite a bit & could clean me out in repair bills

I know I'm asking a lot but here's the criteria

- Proper 4 seats (not a shelf!) Could be the biggest hurdle
- Petrol only - don't fancy an oil burner
- Reliable & ok as daily drive
- If convertible the roof mechanism must be reliable - read horror stories
- Reasonable Service & Parts costs
- Subjective but Tax / Insurance not too outrageous!
- Right Hand Drive
- Uk no Imports
- No offset pedals ( seems lots of German cars E.g. Audi can be)

Few of my dream cars:- Esprit S3, Porsche 928, Ferrari 308 & 512 BB, Lambo Huracan / Gallardo, Ferrari 458 Italia, Maserati Quattroporte

Back on planet earth :-) Few ideas:-

Alfa Romeo GT 3.2 2dr [ Want. But it's going to break isn't it...Nothing great about being broken down even if it looks amazing]

Maserati 3200 3.2 GT 2dr [ Want!! Presume maintainance & insurance will be way out of my price range...]

Audi S4 / S4 Convertible [ 2004 model V8 is cheaper tax :-) Insurance may be too high & I've read plenty of issues on forums ]

Merc CLK320 CLK500 CLK55 [ Always fancied a Merc tho running costs & insurance may be too high plus there seems to be certain years where they weren't that well built ]

Volvo C70 T5 Convertible [ Like. Only worry is will the folding roof pack in? ]

VW EOS Convertible 3.2 V6 [ Decent quality but again worry is will the folding roof pack in? heard stories. Had loads of Golfs & yes good but my Honda has been better in every way ]

Confused!

Any ideas welcome

[silvertypes]

danp said:

E46 M3 coupe/cab or 330i if you want lower costs to buy and run.

Thx, 330i maybe a goer on paper but not hugely into Beemers - tons of youff drive them round here especially 3 series - blacked out windows n all

M3 would be fun but too expensive to run for me I think. Mate had an M3 & an M3 CSL cost him a fortune to run just in tyres & Insurance. He's now got a chipped 335D which goes like stink & holds the road well but the ride is rock hard & I thought the seats were pretty uncomfortable tho i know thats not the point

[silvertypes]

poing said:

You might just be able to get a BMW 6 Series for that, it's bottom end of the market though I would imagine.

In all honesty, nothing you've listed or that I can think of will match the Honda for reliability but very few of them will be likely to actually break down and leave you stranded, they will possibly develop expensive problems though. Used cars are always a gamble. Sticking to Japanese is the safest option but I'm struggling to think of a suitable Japanese car.

Alternative idea, keep the Honda and buy something really cheap and fun to run at the same time?

Thx. Do quite like the 6 Series (& the 8) but believe the back seats aren't that big & even the smallest engine ones are still pricey - possibility tho

Yes it's tricky re: reliability. Bit of a downer if I buy what I think is a better car to find it's endless niggly problems - bit mad to go from Honda to Alfa I guess!

No room to keep the Honda +1 I'm afraid - otherwise I'd probably go for a Boxter if I could afford it

[silvertypes]

MoelyCrio said:

R129 SL doesnt have much room in the back, but meets all your other criteria. As near to depreciation proof as its possible to get too.

Thx. Yes wouldn't mind an SL but no room for the kids in the back

[silvertypes]

dme123 said:

C70 roof is as reliable as they come, very few horror stories and my Volvo specialist said the only issue they had was when some fool fiddled about with it themselves. It's heavy though, and no sports car. Hard to find a manual T5 and the autobox isn't brilliant.

Thx. Sounds positive... Always liked Volvo - great cabins & seats - nearly bought an S60 instead of the Honda but on closer inspection the in dash CD changer was bust when the guy said everything worked! so I walked away...

Always had manuals & my preference would be for a manual but I'm starting to think a decent Auto / DSG / flappy paddle effort would be nice for when u get stuck in traffic...

Don't want to get saddled with a sluggish auto box tho I guess that could be really irritating - thx for the heads up about the C70 box

[silvertypes]

Codswallop said:

Early ls1 CV8 Monaro can be had for that budget.

Plus points include:
- built proof engine
- correct number of cylinders
- sounds great
- good handling and chassis balance for a big GT
- genuine (and spacious) 4 seater
- depreciation proof
- cheap insurance and servicing
- rare and not likely to be driven by anyone other than petrolheads
- great owners club
- huge tuning potential

Interesting! Had wondered about them but assumed costs would be epic - it's £500 Tax

How can a 6Litre V8 be cheap insurance? (Great if they are)

Cheapest on Autotrader is £13K at the mo but I'll keep my eye out

[silvertypes]

Codswallop said:

CV8 uses the 5.7l V8. No idea why insurance its cheap, but when I was doing quotes it was considerably less than Honda S2000s, 350z, m3 etc.

Cars registered pre march 2006 fall under the old road tax structure so only £280 odd per year.

If you are seriously interested in buying one, it's good to get on the Monaro sub forum on pistonheads as good Monaros often sell without adverts going up.

Weird about the Insurance...but in a good way

- Thats about the same tax i pay for the Accord so i cld live with that. I know it would get thru some Fuel but thats ok too I don't do big mileage - its all about total annual cost for me & amazingly this is cheaper than I thought it would be

Nice one thx

[silvertypes]

Matt UK said:

Mercedes CL500

thx yes love a CL & quite cheap for an old one but bit nervous if anything goes wrong plus & epic service & maint costs. Not found a local Merc specialist / independent in Derby where i live

[silvertypes]

poing said:

Stumbled across this and it made me think of this thread: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

Passat CC 3.6, always thought they were good looking cars for a 4 door.

Thx. I was originally looking for a sports saloon & this or the Merc CLS where top of the list but I now reckon I could get away with a 2 door coupe/convertible as long as it has 4 proper seats so that's the main focus now

[silvertypes]

Codswallop said:

CV8 uses the 5.7l V8. No idea why insurance its cheap, but when I was doing quotes it was considerably less than Honda S2000s, 350z, m3 etc.

Cars registered pre march 2006 fall under the old road tax structure so only £280 odd per year.

If you are seriously interested in buying one, it's good to get on the Monaro sub forum on pistonheads as good Monaros often sell without adverts going up.

Cheers I'll check that forum out. Quite like the idea of one of these if the costs (excluding petrol) aren't that bad, though I'm wondering if I'll be able to find a local garage to look after it

Generally the online reviews etc seem good but did spot this:-

"The day after I picked it up, the car started cutting out. To shorten a very long and expensive story, a faulty ECU had to be ordered from Australia and fitted by a specialist. 90% of Vauxhall Dealers either won’t work on Monaros, or don’t have the experience needed. An important thing to remember is they’re made by Holden and have an American Chevy engine – a Corsa this aint."

[silvertypes]

Leins said:

Your mate's 335d has probably cost him a lot more to run than the price of insurance and tyres on the CSL. They are also quite dull in comparison once the novelty of all that torque in a straight line has worn off, albeit a better daily driver

I think the fact someone tried to steal the CSL was a factor in him getting rid too - very nickable I guess. He's got a Ducatti bike as well so he still has access to uber speed

[silvertypes]

Krikkit said:

Not a coupe exactly, but how about a merc CLS? 500s are comfortably in budget, look fantastic, great engine, seat four in excellent comfort.

Thx. I was originally looking for a sports saloon & the Merc CLS or Passatt CC where top of the list but I now reckon I could get away with a 2 door coupe/convertible as long as it has 4 proper seats so that's the main focus now.

Tog Gear seemed to suggest a second hand CLS was a better bet than a newer Passatt CC

[silvertypes]

ZX10R NIN said:

Get the CLK 500 for 7.5k you'll get a better car for your cash than the 55 AMG they're practical 4 Seats the rears fold down if you need the extra room I've had four & still own Two I can't fault them the running costs aren't huge parts are very reasonable message me if you'd like more details. Also for the money you're looking to spend that should get you a 7 speed 500.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2004-MERCEDES-CLK-500-CL...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-CLK-55-AMG-/111...

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

These don't suffer the rust issues of the earlier W208 CLK's so that's one concern you don't have to worry about.

Or if you want four doors, it needs lowering but not bad for a four door.

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

Cheers - Love all of them - the CLS is uber cool with red leather too. To be honest these tick all the boxes I reckon, I'm just worried about Insurance, Servicing / Maintenance costs being a Prestige badge

Do you think the Convertible CLK would be any more to be concerned about? Merc have been making convertibles for long enough so they ought to be ok

Other thought is rear wheel drive in the winter... my Accord is FWD with winter tyres so been fine

May drop you a PM too. Cheers

Edited by ZX10R NIN on Friday 3rd April 11:43

[silvertypes]

ZX10R NIN said:

Check the insurance but running cost wise they aren't anymore expensive to run than most cars suspension is around £40.00 for the arms Servicing is between £200.00-£400.00 depending on what has to be done make sure the gearbox has had it's fluid & filters changed if it hasn't get it done.

I only pay £200 fully comp for the Accord 2.4 Type-S - I'm guessing the CLK500 may be a tad higher :-)

Lovely car though - certainly want to read up on it

[silvertypes]

ZX10R NIN said:

I reckon it'll be more but not by a huge margin one thing I did forget is when you have to change the plugs it's not cheap as there are 16 of them

Wish you could just look up Insurance Prices rather than have to go through the whole tedious quoting process for each car you want to check - again if you're right then this is a strong contender!

[silvertypes]

Dapster said:

Indeed, so get yourself a "proper" one. It'll outlive you!




http://coupeandcabriolet.co.uk/e320-sportline-silv...

Good website! I have been reading up on classic Mercs - bought a current Merc Mag & it featured 3 classic pillarless coupes. Tempting & as u say probably as well if not better build than the 2000's Mercs but wonder if in use daily these 15-25 year old cars will feel a bit like an old car to drive?

[silvertypes]

Still drooling after this but I know it would be a bad choice...

http://www.emmperformanceandprestige.co.uk/used-ca...

[silvertypes]

Dapster said:

They may feel old as you say but they can take the punishment. However, probably not the way a classic should be treated. You need a daily for your chores and keep the classic Merc or whatever for weekends in the country and roadtrips to Monaco!

If you like classic Mercs, have a browse here:

http://www.ruylclassics.nl/mercedes_eng.htm
http://www.mercedesmotoring.com/
http://www.classic-center-hannover.de/fahrzeuge.ht...
http://www.brabus.com/cars4sale/start.html?q=class...

I do - will check the links thx. No room to store 2 cars I'm afraid & won't be heading to Monaco without a lottery win!

[silvertypes]

MonkeyMatt said:

How about a Jag'

Yeah like Jags but XK8 / XK rear seats are only suitable if you don't have legs!

Classic XJ6 Pillarless Coupe very nice but pricey & bit too fragile for daily drive I guess

[silvertypes]

scrubchub said:

If you want the Alfa then you should go for it - their lovely cars. Your budget will get you one as good as they come and if you maintain it then it will be as reliable as anything else.

It is tempting ... still at the doing my homework stage tho - we'll see