What sports car for under £10,000?

[Hallsty]

So i'm looking to buy a new car in the next week or two, I need suggestions!
Here is my criteria:

- Sub 6.5 secs
- Not FWD
- will be doing the odd commute to work (want something that is not 10mpg)
- less than £10,000
- Insurance not being more than £1000 (rules out s2k)
- Preferably Manual

What i've been looking at so far:

- MB SLK350 (Annoying as i want a manual, but apparently the auto is the one to go for)
- BMW Z4 3.0
- Porsche Boxter S 3.2
- Impreza WRX STI
- Nissan 350Z
- E46 M3 (A lot are dogs for under 10k)

Any help would be much appreciated!

Edited by Hallsty on Monday 25th May 16:56

[Hallsty]

SidewaysSi said:

Lotus Elise S1 - none of the others are anywhere near it in terms of fun, feel and sheer brilliance. The fact that it will do over 40mpg and probably has the finest steering feel of any car ever made make it even more compelling.

A truly stunning piece of kit if you love driving and want fun on the road - far more enjoyable than some cars costing 5 times as much.

With the exception of the Boxster, the other cars listed are not sports cars IMO.

I agree they're not all sports cars, 'sports' was used loosely, my bad!

In regards to the MR2, they sound great, and i've heard good things about them. Just looking for something a bit newer!

The lotus elise is a good shout, but for my budget I'm right at the low end, I love the mpg, and that they hold their value so well. But i've heard that the elise's build quality isn't great?

[Hallsty]

SidewaysSi said:

For example, a well respected Lotus specialist has this:

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

The only thing that worries me is the milage, aren't they 1.8 rover engines? Whats the reliability like with the engines when they start creeping up to the 100k mark?

[Hallsty]

orangesrule said:

I bought this yesturday...basically had the same requirements, apart from the commuting requirement, although mpg will be around the 20's.

Nice buy, but i've literally just sold my RX8, so i don't think i'm going to consider a rotary for now.

[Hallsty]

This is more what i'm leaning to at the moment, i never thought i would like an MB, and my mates seem to think i've got female genatalia for liking it. But 5.5 secs 0-62, and about a £9k price tag, seems quite good to me?

[Hallsty]

maurauth said:

I'd second the Impreza not being worth it, seemed slow to me when I tested one out.

I'd recommend trying out the SLK, the R172 is lovely, although for sub 10k you'd be looking at an R171- not driven one myself but been told theres not much difference to handling etc interior on the R171s is still nice as well, not dated and the V6 is meant to be nice.

There's a really good SLK forum as well on the interwebs.

Yeah that picture is of a R171, the only thing that was putting me off was the Auto gearbox. I prefer manual, but i've heard the manual in the R171 is not a scratch on the 7G auto? I've driven the BMWs with the SMG gearboxes, and they were okay, just kept thinking how much i would of preferred it with a manual!

[Hallsty]

Frio3535 said:

Although not on your list in your position I'd go and look at a TVR Chimaera. Look at it, sit in it, hear it start, take the roof off and go for a drive. They can be quite persuasive.

Good suggestion, my father has always owned TVR's, i grew up around Chimaera's and Cerebra's etc, but unfortunately i need a semi commuter!

• P.s as i'm not great at posting, how do i quote multiple people in one post? I feel rude not replying to everybody!**

[Hallsty]

sebhaque said:

Came here to suggest this. Fantastic little cars - and surprisingly cheap to run.

I had looked at them, pretty much an elise isn't it? Just not to keen on the looks of them! Something about Vauxhall as well...

[Hallsty]

maurauth said:

Hallsty said:

This is more what i'm leaning to at the moment, i never thought i would like an MB, and my mates seem to think i've got female genatalia for liking it. But 5.5 secs 0-62, and about a £9k price tag, seems quite good to me?

Find a black one and it looks a lot more agressive and less feminine in that body shape than a silver one

also they're less likely to call you a homosapien after you take them round a few country lanes with the V6 roaring haha

The varioroof is also really reliable if you fancy a fair bit of drop top driving.

I'd seriously recommend checking out the SLK forum if you're considering one, lots of advice and things to look for etc. SLKWorld

Not sure if linking to other sites is allowed here but if not please edit this out mods?

Thanks for the advice, i have seen them in Black, and i agree they do look more aggressive! Do you know much about the 7G gearbox? I'm guessing it works as a semi-auto with either paddles or buttons? Are the gearboxes reliable? As i know how much the SMG's are to replace if they go!

[Hallsty]

jamieduff1981 said:

I'd back the Chimaera too by the way. It's perfectly commutable - easily moreso than an Elise or VX220 and I'd happily drive to work in one of those too. A Chimaera is also going up in value.

For all that though it sounds like you want a Boxster or that Mercedes and you're really leaning far more heavily towards 'daily driver' than 'sportscar' than your opening post might suggest. Always buy what you actually want.

As i said earlier in the thread, i've grown up with TVR's, My dad bought one of the later 5.0 chimes from new, and it was constantly having problems etc, so maybe thats why i'm leaning away from TVR's?

Not massively keen on the boxster, but everyone says they're great. But seems like they can put a whole in your pocket if they need fixing!

[Hallsty]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions, those examples are the kind of thing i'm looking for. And the sort of mileage i would feel confident buying a used car at!

St John Smythe said:

maurauth said:

ZX10R NIN said:

Slk 350 40k on the clock
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

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

BMW Z4
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

Both those SLKs have got Airscarf (heated vent in the headrest that blows hot air on the back of your neck) as well as heated leathers. You really want both of those options as with both of those on and the blowers on full you can drive with the roof down in a tshirt and shorts any time of year haha.

Also second one has big colour screen with satnav (comand) and Bluetooth phone, from the looks of the cabin photo it has every option ticked apart from parking sensors, not sure if it's got xenons, can't make out the light controls.

That second one really is a nice example.

Great if you want a cruiser. However if you want a sports car than manual Z4 all day long.

So i've narrowed it down a little more -

• MB SLK350 R171
• BMW Z4 3.0
• Lotus Elise S1

(And possibly VX220, need to look more into them, and also still toying with the thought of E46 M3)

Can anyone tell me what the difference is between the Z4 SE and the Si? And also do they have a lot of problems with Vanos?

[Hallsty]

Thanks again everybody for your suggestions and information. It has been very helpful. I'm going to look at a black SLK350 at the weekend with 50K Miles and under my budget! Really like the look of grey BBS CH-R on the SLK, so I may invest in some if i do get the SLK, as i will have some of my budget left over!

I'll post pictures if i do buy it!

ZX10R NIN said:

IMO the Mercedes is the better car on the odd day when you're going at 10/10ths then yes the Z4 just edges it, the difference isn't as big as you think either, for the other days when 9/10ths will do the momentum swings back in the SLK's favour & you won't see the auto as a hindrance, for me it'd be the Merc but take a drive in both.


As a side bar don't get the manual it's not good, if your not happy with the speed of shift you can send your gearbox ECU to Weistec & they can reprogram it, as for looking feminine they're only a set of wheels away from looking quite aggressive a set of BBS CH-R or similar.


Still look feminine

Edited by ZX10R NIN on Tuesday 26th May 17:27