Which sports car for 10-12k?
Discussion
Hi Guys,
Could anyone recommend a good sports car for circa 10-12 grand? Top of the list at the moment is the venerable MX-5 at circa 3 years old, or a slightly older 2.0 Z4. Insurance, maintainance and fuel costs are important as the car will be a daily driver, this regrettably rules out a boxster. My other concern is that this may be the wrong time of year to be buying a soft-top, so I am open to conventional options with the criteria that it must be fun and (relatively) cheap to run. Off-the-wall suggestions and general advice on the two cars short-listed would also be appreciated!
Thanks in Advance!
Could anyone recommend a good sports car for circa 10-12 grand? Top of the list at the moment is the venerable MX-5 at circa 3 years old, or a slightly older 2.0 Z4. Insurance, maintainance and fuel costs are important as the car will be a daily driver, this regrettably rules out a boxster. My other concern is that this may be the wrong time of year to be buying a soft-top, so I am open to conventional options with the criteria that it must be fun and (relatively) cheap to run. Off-the-wall suggestions and general advice on the two cars short-listed would also be appreciated!
Thanks in Advance!
superhans88 said:
Hi Guys,
Could anyone recommend a good sports car for circa 10-12 grand? Top of the list at the moment is the venerable MX-5 at circa 3 years old, or a slightly older 2.0 Z4. Insurance, maintainance and fuel costs are important as the car will be a daily driver, this regrettably rules out a boxster. My other concern is that this may be the wrong time of year to be buying a soft-top, so I am open to conventional options with the criteria that it must be fun and (relatively) cheap to run. Off-the-wall suggestions and general advice on the two cars short-listed would also be appreciated!
Thanks in Advance!
If cost is an issue, buy a £2500 MX-5??Could anyone recommend a good sports car for circa 10-12 grand? Top of the list at the moment is the venerable MX-5 at circa 3 years old, or a slightly older 2.0 Z4. Insurance, maintainance and fuel costs are important as the car will be a daily driver, this regrettably rules out a boxster. My other concern is that this may be the wrong time of year to be buying a soft-top, so I am open to conventional options with the criteria that it must be fun and (relatively) cheap to run. Off-the-wall suggestions and general advice on the two cars short-listed would also be appreciated!
Thanks in Advance!
If it's not, then how about one of these:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1498664.htm
Will probably cost similar to a Ford Focus to run, hold it's money very well and even do 28mpg+ on a run.
Other obvious suggestions would be Elise, VX220, smart Roadster (Brabus), S2k, Crossfire Vert or maybe a classic or kit of some kind.
Edited by 300bhp/ton on Tuesday 20th April 16:17
superhans88 said:
I think the elise, VX et al would be to hardcore for daily use and their values are pretty solid too, even at 10 years old. As for the S2000, great idea but too expensive to insure. Would you say that soft-top values are excessively strong at this time of year?
I think there is belief that rag tops are worth more in the summer. I'm not fully convinced it's always true though, although I suspect its far easier to sell a vert when the sun is shining compared to it pissing down with rain.
superhans88 said:
Any thoughts on the MX5? What age/spec represents best value? Would a hot hatch be better value as far as fun is concerned?
Sadly there's no single answer here, its largely opinion based.The current MX-5 is a very nice car, but it is somewhat bigger and heavier and slightly more blunted compared to earlier versions, specifically the MK1.
So in terms of best value for money, a tidy MK1 for £2.5k is hard to beat, as you could run it for a year and sell it on for about the same money.
A new one is evidently a lot newer, but will lose more money through depreciation. They are still a lot of fun, but are not massively speedy.
There are lots of hot hatches, many will be quicker, and some are fun to drive, although no FWD or even AWD setup can offer the same thrills as a RWD car.
So it really has to come down to what you are after from a car? As in what sensations do you want, is it speed, handling, open top motoring and so on.
Does a revvy motor, forced induction or large displacement appeal more?
For example, if it's an open top thrill you are after, then almost no hot hatches will get close.
Is age and style of the vehicle important, image or badge?
I do like the MX-5, but for £10k - 12k it would not be on my list, not when there are so many other interesting cars available for this money.
Harry Flashman said:
If it were a toy, I'd have a good Chimaera, for the V8 loveliness.
Good call - or if you want reliable simplicity, you could possibly get a Griffith for that money. Rover V8, not much by way of electronics and nothing to go rusty means a car more reliable and useful than you'd think. Softer-tuned models like the 400 are (just) friendlier in the wet too.superhans88 said:
Any thoughts on the MX5? What age/spec represents best value? Would a hot hatch be better value as far as fun is concerned?
It depends what you want, I have a Mk3 MX5 and I love it, feels like a more grown up version of the original, I tried a Mk 2.5 and I didnt like it, felt small and very dated compared to the Mk3.Its also not that much bigger than the original Mk1, only 20mm longer and weighs 60g more which is virtually nothing especially when you compare it to the growth of cars like the Fiesta and the BMW 3 series.
300bhp/ton said:
SiC2 said:
oh and another thing im assuming your 21/22 the Mk3 MX5 is alot cheaper to insure than anything else that has been mentioned.
Classics and kits are probably the cheapest insurance wise.
Gassing Station | General Gassing [Archive] | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff