What car £15k sporty coupe

[htid]

The time has come to sell my beloved e36 M3 evolution coupe which I've owned for 5 and a half years and get something a little newer. I'll be putting the advert up here on pistonheads in the next week or 2 (if anyone's interested pm me for details).

In the meantime I'm trying to decide what car to get next. I don't do massive miles so ideally it should be petrol / manual and probably rwd although I've just test driven a Scirocco 2.0 GT TSI and rather liked it. So below is what I like the look of and I'd like to hear which you would choose from the list (if any)

BMW 330i M Sport Coupe
BMW 335i M Sport Coupe
BMW Z4 3.0i Coupe
VW Scirocco 2.0 GT TSI


I would consider a 135i but they are too expensive still.


Others have suggested I test drive an Audi TT but I have to admit I'm just not that keen on them but I will test drive it and give it a chance.I'd probably lean towards the 330i over the 335i just because of the reliability but am keen to hear others opinions. (£15k max, ideally less )

Edited by htid on Friday 11th November 17:49

Edited by htid on Friday 11th November 17:50

Edited by htid on Friday 11th November 17:54

[GreatGranny]

Budget?

[sday12]

GreatGranny said:

Budget?

Title?

[RobM77]

Out of the ones listed it's an easy decision for me: Z4 Coupé. It feels and sounds so much more alive than the others, and with a low ratio final drive and relatively low weight it accelerates faster too.

[Johnboy Mac]

I'm a BM fan but come resale time I'd prefer to be selling the Scirocco.

[htid]

Johnboy Mac said:

I'm a BM fan but come resale time I'd prefer to be selling the Scirocco.

That's the thing I know the new 3 series is out in February so the 3 series will probably depreciate the most. Good point thanks!

[kambites]

I think early Caymans are just about falling into budget, as are 996 911s?

There's some good roadsters that you could fit permanent hardtops too. From the Elise and VX220 through to things like MX5s and MR2s. I assume you can get a hardtop for the Boxster too? Whether they're suitable will depend on why you want a coupe, I suppose.

ETA: Must be some TVRs that are suitable too.

Edited by kambites on Friday 11th November 18:00

[DanielJames]

E46 M3? Might be able to get a Cat D CSL for that budget

Tried to link some put PH Classifieds is having issues atm

[uremaw]

htid said:

BMW 330i M Sport Coupe
BMW 335i M Sport Coupe
BMW Z4 3.0i Coupe
VW Scirocco 2.0 GT TSI

None of the above. Buy this and spend the money you've saved on petrol, a chest wig and a stick with which to beat off the ladies.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160675643405?ssPageName=...


p.s. Apologies Mods - i would have linked to the PH advert instead but, you know...

[htid]

I should probably add I've got my half sensible head on and trying to save a bit of money in running costs, so although ideally I'd like the Z4 M coupe or e46 M3 or a Porsche I've tried to pick cars that give close to the same performance but cost a lot less to run.

[kambites]

I'm not convinced that the cars you've picked will be cheaper to run though. They're all going to suffer pretty horrific depreciation.

[uremaw]

uremaw said:

None of the above. Buy this and spend the money you've saved on petrol, a chest wig and a stick with which to beat off the ladies.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160675643405?ssPageName=...


p.s. Apologies Mods - i would have linked to the PH advert instead but, you know...

Disclaimer 1: Yes it's my car so i'm kinda biased.

Disclaimer 2: Any ladies I know who've expressed an opinion on it tend to think it's a stupid car. Meh.

[Johnboy Mac]

uremaw said:

None of the above. Buy this and spend the money you've saved on petrol, a chest wig and a stick with which to beat off the ladies.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160675643405?ssPageName=...

Good point ^^^ And it's refreshing choice from the usual BM's especially if one's not doing big mileage, then it's even more attractive.

[htid]

kambites said:

I'm not convinced that the cars you've picked will be cheaper to run though. They're all going to suffer pretty horrific depreciation.

I know what your saying, it's one of the reasons I bought the e36 M3 as it had done most of it's depreciation. I think I just fancied something a bit newer for a change but then you have to pay the price.

[kambites]

htid said:

kambites said:

I'm not convinced that the cars you've picked will be cheaper to run though. They're all going to suffer pretty horrific depreciation.

I know what your saying, it's one of the reasons I bought the e36 M3 as it had done most of it's depreciation. I think I just fancied something a bit newer for a change but then you have to pay the price.

Whilst all newish cars depreciate, they do depreciate at very different rates. If you can get a Cayman for 15k, it'll lose an awful lot less money than a 3-series of the same price and it's hardly an old car.

If you could stretch to something like an Exige, it probably wouldn't depreciate at all, but I think they're rather over budget.

[htid]

kambites said:

htid said:

kambites said:

I'm not convinced that the cars you've picked will be cheaper to run though. They're all going to suffer pretty horrific depreciation.

I know what your saying, it's one of the reasons I bought the e36 M3 as it had done most of it's depreciation. I think I just fancied something a bit newer for a change but then you have to pay the price.

Whilst all newish cars depreciate, they do depreciate at very different rates. If you can get a Cayman for 15k, it'll lose an awful lot less money than a 3-series of the same price and it's hardly an old car.

If you could stretch to something like an Exige, it probably wouldn't depreciate at all, but I think they're rather over budget.

Wise words, the Cayman doeas look rather nice, cheapest seems to be around the £17k mark (below 60k miles)

[kambites]

Meh, not quite in budget then.

[VPower]

Have you thought about an XK8/R??

That supercharger whine on the R (I have an STR) gets you smiling!!

[cheadle hulme]

Z4 from your list, 265hp and decent economy too.

The 335i is faster though and very discrete in SE form. Budget for a warranty if you're worried about hpf and turbo going.

[The Stiglet]

VPower said:

Have you thought about an XK8/R??

That supercharger whine on the R (I have an STR) gets you smiling!!

Yes but don't they all rust from the inside out or something?

OP, what about a 650i?