Inspire me - £7000 for a weekend car

[zed4]

Hi,

I need some inspiration. I hadn’t planned on selling my car, but the previous owner is interested in buying it back, so I’m considering a change.

I have a 2003 BMW Z4 3.0i, once sold I will have around £7,000 to £7,500 to spend. It’s a weekend car, rarely used during the week. We just use it for fun, we do the commuting and load lugging in my girlfriend’s car. I’d ideally like good performance, so over 200hp, preferably convertible for the coming summer, decent stereo would be good (I have the DSP Hifi in my Z4). My girlfriend and I usually just head out into the forest, or down to the coast and like to cruise, enjoy the scenery and the car. So ideally the car should be fairly comfortable, make a good noise and be generally enjoyable. The car must be reliable and not devastatingly expensive to run!

What do you reckon? I can only think of another Z4 (just maybe a bit newer) or maybe an M3, but I’m not sure about that. My Z4 is a very high spec, electric sports seats, DSP, satnav, Intravee etc.

Cheers,

Dan

EDIT: There is the possibility to stretch the budget up to £8,000 - £9,000 if needs be.

Edited by zed4 on Wednesday 13th February 15:34

[Mr2Mike]

If you want something suitable for the summer, then perhaps an amphibious vehicle would be a good idea?

On a more sensible note, you'd get a very nice S2000 within your budget.

[Roastie ITR]

I've got a VX220 NA and think that it's a great weekend car. Obviously less than 200bhp, but as it weighs so little the power to weight should still be similar.

Also an Elise S1 might be worth considering, but you will get a much better VX for your money.

[zed4]

Roastie ITR said:

I've got a VX220 NA and think that it's a great weekend car. Obviously less than 200bhp, but as it weighs so little the power to weight should still be similar.

Also an Elise S1 might be worth considering, but you will get a much better VX for your money.

Had several VX220's in the past. My brother has a tuned Turbo at the moment. I think I'd rather something a little more comfortable and easier to live with if I'm honest.

[MX7]

XK?

[Lazygraduate]

Sensible answer : Boxster S

Correct answer : TVR Chimaera although I think you might struggle with a sorted example without any niggles within your budget...

[Tuvra]

Lazygraduate said:

Correct answer : TVR Chimaera although I think you might struggle with a sorted example without any niggles within your budget...

This.

[Louisa911]

350z?

[Jasandjules]

Tuvra said:

Lazygraduate said:

Correct answer : TVR Chimaera although I think you might struggle with a sorted example without any niggles within your budget...

This.

Pretty much this.

The TVR is THE answer.

[zed4]

Ok, thanks for the suggestions. Here's a few suggested....

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[zed4]

I'm not sure about a TVR. They're getting pretty old now and may need a lot of work.

One thing I have noticed is these sorts of cars aren't coming down much in value!

[zed4]

[redacted]

[The Beaver King]

zed4 said:

I'm not sure about a TVR. They're getting pretty old now and may need a lot of work.

......BURN HIM!!!!

Seriously though, it is a very good shout (biased TVR owner), but it requires a particular type of owner. You either need to have a large pot of cash tucked away to pay to have bits fixed and tweeked or a small pot of money tucked away and be fairly handy with a spanner.

Both options require an owner whose love of his car defies logic.

zed4 said:

One thing I have noticed is these sorts of cars aren't coming down much in value!

TVRs or sports cars generally?

The prices for older TVR's (up to late 90's) don't tend to drop below £4-5k. You won't get a Tuscan/Sagaris/T350c/Tamora for sub-£10k.

Be aware, summer is fast approaching so values will go up a little. Prices for new-ish sports cars will never drop that low, especially anything from a mainstream marque.

It's been suggested above, but a 350Z Roadster might be ideal. A Boxster S or a Merc SL could also be an option. A bit outside the box but a Mitsubishi 3000GT? A bit older, but £7k will get a decent twin turbo version and I believe they did them with removable roof panels (???).

[zed4]

I’m not afraid of spannering by the way. My dad has a big workshop and I also have one available at work. I quite enjoy working on cars, but I would want it to just work when I want to use it for the weekend!

[IanMorewood]

Sensible head says Honda S2k, less sensible head says a nice TVR Wedge.

[Chris71]

zed4 said:

It’s a weekend car, rarely used during the week. We just use it for fun, we do the commuting and load lugging in my girlfriend’s car. I’d ideally like good performance, so over 200hp, preferably convertible for the coming summer, decent stereo would be good (I have the DSP Hifi in my Z4).

I thought I had the perfect answer until you mentioned the stereo!

If you can cope with a more back-to-basics experience then £7k will get you a decent Westfield or similar. A Seven-a-like is the purest adrenaline shot you'll get for the money (on four wheels at least) and 200 bhp in one of those will feel like 500 bhp in a normal car.

What they're not, however, are practical, refined tourers, so if you're thinking more about cruising along at a relaxed pace with some tunes going you'd probably find them hopelessly compromised.

Given it's a weekend car I'd second the Chimaera suggestion for a less hardcore option. You can get a decent, properly sorted example for £7k but it'll be an early car with one of the smaller engine options and probably a reasonable mileage on the clock. This is nothing to worry about, though, as a fastidiously maintained 1993 4-litre with 100,000 miles on the clock can and probably will drive better than a low mileage 2001 5-litre that's seen better days.

Other than that it's the usual S2000, 350Z and Boxster triumvirate. They're a bit sensible for weekend only use I'd argue, though.

[300bhp/ton]

Sounds like you are wanting more of a modern comfy cruiser than out right weekend worrier.

Another Z4 could be an option, although surely you'd just be paying to end up with the same thing??

I'm quite a fan of these, probably more GT than sports car, but a nice alternative to a Z4.

Chrysler Crossfire V6 (2006) £5,995



If you could haggle or up your budget slighty there's also the SRT-6 version which gains the addition of a supercharger. Properly rapid.

CHRYSLER CROSSFIRE V6 SRT-6 2006 (2006) £9,950

[Roastie ITR]

zed4 said:

Roastie ITR said:

I've got a VX220 NA and think that it's a great weekend car. Obviously less than 200bhp, but as it weighs so little the power to weight should still be similar.

Also an Elise S1 might be worth considering, but you will get a much better VX for your money.

Had several VX220's in the past. My brother has a tuned Turbo at the moment. I think I'd rather something a little more comfortable and easier to live with if I'm honest.

In that case if I was to buy a weekend car with my own money it would have to be a Clio V6.

This one is slightly over budget, but a bit of haggling might get you a bit closer.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Renault-Clio-3-0-V6-in-s...

[otolith]

Chris71 said:

Other than that it's the usual S2000, 350Z and Boxster triumvirate. They're a bit sensible for weekend only use I'd argue, though.

That's what I thought - do-everything commuter cars rather than weekend cars.

[RWA441]

If it's a 'weekend' car then it needs to be something special. A 350Z, Boxster, S2000 - all good cars, but special? I don't think so. Find yourself a good Chimaera, facelift if possible (post 97 I think, door opening buttons under the mirror are a give away) and you'll be hooked.

I keep trying other marques but just end up thinking I need to go back to a TVR. Your biggest problem will be saving up when you then want a Tamora, Tuscan, Cerb etc.....