£5,500 to spend...

[TheJohnx]

Hi

I'm looking for a cheap-ish weekend toy to tie me over whilst I save for something more special. I want something fun, light and RWD mainly for dry B-road blatting and the occasional track day.

I confess that I am a bit if a wimp when it comes to buying something that's old or high mileage and I'm not very mech savvy. The closest I've got to owning a sports car is a 2.0 litre Mk-3 MX-5 that I owned and enjoyed for 3 years. I've also driven and very much appreciated mk 2 Elise S and R, both of which are sadly out of my budget ATM.

I have a budget of around £5,500 and I am drawn back to a 2006 2.0 mk 3 MX-5, which this time I will Eibach and track/align.

My rationale is that I can get a low mileage example for this price, it will be cheap to maintain (I won't have much cash for Porsche-league maintenance costs) and it will have just about enough poke to keep a smile on my face (the relative lack of the latter being what puts me off a mk 1/2 MX-5). With the suspension/geometry tweaks I figure I'll also have something with fairly sorted handling.

That said, I know the mk 3 MX-5 is not universally loved and with my relative lack of ownership experience, I'm struggling to think of anything else that fits my narrow, risk-averse criteria. So I would welcome suggestions from those in the know as to what else I might consider or how I might re-think my rationale.

Cheers

John

Edited by TheJohnx on Friday 1st March 23:29

[RobboC]

S2000 would be my choice. Such good value now.

[g3org3y]

Z3 2.8/3.0?

What are Z4 prices doing?

[31mph]

I'd get a S2000 over a Z3, they really haven't aged well IMO

[FreeLitres]

Just save the £5,500 towards your ideal car?

Otherwise, you will lose money and it will take you longer to get the car you want.

[g3org3y]

31mph said:

I'd get a S2000 over a Z3, they really haven't aged well IMO

Inclined to agree. I would say you can pick up a fair Z3 with a 2.8 for 2.5k. Save the other 3k for the ideal car.

[RobM77]

I'd be looking at a Honda S2000 or Toyota MR2.

[B17NNS]

Lots of fun to be had for thread budget.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...

[deltashad]

What about a 200sx? Many tuning options. Try to find one Barry hasn't owned.