Best 2 car garage - on a budget

[TTwiggy]

I'm planning on changing cars soon (once my XJ8 sells!) and with a budget of £11k (ish) I was looking at Audi S4s.

However, I'm starting to come round to the idea of 2 cars, and I think I've worked out the best combo.

Car 1: Jaguar X-Type, 3.0l. Ok, so it's not a looker, but it's swift, comfortable, 4 wheel drive (handy if our winters continue to be bleak), returns a decent mpg and is practical. Budget of £2.5k gets a low mileage 2001-2 example.

Car 2: Porsche Boxster S. Wonderful handling, great performance, fantastic driver's car, and it should hold its value quite well. Also not bad on fuel, and quite practical. Budget of £8.5k gets a low mileage 2001-2 example.

Can anyone think of a better combo?

[Matt UK]

My two car combo would be what it was:

e39 530i BMW - you'll get very, very good one for £5k
Mk1 MX5 - you'll get a good one for £2k.

You now have £4k left over to pay for upgrades to the MX5, track days, trips to the 'ring etc

[kambites]

The Porsche seems an odd choice for a second car to me; it's just too... capable. If you're going to have something like an X-type for daily duties, get a proper loony sports car like a Caterham.

[TTwiggy]

kambites said:

The Porsche seems an odd choice for a second car to me; it's just too... capable. If you're going to have something like an X-type for daily duties, get a proper loony sports car like a Caterham.

If I could get a Caterham for £8k (ish) I would! They're just too expensive, good ones start at at least £10k, blowing my budget for the 'practical' car.

I agree that I might end up driving the Porker most of the time, but I tend to go to the Lakes at least twice a year with mates/girlfriends, so a good motorway car that can carry 4 adults in comfort is useful.

[TTwiggy]

Matt UK said:

My two car combo would be what it was:

e39 530i BMW - you'll get very, very good one for £5k
Mk1 MX5 - you'll get a good one for £2k.

You now have £4k left over to pay for upgrades to the MX5, track days, trips to the 'ring etc

I've been down the MX5 route. Good cars, but I want something quicker (out of the box - not keen on someone's 'Frankenstein Monster' turbo/charger conversion of an MX5)

[Matt UK]

TTwiggy said:

I've been down the MX5 route. Good cars, but I want something quicker (out of the box - not keen on someone's 'Frankenstein Monster' turbo/charger conversion of an MX5)

You could always embark on the turbo/charger conversion yourself you know exactly what the car is all about.

Replace MX5 with Honda S2000 if you want reliability? Failing that get a TVR Chim - that's where I would go if the MX5 moves on.

Agree with the other poster though - if you are going down the two-car route, it makes sense for the daily to be a wafty as possible, and the garage car to be a bit more raw for the days you fancy it. A Boxster is civilised enough to be perfect for the one-car garage IMO.

[edo]

TTwiggy said:

If I could get a Caterham for £8k (ish) I would! They're just too expensive, good ones start at at least £10k, blowing my budget for the 'practical' car.

I agree that I might end up driving the Porker most of the time, but I tend to go to the Lakes at least twice a year with mates/girlfriends, so a good motorway car that can carry 4 adults in comfort is useful.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2404763.htm

[robsco]

With 11k burning a hole in my back pocket, I'd go for a 166 3.0 Super as the daily with a lovely TVR Chim for the weekend hoons. Lovely jubbly

[TTwiggy]

The TVR is an interesting option - will look into that.

My reasoning for the cars I've chosen are that you get a lot of car for your money with Jags, and my XJ8 has been very reliable for a 150,000+ miler. But I want something a bit smaller as trying to park the XJ in London is a pain – hence the X-Type.

The thought process behind the Boxster is that I've always wanted one, and if I need to release funds, a good, low mileage early example should be easy to move on.