Something fun circa £15k

[coldel]

eleveneleven said:

Another vote here for the S2000

My neighbour has one, I tried it, and didnt like the lack of umph really - had to wring its neck to get it to do anything and was a laborious task driving it around where I live (built up city). Also found the cabin to be somewhat claustrophobic?

Maybe a supercharged one?

[coldel]

TameRacingDriver said:

As a Boxster 3.2 owner, I'm not sure you would get on with your other suggestion of a 2.7 Cayman. Even the 3.2 needs revving quite hard to get the power, although it will certainly be more spacious and comfortable than an s2000. Just something to bare in mind.

Thanks, much appreciated, and a fairly good shout.

[coldel]

0a said:

I bought an SLK55 a couple of months ago.

It's hilarious. A proper German TVR in many ways. That engine!

The auto is a bit crap when you first use it. I had mine remapped - 388bhp, higher rev limit, quicker box. It's great now.

From my research, I don't see it as being expensive to run. Key issues are looking after the gearbox (I just had a full gearbox service at my specialist for under £300) and the brakes (can now be done for a fraction of the price they used to be).

This engine went into the E55 supercharged, and eventually into the SLR. It is vastly unstressed (but very fun) in the SLK.

These have none of the issues of the C63 or E63s.

Edited by 0a on Friday 7th January 15:48

Thanks, really interesting to hear you can remap the car to improve the failings of the gearbox and speed it up?

Also I had heard about the £1k front brake discs cost, has that issue gone away then?

[coldel]

Thanks for all the posts above guys, learning a lot as I go along.

Sounds like I can make the car more sprightly shall we say with a little bit of work, and a remap is a good start.

2nd cat delete and X pipe, I am reading a fair bit about at the moment too?

[coldel]

M.F.D said:

Just adding my thoughts here.

I note that you attended track days from your initial post. Are you not going to miss the VX220 in that regard? Surely any AMG vert or similar is going to be a disappointment in terms of engagement?

S2000 seems like a solid shout as long as you fit in one. As does an E92 M3 - Looks like you can get a c. 80k miler around your budget.

I do the odd track day, but really only as something to go along and enjoy, I am not going for PBs or the like. I got my fix in the VX from an engagement point of view but also that my talent ran out way before the car limits did.

The SLK has really good reviews about road feel and handling, and Ive never had an AMG V8 and the days of being allowed those at an affordable level are disappearing fast.

There is something about the S2000 that just doesn't do it for me for some reason.

[coldel]

Just for closure, I ended up going for a Z4 3.0si Coupe. Brilliant looking car. Enough power. Sacrificed for 2 seats I just didnt want to compromise on getting 4.

[coldel]

Cheers, and loving that in blue. The blue does suit it so well but the one I bought was so well priced I suffered with having a black car again after promising myself never again lol

And yes they are not as pricey as an M (more than double the price), don't suffer M tax on running and parts costs. Yes they are less powerful but the torque across the rev range is so impressive in the 3.0si it's enough for me. They look stunning in coupe form too...I so hadn't appreciated them as much as I should have. Just needed a few owners to open my eyes a bit wider when I was looking around!