Best roadster within my price range?

[warcalf]

Looking for a new car in March as I'll turn 22. Been driving a 318i M Sport, which is a fantastic car, especially to someone of my age and car history!

But I've decided it's time to delve in to the summer dream of fast, sporty, top down driving... the feel of the air through your hair and all that!

The options on my list are Boxster, both 986&987, TT, Z4 and SLK. Bias aside, what's best for me?

I value manual gearboxes, the drive experience! Only thing else to say aside from this is I'm unsure of the Porsches down to price. I could afford them, but it'd be a big financial hit, especially when Z4's and the rest are so much more affordable!

No-one even mention MX-5. I'll never buy one!

To add some more specifics, Budget is pretty open, wouldn't go higher than 9.5K though. High mileage means I'd find it imperative for the car to have full service. And manual is important, but not essential.

Edited by warcalf on Tuesday 31st January 12:09

[ZX10R NIN]

You need to give more specifics, for example what's your budget, does it have to be manual does high mileage bother you?

[warcalf]

ZX10R NIN said:

You need to give more specifics, for example what's your budget, does it have to be manual does high mileage bother you?

Budget is pretty open, if I was to buy independently, I could afford maybe £7-7.5K. But my parents are willing to lend me money, so I could afford a 987 for example.

Doesn't have to be manual, I just am not a huge fan of automatic driving, unless the car has flappy paddle.

As for mileage, I don't think I'd buy higher than 90K miles, and the higher the mileage, the more imperative I'd find it for the car to have full service.

[FamousPheasant]

With your budget I would look at a 3.0 Z4. Even though the design is 14 years old the interior feels pretty fresh, insurance is reasonable and the M54 in the earlier cars sounds fantastic. I found mine pretty practical - the boot is very usable and the hood doesn't rob much space when down. Driving wise it really benefited from a gearbox oil change when I bought it. As said before it sounded amazing and grip was good. It's biggest weaknesses IMHO was the steering , which felt dead, and the ride - which was truly awful. Removing the run flats helped, but not by much.

6K should get you a mint late 3.0 M54 or your top budget could get you into the marginally more powerful 3.0si. I preferred the looks (and price) of the pre-facelift so went for that myself.

Also try and find one with the optional sport seats as they are considerably better than the standard seats - I didn't and regretted it.

Having said all that, I just sold mine in favor of an ND MX-5 and in terms of a pure driving experience the Mazda wins hands down. I'm not saying the Z4 was bad but the Mazda is a good 350/400kg lighter and you can certainly feel the difference in almost every respect. Before you dismiss an MX-5 I would drive one!

[LordHaveMurci]

Of your choices the BMW & the Boxsters would be the best 'drivers cars', the SLK is only manual in the smaller engines, the SLK55 is auto only.

The TT, hmmm.

[warcalf]

LordHaveMurci said:

Of your choices the BMW & the Boxsters would be the best 'drivers cars', the SLK is only manual in the smaller engines, the SLK55 is auto only.

The TT, hmmm.

They would, but I'm not sure if I want to go for the Boxster due to cost. I absolutely love Porsche, but convincing myself to part with all that money is proving difficult.

I test drove a 160 TT and found it exceptionally fun. I don't understand what everyone has against them! Maybe I'll find out when I drive a Z4?

[warcalf]

FamousPheasant said:

With your budget I would look at a 3.0 Z4. Even though the design is 14 years old the interior feels pretty fresh, insurance is reasonable and the M54 in the earlier cars sounds fantastic. I found mine pretty practical - the boot is very usable and the hood doesn't rob much space when down. Driving wise it really benefited from a gearbox oil change when I bought it. As said before it sounded amazing and grip was good. It's biggest weaknesses IMHO was the steering , which felt dead, and the ride - which was truly awful. Removing the run flats helped, but not by much.

6K should get you a mint late 3.0 M54 or your top budget could get you into the marginally more powerful 3.0si. I preferred the looks (and price) of the pre-facelift so went for that myself.

Also try and find one with the optional sport seats as they are considerably better than the standard seats - I didn't and regretted it.

Having said all that, I just sold mine in favor of an ND MX-5 and in terms of a pure driving experience the Mazda wins hands down. I'm not saying the Z4 was bad but the Mazda is a good 350/400kg lighter and you can certainly feel the difference in almost every respect. Before you dismiss an MX-5 I would drive one!

Cheers for the info.

A question I really could do with knowing the answer to... How spacious in the interior for the whole body. I'm 6'5 and quite broad and built. A problem I've had when sitting in and driving TT's and Boxsters is how cramped I am. Is the Z4 much better?

What puts me off of a MX-5 is the lack of power. I can't imagine 158bhp feeling at all impressive.

[kiethton]

Maybe look at a Honda S2000

All of them are spanish, brilliant engine and you should find a good few in budget

[warcalf]

kiethton said:

Maybe look at a Honda S2000

All of them are spanish, brilliant engine and you should find a good few in budget

Just off of a quick auto-trader search. There were only two in my price range, an 03 and 02. A bit too old really.

And I certainly wouldn't say a Spanish car is a good thing. However is an S2000 Spanish?? Or did you mean to say all my options were German?

[otolith]

Spanish = Manuel!

[otolith]

Que?

[otolith]

A bit left field - VX220?

[kiethton]

warcalf said:

kiethton said:

Maybe look at a Honda S2000

All of them are spanish, brilliant engine and you should find a good few in budget

Just off of a quick auto-trader search. There were only two in my price range, an 03 and 02. A bit too old really.

And I certainly wouldn't say a Spanish car is a good thing. However is an S2000 Spanish?? Or did you mean to say all my options were German?

Sorry Spanish = Manual, Manuel

Wow, just looked myself, prices have really climbed recently! - there are a few '55 plates on ebay at the top of the OP budget

Look on the bright side - lower depreciation!

[FamousPheasant]

warcalf said:

Cheers for the info.

A question I really could do with knowing the answer to... How spacious in the interior for the whole body. I'm 6'5 and quite broad and built. A problem I've had when sitting in and driving TT's and Boxsters is how cramped I am. Is the Z4 much better?

What puts me off of a MX-5 is the lack of power. I can't imagine 158bhp feeling at all impressive.

I found the Z4 very good for space - I'm a 6ft 17 stone chunk with a long back and short legs. I had plenty of headroom, decent leg room and good adjustability in the seat - but, as always, I suppose you won't know until you try one!

Make sure you test a 6 cylinder one. Compared to a 4 pot TT you will be sold on the sound alone. The 3.0 is worth it over the 2.5 as you get the extra performance for little MPG difference.

You would struggle in the mx5 as it's noticeably smaller. I carried my 6'4 "powerfully built" friend last week and he was very cosy!

[ZX10R NIN]

2008 TT 3.2 250bhp 90k Manual

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

As above but with DSG 80k

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

2006 Z4 3.0si Sport 92k

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

As above 64k

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

2006 SLK350 Manual 272bhp 62k

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

2006 SLK350 Auto an update by Weistec sharpens up the shift.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

[J4CKO]

No 370Z in that list ?

[warcalf]

otolith said:

A bit left field - VX220?

Quite slow are they not? 143 bhp and they're a bit like the S2000, high price for an old car 😞

[warcalf]

kiethton said:

Sorry Spanish = Manual, Manuel

Wow, just looked myself, prices have really climbed recently! - there are a few '55 plates on ebay at the top of the OP budget

Look on the bright side - lower depreciation!

Hahaha, sorry mate! Only just made an account on here... not quite used to all the terminology yet! My apologies!

Not a fan of Jap cars, for the best part I feel they lack soul. Maybe that's just the German in me coming out? I don't know haha. Might be worth a test drive!

[warcalf]

J4CKO said:

No 370Z in that list ?

Too expensive! At a max, I'm willing to spend £9K. Going off of Auto-trader the cheapest was £12,500.00

[warcalf]

ZX10R NIN said:

2008 TT 3.2 250bhp 90k Manual

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

As above but with DSG 80k

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

2006 Z4 3.0si Sport 92k

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

As above 64k

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

2006 SLK350 Manual 272bhp 62k

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

2006 SLK350 Auto an update by Weistec sharpens up the shift.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Thank you, sir!

Some fantastic finds there!