What Car? £13K Budget - 335i / 987 Boxster / Type R

[Wools]

Difficult to answer I know but some impressions of the cars I'm interested in, along with some other suggestions would be most welcome from everyone here!

My car history so far has been a purely functional one due to budget. My first car was a 1989 Ford Fiesta Mark III then a Rover 200 (For my sins) then a bullet proof Mazda 6. Last year I treated myself to my first decent but lightweight car, a BMW 318i and I've loved driving it over the past year. As my job has kept moving on, I've been fortuante enough to be a manager now and can now look further up the food chain of cars.

As a lifetime petrolhead and fan of Motorsport, I feel it's now or never to indulge my passion and buy my first real car. With that in mind, I've set myself the date of August 2018 (As that's when my loan is paid off) to then start hunting to buy my dream car.

I've spent the past few months going off and looking at cars, deciding which direction to go and coming to some conclusions about what I want:

• Budget is around £13K
• This car will be my only car so I need to commute and have fun in it!
• The car will be kept outside
• I've had a Manual Gearbox all my life so don't mind but would love to own a car with Paddle Shift DCT
• Happy to have a 2 seater
• Want a car with a real step up with power so ideally 200BHP and over

Now, here comes the hard but fun part; choosing which car to buy! After these past few months, I've realised I'm fortunate enough that I can buy a few of my dream cars. Mostly, the cars I used to play in Gran Turismo, Colin McRae Rally and Forza Motorsport! But after some soul searching, I really don't think I could live with some of them as either they're too uncomfortable, too pricey to run or too pricey to look after. So at present, my current line up looks like this in preference order:

• BMW 335i (2010 era)

My current favourite and a solid all rounder. Practical, comfortable, 300BHP engine, 2 seats but 4 at a squeeze and I can get it with Paddle Shift and DCT if I'm lucky with the classifieds and my budget! Also there's a BMW garage down the road from me where they service my 318i so I feel happy knowing a specialist is just down the road.

• Porsche Boxster 987 2.7 (2008 era)

I was never a fan of Porsche in till Chris Harris kept rattling on about them and now it's all I talk about. Out of all the cars here, I'm most passionate about owning this. Looks beautiful, great interior lovely engine, Porsche Guildford are just down the road, a friend of mine works for them and has offered to check examples I find and above all, it's a dream car for me! Slight issues are it'll be more costly to look after and I'm aware of the bore scoring issue. Also, I've never owned a fabric roofed car so I looked into the hard top Cayman 987 but the price for a good one is more than the price of a good 987 Boxster.

• Honda Civic Type R (2010 era)

This car sums up all I love and hold dear about Japanese car culture in the late 90's and I still have to pinch myself I can even buy one. This car means so much to me, I nearly brought this over my current 318i but I floundered at the last minute. I adore the styling of the FN2 although some fans prefer the Japanese FD2, 200BHP will still be a jump up from my 318i and the cockpit makes me tingle! However, I'm wondering if I've moved on with my car purchasing and this would be a step back. It's very difficult, my friend and boss who shares the same love of Japanese car culture as me (And owns a Integra DC5 that's modded with a supercharger) keeps tempting me with Japanese cars like the Impreza WRX STI and the Evo VIII 260 but... I don't know, I still feel the need to own a £10K Japanese road rocket. The Type R has the name and feels the most sensible everyday, but a Evo looks a good choice too. Along with the Porsche Boxster, I'm most passionate about the Type R and this era of Japanese car production, even if they're not the most sensible!

• BMW Z4 (2010 era)

Just like the 335i but in my head it's a 2 seater mini SLS! In reality it's a 2 seater Beemer but it's practical and I like the styling. However, amongst the lot above, it's my least favourite and I'm nowhere near passionate about it. I may actually knock it off the list.

So Pistonheaders, with around £13K on the hip, a car that has to be my one and only for the next few years and knowing the above about me, what car would you go for? Many thanks for any suggestions!

[Stu-nph26]

Your getting prepared well in advance. Maybe by August 2018 a e92 M3 might be in budget Ive seen some very early ones around 14k recently. That would be where I would be putting my money. Why have 200bhp when you can have 400!

[ZX10R NIN]

I'm all for preparation but with over a year it's hard to predict where the market will be & also what may or may not have dropped into your price range also your taste or your needs may have changed but if you want the 335i get it you won't be unhappy with it they really benefit from an Intercooler change as the OEM unit is to small & suffers from heat soak.

[Wools]

Stu-nph26 said:

Your getting prepared well in advance. Maybe by August 2018 a e92 M3 might be in budget Ive seen some very early ones around 14k recently. That would be where I would be putting my money. Why have 200bhp when you can have 400!

I was considering the V10 M5 but ruled it out as my budget was just on the nose of those 2008 M5's. However, getting a mid to early 2000's M3 is not something I considered realistic. Hmm, I'm watching!

ZX10R NIN said:

I'm all for preparation but with over a year it's hard to predict where the market will be & also what may or may not have dropped into your price range also your taste or your needs may have changed but if you want the 335i get it you won't be unhappy with it they really benefit from an Intercooler change as the OEM unit is to small & suffers from heat soak.

True, but I normally plan my purchases and it's great fun to go looking now! Also, come next August I plan on selling my car there and then, before moving on. Also, although we are quite a way out, it's good to do the research now to not let your heart overrule your head and 2 of these cars I've had on a dream list I never thought possible for the past 10 or so years, so although the market may change, my love of them doesn't!

The 335i is certainly my solid choice but feels somewhat safe. The Porsche Boxster is more prestige but needs a deeper wallet. A Japanese road rocket or M3 is the silly but fun choice. Not sure where to go.

[ZX10R NIN]

You can tickle the 335i to make it a very sweet drive it won't be as pure as the Porsche but it'll be a very good steer, also keep an eye out for Alpina B3's

[Commander2874]

Honda Civic Type R! You can get a half decent Championship white model with less than 50k on the clock for about 10k. I bought a well looked after 2007 model with only one previous keeper and 24k mileage. Wonderful cars and i don't think they are that from at all, a nice fun and commuter car imo, plus they look lovely!