Something fun and interesting, but reliable - £5k

[ryanMIL]

Thoughts are turning to my next car which I’ll be looking to buy in January.

I’ve got a budget of £5-6k, but that’s about my only rule. I only use the car for a short commute (wife’s car is our ‘main’ car) and have got a bike as my toy. The car doesn’t need to be practical, cheap to run or have any creature comforts. However, it does need to be reliable because I’ll rely on it to get to work.

I’d like something as fun and interesting mainly. I have been considering a turbo/supercharged MX5, but I’m not too sure about the reliability of an aftermarket turbo kit!

I’d love to hear your suggestions.

[gothatway]

Porsche 944 if you're prepared to go that old.

[ryanMIL]

gothatway said:

Porsche 944 if you're prepared to go that old.

Love them and 924s’s. Would they fit the reliability bill?

[bristolracer]

£5k buys you a ropey 944 or a pretty good 924

Have you considered a Boxster or Z4 ?

[ryanMIL]

bristolracer said:

£5k buys you a ropey 944 or a pretty good 924

Have you considered a Boxster or Z4 ?

Yep, Boxters just don’t do it for me. I could go for a Z4 3.0, but I wouldn’t necessarily consider it particularly interesting.

[gothatway]

ryanMIL said:

Love them and 924s’s. Would they fit the reliability bill?

I've run a couple of 944s as daily drivers for the past few years. The first was an early (83, "square dash" one) well within your budget, but it hadn't been cared for and did have a lot of issues - only electrical. That was written off and replaced by a series 2 (85.5, "oval dash") which had been cared for but was a bit above your budget - no issues at all (so far - tempting providence !). A 924S, even if newer, will have the same potential for electrical issues as the earlier 944, due to location of battery and fuse box/distribution unit. Fantastic cars to drive though ! Engine in the front, gearbox in the back, nut in the middle.

[Gareth1974]

350Z? https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

[irocfan]

Crossfire is good value at this point, deffo reliable, good performance - not 'exciting' though

[ryanMIL]

Gareth1974 said:

350Z? https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

Yes. I hadn’t considered these, but a few popped up in my searches and they seem to offer an old-school driving experience but seem to have very little reliability issues.

Looks like this might be a serious contender.

[ryanMIL]

irocfan said:

Crossfire is good value at this point, deffo reliable, good performance - not 'exciting' though

Sorry, but

[ZX10R NIN]

Focus ST-3 a reliable fast hot hatch:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

350Z

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Z4 3.0i

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[irocfan]

SLK of some flavour?

[Mr Tidy]

Maybe a BMW 130i?

[aka_kerrly]

- Honda S2000 - may have to hunt hard at under £6k
- Toyota MR2/MR-S - the later mk3 model with a Celica 190 engine swap is a good cut price Elise?

[Gareth1974]

ryanMIL said:

Gareth1974 said:

350Z? https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

Yes. I hadn’t considered these, but a few popped up in my searches and they seem to offer an old-school driving experience but seem to have very little reliability issues.

Looks like this might be a serious contender.

With the 350Z, many fall into the high RFL category, which does bump your running costs up a bit - if this is a factor, look for one registered before this rate applied (like the one I linked too). RAYS forged wheels are nice to have too.