Sports/drivers car with low depreciation for occasional use?

[infernouk]

I had to sell my GT86 back in January as it was on PCP and I moved to central london, It was costing me £250 a month plus insurance and it was driven about 20 miles a month.

I bought a VW UP with cash to replace it and use that when im out of london, it costs me next to nothing...but its really dull from a drivers perspective...

I was considering a second car to leave outside of london for the occasional blast / car events, however I dont really want to be paying PCP depreciation and all those extra costs when its a total luxury purchase.

My ideal next car is a 09 cayman, but they are a little pricey and im not sure what would happen to its value if it just sat and did 1-2k miles a year, my second choice was a 09 mx5 mk3 Sport, costing 1/3 of the cayman at around 5-6k i assumed I may be able to purchase one, use it rarely and when it comes time to sell in 2 years time i could see all my money back?

Essentially I want to know if the cayman is a stupid idea when it wont be used much, if there are alternative car choices (i love lotus too perhaps) and if the more expensive options arent smart, then is the MX5 a good choice or is it not as good as the GT86 was (not driven an MX5 and cant find one for rental to decide for myself)

Cheers for any input guys

[designforlife]

Integra DC5?

Equally if not a better drive than a GT86, reliable and holding value very well. £8-10k for a clean one.

[Mr E]

Elise won’t depreciate much.

[DoubleD]

Sounds like a job for a Caterham

[drgoatboy]

An mx5 will have a bit of depreciation to do but obviously initial outlay is already low, but one that's not modified probably won't feel that special. They are great and I loved my one but I spent a lot of money on it to make it an event to drive.

Lotus seem to be a good bet on depreciation, or as suggested a caterham of some description.
But will they be much cheaper than a cayman wonder?
Vx220 might be a good shout. A smidge cheaper than the equivalent Elise and prices have been rock solid/appreciating in recent years

[drgoatboy]

Do you have somewhere to leave it out of London? Garage rental is crazy expensive everywhere...

[ZX10R NIN]

I'd say look for a 350Z they're robust have a good following and will see you suffer a small amount of depreciation, I don't think any car you buy at the price points you mention will see you get all of your money back:

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

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

I'm not their greatest fan but a Z4 is a good shout at this price point, you can get a decent one for around 4k & if you're only adding 2K in two years you should see a decent amount (not all of it but a decent amount) of your original purchase price back.

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

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

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

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

[Terzo123]

Honda S2000 would be a good shout

[AshVX220]

VX220, prices are only on the up and you'd be hard pushed to find a better "drivers" car for that kind of money.

[MKnight702]

DoubleD said:

Sounds like a job for a Caterham

Caterham or Westfield all day long.

[Fastlane]

If you are 'ard enough, an Ariel Atom will fit the bill.

Edited by Fastlane on Thursday 17th October 16:12

[LordGrover]

I went from GT86 via a few other cars including Z4 35i DCT and a couple of Boxsters; first 986 and now 981 PDK Black Edition.
Late flat 6 boxsters/caymans are holding price, but expensive to maintain.

For fun driving at sensible speeds the GT86 is hard to beat.

[Composite Guru]

Elise or Caterham all day.

[mattman]

People will pay strong money for a low mileage Cayman, so if you don’t plan to do many miles and buy right you could be on to a good thing.

All of the options quoted so far are viable, if it was me, i’d get a roadster to make it really different to the daily tin top and add another dimension to the weekend blats

[infernouk]

Hey all thanks for the responses, a few responses on my end. Yes I have storage in place at parents home further out of London so that’s a non issue. The caterham / Westfield are a bit too limited for me to be an option also they creep on cayman money.

I’m considering a clio 200 though not in the same vein that the OP suggested. I’d have a GT86 again to be honest but they are still depreciating at a rate.

The Elise is perhaps a bit more than I’d like to spend for now, I’ll look at the vx220 though they don’t do much for me visually and they are the same money as Elise!

Edited by infernouk on Thursday 17th October 22:41

[romeodelta]

986 Boxster.

Cut priced Cayman.

[Mr Tidy]

I'd say a Z4, ideally a 3 litre one.

But I may be biased.

[Deep Thought]

Z4 Coupe?

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

[infernouk]

Not a bmw fan on the whole to be honest they don’t do anything for me, also my mum drives a 350z so it’s kinda off the list for that reason

I assume though cheap, the boxter maintenance will sting?

[AshVX220]

infernouk said:

Hey all thanks for the responses, a few responses on my end. Yes I have storage in place at parents home further out of London so that’s a non issue. The caterham / Westfield are a bit too limited for me to be an option also they creep on cayman money.

I’m considering a clio 200 though not in the same vein that the OP suggested. I’d have a GT86 again to be honest but they are still depreciating at a rate.

The Elise is perhaps a bit more than I’d like to spend for now, I’ll look at the vx220 though they don’t do much for me visually and they are the same money as Elise!

Edited by infernouk on Thursday 17th October 22:41

VX's are definitely cheaper than an Elise of equivalent age/mileage, always have been, mainly due to the badge snobbery involved by some.