Summer is coming! £5K convertible (to MX5 or not to MX5)
Discussion
Title says it really...due to familial expansion we are firmly in the 2 people carrier setting and previous fun car plans were put on hold. But now we're saying screw it and lets go for car number 3 which can be 2 seats and convertible. We've previous had 2 mk1 MX5s and 1 mk2 MX5 and spannered on them plenty. Love MX5s except for the rust. Really want to try and avoid rust this time.
- Approx. £5k (some flex for the right car).
- Economy doesn't matter
- Will be full time garaged
- Handling a high priority (this is a fun car, not a long distance machine)
- Cruise control would be nice so we can use it for weekends away (eventually).
- Pop up headlights are ace, although unlikely.
- Might do the odd track day.
- We regret previously selling our MX5s as they are worth so much more now, so if we can find something to keep for a long while and appreciate in value, that would be nice.
I think i've got all the usual options - anything missing/any thoughts on the list below?
- 986 Boxster (likely 2.7, might stretch to a 3.2s). Current favourite option, and is now the right time before prices start climbing? Expensive to maintain?
- Z4 (either 2.5si or 3.0si). Bit cruisery vs the Boxster?
- MB SLK350. Bit soft and low rent interior? Any feedback?
- 350Z. Another favourite option, although also rust?
- Mk3 MX5. Plenty around although rust. And i'm not sure about the Mk3 shape.
- Mk2/Mk1 MX5. Getting a good one is getting expensive. Plus rust. Turbo could be an option though.
- Toyota MR2 (mk3). Cheap, although can't seem to find any with cruise?
Not interesting in Minis. They just don't do it for me. Also not big fans of Audi TTs. Not sure why although Quattro might sway...
Ta very much. Not in a massive rush but would like to have something sorted in the next few weeks.
- Approx. £5k (some flex for the right car).
- Economy doesn't matter
- Will be full time garaged
- Handling a high priority (this is a fun car, not a long distance machine)
- Cruise control would be nice so we can use it for weekends away (eventually).
- Pop up headlights are ace, although unlikely.
- Might do the odd track day.
- We regret previously selling our MX5s as they are worth so much more now, so if we can find something to keep for a long while and appreciate in value, that would be nice.
I think i've got all the usual options - anything missing/any thoughts on the list below?
- 986 Boxster (likely 2.7, might stretch to a 3.2s). Current favourite option, and is now the right time before prices start climbing? Expensive to maintain?
- Z4 (either 2.5si or 3.0si). Bit cruisery vs the Boxster?
- MB SLK350. Bit soft and low rent interior? Any feedback?
- 350Z. Another favourite option, although also rust?
- Mk3 MX5. Plenty around although rust. And i'm not sure about the Mk3 shape.
- Mk2/Mk1 MX5. Getting a good one is getting expensive. Plus rust. Turbo could be an option though.
- Toyota MR2 (mk3). Cheap, although can't seem to find any with cruise?
Not interesting in Minis. They just don't do it for me. Also not big fans of Audi TTs. Not sure why although Quattro might sway...
Ta very much. Not in a massive rush but would like to have something sorted in the next few weeks.
mrzuckinihead said:
- (this is a fun car, not a long distance machine)
- Cruise control would be nice so we can use it for weekends away (eventually).
lol, could you put 2 more contradictory statements next to each other - Cruise control would be nice so we can use it for weekends away (eventually).
I'll put a shout out of an MGF/TF, lots of fun and cheap and easy to maintain. Quite like the idea of a Z4, but not sure how much of a GT vs sports car they would be.
Boxster would be my choice.
I had a Mk1 MX5 for 6 months, but found it too slow even though it was a 1.8. The pop up headlights were fun though, particularly when flashing. They are very old now though.
I borrowed a 350Z for a week but found it to be too tail happy and not great handling. Gearchange was a bit slow too.
I had a Mk1 MX5 for 6 months, but found it too slow even though it was a 1.8. The pop up headlights were fun though, particularly when flashing. They are very old now though.
I borrowed a 350Z for a week but found it to be too tail happy and not great handling. Gearchange was a bit slow too.
I own a 986 Boxster and previously owned an MX-5 (Mk2 variant).
I love my Boxster and have had it 12 months, I bought mine for 7k (Sold the hard top and made £600 back though). The Boxster is a better car no doubt about it, it feels special every time I get in it and even though mine is a 2.7 it still has a decent turn of pace, I took it to Germany for a week last summer and the Nurburg ring and had an amazing time, it's currently off road for the winter but will be getting brought out again soon as I miss it.
Owners clubs for the Boxster recommend budgeting 2k a year to keep the car going in decent order and there are certainly a number of issues to look out for, especially at the lower end of the market, Rear main Seal and IMS bearing are big ones (Mine had both replaced prior to my purchase.
Worn suspension parts can be expensive to replace if you go to a garage
I would recommend the Porsche but I would say you need to be aware that they are a fairly big step up over an MX-5 in terms of part costs alone, MX-5's being a relative bargain in my opinion
I love my Boxster and have had it 12 months, I bought mine for 7k (Sold the hard top and made £600 back though). The Boxster is a better car no doubt about it, it feels special every time I get in it and even though mine is a 2.7 it still has a decent turn of pace, I took it to Germany for a week last summer and the Nurburg ring and had an amazing time, it's currently off road for the winter but will be getting brought out again soon as I miss it.
Owners clubs for the Boxster recommend budgeting 2k a year to keep the car going in decent order and there are certainly a number of issues to look out for, especially at the lower end of the market, Rear main Seal and IMS bearing are big ones (Mine had both replaced prior to my purchase.
Worn suspension parts can be expensive to replace if you go to a garage
I would recommend the Porsche but I would say you need to be aware that they are a fairly big step up over an MX-5 in terms of part costs alone, MX-5's being a relative bargain in my opinion
I'd love another Mk1 MX5, but the prices have gone crazy for what you're actually getting. And so much rust.
I'm leaning away from a Boxster due to potential maintainance costs, especially at the lower end of the market.
Mk3 (or even a Mk3.5) MX5 could work - although I know they do rust too, plus handling isn't great stock vs Mk1/2.
MR2 Mk3 is an interesting proposition.
But the one that catches my eye the most right now is the Z4 with 2.5 or 3.0 (ideally Si). They seem very cheap for alot of car? I mean, why pay for a rusty MX5 (either current rust or future rust) when you can have something with lots of toys with a straight 6? I know the handling won't be quite there, but for 90% of the time???
I'm leaning away from a Boxster due to potential maintainance costs, especially at the lower end of the market.
Mk3 (or even a Mk3.5) MX5 could work - although I know they do rust too, plus handling isn't great stock vs Mk1/2.
MR2 Mk3 is an interesting proposition.
But the one that catches my eye the most right now is the Z4 with 2.5 or 3.0 (ideally Si). They seem very cheap for alot of car? I mean, why pay for a rusty MX5 (either current rust or future rust) when you can have something with lots of toys with a straight 6? I know the handling won't be quite there, but for 90% of the time???
As someone who's daily driver and only car is a £5k 986 Boxster ... guess what I'm going to recommend! 
Mine has been rock solid despite coming with no history beyond some stamps in a service book ... no details of what work may or may not have been done. I bought mine on 100k miles and found that going big on miles got you a lot more for your money.
My one caveat being that I wouldn't have bought it if I wasn't handy with the spanners. I also wouldn't have bought it if a grenading engine would have completely ruined me. It'd be a kick in the pods, but if the worst happened tomorrow I could walk away without getting a penny for the car (they're worth a couple of thousand, even as 'scrap' - so it'd be highly unlikely that I'd ever get absolutely nothing for the car, but the point stands).
What I will say is that when it comes to Porsche, almost EVERYTHING that isn't essential to calling it a 'car', is an optional extra.
This means that there is a wide spread of options on cars - some first owners ticked every box, others very few. So don't assume that because you've seen something on one Boxster means it'll be on all of them. Cruise control, on board computer, decent headlights, jazzy seats, 18" wheels, better audio, the amount of leather inside, sportier suspension, an LSD ... all these were options. So decide what are your 'must have' options, your 'nice to have' and your 'not bothered either way' and find out in advance what the car you're looking at has. If in doubt, there is a sticker on the underside of the front bootlid that lists all the option codes the car was built with, and websites exist to decode those. On cars where I wasn't certain, I asked sellers if they could take a pic of that label and send it to me. For me, my must haves were heated seats and Litronic headlights - seeing as I'd be using the car all year round.
Mine has been rock solid despite coming with no history beyond some stamps in a service book ... no details of what work may or may not have been done. I bought mine on 100k miles and found that going big on miles got you a lot more for your money.
My one caveat being that I wouldn't have bought it if I wasn't handy with the spanners. I also wouldn't have bought it if a grenading engine would have completely ruined me. It'd be a kick in the pods, but if the worst happened tomorrow I could walk away without getting a penny for the car (they're worth a couple of thousand, even as 'scrap' - so it'd be highly unlikely that I'd ever get absolutely nothing for the car, but the point stands).
What I will say is that when it comes to Porsche, almost EVERYTHING that isn't essential to calling it a 'car', is an optional extra.
This means that there is a wide spread of options on cars - some first owners ticked every box, others very few. So don't assume that because you've seen something on one Boxster means it'll be on all of them. Cruise control, on board computer, decent headlights, jazzy seats, 18" wheels, better audio, the amount of leather inside, sportier suspension, an LSD ... all these were options. So decide what are your 'must have' options, your 'nice to have' and your 'not bothered either way' and find out in advance what the car you're looking at has. If in doubt, there is a sticker on the underside of the front bootlid that lists all the option codes the car was built with, and websites exist to decode those. On cars where I wasn't certain, I asked sellers if they could take a pic of that label and send it to me. For me, my must haves were heated seats and Litronic headlights - seeing as I'd be using the car all year round.Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff