2nd car just for fun

[ply001]

Looking for a cheap fun car as a 2nd car. Life's too short and being semi-retired I just want something that looks nice/different but not old fashioned

Seen all of these for under £3500 ( supposedly with mot, good condition and service history )

all look quite good for different reasons

hyundai coupe
mx5
lexus is250

Of course there will be some maintenance costs but at probably less than 4k miles a year I'm not too worried.. also if the car is not worth much after 3 years thats fine too

cheers

[Billy_Whizzzz]

MX5 as it is the only one on that lis that is in any way fun.

[Russet Grange]

MR2 Roadster

[Jonstar]

I have a is250, it is in NO way fun. Mx5 is on a different planet. Add an MR2 and clio rs to the list.

[ply001]

Thanks for that...its just a saw a recent youtube video saying it was a cracking car or under £3000 ish

[ExBoringVolvoDriver]

MX5 out of that initial list.

You might get a BMW Z3 or a Mini Cooper S in your price range.

[Tabs]

An early Abarth 500 fits in that budget also.

[andy43]

Early TT roadster is possible at 3K-ish.
Alfa Spider or SLK?

[ZX10R NIN]

Z4:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202511308...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202509186...

Abarth 500:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202511197...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202507224...

SLK 280:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202507104...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202506043...

TT:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202511308...

[ply001]

Thanks to all

So the list seems a real good one now

Z4 , Abarth 500, SLK 280, TT and MX-5

In terms of the obvious ie general maintenance, reliability, running costs..are they about the same ?

[Ian Geary]

Can't really answer, but from my aging bmw experience (59 plate) they get to an age where a lot of stuff is just designed not to last - ie gaskets, hoses, motorised bits, switches.

The mx5 will rust a lot faster though.

All of those have a decent online fan base/ support base which i find invaluable for help and keeping things going.

Interestingly, we ran a series 3 2.0 hyundai coupe (52 plate) for a few years. It had virtually no online support behind it it- a few usa owners who just took it to the dealer whenever.

The old 2 litre was a rough unit - revs slowly, sounded harsh, poor mpg and power for its size/ weight. A dissapointment given how good the body looked.

Toyota engines of 10 years before were way better (ie the 3s-ge found in celicas and other stuff).

Hth

[Mr Tidy]

I ran a couple of Z4 Coupes for over 5 years and only had one unexpected bill when the electric water pump died. New ones cost £250 to £300, but I suppose parts like that are consumables on any older car. Anyway the pre-facelift cars have a mechanical water pump so it's less of an issue on those.

Z4s also seem to be pretty rust resistant apart from rear brakes pipes and wings, but they are all bolt on panels so a fairly simple fix. You don't buy a car like that for economy but 30mpg is easily achieved even in the 3 litres.

I don't know anything about your other options.

[ply001]

..sorry forgot to put in the list the alfa romeo spider someone mentioned...

just did a search and no v6 under £6k.. so out of range anyway

Edited by ply001 on Wednesday 10th December 21:57

[ply001]

Ok.. after lots of googling ( I know that is dangerous ) and other reasons I have excluded the following

Z4 - I have had 2 BMW's over the last 10 years and both were disasters
Abarth 500 - Doesnt really float our boat and they seem to suffer from poor reliabilty
SLK - Nice looking cars but not as good as the others

This leaves

TT - Looks good, would prefer maybe the quattro but at our budget am I asking for trouble
MX-5 - Great fun car but they seem to suffer from awful rust and burning oil
Mini cooper S - Seem to be a fun car but reliability pre 2014 seems iffy ?

..an outsider purely 'cos they are different !!
Jeep Cherokee XJ


Please keep throwing suggestions at me for my meagre budget

[CSNY]

ply001 said:

Ok.. after lots of googling ( I know that is dangerous ) and other reasons I have excluded the following

Z4 - I have had 2 BMW's over the last 10 years and both were disasters
Abarth 500 - Doesnt really float our boat and they seem to suffer from poor reliabilty
SLK - Nice looking cars but not as good as the others

This leaves

TT - Looks good, would prefer maybe the quattro but at our budget am I asking for trouble
MX-5 - Great fun car but they seem to suffer from awful rust and burning oil
Mini cooper S - Seem to be a fun car but reliability pre 2014 seems iffy ?

..an outsider purely 'cos they are different !!
Jeep Cherokee XJ


Please keep throwing suggestions at me for my meagre budget

Which MX5 are you looking at? The NA and NB are great fun, the NC good but not quite the same grin factor. I'm not aware of the burning oil issue, but rust, yes sir!

[ExBoringVolvoDriver]

ply001 said:

Ok.. after lots of googling ( I know that is dangerous ) and other reasons I have excluded the following

Z4 - I have had 2 BMW's over the last 10 years and both were disasters
Abarth 500 - Doesnt really float our boat and they seem to suffer from poor reliabilty
SLK - Nice looking cars but not as good as the others

This leaves

TT - Looks good, would prefer maybe the quattro but at our budget am I asking for trouble
MX-5 - Great fun car but they seem to suffer from awful rust and burning oil
Mini cooper S - Seem to be a fun car but reliability pre 2014 seems iffy ?

..an outsider purely 'cos they are different !!
Jeep Cherokee XJ


Please keep throwing suggestions at me for my meagre budget

I think with your budget it will be quite hard to find the perfect car that doesn’t have some form of issues. I think that the Japanese route will give you the best chance of reliability.

[John D.]

Russet Grange said:

MR2 Roadster

Gets my vote.

[Mr Tidy]

ply001 said:

Ok.. after lots of googling ( I know that is dangerous ) and other reasons I have excluded the following

Z4 - I have had 2 BMW's over the last 10 years and both were disasters

That's a shame. I've had 8 BMWs since 2005 and none has been a disaster, including 3 Z4s!