370z, BMW Z4M, or Cayman

[PhilUK]

I've narrowed my next car choice down to 3 options.

The 370Z, Z4M or the Cayman.

I'm aware that the Z4M is arguably the best car, but the age and mileage of the vehicles that are in my budget worry me a little. I will have approx £16K. The same reason why I'm a little bit weary of the Cayman, also the possibility of expensive parts. I can afford some repairs but would like to avoid it obviously, and the older the car the higher the risk can be.

I can get a 370Z for £13-15K and it'll be much newer than the other two with much lower mileage. It'll have similar service costs but it'll be a good 5-7 years younger. The Porsche and BMW will probably be 2006 to 2008 latest, the 370Z 2010-2013 are within my budget.


Could anyone give me some thoughts on what their choice would be and what kind of common faults the 370Z can develop?

Thanks.

[CX53]

I would go for the 370z for the advantages you've said + Nissan reliability.

If it really was money no option with running costs it would probably be the Porsche for me though.

[PhilUK]

CX53 said:

I would go for the 370z for the advantages you've said + Nissan reliability.

If it really was money no option with running costs it would probably be the Porsche for me though.

I haven't driven one yet. I'll take one for a test drive, are they considered good cars to drive? I'd love to take a good roadster to the alps next year!

[PhilUK]

Bump!

[Over over under steer]

I would avoid Cayman's at that price as you're right at the end of the 987 gen 1 when there were a few mechanical issues (google it and you'll read of them all). These particularly surrounded the S 3.4 engine.

If you can stretch to an '09 on 987 gen 2 (987.2) then you'll get the DFI engine and potentially a more reliable package

The Porsche represents the best driving experience.

This is followed by the Z4M - this will also be a better investment in the long term. By the sounds of it you have £17k to spend and not £17k to lose, so this would make a lot of sense

I would completely discount the Nissan. It doesn't really do much for me

[cerb4.5lee]

I would go 370Z out of those I think, had a Z4M and while on paper it has all the right ingredients its ride and gearbox frustrate and its chassis isn't the most resolved either, not driven a Cayman but from what I have read they seem to be competent if not that exciting.

[s2kste]

Of the choices given I'd go S2000.

[PhilUK]

Over over under steer said:

This is followed by the Z4M - this will also be a better investment in the long term. By the sounds of it you have £17k to spend and not £17k to lose, so this would make a lot of sense.

Do you mean they're more reliable? It's just I'd be getting quite an old car by todays standards.

[Siy]

surprised you would suggest the BMW is better than the Cayman - but equally happy to hear that, as I have just bought a 2013 Z4 35is ... havent got it yet, will be 10 days or so till prepped and delivered - you have the beauty of hard top rather than soft top.... and they do appear quite nice on the inside!

Edited by Siy on Wednesday 24th February 15:10

[w1ntermut3]

You won't get anywhere near a 2009 cayman.2 for 15-16 - I've been looking for a while and had no luck. You can get the older 2.7 without any options and about 55-65 on the clock or an 3.4S with a gamble on bore scoring.

Neither will you get a very low mileage Z4M coupe - I assume if you were ok with a roadster you'd be looking at boxsters also? Be warned - if it's for your DD lots of people seem to find the Z4M's a bit crashy - great for a sunday drive but possibly not for you day in day out? Drive one?

Can't speak for a 370 so I' won;t.


If you'd consider other options; you could get a slightly bork-ier e92 m3 or rs4 for 15-16? If you want to go full bork, you could buy an M5 or M6 (with balls of steel)? A 996 would also fit similarly but be reasonably mid-higher mileage which would be pretty reliable (minus wear+tear bits). Gt85 / BRZ and probably enough money to supercharge? Or spend a good chunk less into an e46 M3 - I'm not trying to tell you you're looking for the wrong car here at all, just offering up thoughts based on what's available.

In this price bracket, the only other fast things are ex-boy-racer stuff with a lot less special factor and class.

Edited by w1ntermut3 on Wednesday 24th February 15:29

Edited by w1ntermut3 on Wednesday 24th February 15:31

Edited by w1ntermut3 on Wednesday 24th February 15:33

[PhilUK]

Siy said:

surprised you would suggest the BMW is better than the Cayman - but equally happy to hear that, as I have just bought a 2013 Z4 35is ... havent got it yet, will be 10 days or so till prepped and delivered - you have the beauty of hard top rather than soft top.... and they do appear quite nice on the inside!

Edited by Siy on Wednesday 24th February 15:10

Well, as far as I'm aware it's the quickest and most nimble out of the two with an award winning 3.2L straight 6 engine, the 2006 onward ones anyway. I don't know about your model, you'd have to compare it to the 2.7L Cayman I'd guess.

I'm only going on what I've read anyway. I've not test driven any of these cars and I'm trying to narrow my choices down. I'm really thinking about the Z4M or the 370Z for a few reasons. The Cayman is a possibility but might be a bit too posh for my liking.

[SteveR1979]

I can't stand the 370z, I am however a big fan of the Z4M, although I only use mine on the odd trip. It spends most of its time tucked up in my garage.

I found the Porsche cabin quite cramped, but as with all these things its horses for courses.

[PhilUK]

w1ntermut3 said:

You won't get anywhere near a 2009 cayman.2 for 15-16 - I've been looking for a while and had no luck. You can get the older 2.7 without any options and about 55-65 on the clock or an 3.4S with a gamble on bore scoring.

Neither will you get a very low mileage Z4M coupe - I assume if you were ok with a roadster you'd be looking at boxsters also? Be warned - if it's for your DD lots of people seem to find the Z4M's a bit crashy - great for a sunday drive but possibly not for you day in day out? Drive one?

Can't speak for a 370 so I' won;t.


If you'd consider other options; you could get a slightly bork-ier e92 m3 or rs4 for 15-16? If you want to go full bork, you could buy an M5 or M6 (with balls of steel)? A 996 would also fit similarly but be reasonably mid-higher mileage which would be pretty reliable (minus wear+tear bits). Gt85 / BRZ and probably enough money to supercharge? Or spend a good chunk less into an e46 M3 - I'm not trying to tell you you're looking for the wrong car here at all, just offering up thoughts based on what's available.

In this price bracket, the only other fast things are ex-boy-racer stuff with a lot less special factor and class.

Yea, I'd be looking for a 2006, 2007 Cayman. Not 100% on the Boxster styling. Plus all people keep saying to me is 'Poor mans Porsche' which I know is nonsense, but it would get annoying to hear all the time. I couldn't afford the insurance on a supercharged car. The M5 is a bit to big and the older M3 looks a little too boxy for my liking. The TTS is another I'm looking at. But I think that really it's down to the Z4M or the 370Z. I guess the choice will be made by whether I want a car that's over 10 years old. I do quite like the look of the 370Z. They're meant to be well made, powerful and fun to drive but the Z4 looks really nice and is meant to be a great car, but my budget would only allow an older one.

These two Z4M's are around my budget with decent mileage.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

I've also seen ones with 40K for around £15,000.

Edited by PhilUK on Wednesday 24th February 15:38

[w1ntermut3]

PhilUK said:

The Cayman, if I chose it I'd be looking at a 2006-2007 really.

These two Z4M's are around my budget with decent mileage.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

I've also seen ones with 40K for around £15,000.

Everything else you listed was a coupe - I assumed you wanted the Z in coupe also. Personally, I hate the look of the Z4 in roadster format but think it's stunning in coupe format.

Edited by w1ntermut3 on Wednesday 24th February 15:42

[turboteeth]

Cayman would be my recommendation!

I have a 2006 3.4s - not the quickest thing but the handling is something else! Only driven a 3 litre Z4 and never a 370 but I cannot believe they can be any better as a drivers car.

Running costs on the Cayman are....a lot! This is the biggest downside as well as potential for big failures sadly - but there are many Caymans of the early vintage without issues!

[PhilUK]

w1ntermut3 said:

4M Coupe

Everything else you listed was a coupe - I assumed you wanted the Z in coupe also. Personally, I hate the look of the Z4 in roadster format but think it's stunning in coupe format.

Would you consider a boxster?

Well, I'd prefer the coupe, but if I'm going for the better car I'd happily take the roadster, but you're right, it's not as nice as the coupe. Boxster is complicated. I'd prefer the Cayman, and the Boxsters would be a similar year within my budget and would have similar issues wouldn't it? Don't they have the same engines?

This one here is just out of budget. But with some haggling and patience and another grand perhaps I could get lucky. It is considerably older than what I could get a 370Z for less with, and it's at the upper end of the mileage I'd prefer.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Z4M-3-2-340-BHP-M-CO...

I think a 2009 Boxster might just be out of my budget, but I could stretch to another grand but it would have to be the Boxster S 3.4. Also I don't think I could deal with people saying stupid things about them.

Edited by PhilUK on Wednesday 24th February 15:49

[w1ntermut3]

PhilUK said:

Well, I'd prefer the coupe, but if I'm going for the better car I'd happily take the roadster, but you're right, it's not as nice as the coupe. Boxster is complicated. I'd prefer the Cayman, and the Boxsters would be a similar year within my budget and would have similar issues wouldn't it? Don't they have the same engines?

There's a lot of info on the Porsche forum and on specialist owners forums, but it basically comes down to: Ignore the worries about IMS because the failures are few and far between. All engines can suffer from bore scoring but from dealer experience 95% of the time it's from 3.4s's (and often automatics) - however, weighed against that is that they sold more 3.4's. I think you'll just find a lot more boxsters to choose from around this era so it might be easier to a) find a peach and b) you'd be happier with the 2.7 because you've already made the decision to go for fun factor rather than HARDCORE DRIVER factor - if that makes sense.

You can get the bores scoped for a price at a porsche dealership, but obviously you'd have to factor this in.

The cheapest z4mc in reasonable mileage form (and not cat D e.t.c) come in a smidge under 17k. So a good chunk more. You could get a 60k e92 m3 coupe in manual for this, just for comparison.

Did you consider the e46 m3? Same engine as the 4mc? (but not as pretty obv).

[PhilUK]

w1ntermut3 said:

There's a lot of info on the Porsche forum and on specialist owners forums, but it basically comes down to: Ignore the worries about IMS because the failures are few and far between. All engines can suffer from bore scoring but from dealer experience 95% of the time it's from 3.4s's (and often automatics) - however, weighed against that is that they sold more 3.4's. I think you'll just find a lot more boxsters to choose from around this era so it might be easier to a) find a peach and b) you'd be happier with the 2.7 because you've already made the decision to go for fun factor rather than HARDCORE DRIVER factor - if that makes sense.

You can get the bores scoped for a price at a porsche dealership, but obviously you'd have to factor this in.

The cheapest z4mc in reasonable mileage form (and not cat D e.t.c) come in a smidge under 17k. So a good chunk more. You could get a 60k e92 m3 coupe in manual for this, just for comparison.

Did you consider the e46 m3? Same engine as the 4mc? (but not as pretty obv).

I wouldn't get the 2.7. I'd want the full package if I'm honest and I'm not 100%. See the post above, I amended the post to include an example of a Z4M. Here it is.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Z4M-3-2-340-BHP-M-CO...

I haven't considered the M3 because its styling isn't to my liking at all. I just don't like the boxiness of it. I kinda like hot hatches and coupes/roadsters so the M3 just looks a bit saloony for my tastes.

I'm thinking that the 370Z is newer, similar power, V6, lower mileage, reliable. But the Z4M is the better car, but will be considerably older and more expensive. That's what I'm weighing up.

Edited by PhilUK on Wednesday 24th February 15:58

[w1ntermut3]

PhilUK said:

I wouldn't get the 2.7. I'd want the full package if I'm honest. See the post above, I amended the post to include an example of a Z4M. Here it is.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Z4M-3-2-340-BHP-M-CO...

I haven't considered it because it's styling isn't to my liking at all. I just don't like that boxiness of it. I kinda like hot hatches and coupes/roadsters, but the M3 just looks a bit saloony for my tastes.

3000 miles and a grand less?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Z4M-3-2-340-BHP-M-CO...

Red leather is a winner!

Well then if you're set on the 3.4 it would be advisable to have a bork fund for the bore-scoring. Read around - start with http://juansolo.co.uk/motas/porker13.html.

Edited by w1ntermut3 on Wednesday 24th February 15:58

[Herbs]

Had 2 Z4M Roadsters as daily drivers and as an all round package, it's the most enjoyable car I have owned (it's been up against much higher value cars)

It can be a pain in traffic as 1st to 2nd is notchy but it's part of the charm.

You have to learn to drive it to get the best out of it and once you do it is epic. Far better IMO than the others you have suggested.

Go for it, you won't be disappointed