Recommend me a (max) £3000 cabriolet

[CoolHands]

ok I'm thinking of selling my vw golf 4motion as it costs a lot to run, mostly in insurance and road tax, (that's a total of £800 a year) and I don't use it very much. Annoyingly I'll only get probably £2800 (!) (genuine 51,000 miles, leather recaro interior, good condition etc).

And my daugher wants daddy to get a 'car without a roof' so she can have 'fresh air' (she's four)

So as I've no idea what I would likely be able to get for that money, what's on the table? I guess a two-seater would be possible as I have a family car for when the missus is with us. On the other hand a two-seater would probably be ridiculously impracticle (if I ever want to pick someone else up / drop them off etc).

my golf:





Bit peed off as the cost of running this winds me up, but on the other hand it's in such fantastic condition, and I keep thinking I'm going to get rid of this and end up with a dog (what the hell can you buy for max £3000??). Plus added water leaks - I have visions of old mk3 escort cabriolets

[Jasandjules]

MR2 - or is T-Bar not sufficient?

[pincher]

Cant believe it took two replies!!

[CoolHands]

I don't even know much about them TBH. 1.6? 1.8? rusty? How easy is it to get the top up & down? Also, what year / engine would I be looking at for a nice one not modified for that money?

[Riknos]

Mint Mk1 MX5.
Dubious turbo Mk1 MX5
Probably rusty mk2 MX5
Early and possible pre-cat problemed mk3 MR2
mk2 MR2 Turbo with a T bar?
MG TF 160 (with a head gasket already replaced)
CAT D repaired S2000s go for only a bit more than that if you want to take a bit of a risk.

2 seaters are not as impractical as you think.

[kambites]

If you're willing to go two seater, I'd say a mk3 MR2 or mk2 MX-5 are your best bets, although don't completely discount the MGTF.

Four seats is perhaps a bit trickier. Obviously there's the mk4 Golf; and you might just get into an E46 3-series for 3k.

[CoolHands]

Riknos said:

Mint Mk1 MX5.
Dubious turbo Mk1 MX5
Probably rusty mk2 MX5
Early and possible pre-cat problemed mk3 MR2
mk2 MR2 Turbo with a T bar? had an mr2 in the past - not again thanks
MG TF 160 (with a head gasket already replaced) never (just don't like them)
CAT D repaired S2000s go for only a bit more than that if you want to take a bit of a risk.no thanks

2 seaters are not as impractical as you think.

cheers

[CoolHands]

don't fancy mr2 (had a hardtop turbo in the past) or anything MG (sorry just don't like them)
thanks

[Bill Carr]

E36 328? I've idea if E46's have fallen into that price bracket yet but some probably have.

[kambites]

CoolHands said:

don't fancy mr2 (had a hardtop turbo in the past) or anything MG (sorry just don't like them)
thanks

Shame, because you're discounting the best driver's car available to you.

The MX5 really is the obvious option then; the roof is manual but very easy to put up and down; they're generally pretty reliable although they can rust quite badly around the arches, especially imports for some reason. The engines are all respectable enough and none of them are particularly great.

[sc0tt]

E36 3 series

[steve_bmw]

For £3000 I would get a really nice e36 323/328i convertible last of the line 1999 year, lovely cars!

[P2 DJX]

I'd say MR2 or MX5 , stay well clear of the MGF / TF , biggest pieces of unreliable junk on the roads . Would cost you a fortune in repairs , will always let you down and you will wake up every day kicking yourself wishing you had bought something else. How do I know ? I've owned both ! Much to my , and my wallets ,mdispleasure.

[kambites]

P2 DJX said:

I'd say MR2 or MX5 , stay well clear of the MGF / TF , biggest pieces of unreliable junk on the roads . Would cost you a fortune in repairs , will always let you down and you will wake up every day kicking yourself wishing you had bought something else. How do I know ? I've owned both ! Much to my , and my wallets ,mdispleasure.

That only tells him not to buy your MG.

They aren't brilliant but it sounds like yours was much worse than average. He doesn't want an MG or MR2 anyway.

[steve_bmw]

Bill Carr said:

E36 328? I've idea if E46's have fallen into that price bracket yet but some probably have.

Yes you can get an e46 for less than 3 bags but it will be a dogg, my mate just bought one and it's not the nicest thing will make one but it needs money spending on it.

[Riknos]

kambites said:

P2 DJX said:

I'd say MR2 or MX5 , stay well clear of the MGF / TF , biggest pieces of unreliable junk on the roads . Would cost you a fortune in repairs , will always let you down and you will wake up every day kicking yourself wishing you had bought something else. How do I know ? I've owned both ! Much to my , and my wallets ,mdispleasure.

That only tells him not to buy your MG.

They aren't brilliant but it sounds like yours was much worse than average.

Indeed. A lot of car for the money. For about £2000 you can pick up a 160 (Why settled for the lower powered ones?) with half leather, LR head gasket, cambelt changed, coolant pipes replaced, sub 80k miles on a 2002 plate - a lot of car for the money.

Doogz got a good deal on his MR2 also, MX-5's command a premium over the rivals, but then you could argue there is a reason for that

[POORCARDEALER]

CLK Merc (choose very carefully at that money)

SLK if 2 seats is ok....check for rust and that the roof works well.


Wife did 510 miles in her SLK 230 Auto yesterday and it returned 39 mpg....not bad i thought

[CoolHands]

doogz said:

I've got a 2002 Mk3 MR2, the really camp looking one.

*EDIT* Just seen your last post. You couldn't have typed that a minute earlier, saved me from writing all that for nothing!

actually I'm thinking of the older ones - mine was a Jap import. I had forgotten about the newer shape ones - I googled after your post, so thanks!

[kambites]

CoolHands said:

actually I'm thinking of the older ones - mine was a Jap import. I had forgotten about the newer shape ones - I googled after your post, so thanks!

The mk3 has a vastly better chassis than the mk2 - it's much more sports car and less GT.

The lack of a boot is a pain, though.

[mnkiboy]

Couple of alternatives:

Merc SLK - Plenty below £3k now. Not sure why they're so cheap, possibly rust or expensive roof failures?
Porsche Boxster - Not quite down to £3K but there's a few just below £4k.
Audi TT - £3K is scraping the bottom of the barrel for the convertible, and they've probably all been chipped to silly power.
Peugeot 206 CC - You'll look like a girl.