What to buy (~£19k)

[BenS1]

Hi all

I'm totally confused. I've got around £19k to buy a car and I'm not sure what to get.

I'm after something reasonably fast (Say 0-60 in 5.5 seconds or under), under 30k miles on the clock and ideally at least 30mpg real world.

Most of the cars on my current shortlist break at least one of those criteria:
- Audi TTS S-Tronic
- Porsche Boxster 3.4 S
- BMW Z4 3.0/3.2M
- Merc SLK 55

All of these are available in this price range\mileage, although only the Audi TT has the Economy.

So what do people think? Which of the above is best?
Do you have any other suggestions?

Also, I'm not a fan of Auto's (I only like the Dual Clutch S-Tronic type autos) but obviously the SLK 55 is only available with an Auto... doesn't anyone know if its any good.

Sorry for the open ended questions.
I know a lot of people will say "it depends on your priorities", which is a valid point, but I'd still be interested to hear your opinions of these cars and any other suggestions.

Thanks
Ben

[kiethton]

Depending on whether your fussed by age, and the number of miles you do, I'd consider a TVR in either T350 or Tuscan guise.

All the others as above will depreciate the but TVR shouldnt, but will cost more to maintain.

[bencollins4]

My Z4M does 30 mpg on a long run fairly consistently so I think that ticks all boxes.

I've never owned an SLK 55 but I have had the use of one for a few days and it is a very different car to the Z4 - much more low end grunt but more of a cruiser.

I can't see why you'd consider a 3.0 Z4 with that budget unless economy was really important to you.

[kambites]

An Elise will easily do all of those things.

[Risotto]

As above, the Elise meets all the criteria you've mentioned.

[deltashad]

kambites said:

An Elise will easily do all of those things.

Just what I was thinking, and where I'm going too

[T1berious]

If the mpg is that important why not look at the all-conquering 335D? Get a Coupe. not sure if you'll get one with 30K on the clock at that budget but worth a look?

Boxster 3.4S when I was looking was impossible to get at that Budget with that sort of mileage (but that was a couple of years back and the new model might have softened prices)

Have you thought much of the on-going costs of some the stuff you've listed?

I got the Z4M (which I love) but good grief, servicing, tyres, insurance plus tax come in at >2k P/A.

What are the priorities?

[Herbs]

Elise, Z4M, 911 Turbo, T350 would all be on the money not that I am biased or anything

[LukeD1uk]

Z4M Brilliant car

[kambites]

Herbs said:

Elise, Z4M, 911 Turbo, T350 would all be on the money not that I am biased or anything

And which of those did you actually average 30mpg from?

[soad]

Risotto said:

As above, the Elise meets all the criteria you've mentioned.

Should hold its value well too.

[kambites]

soad said:

Risotto said:

As above, the Elise meets all the criteria you've mentioned.

Should hold its value well too.

A 19k one would still have some way to fall. It'd probably still fare better than the other options, though.

[bp1000]

Before you discount cars that do 5mpg less than your target work out how much that will actually be in real terms based on your mileage.

I drive a v8 that costs me £260 in petrol to and from work for the month. If I drove my wife's 130bhp diesel that did somewhere in the low 40s mpg I would be spending £200-£210 on fuel. This is over about 800-850 miles per month.

It really isn't that much, should it be influencing your decision to only buy a car that does 30mpg or up?

My old car a diesel 335d coupe did 10mpg more than the v8 on the same journey, saving me £40 a month. Now the gap is narrowing. Your depreciation will most likely eclipse any extra money you save on fuel. And if you pick an unreliable car just 1 bill can set you right back in ownership and running costs.

If you are doing 15k or more likely 20k miles per year I probably wouldn't be giving this advice

[RobM77]

kambites said:

Herbs said:

Elise, Z4M, 911 Turbo, T350 would all be on the money not that I am biased or anything

And which of those did you actually average 30mpg from?

The Elise would easily average 30mpg. You're right for the others though I'd have thought!

[anonymous-user]

Honda NSX...

...unless you are the type of person who leaves their car keys on the desk for the rest of the office to see...

[RobM77]

pablo said:

Honda NSX...

...unless you are the type of person who leaves their car keys on the desk for the rest of the office to see...

One of my absolute all time favourite cars. The only issue with these is that classic status and rarity has pushed prices up considerably, so for the same price you'll get a much newer Boxster or Z4M. If you're the sort of person that cares about rarity and classic status, that's great, they're awesome cars; but if you just want a good car without the additional running cost risks of an older car, then it's not so great.

[SEE YA]

Herbs said:

Elise, Z4M, 911 Turbo, T350 would all be on the money not that I am biased or anything

You would not get a good 911 turbo for £19k.

[macky17]

Focus RS with a remap does all of the above.

[kambites]

macky17 said:

Focus RS with a remap does all of the above.

Can you really average 30mpg in an RS? Because in my experience you can't in an ST unless you live entirely on motorways.

[theaxe]

I was in a similar position a few months ago, I considered the Boxster and Z4M. I went for the Z4M and I'm very happy with it, the noise alone makes every journey an event!