RE: Convertibles for under £10k | Six of the Best

RE: Convertibles for under £10k | Six of the Best

Saturday 18th March 2023

Convertibles for under £10k | Six of the Best

The clocks will be going forward soon; you know what that means, Britain - time to get the roof down!


Porsche Boxster 986, 2001, 36k, £9,995

The clocks soon go forward, giving rise to lighter evenings and, fingers crossed, spring. Of course, you'll be wanting a convertible for that. Ideally, a cheap one. This being a small island in the North Atlantic, there is plenty of choice - although two of the cars could be called default choices. One is the MX-5 (see below), and the other the Porsche Boxster. Yes, we know, 50 per cent of the audience will cry “boring” and “predictable,” but the other 50 per cent would be moaning if we'd left it out because the Boxster is so obviously good – the classic case of being caught between scylla and charybdis. Either way, you cannot deny this is a nice one. An early 986 with orange indicators and clean black paintwork, with a half-leather interior and a service history that, apparently, is ‘most full’. Naturally, it has all the classic Boxster traits: the rag-me-silly mid-engine balance and the rag-me-silly 2.7-litre flat six. It'll sound spot on with the hood down and isn’t too fast to enjoy in the real world, either.

See the original advert here

Mazda MX-5 Mk2, 2002, 5k, £9,995

Also predictable but necessary: the Mazda MX-5. Now, we’d have loved to have found a really clean Mk1 to put on this list because, for most people, the original is still the best - but there wasn’t one. The Mk2 handles well, though – it still gets the juices flowing unlike the more mild-mannered Mk3 – but, yes, they do rust. And from the inside out when it comes to the chassis rails. A low mileage car doesn’t guarantee a clean bill of health, but it does give you a little bit more confidence, if only because it simply hasn’t been exposed to as much salt and grime. And this one’s been used so sparingly that it’s clocked up just 5,000 miles in the hands of its single keeper.  As a result, it’s in particularly good nick, and it’s a particularly good spec, too. The Titanium grey paintwork and Sienna brown leather is a fantastic combo, wouldn’t you agree?

See the original advert here

Lotus Elan M100, 1991, 140k, £8,495

From low to high mileage in one fell swoop. Yes, this is a case of extremes, but needs must if you fancy anything from Lotus for less than £10k. And don’t chortle, because although this example has done the miles at 140,000 – and big mileages aren’t what the brand is universally known for – according to the advert it’s Stephen Roberts personal car, of SJ Sportscars Ltd (the Lotus service specialist based down in Devon). He took the car on in 2020 after the original owners had mothballed it in a garage for 15 years. He's since given it a good going over. That work included a new hood, brakes, tyres and a major service. It looks tidy from the pictures and that even goes for the interior, which is far from saggy or threadbare. The other thing to point out is that the M100 was a great car. Lotus is said to have spent an unprecedented £37m developing it and that showed in the way it drives. So when someone mentions it's wrong-wheel drive and has an Isuzu engine, tell them to sod off.

See the original advert here

Alfa Romeo Spider V6, 2007, 77k, £9,995

While the Lotus Elan is maligned but actually a decent steer, you won’t find too many people willing to espouse the brilliance of the Alfa Romeo Spider’s chassis. It was a Brera with the roof lopped off, and apparently almost nothing had been done to add strength back in if the accounts of scandalous scuttle shake are to be believed. I don’t know to tell you the truth; I’ve never driven a Spider. Or a Brera for that matter, but my recollection is that even the tin top wasn’t well received back in the day. So why the hell is the Spider here then? Simple, it looks fantastic. For many convertible buyers, looks are what it’s all about, and this one looks really good in that shade of deep metallic blue with those wheels. It was designed and built by Pininfarina (Giorgetto Giugiaro designed the Brera, incidentally), which rarely turns out anything less than dribble-inducing. It also comes with a 260hp V6. True, it’s not a Busso V6 bustling away under the bonnet – this one is the Jet Thrust Stoichiometric, or JTS, which was designed in collaboration with GM and built by Holden in Australia. As I said, it is pretty, though.

See the original advert here

Mercedes-Benz SL500, 2005, 76k, £9,995

If the previous entrant was a little controversial, this one is surely unimpeachable. Well, other than rust and build quality. But you can’t have it all. Those little foibles aside, the R230 SL is a spectacular car and this one comes with V8 firepower to boot. It's one of the most handsome SLs, in fact, which is not an easy thing to achieve when you’re dealing with a folding hardtop rather than a canvas roof (see the Mitsubishi Colt CZC and Peugeot 308 CC for examples of how badly it can go wrong). Alfa had Pininfarina on hand to style the Spider above, and Mercedes had Bruno Sacco on its books to design the R230, and his back catalogue is almost as reputable. Having made light of this dubious period in Mercedes’ history, the fact is you do need to be watchful when buying a car that is as notoriously as complicated as this. Bar some wear on the driver’s seat bolster this one looks clean and comes with service history and warranty. The advert also says it’ll come with a new MOT, too, and looking at the history that means it’ll have had new lower shock absorber bushes and a new brake pipe at least.

See the original advert here

Nissan 350 Z Roadster, 2009, 81k, £9,995

Bar the Lotus, £9,995 seems to be the theme here, and that’s the amount you’ll need for our final contender. It’s a neat way to end, too, bearing in mind we began with the Porsche Boxster and the Nissan 350 Z convertible was considered the cut-price Boxster when it was new. You’re still paying more for a Boxtser today on a like-for-like basis, so it’s still the cut-price alternative it always was, but also a fine car that warrants inclusion here. No one would suggest it’s up there with the Boxster in every way – it’s not as stiff, not as light and not as agile – but it has its plus points nonetheless. It’s very easy to live with, with a forgiving ride, although conversely it offers proper rear-wheel drive tricks and generous lashings of 3.5-litre V6 torque to tease out the fun. And then there’s the noise. Roof down, the noise of that V6 reverberating around will stick a broad grin on your face – and that’s almost guaranteed.   

See the original advert here


Author
Discussion

pb8g09

Original Poster:

2,302 posts

68 months

Saturday 18th March 2023
quotequote all
A nice list.

For me it’s the 350Z or I’d stick £2k on the credit card and get an ND MX-5 for a bit of modernism.


If you could get a newer Porsche for that money without the fried eggs I would also be on that too.

AndySheff

6,630 posts

206 months

Saturday 18th March 2023
quotequote all
From that list, the SL500 for me. Also, I've never really been drawn to Alfas, but that Spider V6 is quite tempting.

Cloudy147

2,705 posts

182 months

Saturday 18th March 2023
quotequote all
I like the look of all of those!

Ive owned a Boxster already, so I think the most tempting for me would be the Alfa, as it just looks so cool!

Convertibles in the summer are such a great experience.

Lotusgone

1,160 posts

126 months

Saturday 18th March 2023
quotequote all
Clocks are going going back?

I thought they went forward in spring...


HJG

461 posts

106 months

Saturday 18th March 2023
quotequote all
Lotusgone said:
Clocks are going going back?

I thought they went forward in spring...
Indeed. "Spring forward. Fall back"

cerb4.5lee

30,177 posts

179 months

Saturday 18th March 2023
quotequote all
That Alfa is a lovely looking thing to my eyes. The 350Z Roadster looks nice and clean and I'd go for that I reckon(I test drove a new one back in 2006), but then I'm a bit biased because I love my 370Z Roadster loads.

I've always fancied a SL500 too.

defonsecca

113 posts

84 months

Saturday 18th March 2023
quotequote all
Alfa Spider doesn't belong here. Having owned a Brera 2.2S for about 16 months the novelty of stunning looks soon wears off. You then realise what a slow, heavy, dead-feeling, un-sporty car it really is. And I'm a serial Alfa owner. So the Spider version will be the same mix even with a (non-Alfa Busso) V6 under its snout.

You're better-off to get the 916 version Spider with the 3.0 Busso V6 - GTV version is far superior than the Brera ie) a proper soulful Alfa, and you won't lose any money in it unlike this.

wpa1975

8,600 posts

113 months

Saturday 18th March 2023
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I like the Elan m100 but not with those miles.

Billy_Whizzzz

1,989 posts

142 months

Saturday 18th March 2023
quotequote all
That gen MX5 the ugliest. That gen Boxster too but others not in budget. The Merc looks good value.

yme402

374 posts

101 months

Saturday 18th March 2023
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6-pot, manual gearbox E85 Z4 for me.

GreatScott2016

1,128 posts

87 months

Saturday 18th March 2023
quotequote all
cerb4.5lee said:
That Alfa is a lovely looking thing to my eyes. The 350Z Roadster looks nice and clean and I'd go for that I reckon(I test drove a new one back in 2006), but then I'm a bit biased because I love my 370Z Roadster loads.

I've always fancied a SL500 too.
My first thought too was the Alfa and Nissan.

TdM-GTV

290 posts

216 months

Saturday 18th March 2023
quotequote all
defonsecca said:
Alfa Spider doesn't belong here. Having owned a Brera 2.2S for about 16 months the novelty of stunning looks soon wears off. You then realise what a slow, heavy, dead-feeling, un-sporty car it really is. And I'm a serial Alfa owner. So the Spider version will be the same mix even with a (non-Alfa Busso) V6 under its snout.

You're better-off to get the 916 version Spider with the 3.0 Busso V6 - GTV version is far superior than the Brera ie) a proper soulful Alfa, and you won't lose any money in it unlike this.
This was what I was going to say. The 916 spider will still have scuttle shake, but who cares, it has a Busso so you can just drive at 80% or less everywhere with the roof down in perfect happiness.

Pixelpeep Electric

8,600 posts

141 months

Saturday 18th March 2023
quotequote all
no z4's ? frown

that 370 looks interesting

emmetb

155 posts

31 months

Saturday 18th March 2023
quotequote all
Billy_Whizzzz said:
That gen MX5 the ugliest. That gen Boxster too but others not in budget. The Merc looks good value.
It might look good value and it might be good value if you're lucky, but it is the only car on the list that has the potential to be trly financially ruinous. ABC suspension, SBC brake system, petrol tank baffles, boot seals, roof mechanism issues (if boot seals fail), niggling electrical faults etc. etc. The cost of spares are eye watering too.

Turbobanana

6,159 posts

200 months

Saturday 18th March 2023
quotequote all
wpa1975 said:
I like the Elan m100 but not with those miles.
An average of 4500 miles a year scares you? Tough crowd...

I've seen these with well over 200,000 on, still going strong.

Chubbyross

4,537 posts

84 months

Saturday 18th March 2023
quotequote all
I’d like to say the Mercedes but the SL500 will be rather wallowy at this age. Still, for me, it’s definitely the best looking of the bunch.

spikyone

1,413 posts

99 months

Saturday 18th March 2023
quotequote all
Article said:
the Nissan 350 Z convertible was considered the cut-price Boxster when it was new.
I'd like to see evidence of that wild claim! The Z is much heavier (300kg or so) and reviews when it was new generally said the handling was nowhere near as good. Sure, it appeared in group tests with the Boxster. But so did the S2000, TT, SLK, etc., all chosen simply because they were sporty-ish convertibles to varying degrees. The two really aren't comparable other than that.

Notanotherturbo

494 posts

206 months

Saturday 18th March 2023
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For that money the SL looks in a different league to the rest, Boxster drives well, 350Z and Brera both look odd with the roof up IMO.

McRors

264 posts

55 months

Saturday 18th March 2023
quotequote all
I'm surprised by the lack of a TT in the list. Reliable, well within budget if you go for a MK2 and fast. I've a MK3 and love it. Yes, it's not a Boxster but who wants Porsche bills and a car that looks like a pushmi-pullyu?

Water Fairy

5,475 posts

154 months

Saturday 18th March 2023
quotequote all
Probs the Boxster for me but would need an S. Or chance a higher mileage S2000.