Something fun circa £15k

[coldel]

Ash_ said:

I went from a VX220 (granted sold it in 2016 when I moved abroad) to a Cayman, which I got last year, for your budget it's pretty much the only choice I reckon, slightly less fun, but with a lot more comfort and still quick. I love mine.

However that said, I sometimes wish when I got back from the US I went back to the 2 car garage to get another VX, I miss mine a lot. The Cayman is awesome and is a daily (I couldn't live with a VX daily as I'm getting older now), but I sometimes look at it and wish I still had VX.

To be perfectly honest, in your shoes, I'd keep the VX.

To be honest given the alternatives I am really considering keeping it. Will only go up in value and is such and amazing car to drive and look at.

[Ash_]

coldel said:

Ash_ said:

I went from a VX220 (granted sold it in 2016 when I moved abroad) to a Cayman, which I got last year, for your budget it's pretty much the only choice I reckon, slightly less fun, but with a lot more comfort and still quick. I love mine.

However that said, I sometimes wish when I got back from the US I went back to the 2 car garage to get another VX, I miss mine a lot. The Cayman is awesome and is a daily (I couldn't live with a VX daily as I'm getting older now), but I sometimes look at it and wish I still had VX.

To be perfectly honest, in your shoes, I'd keep the VX.

To be honest given the alternatives I am really considering keeping it. Will only go up in value and is such and amazing car to drive and look at.

Yep, the prices are climbing and they're probably the biggest bang for your buck for a decent sports car, if you can live with it daily, or have it as a 2nd car, then definitely keep it.

[coldel]

Holy thread revival batman....

VX sold, got decent money for it.

For some reason, I convinced myself I wanted an RCZ R as the missus wanted 4 seats and it ticked the 'rare' and 'fairly quick' boxes. The amount of dogs out there has been unreal including one where the Peugeot accredited dealer wouldnt disclose an engine swap and when I called them out refused to hand me any redacted bills to show proof of replacement if I bought it.

Anwyay...

The missus has now backed down on the four seat criteria so the world of car buying has opened up somewhat...and I am kicking around the following:

RCZ R, I do actually like these and the one I test drove felt brilliant. But finding one that isn't a dog with a dealer asking silly money is tricky.
Z4 35i, love the look, obviously power is more than enough, I have been looking at the DCT gearbox and it looks fantastic, I have though read a lot of consistent reviews about the handling being very wafty and not suited for the fun bits of road trips (it munches the motorway miles but struggles on the fun roads)
SLK55, great engine, great handling, crap auto box...by all accounts. Also going to be the most expensive car in terms of day to day running
Gen 1 Cayman, im actually thinking even the 2.7 would be a good shout, it wont win any traffic light grand prix for for sheer fun its great. I cant help but find myself drawn to threads about IMS, RMS, and just about a million other things that can go wrong that are massively expensive to fix

I have also looked at E46 M3's, but am feeling I will end up in a high miler and a money pit. Scirocco R's, which seem on par with the RCZ but not as exclusive, maybe not special enough.

I really think the Z4 would be the one, if the handling was tight. First world problems and all that I know! But still find myself umming and urring.

[cerb4.5lee]

I've always really liked the E89 Z4 35i(and the iS). The SLK55 also appeals to me purely for the engine! The auto gearbox is supposedly crap as you mention though.

[eleveneleven]

Belle427 said:

A nice S2000 would hold its value.

Another vote here for the S2000

[coldel]

eleveneleven said:

Another vote here for the S2000

My neighbour has one, I tried it, and didnt like the lack of umph really - had to wring its neck to get it to do anything and was a laborious task driving it around where I live (built up city). Also found the cabin to be somewhat claustrophobic?

Maybe a supercharged one?

[TameRacingDriver]

coldel said:

eleveneleven said:

Another vote here for the S2000

My neighbour has one, I tried it, and didnt like the lack of umph really - had to wring its neck to get it to do anything and was a laborious task driving it around where I live (built up city). Also found the cabin to be somewhat claustrophobic?

Maybe a supercharged one?

As a Boxster 3.2 owner, I'm not sure you would get on with your other suggestion of a 2.7 Cayman. Even the 3.2 needs revving quite hard to get the power, although it will certainly be more spacious and comfortable than an s2000. Just something to bare in mind.

[coldel]

TameRacingDriver said:

As a Boxster 3.2 owner, I'm not sure you would get on with your other suggestion of a 2.7 Cayman. Even the 3.2 needs revving quite hard to get the power, although it will certainly be more spacious and comfortable than an s2000. Just something to bare in mind.

Thanks, much appreciated, and a fairly good shout.

[0a]

coldel said:

SLK55, great engine, great handling, crap auto box...by all accounts. Also going to be the most expensive car in terms of day to day running

I bought an SLK55 a couple of months ago.

It's hilarious. A proper German TVR in many ways. That engine!

The auto is a bit crap when you first use it. I had mine remapped - 388bhp, higher rev limit, quicker box. It's great now.

From my research, I don't see it as being expensive to run. Key issues are looking after the gearbox (I just had a full gearbox service at my specialist for under £300) and the brakes (can now be done for a fraction of the price they used to be).

This engine went into the E55 supercharged, and eventually into the SLR. It is vastly unstressed (but very fun) in the SLK.

These have none of the issues of the C63 or E63s.

Edited by 0a on Friday 7th January 15:48

[highway]

My 220bhp 2018 MX5. N/A, tuned by BBR. Low miles, quick and reliable.

[coldel]

0a said:

I bought an SLK55 a couple of months ago.

It's hilarious. A proper German TVR in many ways. That engine!

The auto is a bit crap when you first use it. I had mine remapped - 388bhp, higher rev limit, quicker box. It's great now.

From my research, I don't see it as being expensive to run. Key issues are looking after the gearbox (I just had a full gearbox service at my specialist for under £300) and the brakes (can now be done for a fraction of the price they used to be).

This engine went into the E55 supercharged, and eventually into the SLR. It is vastly unstressed (but very fun) in the SLK.

These have none of the issues of the C63 or E63s.

Edited by 0a on Friday 7th January 15:48

Thanks, really interesting to hear you can remap the car to improve the failings of the gearbox and speed it up?

Also I had heard about the £1k front brake discs cost, has that issue gone away then?

[fflump]

0a said:

I bought an SLK55 a couple of months ago.

It's hilarious. A proper German TVR in many ways. That engine!

Edited by 0a on Friday 7th January 15:48

It looks very nice in not-silver!

On the topic of foreign TVRs, the Maserati Coupe is arguably an Italian TVR and another with a lovely unstressed V8 (F136). Unlike the GranSport and the Granturismo decent examples are genuinely attainable for £15k. Also parts are readily available and a decent Indy would keep costs sane.

[DodgyGeezer]

coldel said:

Thanks, really interesting to hear you can remap the car to improve the failings of the gearbox and speed it up?

Also I had heard about the £1k front brake discs cost, has that issue gone away then?

the earlier R171's had floating discs as standard hence the insane pricing - later ones do not. That said the floating discs are now also a LOT cheaper than they used to be

[ZX10R NIN]

coldel said:

Thanks, really interesting to hear you can remap the car to improve the failings of the gearbox and speed it up?

Also I had heard about the £1k front brake discs cost, has that issue gone away then?

The gearbox doesn't have failings but it's slow compared to modern autos BUT when you have a gearbox service you reset all the parameters so the gearbox learns your driving style rather than the last few owners.

Remapping helps improve the throttle response & also the way in which the TCU responds to those inputs so it becomes more intuitive.

I've had the shift speeded up on a couple of my Mercedes & in all honesty the map & tcu was a better combo.

[jacobsmark]

ZX10R NIN said:

The gearbox doesn't have failings but it's slow compared to modern autos BUT when you have a gearbox service you reset all the parameters so the gearbox learns your driving style rather than the last few owners.

Remapping helps improve the throttle response & also the way in which the TCU responds to those inputs so it becomes more intuitive.

I've had the shift speeded up on a couple of my Mercedes & in all honesty the map & tcu was a better combo.

Surely TC is off as a matter of course?

[juice]

ZX10R NIN said:

The gearbox doesn't have failings but it's slow compared to modern autos BUT when you have a gearbox service you reset all the parameters so the gearbox learns your driving style rather than the last few owners.

Remapping helps improve the throttle response & also the way in which the TCU responds to those inputs so it becomes more intuitive.

I've had the shift speeded up on a couple of my Mercedes & in all honesty the map & tcu was a better combo.

You can reset the adaptive by switching the ignition on (the detent before you start), hold down the throttle past kickdown for 30 secs, then switch off and wait 5 secs. If you then drive it like a loony after that it'll be a lot more responsive, with the torque available on these honestly I've never found it an issue.

You can play with varying levels of response just by using the paddles, anything around 4K RPMS and it'll take off like a scalded cat.

[ZX10R NIN]

jacobsmark said:

ZX10R NIN said:

The gearbox doesn't have failings but it's slow compared to modern autos BUT when you have a gearbox service you reset all the parameters so the gearbox learns your driving style rather than the last few owners.

Remapping helps improve the throttle response & also the way in which the TCU responds to those inputs so it becomes more intuitive.

I've had the shift speeded up on a couple of my Mercedes & in all honesty the map & tcu was a better combo.

Surely TC is off as a matter of course?

TCU = Transmission Control Unit

[Mr Tidy]

If the E89 Z4 35i is a bit too much of a GT for your taste you might want to consider an E85 Z4M so long as you don't mind a manual gearbox.

[coldel]

Thanks for all the posts above guys, learning a lot as I go along.

Sounds like I can make the car more sprightly shall we say with a little bit of work, and a remap is a good start.

2nd cat delete and X pipe, I am reading a fair bit about at the moment too?

[ZX10R NIN]

coldel said:

Thanks for all the posts above guys, learning a lot as I go along.

Sounds like I can make the car more sprightly shall we say with a little bit of work, and a remap is a good start.

2nd cat delete and X pipe, I am reading a fair bit about at the moment too?

Yes this is almost a standard thing now & a lot of cars will have already had this done, it deepens the note without getting anywhere near annoying & helps with flow.