Rag top quandry..

[Taff107]

Ok, I'm going to appeal to the masses in order to help me decide what soft-top to buy for the wife / as a second car around the 5 - 6k bracket. The shortlist;

Mercedes CLK 320 (MY01 ish)
BMW E46 CI (about the same year)
BMW Z4 (Like the idea of a 2 str but I think it may get on my tits quickly having only 2 seats)

Whats the verdict?

[Fleckers]

i guess the correct answer is MX5

if it were my money I would go for the merc

[Taff107]

I'm leaning on the Merc side too at the moment

[Dusty964]

I would be buying the merc.

[Pig Skill]

Merc, but be thorough - they are in the rusty era on a 51 plate.

[Taff107]

I've seen one with 37k miles for £6k. How does that sound?

[DanDC5]

Honda S2000.

[Snowboy]

DanDC5 said:

Honda S2000.

Good choice for fun sports car.
Not a good choice if the wife actually wants a comfortable car with an autobox.

[deltashad]

We bought a very low mileage CLK 320 (03) last year. I really like it. If I were you I'd stretch for the c209 model, should be just about in your price bracket.
There's a CLK 240 convertible on autotrader with 60k miles for £6750. Shop around I think you'll get lucky.

[jbi]

one of these





There's one going down the road from me for £4999 in lovely condition

[snotrag]

Get the Z4/other proper sports car.

I bet you'll find that most roadster owners will tell you that having two seats is much less of an issue than you might first think, especially if you've only owned "regular" cars before.

No matter how good, a convertible saloon or normal car(E36, big merc, A4) will never feel as fun or special as a proper little roadster.

[black1]

xk8

[Taff107]

DanDC5 said:

Honda S2000.

For that price I've seen only relatively migh milers and being a revvy engine, I would have thought that a combination of the 2 wouldn't fare well? In addition, aren't they pricey on insurance?

L/R 90 - Far too agricultural IMO. Drive the things at work and don't fancy having the slow speed / lack of comfort / rattly engine.

[Taff107]

black1 said:

xk8

4.0 litre engine with the price of fuel / tax where it is?....No thank you

[falkster]

I'd go with the Merc but surely for that budget you can leave the hidious dated CLK and get an 03/04 shape?

[redgriff500]

If you don't have kids and have another car then the 2 seaters are the best choice by far.

[Snowboy]

The Crack Fox said:

Audi A4 Cab ?

Nice choice.

We have a 2.4l A4 Cab diesel.
It’s not a sports car by any means, but it’s a nice ragtop for long journeys.

[deltashad]

The Crack Fox said:

Mercs of that era suffered from less-than-the-usual-Teutonic-quality, didn't they ?

Audi A4 Cab ?

Taken from a previous thread:

CLK CLASS – 209 series
All steel panels were galvanised from Quarter 2 2003 production onwards.
During the previous six months (Q4 2002 + Q1 2003) the process was
gradually introduced on the production line and therefore some vehicles
were galvanised during this lead-up period, but not all.

The dodgy period seems to be between 1995-2002/3

We had an ML500 (2003) was 3 years old when we bought it and sold it 3 years after, 2 problems, 1) sticky throttle 2) TV didn't work, fine when using PS2 or DVD. no rust issues.

Presently running 2003 c209 CLK 320, no rust, no problems so far.
Build quality on both are great imo. Its got a decent boot and the seats fold down. Its definitely no racing car, its a cruiser with a bit of poke. I'd have to agree if you want something sporty then you'd be better off with the Z4.