What's your perfect sub £20k weekend car?
Discussion
I've always found that my choice of car is always a compromise between what I want and what I need (i.e. practicality, reliability and fuel economy). I know some of you own more than one car to address this situation but if you could have something locked up in the garage for just weekend use and perhaps the occassional dry summer commute, what would it be?
I would quite happily drive a diesel eurobox all week if I knew that I could have some fun at the weekend. The car would have to be relatively old (I wouldn't want to lose too much in depreciation on something that I'm only using occassionally) and not too perfect! For instance, most Japanese and German stuff such as BMWs, Mercedes and Porsches are so capable that why would you not use them every day? Likewise classic Saab 900 turbos and Golf GTis are probably too useable to be special enough as weekend toys. Most really exotic stuff is out of reach such as Ferraris, Maseratis and Aston Martins but it would still have to be special enough such that daily use would be detrimental to its condition/value!
Something like a TVR would seem like the perfect weekend car. A tidy Griffith or T350 would be very tempting but potentially high maintenance bills scare me slightly. Likewise a Lotus Esprit would seem to fit the bill but I have similar concerns. I'm sure Caterhams/Westfields are great to drive but don't really appeal to me!
The following are all quite high up my want list and would benefit from being well looked after and restricted use but are they too workaday?
Audi Quattro 20v
BMW M635 CSi
E30 BMW M3
Ford Sierra RS Cosworth (hatch)
Ford Capri 280 Brooklands
Lancia Delta Integrale Evolution
So, given a budget of £20k, what would be your ideal weekend car?
I would quite happily drive a diesel eurobox all week if I knew that I could have some fun at the weekend. The car would have to be relatively old (I wouldn't want to lose too much in depreciation on something that I'm only using occassionally) and not too perfect! For instance, most Japanese and German stuff such as BMWs, Mercedes and Porsches are so capable that why would you not use them every day? Likewise classic Saab 900 turbos and Golf GTis are probably too useable to be special enough as weekend toys. Most really exotic stuff is out of reach such as Ferraris, Maseratis and Aston Martins but it would still have to be special enough such that daily use would be detrimental to its condition/value!
Something like a TVR would seem like the perfect weekend car. A tidy Griffith or T350 would be very tempting but potentially high maintenance bills scare me slightly. Likewise a Lotus Esprit would seem to fit the bill but I have similar concerns. I'm sure Caterhams/Westfields are great to drive but don't really appeal to me!
The following are all quite high up my want list and would benefit from being well looked after and restricted use but are they too workaday?
Audi Quattro 20v
BMW M635 CSi
E30 BMW M3
Ford Sierra RS Cosworth (hatch)
Ford Capri 280 Brooklands
Lancia Delta Integrale Evolution
So, given a budget of £20k, what would be your ideal weekend car?
Edited by white_goodman on Sunday 20th May 18:17
Edited by white_goodman on Monday 21st May 18:37
TVR T350 is the perfect weekend car. If you buy wisely then big bills are more or less avoided. Also if you do your own spannering then there not that hard to maintain. I've just bought a T350 after years of worrying about reliability and talking myself out of it. Wish I had just gone and bought one years ago. It's a superb car and I think it's great, but I can see why some people don't like them. Oh and you have to put up with everyone saying "Oh it'll break down".
lots of kit out there
Scoobys
Evo's
Jags
Merc's
911's
etc
etc
but this looks like a bit of fun http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/3873399.htm
Scoobys
Evo's
Jags
Merc's
911's
etc
etc
but this looks like a bit of fun http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/3873399.htm
Steamer said:
I've been asking myself the same question.
996 C4S. This one is 17.5K with great history.
I just need to get over 'the fear'.
I must admit that the C4S is probably the best 996 to have after the GT3. They do seem quite good value but a bit slab-sided compared to all the other 911s. It's the only 911 which I would actually probably prefer as a convertible. However, a 996 seems a bit too everyday for a weekend car, whereas an air-cooled 911 is something to be looked after and cherished but over budget for a nice one. There are some tantalisingly cheap 928s on Autotrader for around £6k but I suspect that anything that went wrong with it could cost that again to put right! A Mercedes-Benz 560SEC is also very tempting (saw Road House again the other week) but a bit too bargey to be a really exciting weekend car! 996 C4S. This one is 17.5K with great history.
I just need to get over 'the fear'.
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