First sports car - £30,000 - £35,000

[AdvocatusD]

A very good friend is looking his first sportscar and I am helping however I can.

He's a young guy, un-attached and will use the car primarily for London and the odd blast out. He's looking to get into his new car over the next 6 weeks or so.

When we started talking, he was very into the idea of a Aston V8 Vantage.

Over time he has moved away from the Vantage and have started thinking more seriously about a 997 C4S (or C2S) coupe. I think the Porsche as a first sports car is superb (especially with a 4 wheel drive safety net), but just wondering if there is anything else we could be considering?

Rather than just suggest a car, I'd be grateful if people would actually attach a link to something on sale in the budget?

The amazing thing about Porsche is they tend to tick every box. Yes, there are cars that will do other "boxes" better, but as a package, they're just so good!

[Neil G60]

I'd definitely try out a Vantage - that noise is unbelievable. Perhaps do some research on how much service items like brakes and clutches cost so you know what you're getting into.

V8 M3 with change to spare is another option...

[kambites]

One could argue that the Cayman S is a better sports car than 911 Carrera. Cheaper too.

[Dr Interceptor]

The PH Classifieds is a wonderful, yet dangerous tool.

2 door coupe with rear wheel drive between £30k and £35k with a 0-60 time of under 6 seconds.

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds?Acceleratio...

There are options from Lotus, Porsche, BMW, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Mercedes... even a Viper and a Nismo tuned 370Z in there.

[Actus Reus]

kambites said:

One could argue that the Cayman S is a better sports car than 911 Carrera. Cheaper too.

This, all day long. Especially for his first sports car - it flatters the driver much more, and if rear seats aren't needed is more practical. That budget will buy a nice Gen.2 Cayman S.

[jamieduff1981]

For something to stoodge about London a 997 with PDK gearbox is what's needed.

[Motorrad]

I know the cayman is easier to drive and most likely faster in the hands of your average driver (I know I was able to push a lot harder when test driving a cayman S V 997 carrera) however I'd take the 997 because it will be the more rewarding long termer.

Can you get a PDK 997 in thread budget these days?

[Actus Reus]

Hmmm - a tiptronic, yes, a PDK perhaps not. Close though probably. A Cayman S PDK wouldn't be a problem at all, or a Boxster S if you fancy getting the roof off.

[Captain Muppet]

If it was for me it'd be this

[milner993]

Nissan GTR either the R-34 or R-35 would be a great first sports car he should be able to pick up a very nice R-34 for around £20K and a 2009/2010 R-35 with good mileage both practical and both faster than most sports cars you can buy with that budget.
we need pics with what ever he buys.

[jamieduff1981]

Serious question - does your friend know what he's getting in to? There's a big difference in running costs between a Porsche Cayman or even a modern 911 and a Ferrari.

[AdvocatusD]

Yes, I've been guiding him on all of that as I have ownership experience.

[jamieduff1981]

Excellent. A Ferrari would be a mighty nice thing to own in that case

[Motorrad]

Lord a 360 would be nice. Don't think I could go for one with the F1 box though. I remember looking seriously at manual examples in the 40K range and thinking, surely this makes sense to own.

Then I bought a diesel BMW and yet another motorcycle .

[BRMMA]

Both are just out of budget but for me it would be between a Boxster S (981) or an Evora S, i'd probably go for the Evora

[AdvocatusD]

Ferrari 348 in the picture now too.

I must confess that that is the one that excited me the most! It really is a baby Testarossa.





Super informative link about 348s here too.

http://www.my348.com/

http://www.motorcars-intl.com/vehicle_details.aspx... - Some detailed shots.

[Schermerhorn]

BMW M3 E92 4.0 V8

hundreds of AUC cars to choose from. Mega cars every bit as quick as Ferraris, 911s and much cheaper to run than a Ferrari.

[TommyBuoy]

Sports car to me means 2 or 2+2, coupe / convertible.

Beautiful and the sound!

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/t...

Sensible - good visablilty with the roof down!

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/p...

Even more sensible

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/p...

Real Porsche sports car

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/p...

Must try -

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/l...

[jayemm89]

I would definitely tell him to steer clear of any Ferraris, especially older ones.

If he is mostly in London, he really won't get the benefit and the bills of all descriptions will be eye-watering. Even the 360, which is pretty modern, will be doing probably single digit MPG in town, the servicing is still expensive (cheaper than the 355, but not by masses) and the car isn't really built for town work. The gearbox is kinda heavy to be in traffic with and the F1 box is not good at that kind of thing either. Clutches aren't cheap on them.

The 997 and Cayman are both excellent options, with lots of choice in there and of course the M3 is a great car too, doesn't sacrifice much practicality if it is going to be an only car either. They are also both nice intermediate steps to something like a Ferrari, should he want one one day.

I wonder how far off an R8 being at this price we are?

[NNH]

That price will get a CPO'd Cayman S like this one:
http://ucl.porsche.de/ucl/plsql/uk/clients.show_ca...

I've run a Cayman as my only car for the last 6 years, and before that a CPO 996. As others have said, there are cars that are faster, sexier, and better-handling than Porsche - but as a total package it's very hard to beat.