Best daily fun car for £5-7.5k?

[hantsph]

Hi,

First post, have done a lot of reading up various models but thought id ask for suggestions incase I may have overlooked.

I am currently looking for a new car in the price range suggested, currently I only drive the occasional evening and at the weekend. Have no kids, occasionaly carry passengers.

B6 S4 Avant (Sat nav, leather etc)
Pros - What attracted me to this was performance and also I found one on LPG in the price range. The LPG will be beneficial for the longer journeys I take every so often.
Cons - Is this a 'fun' fun car to drive, aside from the straight line brutality of it can you have that much fun in it? Potential issues (all cars have them I know) regarding engine chains and oil usage?

E46 M3 - (Leather, basic spec otherwise)
Pros - It's an M3, performance with BMW refinement.
Cons - Running costs may get tedius and struggling to find a decent example in my price range.

350Z 313 - (Sat nav, leather etc)
Pros - Read nothing but good reviews, apparently quite a fun car to drive and a good involved drive.
Cons - Not as nice inside as the Audi from the pictures ive seen, clutches are an apparent weak spot? Also fairly juicy even on a run?

BMW Z4 Coupe - (Sat nav, leather etc)
Pros - Has to be the Coupe and have found some 3.0 that fit in the price range i'm looking at, interiors are nice and well equipped. Performance figures look quite pleasing and likely to be a fun car to drive with refinement too?
Cons - Fuel costs? Struggling to find a low mile example in the price bracket I have.

Honda S2000 - (Basic spec later model)
Pros - Meant to be a cracking drive, rave reviews for out and out performance and handling.
Cons - Lack of refinement an issue and spec in my price bracket?


So there you have it, sorry it's a bit of a bore of a first post. But i'm after something fun, realistically I could live with a two seater fuel costs I appreciate are par for the course when you get into these types of cars.

Any other suggestions would be spot on. Not really interested in hot hatches or impreza etc.

[vtecyo]

Doubt you'd get a 350Z 313 in budget.

[SuperVM]

Of those, I'd probably have the E46 M3, but you'd get a much better example of an S2000 or Z4 for the same money. There was a reasonable E46 M3 in Kent on eBay, provided you don't mind Kiwi leather or SMG. The subframe had been inspected, which is always a good thing.

[Howroyd]

You'll enjoy a Z3 if you can get the six cylinder in budget. How about a Boxter?

I'd steer clear of the Audi as you may need a fair slush fund for that - though a fab machine.

Tom

[Frimley111R]

I was in an E46 M3 recently and it was showing its age. Seemed a bit 'last year'

[Bradley1500]

Some cars you may or may not of considered.

Jaguar XKR, BMW 645, BMW M5 E39.

A bit more outside the box but a Vauxhall VX220 or Lotus Elise.

Is it possible to get a TVR Chimera in budget? I think most other models would be out of your price range.

[topless360]

I was in the exact same situation as yourself a few weeks ago, ended up buying an S2000.

Nothing else came close in terms of excitement. It's also very comfortable too (depending on what you're used to of course).

[K14A]

My vote would go for the S2000 or 350Z. The M3 is also a great car but they are a little too common, and I always felt disappointed after driving one. Perhaps it is the stupidly thick BMW steering wheels and awkward seats.

[Matt UK]

A £7.5k Boxster S would be on my list, probably at the top

[kambites]

986 Boxster.

[sjj84]

You list fuel costs as a con for the z4 coupe, I average 31mpg in mine, pretty economical I thought. My previous car was an e46 m3, that averaged 23mpg for comparison.

[TameRacingDriver]

350Z - you could get an earlier one and remap to save a few quid. I think even early ones @ 276 bhp could be remapped to around 300 with a few breathing mods.

Tax £500 a year for 2006 onwards, less for the older one.

My clutch used to stick when driven hard. Probably need master+slave cylinder repair.

Super Unleaded recommended, mine used to do 21 MPG on a 20 mile drive to work - spirited whenever possible and not too much traffic. 30 MPG on a run.

Interior is comfy but fairly cheap.

Fun to drive. Engine sounds great, lots of torque.

Never driven the others, just my 2p.

[hantsph]

Cheers for all the replies, really appreciated.

The S4 is out of the running.

E46 M3 - Very tempting, the interiors do look a bit dated now but as an everyday experience (fuel costs aside) these can be had in my price range, although it appears to be a lot of convertibles.

350z - I keep going back to this as you can get a well serviced low mileage example in my price range, I did find an 06 313 for sale in my range. I just don't seem to be getting overjoyed by the look of the thing and I guess that's gotta count for something.

S2000 - The odd one or two of these are popping up in my price range, nice to hear from some owners who say the interiors aren't too punishing for a longer journey. Strikes me as more of the weekend driving toy though still.

Z4 - I have found the 3.0 coupe in my price range, mileage though is over 100,000 but serviced and needing some bodywork tidying up (to be taken into consideration with price I guess) and good to hear that the MPG is actually in the realms of reasonable with what else i'm looking at on a journey.

Porsche Boxter 3.2 - I had not considered until mentioned above, these can be had in my price range but again it would appear to be scratching the lower end of the decent ones available. Also I fear maintenance expense with these..

So at the moment I think i've almost fully discounted the saloon/4 seater car on the basis that I don't need the seats so may as well make use of that and have something 'fun/sporty' while it's a viable option.

[hantsph]

Have rounded it down,

Found a local 350z with >80k miles, service history. With 19" Rotas, lowered on adjustable Tein coilovers and a full nismo decat exhaust. The fact it has had a few nice bits put on it made it appeal to me looks wise and it was in good condition, engine was very quiet etc bodywork good bar the odd blemish.

S2000 - Still a potential, but few and far between for sale so struggling to make a comparison.

Z4 - Starting to go off the idea of one though due to it being potentially a bit too muted also quite cramped for long journeys etc? BUt the fact you can achieve MPG of around 30 makes it good as I want a jack of all to be able to use on long drives it's just whether it is comfortable enough to do so.