Looking for fun/interesting car for £6-9k
Looking for fun/interesting car for £6-9k
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Discussion

alec.e

Original Poster:

2,149 posts

145 months

Tuesday 20th March 2018
quotequote all
I am looking for another car for weekend fun driving, ideally reasonably cheap to run, but ideally with a bit of character and performance.

Some (diverse) ideas:
-Abarth 595
-Alfa Giulietta 1750 TBI
-Porsche Boxster S
-BMW Z4 23i
-BMW E46 M3

My ideal car would have a manual gearbox, a open top would be nice in the summer.

Any thoughts on the above? Thanks

DoubleD

22,154 posts

129 months

Tuesday 20th March 2018
quotequote all
Youve missed the obvious 1

alec.e

Original Poster:

2,149 posts

145 months

Tuesday 20th March 2018
quotequote all
MX5? I don't know, not for me for some reason...

Xcore

1,437 posts

111 months

Tuesday 20th March 2018
quotequote all
Mapped 535d

kambites

70,339 posts

242 months

Tuesday 20th March 2018
quotequote all
VX220?

golfer19

1,632 posts

154 months

Tuesday 20th March 2018
quotequote all
A decent z4 coupe should be within reach.
Not a soft top though.

TommyBuoy

1,275 posts

188 months

Tuesday 20th March 2018
quotequote all
Z4 23i over here.

Heavy, not particularly feelsome handling, won't see which way a hot hatch goes. 30mpg on a run if that's important to you. Sound system needs a proper upgrade.

However, sounds nice, nice enough manual gearbox, no turbos, slight understeer before oversteer. I like the way it looks roof up or down, doesn't draw attention and is comfortable.

If you want a weekend car that's also a sports car, look elsewhere. But I use mine everyday for 3 1/2 years now and treat it as a comfortable mini GT with a nice na straight 6 noise.

ETA - assuming you are referring to an e89

pthelazyjourno

1,859 posts

190 months

Tuesday 20th March 2018
quotequote all
S1 Elise.

TommyBuoy

1,275 posts

188 months

Tuesday 20th March 2018
quotequote all
S2000. Had one for 3 years. I loved that car. It's definitely either a car you get or you don't though.

Boxster s would be my choice out of the list you provided for a weekend car.

I'd also look at an Elise or even caterham / Westfields - proper weekend fun

survivalist

6,082 posts

211 months

Tuesday 20th March 2018
quotequote all
IMHO How raw a weekend car need to be is highly dependent on what your daily drive is. If I drove a BMW 340i during the week, I couldn’t be looking an M4 for example.

Also, how practical does the weekend car have to be.

kambites

70,339 posts

242 months

Tuesday 20th March 2018
quotequote all
pthelazyjourno said:
S1 Elise.
For £9k? Good luck with that. smile

85Carrera

3,503 posts

258 months

Tuesday 20th March 2018
quotequote all
pthelazyjourno said:
S1 Elise.
Not for that budget any more.

85Carrera

3,503 posts

258 months

Tuesday 20th March 2018
quotequote all
alec.e said:
I am looking for another car for weekend fun driving, ideally reasonably cheap to run, but ideally with a bit of character and performance.

Some (diverse) ideas:
-Abarth 595
-Alfa Giulietta 1750 TBI
-Porsche Boxster S
-BMW Z4 23i
-BMW E46 M3

My ideal car would have a manual gearbox, a open top would be nice in the summer.

Any thoughts on the above? Thanks
I would probably go for the Boxster, but servicing/parts prices probably on the high side so would have to factor those in.

S2000 is another possibility?

SlowV6

697 posts

160 months

Tuesday 20th March 2018
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Monaro?

alec.e

Original Poster:

2,149 posts

145 months

Tuesday 20th March 2018
quotequote all
Good suggestions thanks, there is no concern for space and does not need to be super refined, as I have a Jag SV8 too.
Boxster seems to be the default choice, good suggestions on the S2k & VX220.

anonymous-user

75 months

Tuesday 20th March 2018
quotequote all
N/A 3.5 V6, Manual, Japanese, Orange, open top, 6.7k and looks tidy on the MOT history, couple of advisories previous year which seem to have been sorted.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...


DUBS73P

113 posts

156 months

Tuesday 20th March 2018
quotequote all
I think its got to be the S2000, such a great car for weekend duties. 9k revs never gets old in the summer with the roof down.

I personally swapped mine for a Z4 coupe as it was a better daily with much more rear space too. The 6 cylinder is equally as special as the F20C in the S2k.

Can't really go wrong with either in my opinion, choose how you want your power delivery or choose between hard or soft top.

Neither will lose much if any money at all and both will have similar daily running costs with the BMW servicing being fairly significantly more expensive and more to go wrong from my experience

TommyBuoy

1,275 posts

188 months

Wednesday 21st March 2018
quotequote all
DUBS73P said:
I think its got to be the S2000, such a great car for weekend duties. 9k revs never gets old in the summer with the roof down.

I personally swapped mine for a Z4 coupe as it was a better daily with much more rear space too. The 6 cylinder is equally as special as the F20C in the S2k.

Can't really go wrong with either in my opinion, choose how you want your power delivery or choose between hard or soft top.

Neither will lose much if any money at all and both will have similar daily running costs with the BMW servicing being fairly significantly more expensive and more to go wrong from my experience
Whilst I'd agree that the BMW may go wrong more than the s2k, the Honda can throw some big bills at you.

Tax - if it's an 06 you could be looking at 470 a year.
Dampers - an oem damper was over 300 a unit (mine had a leak)
Seized bolts for wheel alignment - very sensitive to set up and also have a habit of seizing

I'd still go for the s2000 though, I lived with it everyday for 3 years and it never got old - although the sound system is terrible!


anonymous-user

75 months

Wednesday 21st March 2018
quotequote all
How about a lotus 7 replica, a decent Tiger or GBS would be in your price range, or a slightly tatty westfield.

500kg, 180+bhp with a zetec in it, goes like stink, nothing more raw and in your face than that, and completely impractical as a weekend can should be




davek_964

10,534 posts

196 months

Wednesday 21st March 2018
quotequote all
I decided I wanted a soft top this time last year.

Wasn't really interested in the Boxster - but mostly that's because I'd had other Porsche's and was a tad bored of them.
Considered a Z4, but then somebody suggested Alfa Spider - when I looked at one, I loved them. Look great and a bit different.

It will get left behind by most of the other cars listed, but feels quick enough to me. The biggest downside is actually that it's FWD which can be irritating - but other than that I love it.

A few months later, I started going out with a girl who had a Boxster, and I used it for about a week. It convinced me I'd made the right decision not to buy one - no character and for me, far more boring than the Alfa.

ETA : Might as well add a pic :