Any good Targa top cars under £2000?
Discussion
Hi,
It's my first time starting a discussion here so please bear with me!
I have recently passed my driving test (last October) and am currently driving an 06 Meriva as it was cheap and cheerful. I could continue with this car as it has been good to me and reliable so far, however after being brought up with my dad who's had cars like the mk1 mr2, Scimitar and currently has a TVR Griffith 4.3, I would like to take the same approach as he did when he was my age. I have been looking for some time and looked mostly at the MR2 MK2, alfa spider 1996 and recently the fiat x1/9. I was wondering if anyone had any advice for alternatives or whether it would be better to wait a few more years until my NCD had built up. If I were to change, it would be October earliest and I will have 1 year NCD hopefully! £2000 is probably the most I could afford being that insurance will most likely be £1500+ next year for a two seater targa top. Bottom line, I would love to have something like these, but is it too early and am I best waiting for a few years and sticking with the Meriva?
Thanks in advance,
Joe
It's my first time starting a discussion here so please bear with me!
I have recently passed my driving test (last October) and am currently driving an 06 Meriva as it was cheap and cheerful. I could continue with this car as it has been good to me and reliable so far, however after being brought up with my dad who's had cars like the mk1 mr2, Scimitar and currently has a TVR Griffith 4.3, I would like to take the same approach as he did when he was my age. I have been looking for some time and looked mostly at the MR2 MK2, alfa spider 1996 and recently the fiat x1/9. I was wondering if anyone had any advice for alternatives or whether it would be better to wait a few more years until my NCD had built up. If I were to change, it would be October earliest and I will have 1 year NCD hopefully! £2000 is probably the most I could afford being that insurance will most likely be £1500+ next year for a two seater targa top. Bottom line, I would love to have something like these, but is it too early and am I best waiting for a few years and sticking with the Meriva?
Thanks in advance,
Joe
Can thoroughly recommend the MR2 Mk2. Reliable, mid-engined, terrific looks, drives well and only a couple of K. I had one in my 20s when they were new and v tempted to get another one now.
The Alfa and the Fiat are pretty but likely to be a lot of trouble at that price. Better to spend the money on the car rather than maintenance!
The Alfa and the Fiat are pretty but likely to be a lot of trouble at that price. Better to spend the money on the car rather than maintenance!
Joe_Eagles01 said:
Hi,
It's my first time starting a discussion here so please bear with me!
I have recently passed my driving test (last October) and am currently driving an 06 Meriva as it was cheap and cheerful. I could continue with this car as it has been good to me and reliable so far, however after being brought up with my dad who's had cars like the mk1 mr2, Scimitar and currently has a TVR Griffith 4.3, I would like to take the same approach as he did when he was my age. I have been looking for some time and looked mostly at the MR2 MK2, alfa spider 1996 and recently the fiat x1/9. I was wondering if anyone had any advice for alternatives or whether it would be better to wait a few more years until my NCD had built up. If I were to change, it would be October earliest and I will have 1 year NCD hopefully! £2000 is probably the most I could afford being that insurance will most likely be £1500+ next year for a two seater targa top. Bottom line, I would love to have something like these, but is it too early and am I best waiting for a few years and sticking with the Meriva?
Thanks in advance,
Joe
Hi Joe.It's my first time starting a discussion here so please bear with me!
I have recently passed my driving test (last October) and am currently driving an 06 Meriva as it was cheap and cheerful. I could continue with this car as it has been good to me and reliable so far, however after being brought up with my dad who's had cars like the mk1 mr2, Scimitar and currently has a TVR Griffith 4.3, I would like to take the same approach as he did when he was my age. I have been looking for some time and looked mostly at the MR2 MK2, alfa spider 1996 and recently the fiat x1/9. I was wondering if anyone had any advice for alternatives or whether it would be better to wait a few more years until my NCD had built up. If I were to change, it would be October earliest and I will have 1 year NCD hopefully! £2000 is probably the most I could afford being that insurance will most likely be £1500+ next year for a two seater targa top. Bottom line, I would love to have something like these, but is it too early and am I best waiting for a few years and sticking with the Meriva?
Thanks in advance,
Joe
I think you are being highly sensible and enjoying cars at your age is important. So I would encourage to pursue this.
I would say, do keep checking on insurance and not always just the online comparison sites. You may want to phone up some places for a quote if they offer more specialist insurance. As some cars can end up being a lot cheaper to insure than you may think.
In terms of "targa" top cars. There really aren't very many tbh. Although if you include coupes and roadsters into your search, it will give you more options.
I had a Nissan 100NX a few years ago. TBH it was a lot of fun, the interior was a bit grey and it wasn't overly speedy. But it drove in a kindred way to a Ford Puma. Not as good a steer, but it did have a targa roof, which I made lots of use of.
I think rust is an issue with these, so you don't see many about. But they would make for quite a fun car.
The Honda CRX De Sol mentioned might be worth a look. MGF's, Fiat Barchetta (although it's LHD), MX-5, maybe even a convertible or coupe Toyota Celica, Daihatsu Copen.
For coupes; Celica (multiple ages), Ford Probe, Puma, Cougar, Honda Prelude.
Not sure what sort of money these would be today, but kind of cool and left field.
Toyota Sera
Hi all,
Whilst looking at some suggestions, I stumbled across an x1/9 which is local to me. I am tempted to go and look at it, MOT history shows all passes with no advisories however, it has been untaxed since 2015 and last mot was 2016. I contacted the seller and he said it has been standing so brakes are slightly sticky, it comes with the v5 and he said it does run. I don't mind doing some work on it as long as it isn't too complicated for an 18 year old! Do you think it's worth going to see since it is local?
Thanks,
Joe
Listing: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/x1-9-x19-x-19-x-1-9-fia...
Whilst looking at some suggestions, I stumbled across an x1/9 which is local to me. I am tempted to go and look at it, MOT history shows all passes with no advisories however, it has been untaxed since 2015 and last mot was 2016. I contacted the seller and he said it has been standing so brakes are slightly sticky, it comes with the v5 and he said it does run. I don't mind doing some work on it as long as it isn't too complicated for an 18 year old! Do you think it's worth going to see since it is local?
Thanks,
Joe
Listing: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/x1-9-x19-x-19-x-1-9-fia...
Joe_Eagles01 said:
Hi all,
Whilst looking at some suggestions, I stumbled across an x1/9 which is local to me. I am tempted to go and look at it, MOT history shows all passes with no advisories however, it has been untaxed since 2015 and last mot was 2016. I contacted the seller and he said it has been standing so brakes are slightly sticky, it comes with the v5 and he said it does run. I don't mind doing some work on it as long as it isn't too complicated for an 18 year old! Do you think it's worth going to see since it is local?
Thanks,
Joe
Listing: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/x1-9-x19-x-19-x-1-9-fia...
Yes go and look, just be prepared that looking often means coming away with it Whilst looking at some suggestions, I stumbled across an x1/9 which is local to me. I am tempted to go and look at it, MOT history shows all passes with no advisories however, it has been untaxed since 2015 and last mot was 2016. I contacted the seller and he said it has been standing so brakes are slightly sticky, it comes with the v5 and he said it does run. I don't mind doing some work on it as long as it isn't too complicated for an 18 year old! Do you think it's worth going to see since it is local?
Thanks,
Joe
Listing: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/x1-9-x19-x-19-x-1-9-fia...
On most cars fixing or replacing the oily bits generally isn't too bad, just grunt work to get it done. By oily bits I mean anything engine/gearbox/suspension etc. Although it's worth checking up prices on some bits sometimes.
Rust on bodywork however is another league of bother. And is generally a lot harder and more expensive to fix, unless it's on panels that can easily be removed and replaced.
The X1/9 is a very cool car. But I have no first hand experience of them.
Gareth1974 said:
These later tomcats with the VVC engine are lovely - still miss mine!
At the age of 20 i bought this 
Still have it now , 6 years later!
It is worth noting that i did wait a year and a bit after passing my test before i started driving.
I had one car before this one which i drove for 1 year.
So when i bought it i had held my license for 3 years and had 1 years no claims.
Insurance was roughly £800
Technically a T-Top rather than a Targa, but awesome fun and probably exactly what you are after.
I paid £2500 for it in 2013 with 57,000 miles on it.
I think for a low mileage car you are going to be paying a bit more than that now sadly.
Still have it now , 6 years later!
It is worth noting that i did wait a year and a bit after passing my test before i started driving.
I had one car before this one which i drove for 1 year.
So when i bought it i had held my license for 3 years and had 1 years no claims.
Insurance was roughly £800
Technically a T-Top rather than a Targa, but awesome fun and probably exactly what you are after.
I paid £2500 for it in 2013 with 57,000 miles on it.
I think for a low mileage car you are going to be paying a bit more than that now sadly.
I have had some Targas over the years. They were all good cars but my mark 1 MR2 was the best (T-bar)
I also had a VX220, but that is out of budget. And a Smart Roadster Coupe which is pretty good fun, but I would chose one with smaller narrower tyres than the overtyred one I had.
Mike
I also had a VX220, but that is out of budget. And a Smart Roadster Coupe which is pretty good fun, but I would chose one with smaller narrower tyres than the overtyred one I had.
Mike
Maccles said:
These later tomcats with the VVC engine are lovely - still miss mine!
...and I've still got mine. There's simply no way I'll ever sell it, I'll happily spend (far) more than it's worth to keep it going simply because the of the way it drives and makes me feel (in the midst of getting all the bits to do a suspension refresh at the moment... if the XK will let up for five minutes).Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff