Cheap second hand sports car for the summer
Discussion
Looking for ideas and suggestions form fellow PistonHeads on a good cheap second hand sports car for the summer.
My daily driver is a Skoda Superb 280 Sportline Estate. So my current car is fun and quick. That said it is very much a family car and it is huge and a bit of a barge in the corners. My father has an MX 5 and the low driving and agility in the corners is fun.
I am looking for a rear wheel drive, manual, coupe or convertible sports car that is cheap (below £15k) and can be some fun for the summer as a second car. I still plan to keep the Superb so this would be a garaged fair weather car. Ideally would be quick, but maybe not as quick in a straight line as my Superb.
Current shortlist is:
Nissan 370z - Always liked Japanese cars and I love the look of the 370z. Like the idea of normally aspirated v6 and know I can pick one up for about £10k - £12k
BMW Z4 - Maybe a 5th gen E89. The sDrive30i and the turboed sDrive35i both appeal. Most sDrive35i I find in classifieds are auto, and I know the sDrive35is is auto only.
Honda S2000 - Not sure if I want a vtec, but they are cheap and look like fun.
So need some more ideas to join the two above. Cars I won't have. MX5 nice, but my father drives one and they are not that quick. Porsche all my friends say buy a boxster but I have never been a Porsche fan.
I think deep down I really want a Lotus Exige S2, but that would be more like £25k so might be something to get in 2-3 years time. The car I am looking for now is something that can tie me over till I buy a nicer sports car. Happy for it to need some work as would like like to tinker with the car on weekends.
So what I really need some help with is more suggestions to join the 370z and Z4 above and also feedback on both those cars. At the moment I am leaning towards a cheap 370z. Or suggest something crazy I have not thought of, man in the pub at the weekend said Westfield, kitcar a good option?
My daily driver is a Skoda Superb 280 Sportline Estate. So my current car is fun and quick. That said it is very much a family car and it is huge and a bit of a barge in the corners. My father has an MX 5 and the low driving and agility in the corners is fun.
I am looking for a rear wheel drive, manual, coupe or convertible sports car that is cheap (below £15k) and can be some fun for the summer as a second car. I still plan to keep the Superb so this would be a garaged fair weather car. Ideally would be quick, but maybe not as quick in a straight line as my Superb.
Current shortlist is:
Nissan 370z - Always liked Japanese cars and I love the look of the 370z. Like the idea of normally aspirated v6 and know I can pick one up for about £10k - £12k
BMW Z4 - Maybe a 5th gen E89. The sDrive30i and the turboed sDrive35i both appeal. Most sDrive35i I find in classifieds are auto, and I know the sDrive35is is auto only.
Honda S2000 - Not sure if I want a vtec, but they are cheap and look like fun.
So need some more ideas to join the two above. Cars I won't have. MX5 nice, but my father drives one and they are not that quick. Porsche all my friends say buy a boxster but I have never been a Porsche fan.
I think deep down I really want a Lotus Exige S2, but that would be more like £25k so might be something to get in 2-3 years time. The car I am looking for now is something that can tie me over till I buy a nicer sports car. Happy for it to need some work as would like like to tinker with the car on weekends.
So what I really need some help with is more suggestions to join the 370z and Z4 above and also feedback on both those cars. At the moment I am leaning towards a cheap 370z. Or suggest something crazy I have not thought of, man in the pub at the weekend said Westfield, kitcar a good option?
I've recently purchased a Manual 370Z GT Roadster(in your budget £13.5k) as a weekend/occasional car and I absolutely love it. It has an upgraded intake and exhaust which makes a massive difference because they're pretty quiet as standard.
The TVR Chimeara was also on my shortlist and for noise and a sense of occasion I think you will find them very hard to beat for sure.
I've also had a Z4M Roadster but I struggled to fall for it because I found the manual gearbox annoying and the ride/suspension was very poor in standard guise IMO.
The TVR Chimeara was also on my shortlist and for noise and a sense of occasion I think you will find them very hard to beat for sure.
I've also had a Z4M Roadster but I struggled to fall for it because I found the manual gearbox annoying and the ride/suspension was very poor in standard guise IMO.
Xcore said:
Tvrs are just an old rover v8 with a plastic body and ladder chassis, buy one without chassis rot and you’ll be fine.
Yep, no issues with electrics or general build quality to worry about at all. 
(They are a hell of an event though)I'd suggest that by throwing out Porsche as an option you're probably removing 2 of the best manual sportscars in budget. Your £15k would get you into a very nice 2007 example of either the Boxster S or Cayman S and they hold their value exceptionally well which will help towards the Elise in 2 years time.
soad said:
neutral 3 said:
There is a light blue circa 94 Griff 500 for sale @ £15,000 ATM.
Link?Scabby chassis.
Bodywork imperfections.
Needs new carpets.
All easily rectified apparently. which makes you wonder why they wouldn't do it before sale? Artsy photo's though.
Xcore said:
SWoll said:
Yep, no issues with electrics or general build quality to worry about at all. (They are a hell of an event though)
Well yea you’ve got to get into a certain mentality to own a tvr! (They are a hell of an event though)SWoll said:
I'd suggest that by throwing out Porsche as an option you're probably removing 2 of the best manual sportscars in budget. Your £15k would get you into a very nice 2007 example of either the Boxster S or Cayman S and they hold their value exceptionally well which will help towards the Elise in 2 years time.
Which of a Boxster S or Cayman S would you choose if I did decide I can own a Porsche?cerb4.5lee said:
I've recently purchased a Manual 370Z GT Roadster(in your budget £13.5k) as a weekend/occasional car and I absolutely love it. It has an upgraded intake and exhaust which makes a massive difference because they're pretty quiet as standard.
Thanks a lot, you are pushing me more towards the 370z, which I think deep down is what I want to buy.370z for a few years, then get a Lotus!
hpoom said:
SWoll said:
I'd suggest that by throwing out Porsche as an option you're probably removing 2 of the best manual sportscars in budget. Your £15k would get you into a very nice 2007 example of either the Boxster S or Cayman S and they hold their value exceptionally well which will help towards the Elise in 2 years time.
Which of a Boxster S or Cayman S would you choose if I did decide I can own a Porsche?I'd probably go Boxster personally as a weekend car should be as fun as possible and roof off adds a whole extra dimension to the experience.
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