A Two Scenario "What Sports Car" Quandary
Discussion
SWMBO & myself are car hunting.
There are two scenarios at play here.
Scenario One
She likes driving the cars we look at & takes on on for a daily driver (she does no more than 2k miles a year, so more of a weekly driver in fairness) & we sell the 2017, dull as ditch water Yaris Hybrid.
The cars in the mix are Porsche Boxster (manual & Tiptronic), E89 BMW Z4 (manual & auto) & Mazda MX-5.
Max budget for all is around £11k
Scenario Two
She doesn't get on with any of them & I am allowed to buy a weekend toy, max budget on this would be £6k.
Cars in the mix are again higher mileage Boxsters, 6cyl BMW Z4 E85/86 or the larger engine BMW Z3s.
Advice/thoughts/alternative car all gratefully received.
There are two scenarios at play here.
Scenario One
She likes driving the cars we look at & takes on on for a daily driver (she does no more than 2k miles a year, so more of a weekly driver in fairness) & we sell the 2017, dull as ditch water Yaris Hybrid.
The cars in the mix are Porsche Boxster (manual & Tiptronic), E89 BMW Z4 (manual & auto) & Mazda MX-5.
Max budget for all is around £11k
Scenario Two
She doesn't get on with any of them & I am allowed to buy a weekend toy, max budget on this would be £6k.
Cars in the mix are again higher mileage Boxsters, 6cyl BMW Z4 E85/86 or the larger engine BMW Z3s.
Advice/thoughts/alternative car all gratefully received.
Edited by CallMeLegend on Friday 11th December 08:32
Edited by CallMeLegend on Friday 11th December 11:36
SWMBO & myself are car hunting.
There are two scenarios at play here.
Scenario One
She likes driving the cars we look at & takes on on for a daily driver (she does no more than 2k miles a year, so more of a weekly driver in fairness) & we sell the 2017, dull as ditch water Yaris Hybrid.
The cars in the mix are Porsche Boxster (manual & Tiptronic), E89 BMW M4 (manual & auto) & Mazda MX-5.
Max budget for all is around £11k
Scenario Two
She doesn't get on with any of them & I am allowed to buy a weekend toy, max budget on this would be £6k.
Cars in the mix are again higher mileage Boxsters, 6cyl BMW Z4 E85/86 or the larger engine BMW Z3s.
Advice/thoughts/alternative car all gratefully received.
There are two scenarios at play here.
Scenario One
She likes driving the cars we look at & takes on on for a daily driver (she does no more than 2k miles a year, so more of a weekly driver in fairness) & we sell the 2017, dull as ditch water Yaris Hybrid.
The cars in the mix are Porsche Boxster (manual & Tiptronic), E89 BMW M4 (manual & auto) & Mazda MX-5.
Max budget for all is around £11k
Scenario Two
She doesn't get on with any of them & I am allowed to buy a weekend toy, max budget on this would be £6k.
Cars in the mix are again higher mileage Boxsters, 6cyl BMW Z4 E85/86 or the larger engine BMW Z3s.
Advice/thoughts/alternative car all gratefully received.
Was slighty confused when you said M4 on an £11k budget, but realised you meant Z4.
To be honest, for a toy I'd look at buying something in option 2 and keeping it as such.
I've owned all the cars on the list and like them all. Think the Z3 lags behind dynamically. I own a Boxster, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist with them, so would want to spend more than that budget. If you can still get a reasonable 3.0 Z4 or even a 2.5 my money would go there, or be looking at 1 MK3 MX-5 Sport with the nice equipment levels and Bilstein Dampers, Bose sound system etc as standard. I should think the budget would be a really nice one, just have a good look underneath as they do suffer with the usual rust issues!
To be honest, for a toy I'd look at buying something in option 2 and keeping it as such.
I've owned all the cars on the list and like them all. Think the Z3 lags behind dynamically. I own a Boxster, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist with them, so would want to spend more than that budget. If you can still get a reasonable 3.0 Z4 or even a 2.5 my money would go there, or be looking at 1 MK3 MX-5 Sport with the nice equipment levels and Bilstein Dampers, Bose sound system etc as standard. I should think the budget would be a really nice one, just have a good look underneath as they do suffer with the usual rust issues!
Why include an MX5 on the higher budget but not on the £6k weekend toy budget?
On the £6k budget I would harbour concerns about running costs on an older high mileage Boxster. I am sure many on here say they have had no problems, but when I had a not very old 986S it cost me a hefty packet in maintenance.
I thought the Z3 was a dreadful car personally and felt like I was sat on top of it like a toy car. Z4 was worlds better and although it was only the 2.5 I drove I thought it shifted quite well.
Does a second generation 350Z (2007/2008 onwards?) fall into the price bracket. Not a fan of the gen 1 but the gen 2 pulled a lot nicer. I would have thought reliable and should hold its money pretty well?
On the £6k budget I would harbour concerns about running costs on an older high mileage Boxster. I am sure many on here say they have had no problems, but when I had a not very old 986S it cost me a hefty packet in maintenance.
I thought the Z3 was a dreadful car personally and felt like I was sat on top of it like a toy car. Z4 was worlds better and although it was only the 2.5 I drove I thought it shifted quite well.
Does a second generation 350Z (2007/2008 onwards?) fall into the price bracket. Not a fan of the gen 1 but the gen 2 pulled a lot nicer. I would have thought reliable and should hold its money pretty well?
I'd go for a 2.7 Boxster + change. 5 speed but fun to rev out and sounds glorious.
A £6k 3.2S 986S is a great car, but will probably need frequent fettling and that is very much bottom money for a half-decent one bought privately.
Personally i'd rather have an hot hatch or FWD coupe with an interesting powertrain over an MX5.
A £6k 3.2S 986S is a great car, but will probably need frequent fettling and that is very much bottom money for a half-decent one bought privately.
Personally i'd rather have an hot hatch or FWD coupe with an interesting powertrain over an MX5.
KPB1973 said:
I'd go for a 2.7 Boxster + change. 5 speed but fun to rev out and sounds glorious.
A £6k 3.2S 986S is a great car, but will probably need frequent fettling and that is very much bottom money for a half-decent one bought privately.
Personally i'd rather have an hot hatch or FWD coupe with an interesting powertrain over an MX5.
The fettling won't be too much of a problem, look at my Elan M100 thread to see the level I went to on that......A £6k 3.2S 986S is a great car, but will probably need frequent fettling and that is very much bottom money for a half-decent one bought privately.
Personally i'd rather have an hot hatch or FWD coupe with an interesting powertrain over an MX5.
I've located a 55k miles manual 3.2 S that has a huge history file & recent can chains, couple of minor paint blemished & the central locking won't work from the fob, but it's pretty stunning. Also found a 30k miles Z4 E89 2.5 auto in "Champagne" that I think looks OK
We are looking at Z4s locally Saturday & four Boxsters at Flat Six Classics on Sunday, we'll know if it's going to scenario 1 or 2 by then.
Edited by CallMeLegend on Friday 11th December 15:09
CallMeLegend said:
The fettling won't be too much of a problem, look at my Elan M100 thread to see the level I went to on that......
I've located a 55k miles manual 3.2 S that has a huge history file & recent can chains, couple of minor paint blemished & the central locking won't work from the fob, but it's pretty stunning.
We are looking at Z4s locally Saturday & four oxsters at Flat Six Classics on Sunday, we'll know if it's going to scenario 1 or 2 by then.
Well if you're handy with the spanners, parts prices aren't bad on the 986's. Don't discount the 2.7 though, i've had both and they each had their own personalities and plus points.I've located a 55k miles manual 3.2 S that has a huge history file & recent can chains, couple of minor paint blemished & the central locking won't work from the fob, but it's pretty stunning.
We are looking at Z4s locally Saturday & four oxsters at Flat Six Classics on Sunday, we'll know if it's going to scenario 1 or 2 by then.
Clutches are a bit of a pig though, and often get v heavy at circa 60k miles. Perhaps one to bear in mind when viewing those you mention.
Also check the roof v carefully, especially the seam around the rear window. I know it's often mentioned in buyer's guides - but the carpeting over the engine access panel (behind your head in the cab) should be checked for dampness / wringing wet.
The central locking issue can often be an issue with a microswitch in one of the trunk/frunk or even the central storage compartment in the cabin.
Good luck.
If you go for option 2 then these would be where I'd be looking:
SLK280
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011126...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010215...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011216...
350Z
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010155...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008112...
SLK280
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011126...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010215...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011216...
350Z
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010155...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008112...
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