Cheap fun reliable car advice coming from z4 3.0

[Alexei322]

Hello guys, long time lurker fist time posting.

I'm changing my car from an E85 Z4 3.0i now i'm commuting over the winter(long period of working from home), and don't want to ruin the lovely thing really.

I've had an nb mx5 in the past(died to rust), mk3 mr2 and twingo rs133 and to be honest I really miss the light low powered experience, mx5 nb was the most fun I've had in a car.

Budget is around 5-6k, I've been looking at gen1/gen2 swift sports which seem to be a solid purchase, is it worth stretching for the gen2s or just trying to find a non rusty mk1 to be cheap?

My commute is a very short one(2ish miles) so something that can take the abuse(Japanese petrol) is what I've been considering.

Not sure what else is out there to be honest, but fun and reliable are the most important factors, I'm not too bothered about speed as whatever I purchase will be considerably slower than the z4, just looking for something fun again!

Any advice is appreciated!

[Mr Tidy]

Alexei322 said:

Hello guys, long time lurker fist time posting.

I'm changing my car from an E85 Z4 3.0i now i'm commuting over the winter(long period of working from home), and don't want to ruin the lovely thing really.

I've had an nb mx5 in the past(died to rust), mk3 mr2 and twingo rs133 and to be honest I really miss the light low powered experience, mx5 nb was the most fun I've had in a car.

Budget is around 5-6k, I've been looking at gen1/gen2 swift sports which seem to be a solid purchase, is it worth stretching for the gen2s or just trying to find a non rusty mk1 to be cheap?

My commute is a very short one(2ish miles) so something that can take the abuse(Japanese petrol) is what I've been considering.

Not sure what else is out there to be honest, but fun and reliable are the most important factors, I'm not too bothered about speed as whatever I purchase will be considerably slower than the z4, just looking for something fun again!

Any advice is appreciated!

I bought a 2005 BMW E90 330i daily for just under £3.5K in 2019 that would be almost as quick as a pre-facelift Z4 as it has the N52 engine fitted to facelift Z4s.

It's a compromise I can live with!

[jamesbilluk]

An FN2 Civic Type R could be had within budget, or even an EP3

They would be on the higher mileage scale, but Honda reliability, lovely Vtec and a great gear change!

For example
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202304066...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202307049...


Or R56 Mini Cooper S
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202308150...

Or the supercharged R53, but they seem to be heavy on fuel!

Or under budget, but I always read good things about the panda 100hp
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306228...

500 Abarth
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202308040...

Toyota Celica, I’ve read good things about the handling on thins generation, this is the 140, but there is the 190hp available too
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306198...

Edited by jamesbilluk on Thursday 17th August 00:29

Edited by jamesbilluk on Thursday 17th August 00:39

Edited by jamesbilluk on Thursday 17th August 00:40

Edited by jamesbilluk on Thursday 17th August 01:02

[anonymous-user]

Keep the Z4 for a weekend car and get a Nissan Leaf or battery owned Renault Zoe for the 2 mile commute to work?

[Hugo Stiglitz]

Mr Tidy said:

I bought a 2005 BMW E90 330i daily for just under £3.5K in 2019 that would be almost as quick as a pre-facelift Z4 as it has the N52 engine fitted to facelift Z4s.

It's a compromise I can live with!

https://www.carthrottle.com/news/e90-330i-one-bmws-best-all-rounders-and-my-one-got-away

Wow, that was off the radar. I'll look at those.

[Mr Tidy]

Hugo Stiglitz said:

Mr Tidy said:

I bought a 2005 BMW E90 330i daily for just under £3.5K in 2019 that would be almost as quick as a pre-facelift Z4 as it has the N52 engine fitted to facelift Z4s.

It's a compromise I can live with!

https://www.carthrottle.com/news/e90-330i-one-bmws-best-all-rounders-and-my-one-got-away

Wow, that was off the radar. I'll look at those.

I really like it, but made a point of looking for an early one with the N52 engine that facelift Z4s had. The later E9*s with the N53 engine are in a lower tax band, but seem to suffer from injector, HPFP and inlet manifold coking problems that cost far more to fix than the RFL saving!