What sub 10k sports car?
Discussion
I’m contemplating “swapping” my bike (Suzuki Bandit 1200) for a sub 10k used sports car in the spring. My reasoning being that I’m a very fair weather biker, so don’t really use it from November-April and then I’m so busy with the kids at the weekend that I don’t really get to ride it for pleasure even then, which leaves me with commuting mostly and there were quite a few days last year where it was raining in the morning, so I took the car instead. My wife also won’t travel or let the kids travel on the back of the bike, so I need a perfect storm of nice weather and not having to take anyone or anything with me in order to justify using it. Being a 25 year old carbureted bike, it can also be a bit recalcitrant to get started/run nicely when it’s cold, so I need to add another 10 minutes to every journey too. It’s frustrating, as sometimes it clears up during the day and I would love to ride home on it but I took the car that day because it was raining in the morning! I think that I’d like to return to biking a bit later with a more modern bike when the kids are a bit older/more independent.
With a sports car, I could take someone with me if I needed to and get more use out of it if it’s nice weather but cold or if it’s raining, as I can drive to work with the roof up in the morning and drive home with the roof down if it brightens up and the heated seats on if it’s a bit cooler. So I’m thinking that I might be able to sell my Bandit for 3k if I’m lucky (it’s in really nice condition, less than 20k, new battery, new chain, newish Michelin tyres etc) and add 5-7k to that to buy a sports car. Being very middle-aged, I want to avoid the obvious cliché of an MX5/Boxster, as I’ve owned an MX5 (NB) before and although I’d love an ND2 RF with the upgraded engine, my budget’s a little shy of that.
The two that I really wanted to own in period but couldn’t afford were a BMW Z3 2.2/3.0 Sport or a Honda S2000. I know that Z4 roadsters are available within this budget too but I just think the Z3 is a prettier car whose design has aged better.
More leftfield options would be a mk3 MR2 or an R129 SL500. I quite fancied an MR2 20 years ago when I got my MX5 but my boss at the time suggested that if I got one, I would look like I “batted for the other team” but in retrospect, I shouldn’t have listened to him, as I suspect (although I have never driven one) that the MR2 would have been the better drive (I didn’t really gel with my NB MX5) and I quite fancy ticking the mid-engined box too. The SL is a different beast but I’ve always liked them and although, I would kind of like a manual transmission for the “proper” sports car driving experience, a 5 litre V8 goes some way to compensate and it offers a bit more practicality for some longer trips.
Although I quite fancy a convertible, as being able to put the roof down is a USP that I just can’t do on my daily driver (mk7 Golf Estate), 9 times out of 10, I prefer the styling of the coupe over the convertible counterpart, so I would also consider something like a Z4 Coupe, Nissan 350Z or Mazda RX8 R3, plus a bit more boot space is handy if I want to take it for a weekend away and with the RX8, the kids could also come too.
FYI, I will be keeping my current daily driver (a mk7 Golf estate), as I still need a practical car, so the sports car will mostly be for pleasure use/commuting in nicer weather. So what sub 10k sports car would you recommend?
With a sports car, I could take someone with me if I needed to and get more use out of it if it’s nice weather but cold or if it’s raining, as I can drive to work with the roof up in the morning and drive home with the roof down if it brightens up and the heated seats on if it’s a bit cooler. So I’m thinking that I might be able to sell my Bandit for 3k if I’m lucky (it’s in really nice condition, less than 20k, new battery, new chain, newish Michelin tyres etc) and add 5-7k to that to buy a sports car. Being very middle-aged, I want to avoid the obvious cliché of an MX5/Boxster, as I’ve owned an MX5 (NB) before and although I’d love an ND2 RF with the upgraded engine, my budget’s a little shy of that.
The two that I really wanted to own in period but couldn’t afford were a BMW Z3 2.2/3.0 Sport or a Honda S2000. I know that Z4 roadsters are available within this budget too but I just think the Z3 is a prettier car whose design has aged better.
More leftfield options would be a mk3 MR2 or an R129 SL500. I quite fancied an MR2 20 years ago when I got my MX5 but my boss at the time suggested that if I got one, I would look like I “batted for the other team” but in retrospect, I shouldn’t have listened to him, as I suspect (although I have never driven one) that the MR2 would have been the better drive (I didn’t really gel with my NB MX5) and I quite fancy ticking the mid-engined box too. The SL is a different beast but I’ve always liked them and although, I would kind of like a manual transmission for the “proper” sports car driving experience, a 5 litre V8 goes some way to compensate and it offers a bit more practicality for some longer trips.
Although I quite fancy a convertible, as being able to put the roof down is a USP that I just can’t do on my daily driver (mk7 Golf Estate), 9 times out of 10, I prefer the styling of the coupe over the convertible counterpart, so I would also consider something like a Z4 Coupe, Nissan 350Z or Mazda RX8 R3, plus a bit more boot space is handy if I want to take it for a weekend away and with the RX8, the kids could also come too.
FYI, I will be keeping my current daily driver (a mk7 Golf estate), as I still need a practical car, so the sports car will mostly be for pleasure use/commuting in nicer weather. So what sub 10k sports car would you recommend?
Edited by white_goodman on Monday 27th January 17:51
white_goodman said:
I’m contemplating “swapping” my bike (Suzuki Bandit 1200) for a sub 10k used sports car. My reasoning being that I’m a very fair weather biker, so don’t really use it from November-April and then I’m so busy with the kids at the weekend that I don’t really get to ride it for pleasure even then, which leaves me with commuting mostly and there were quite a few days last year where it was raining in the morning, so I took the car instead. My wife also won’t travel or let the kids travel on the back of the bike, so I need a perfect storm of nice weather and not having to take anyone or anything with me in order to justify using it. Being a 25 year old carbureted bike, it can also be a bit recalcitrant to get started/run nicely when it’s cold, so I need to add another 10 minutes to every journey too. It’s frustrating, as sometimes it clears up during the day and I would love to ride home on it but I took the car that day because it was raining in the morning! I think that I’d like to return to biking a bit later with a more modern bike when the kids are a bit older/more independent.
With a sports car, I could take someone with me if I needed to and get more use out of it if it’s nice weather but cold or if it’s raining, as I can drive to work with the roof up in the morning and drive home with the roof down if it brightens up and the heated seats on if it’s a bit cooler. So I’m thinking that I might be able to sell my Bandit for 3k if I’m lucky (it’s in really nice condition, less than 20k, new battery, new chain, newish Michelin tyres etc) and add 5-7k to that to buy a sports car. Being very middle-aged, I want to avoid the obvious cliché of an MX5/Boxster, as I’ve owned an MX5 (NB) before and although I’d love an ND2 RF with the upgraded engine, my budget’s a little shy of that.
The two that I really wanted to own in period but couldn’t afford were a BMW Z3 2.2/3.0 Sport or a Honda S2000. I know that Z4 roadsters are available within this budget too but I just think the Z3 is a prettier car whose design has aged better.
More leftfield options would be a mk3 MR2 or an R129 SL500. I quite fancied an MR2 20 years ago when I got my MX5 but my boss at the time suggested that if I got one, I would look like I “batted for the other team” but in retrospect, I shouldn’t have listened to him, as I suspect (although I have never driven one) that the MR2 would have been the better drive (I didn’t really gel with my NB MX5) and I quite fancy ticking the mid-engined box too. The SL is a different beast but I’ve always liked them and although, I would kind of like a manual transmission for the “proper” sports car driving experience, a 5 litre V8 goes some way to compensate and it offers a bit more practicality for some longer trips.
Although I quite fancy a convertible, as being able to put the roof down is a USP that I just can’t do on my daily driver (mk7 Golf Estate), 9 times out of 10, I prefer the styling of the coupe over the convertible counterpart, so I would also consider something like a Z4 Coupe, Nissan 350Z or Mazda RX8 R3, plus a bit more boot space is handy if I want to take it for a weekend away and with the RX8, the kids could also come too.
FYI, I will be keeping my current daily driver (a mk7 Golf estate), as I still need a practical car, so the sports car will mostly be for pleasure use/commuting in nicer weather. So what sub 10k sports car would you recommend?
This may be a bit further left than left-field, but based on what you want, what you're coming from, and what you've had, I feel like a Honda Integra would be an interesting option. They may be FWD, more hatch-back-esque, less overtly sports-car; but they're a lot of fun and I reckon you could find a decent DC2, maybe a higher mile DC5, for circa 10 large (after haggling, anyway).With a sports car, I could take someone with me if I needed to and get more use out of it if it’s nice weather but cold or if it’s raining, as I can drive to work with the roof up in the morning and drive home with the roof down if it brightens up and the heated seats on if it’s a bit cooler. So I’m thinking that I might be able to sell my Bandit for 3k if I’m lucky (it’s in really nice condition, less than 20k, new battery, new chain, newish Michelin tyres etc) and add 5-7k to that to buy a sports car. Being very middle-aged, I want to avoid the obvious cliché of an MX5/Boxster, as I’ve owned an MX5 (NB) before and although I’d love an ND2 RF with the upgraded engine, my budget’s a little shy of that.
The two that I really wanted to own in period but couldn’t afford were a BMW Z3 2.2/3.0 Sport or a Honda S2000. I know that Z4 roadsters are available within this budget too but I just think the Z3 is a prettier car whose design has aged better.
More leftfield options would be a mk3 MR2 or an R129 SL500. I quite fancied an MR2 20 years ago when I got my MX5 but my boss at the time suggested that if I got one, I would look like I “batted for the other team” but in retrospect, I shouldn’t have listened to him, as I suspect (although I have never driven one) that the MR2 would have been the better drive (I didn’t really gel with my NB MX5) and I quite fancy ticking the mid-engined box too. The SL is a different beast but I’ve always liked them and although, I would kind of like a manual transmission for the “proper” sports car driving experience, a 5 litre V8 goes some way to compensate and it offers a bit more practicality for some longer trips.
Although I quite fancy a convertible, as being able to put the roof down is a USP that I just can’t do on my daily driver (mk7 Golf Estate), 9 times out of 10, I prefer the styling of the coupe over the convertible counterpart, so I would also consider something like a Z4 Coupe, Nissan 350Z or Mazda RX8 R3, plus a bit more boot space is handy if I want to take it for a weekend away and with the RX8, the kids could also come too.
FYI, I will be keeping my current daily driver (a mk7 Golf estate), as I still need a practical car, so the sports car will mostly be for pleasure use/commuting in nicer weather. So what sub 10k sports car would you recommend?
Well as a fellow middle aged man, when I needed more space than my old Boxster S gave me, I bought a GT86.
I paid a little over £10k for a well looked after and mildly modified (just a remap & exhaust manifold) 2013 example with 50k on the clock last year ... but there are boatloads out there for under £10k.
It's considerably slower than the Boxster was, but more edgy (the Boxster was almost a GT car - long legged and reasonably softly sprung). It's my everyday car, so serves up a reasonable dose of practicality along with the sporty side of things. Not tried to put human beings in the back, but my german shepherd finds it more comfy than the Boxster!
Only downside is that it really doesn't have the straight line trousers to match the mouth. It's not slow ... but it's nowhere near quick. There are a lot of turbo'd cars out there that solve that downside, and I did strongly consider one when I was replacing the Boxster. But for me a combo of the faff/expense of finding modified car insurance, along with reliability niggles (as in niggles in my head, rather than any actual common issues - for my everyday car I want it to start on the button every time and never leave me with any nagging doubts) around buying an extensively modified car meant I ended up going for a stock-ish one. Not sure a turbo'd one would limbo under £10k (when I was looking they seemed to be between £13-17k depending on what other supporting mods they had) ...
If you can live with the straight line performance, it'd be my top pick.
As an aside ... I have had 2 RX8s. I got burned on both of them. They are amazing when everything is working ... but a combination of that temperamental engine and a chassis that rusts for fun means that there are very few out there that won't throw big bills at you one way or the other. If you could find one with a rust-free shell and a recent engine rebuild from a respected builder, then that might do the job. They also go through super unleaded like it's going out of fashion. To only get 20mpg from 230bhp (a very optimistic 230bhp, it must be said ... Mazda's horses seem a little smaller than most other manufacturers!) gets old in a hurry. I could comfortably empty a tank (£80 of super) in under 200 miles on a b-road fun drive. And they get pretty much the same economy whether you're thrashing it or pootling along, so may as well drive everywhere at 9k rpm!
Not tried any of your other potential choices, so can't comment either way on them. Good luck with your search.
I paid a little over £10k for a well looked after and mildly modified (just a remap & exhaust manifold) 2013 example with 50k on the clock last year ... but there are boatloads out there for under £10k.
It's considerably slower than the Boxster was, but more edgy (the Boxster was almost a GT car - long legged and reasonably softly sprung). It's my everyday car, so serves up a reasonable dose of practicality along with the sporty side of things. Not tried to put human beings in the back, but my german shepherd finds it more comfy than the Boxster!
Only downside is that it really doesn't have the straight line trousers to match the mouth. It's not slow ... but it's nowhere near quick. There are a lot of turbo'd cars out there that solve that downside, and I did strongly consider one when I was replacing the Boxster. But for me a combo of the faff/expense of finding modified car insurance, along with reliability niggles (as in niggles in my head, rather than any actual common issues - for my everyday car I want it to start on the button every time and never leave me with any nagging doubts) around buying an extensively modified car meant I ended up going for a stock-ish one. Not sure a turbo'd one would limbo under £10k (when I was looking they seemed to be between £13-17k depending on what other supporting mods they had) ...
If you can live with the straight line performance, it'd be my top pick.
As an aside ... I have had 2 RX8s. I got burned on both of them. They are amazing when everything is working ... but a combination of that temperamental engine and a chassis that rusts for fun means that there are very few out there that won't throw big bills at you one way or the other. If you could find one with a rust-free shell and a recent engine rebuild from a respected builder, then that might do the job. They also go through super unleaded like it's going out of fashion. To only get 20mpg from 230bhp (a very optimistic 230bhp, it must be said ... Mazda's horses seem a little smaller than most other manufacturers!) gets old in a hurry. I could comfortably empty a tank (£80 of super) in under 200 miles on a b-road fun drive. And they get pretty much the same economy whether you're thrashing it or pootling along, so may as well drive everywhere at 9k rpm!
Not tried any of your other potential choices, so can't comment either way on them. Good luck with your search.
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/17879634
Pretty tidy looking Z3 well within your budget in the classifieds.
I've owned an NB MX-5 and a 986 Boxster and if I was going to buy another 2 seater in the budget i'd go for a 3 litre Z4.
Pretty tidy looking Z3 well within your budget in the classifieds.
I've owned an NB MX-5 and a 986 Boxster and if I was going to buy another 2 seater in the budget i'd go for a 3 litre Z4.
Shame that being middle aged has ruled out a boxster for some reason... its really the best choice for a sub £10k sports car.
Great chassis, great engine, unique flat 6 soundtrack. A 987 is well within budget and has a decent interior, and very practical too with two decent sized boots.
Buy one and DGAF what people think of you. There's a reason why porsches were clichéd mid life crisis cars - you needed to be wealthy enough to afford them. But now 986s and 987s are under £10k, younger guys are buying them because, they're great cars.
Great chassis, great engine, unique flat 6 soundtrack. A 987 is well within budget and has a decent interior, and very practical too with two decent sized boots.
Buy one and DGAF what people think of you. There's a reason why porsches were clichéd mid life crisis cars - you needed to be wealthy enough to afford them. But now 986s and 987s are under £10k, younger guys are buying them because, they're great cars.
brillomaster said:
Shame that being middle aged has ruled out a boxster for some reason... its really the best choice for a sub £10k sports car.
Great chassis, great engine, unique flat 6 soundtrack. A 987 is well within budget and has a decent interior, and very practical too with two decent sized boots.
Buy one and DGAF what people think of you. There's a reason why porsches were clichéd mid life crisis cars - you needed to be wealthy enough to afford them. But now 986s and 987s are under £10k, younger guys are buying them because, they're great cars.
TBF, you can't go wrong with a Boxster.Great chassis, great engine, unique flat 6 soundtrack. A 987 is well within budget and has a decent interior, and very practical too with two decent sized boots.
Buy one and DGAF what people think of you. There's a reason why porsches were clichéd mid life crisis cars - you needed to be wealthy enough to afford them. But now 986s and 987s are under £10k, younger guys are buying them because, they're great cars.
white_goodman said:
I’m contemplating “swapping” my bike (Suzuki Bandit 1200) for a sub 10k used sports car in the spring. My reasoning being that I’m a very fair weather biker, so don’t really use it from November-April and then I’m so busy with the kids at the weekend that I don’t really get to ride it for pleasure even then, which leaves me with commuting mostly and there were quite a few days last year where it was raining in the morning, so I took the car instead. My wife also won’t travel or let the kids travel on the back of the bike, so I need a perfect storm of nice weather and not having to take anyone or anything with me in order to justify using it. Being a 25 year old carbureted bike, it can also be a bit recalcitrant to get started/run nicely when it’s cold, so I need to add another 10 minutes to every journey too. It’s frustrating, as sometimes it clears up during the day and I would love to ride home on it but I took the car that day because it was raining in the morning! I think that I’d like to return to biking a bit later with a more modern bike when the kids are a bit older/more independent.
With a sports car, I could take someone with me if I needed to and get more use out of it if it’s nice weather but cold or if it’s raining, as I can drive to work with the roof up in the morning and drive home with the roof down if it brightens up and the heated seats on if it’s a bit cooler. So I’m thinking that I might be able to sell my Bandit for 3k if I’m lucky (it’s in really nice condition, less than 20k, new battery, new chain, newish Michelin tyres etc) and add 5-7k to that to buy a sports car. Being very middle-aged, I want to avoid the obvious cliché of an MX5/Boxster, as I’ve owned an MX5 (NB) before and although I’d love an ND2 RF with the upgraded engine, my budget’s a little shy of that.
The two that I really wanted to own in period but couldn’t afford were a BMW Z3 2.2/3.0 Sport or a Honda S2000. I know that Z4 roadsters are available within this budget too but I just think the Z3 is a prettier car whose design has aged better.
More leftfield options would be a mk3 MR2 or an R129 SL500. I quite fancied an MR2 20 years ago when I got my MX5 but my boss at the time suggested that if I got one, I would look like I “batted for the other team” but in retrospect, I shouldn’t have listened to him, as I suspect (although I have never driven one) that the MR2 would have been the better drive (I didn’t really gel with my NB MX5) and I quite fancy ticking the mid-engined box too. The SL is a different beast but I’ve always liked them and although, I would kind of like a manual transmission for the “proper” sports car driving experience, a 5 litre V8 goes some way to compensate and it offers a bit more practicality for some longer trips.
Although I quite fancy a convertible, as being able to put the roof down is a USP that I just can’t do on my daily driver (mk7 Golf Estate), 9 times out of 10, I prefer the styling of the coupe over the convertible counterpart, so I would also consider something like a Z4 Coupe, Nissan 350Z or Mazda RX8 R3, plus a bit more boot space is handy if I want to take it for a weekend away and with the RX8, the kids could also come too.
FYI, I will be keeping my current daily driver (a mk7 Golf estate), as I still need a practical car, so the sports car will mostly be for pleasure use/commuting in nicer weather. So what sub 10k sports car would you recommend?
Read that back to yourself and tell me ignoring the Boxster because of 'cliché' isn't mental? With a sports car, I could take someone with me if I needed to and get more use out of it if it’s nice weather but cold or if it’s raining, as I can drive to work with the roof up in the morning and drive home with the roof down if it brightens up and the heated seats on if it’s a bit cooler. So I’m thinking that I might be able to sell my Bandit for 3k if I’m lucky (it’s in really nice condition, less than 20k, new battery, new chain, newish Michelin tyres etc) and add 5-7k to that to buy a sports car. Being very middle-aged, I want to avoid the obvious cliché of an MX5/Boxster, as I’ve owned an MX5 (NB) before and although I’d love an ND2 RF with the upgraded engine, my budget’s a little shy of that.
The two that I really wanted to own in period but couldn’t afford were a BMW Z3 2.2/3.0 Sport or a Honda S2000. I know that Z4 roadsters are available within this budget too but I just think the Z3 is a prettier car whose design has aged better.
More leftfield options would be a mk3 MR2 or an R129 SL500. I quite fancied an MR2 20 years ago when I got my MX5 but my boss at the time suggested that if I got one, I would look like I “batted for the other team” but in retrospect, I shouldn’t have listened to him, as I suspect (although I have never driven one) that the MR2 would have been the better drive (I didn’t really gel with my NB MX5) and I quite fancy ticking the mid-engined box too. The SL is a different beast but I’ve always liked them and although, I would kind of like a manual transmission for the “proper” sports car driving experience, a 5 litre V8 goes some way to compensate and it offers a bit more practicality for some longer trips.
Although I quite fancy a convertible, as being able to put the roof down is a USP that I just can’t do on my daily driver (mk7 Golf Estate), 9 times out of 10, I prefer the styling of the coupe over the convertible counterpart, so I would also consider something like a Z4 Coupe, Nissan 350Z or Mazda RX8 R3, plus a bit more boot space is handy if I want to take it for a weekend away and with the RX8, the kids could also come too.
FYI, I will be keeping my current daily driver (a mk7 Golf estate), as I still need a practical car, so the sports car will mostly be for pleasure use/commuting in nicer weather. So what sub 10k sports car would you recommend?
Patrick Bateman said:
Read that back to yourself and tell me ignoring the Boxster because of 'cliché' isn't mental?
Indeed when really buying any 2 seater sports car midlife is going to look like a cliche to most outsiders that aren't car people. Im not knocking it because I did it myself between the age of about 40 and 42 but I did feel very conspicuous sat in town or standing traffic with the top down. On an open road it was lovely though.
I have conceded that soft top motoring just isn't my thing.
Ok so not just me defending the Boxster - phew.
It's worth asking, OP how tall are you?
I'm 6 2 and the Boxster isn't big enough with standard seats. Short story version I've settled on this configuration. More info and a video showing the legroom in my car's blog.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
It's worth asking, OP how tall are you?
I'm 6 2 and the Boxster isn't big enough with standard seats. Short story version I've settled on this configuration. More info and a video showing the legroom in my car's blog.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
I'm not a fan of convertibles so I bought a Z4 Coupe within your budget in 2014 and loved it. So I replaced it with another and then an M Coupe, although that would be out of budget!
I wouldn't discount a Boxster as by all accounts they drive brilliantly, just don't look that great IMHO.
What about a Nissan 350/370Z?
An RX8 might work with the 4 seats. They got good reviews for how they drove, but the engines can be fragile and they are a bit thirsty.
SLK might be an option if you don't mind an Auto, and a V8 should be entertaining!
I wouldn't discount a Boxster as by all accounts they drive brilliantly, just don't look that great IMHO.
What about a Nissan 350/370Z?
An RX8 might work with the 4 seats. They got good reviews for how they drove, but the engines can be fragile and they are a bit thirsty.
SLK might be an option if you don't mind an Auto, and a V8 should be entertaining!
Thanks. Some good suggestions that I hadn't considered there. I thought that the S1 Elise and Chimaera would be out of budget. Are Chimaeras fundamentally "reliable"? I love the S1 Elise but it is harder to get in and out of, especially with the roof in place and more difficult to DIY on with the engine being in the middle (although the same would be true of the MR2/Boxster).
My experience of sports cars is fairly limited. NB MX5, MGF/TF and R170 SLK, that's about it. If you want to know which small hatchback to get though, I'm your man! I have had a brief go in a GT86 too. I loved it but see some people's point about the engine not being "special" enough. It would be a great daily driver but perhaps a less "special" weekend car? The SLK falls into this trap a little as well. Fantastic to live with but perhaps not one to take out for a drive just for the hell of it (although I never tried the 32 AMG).
My concerns with the RX8 have been reinforced really. A great idea with slightly flawed execution. I do love the Integra Type-R too but think that I'm basically after the RWD top down experience, hence the S2000. Is that a good option or will it b a ropey example for sub 10k?
Re the Boxster, I know it's a solid choice and occasionally I see one in a nice spec and think that looks like a really nice car but I guess that I just lean towards the more "leftfield" choices and I've just never really been that into Porsches. Some of the older stuff (944 Turbo/928 GTS/993 Carrera) then yes but the later stuff I'm just a bit indifferent about to be honest. I know that they're fantastic cars though, although can be prone to issues? Would a facelift MR2 not be more reliable/cheaper to run?
My experience of sports cars is fairly limited. NB MX5, MGF/TF and R170 SLK, that's about it. If you want to know which small hatchback to get though, I'm your man! I have had a brief go in a GT86 too. I loved it but see some people's point about the engine not being "special" enough. It would be a great daily driver but perhaps a less "special" weekend car? The SLK falls into this trap a little as well. Fantastic to live with but perhaps not one to take out for a drive just for the hell of it (although I never tried the 32 AMG).
My concerns with the RX8 have been reinforced really. A great idea with slightly flawed execution. I do love the Integra Type-R too but think that I'm basically after the RWD top down experience, hence the S2000. Is that a good option or will it b a ropey example for sub 10k?
Re the Boxster, I know it's a solid choice and occasionally I see one in a nice spec and think that looks like a really nice car but I guess that I just lean towards the more "leftfield" choices and I've just never really been that into Porsches. Some of the older stuff (944 Turbo/928 GTS/993 Carrera) then yes but the later stuff I'm just a bit indifferent about to be honest. I know that they're fantastic cars though, although can be prone to issues? Would a facelift MR2 not be more reliable/cheaper to run?
ATM said:
Ok so not just me defending the Boxster - phew.
It's worth asking, OP how tall are you?
I'm 6 2 and the Boxster isn't big enough with standard seats. Short story version I've settled on this configuration. More info and a video showing the legroom in my car's blog.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Oh, I'm well under 6 foot, so fit in most stuff!It's worth asking, OP how tall are you?
I'm 6 2 and the Boxster isn't big enough with standard seats. Short story version I've settled on this configuration. More info and a video showing the legroom in my car's blog.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Luke. said:
TBF, you can't go wrong with a Boxster.
I guess the bad news with Boxsters is maintenance costs. They're a tiny bit fragile, they're just not optimum if a bit tired and Porsche tax is a real thing. You'd probably spend a half or a third on maintenance with a car like a z4 over a 36 to 48 month period. It depends how hard you chase 'I want it right'. Early 2.5 cars are 1997 so 28 years old now. Mine is a 2001.white_goodman said:
I’m contemplating “swapping” my bike (Suzuki Bandit 1200) for a sub 10k used sports car in the spring. My reasoning being that I’m a very fair weather biker, so don’t really use it from November-April and then I’m so busy with the kids at the weekend that I don’t really get to ride it for pleasure even then, which leaves me with commuting mostly and there were quite a few days last year where it was raining in the morning, so I took the car instead. My wife also won’t travel or let the kids travel on the back of the bike, so I need a perfect storm of nice weather and not having to take anyone or anything with me in order to justify using it. Being a 25 year old carbureted bike, it can also be a bit recalcitrant to get started/run nicely when it’s cold, so I need to add another 10 minutes to every journey too. It’s frustrating, as sometimes it clears up during the day and I would love to ride home on it but I took the car that day because it was raining in the morning! I think that I’d like to return to biking a bit later with a more modern bike when the kids are a bit older/more independent.
With a sports car, I could take someone with me if I needed to and get more use out of it if it’s nice weather but cold or if it’s raining, as I can drive to work with the roof up in the morning and drive home with the roof down if it brightens up and the heated seats on if it’s a bit cooler. So I’m thinking that I might be able to sell my Bandit for 3k if I’m lucky (it’s in really nice condition, less than 20k, new battery, new chain, newish Michelin tyres etc) and add 5-7k to that to buy a sports car. Being very middle-aged, I want to avoid the obvious cliché of an MX5/Boxster, as I’ve owned an MX5 (NB) before and although I’d love an ND2 RF with the upgraded engine, my budget’s a little shy of that.
The two that I really wanted to own in period but couldn’t afford were a BMW Z3 2.2/3.0 Sport or a Honda S2000. I know that Z4 roadsters are available within this budget too but I just think the Z3 is a prettier car whose design has aged better.
More leftfield options would be a mk3 MR2 or an R129 SL500. I quite fancied an MR2 20 years ago when I got my MX5 but my boss at the time suggested that if I got one, I would look like I “batted for the other team” but in retrospect, I shouldn’t have listened to him, as I suspect (although I have never driven one) that the MR2 would have been the better drive (I didn’t really gel with my NB MX5) and I quite fancy ticking the mid-engined box too. The SL is a different beast but I’ve always liked them and although, I would kind of like a manual transmission for the “proper” sports car driving experience, a 5 litre V8 goes some way to compensate and it offers a bit more practicality for some longer trips.
Although I quite fancy a convertible, as being able to put the roof down is a USP that I just can’t do on my daily driver (mk7 Golf Estate), 9 times out of 10, I prefer the styling of the coupe over the convertible counterpart, so I would also consider something like a Z4 Coupe, Nissan 350Z or Mazda RX8 R3, plus a bit more boot space is handy if I want to take it for a weekend away and with the RX8, the kids could also come too.
FYI, I will be keeping my current daily driver (a mk7 Golf estate), as I still need a practical car, so the sports car will mostly be for pleasure use/commuting in nicer weather. So what sub 10k sports car would you recommend?
Like you I use my bikes for around 8 months of the year & I don't see it as a problem, the reality is you won't use the 2nd car anymore than you use the bike.With a sports car, I could take someone with me if I needed to and get more use out of it if it’s nice weather but cold or if it’s raining, as I can drive to work with the roof up in the morning and drive home with the roof down if it brightens up and the heated seats on if it’s a bit cooler. So I’m thinking that I might be able to sell my Bandit for 3k if I’m lucky (it’s in really nice condition, less than 20k, new battery, new chain, newish Michelin tyres etc) and add 5-7k to that to buy a sports car. Being very middle-aged, I want to avoid the obvious cliché of an MX5/Boxster, as I’ve owned an MX5 (NB) before and although I’d love an ND2 RF with the upgraded engine, my budget’s a little shy of that.
The two that I really wanted to own in period but couldn’t afford were a BMW Z3 2.2/3.0 Sport or a Honda S2000. I know that Z4 roadsters are available within this budget too but I just think the Z3 is a prettier car whose design has aged better.
More leftfield options would be a mk3 MR2 or an R129 SL500. I quite fancied an MR2 20 years ago when I got my MX5 but my boss at the time suggested that if I got one, I would look like I “batted for the other team” but in retrospect, I shouldn’t have listened to him, as I suspect (although I have never driven one) that the MR2 would have been the better drive (I didn’t really gel with my NB MX5) and I quite fancy ticking the mid-engined box too. The SL is a different beast but I’ve always liked them and although, I would kind of like a manual transmission for the “proper” sports car driving experience, a 5 litre V8 goes some way to compensate and it offers a bit more practicality for some longer trips.
Although I quite fancy a convertible, as being able to put the roof down is a USP that I just can’t do on my daily driver (mk7 Golf Estate), 9 times out of 10, I prefer the styling of the coupe over the convertible counterpart, so I would also consider something like a Z4 Coupe, Nissan 350Z or Mazda RX8 R3, plus a bit more boot space is handy if I want to take it for a weekend away and with the RX8, the kids could also come too.
FYI, I will be keeping my current daily driver (a mk7 Golf estate), as I still need a practical car, so the sports car will mostly be for pleasure use/commuting in nicer weather. So what sub 10k sports car would you recommend?
Edited by white_goodman on Monday 27th January 17:51
So my suggestion is to sell everything & get yourself a more interesting daily tha you'll use & enjoy all the time.
white_goodman said:
ATM said:
Ok so not just me defending the Boxster - phew.
It's worth asking, OP how tall are you?
I'm 6 2 and the Boxster isn't big enough with standard seats. Short story version I've settled on this configuration. More info and a video showing the legroom in my car's blog.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Oh, I'm well under 6 foot, so fit in most stuff!It's worth asking, OP how tall are you?
I'm 6 2 and the Boxster isn't big enough with standard seats. Short story version I've settled on this configuration. More info and a video showing the legroom in my car's blog.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
ATM said:
white_goodman said:
ATM said:
Ok so not just me defending the Boxster - phew.
It's worth asking, OP how tall are you?
I'm 6 2 and the Boxster isn't big enough with standard seats. Short story version I've settled on this configuration. More info and a video showing the legroom in my car's blog.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Oh, I'm well under 6 foot, so fit in most stuff!It's worth asking, OP how tall are you?
I'm 6 2 and the Boxster isn't big enough with standard seats. Short story version I've settled on this configuration. More info and a video showing the legroom in my car's blog.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
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