M140i replacement(s) - Daily + 987 Porsche
Discussion
Hi all, I’m looking to replace my bmw m140i in the next few months. It’s a really nice car and I’ve enjoyed owning it, but it’s honestly not been as fun as I expected or hoped it would be. Insurance is pretty expensive and I’m now doing over 15k miles a year so have been thinking a change may be a good idea and to get back into a car which is more exciting to drive.
I’ve been thinking of going down the 2 car route with a budget somewhere around £20-25k. A daily for the majority of work driving and long runs and a sports car for the weekends. The key thing with the daily is it needs to be nice as if it’s just an old banger then I know I’d end up driving the weekend car most of the time!
I’ve always wanted a Porsche, so I’ve been looking at 987 boxsters and caymans. Ideally I would like a 987.1 cayman s but there are many warnings of bore scoring plastered around the internet. Other option is a Boxster 987.1 3.2 which seems to not have the same engine issues and has cheaper tax, and of course there is a 987.2 2.9 Boxster/cayman, but I think these are probably a bit expensive and would limit my budget for a daily. I am open to other weekend car suggestions
Regarding a daily to run most of the time to work and over the winter I’m thinking a diesel bmw would do the trick and give me all the comfort, luxury and similar driving style of my m140i without so much cost. Been looking at a 4 series gran coupe - 420d xdrive probably. However, another car I quite fancy is an Alfa giulia (ideally would like the 280 veloce but obviously not the cheapest to run). The daily needs to be fairly practical, preferably auto, euro 6 and 4wd would be nice for the winter
If anyone has any suggestions/advice/experience on 987 Porsches (or any other fun cars under about £15k), and a nice daily, then it would be much appreciated
Thanks
I’ve been thinking of going down the 2 car route with a budget somewhere around £20-25k. A daily for the majority of work driving and long runs and a sports car for the weekends. The key thing with the daily is it needs to be nice as if it’s just an old banger then I know I’d end up driving the weekend car most of the time!
I’ve always wanted a Porsche, so I’ve been looking at 987 boxsters and caymans. Ideally I would like a 987.1 cayman s but there are many warnings of bore scoring plastered around the internet. Other option is a Boxster 987.1 3.2 which seems to not have the same engine issues and has cheaper tax, and of course there is a 987.2 2.9 Boxster/cayman, but I think these are probably a bit expensive and would limit my budget for a daily. I am open to other weekend car suggestions
Regarding a daily to run most of the time to work and over the winter I’m thinking a diesel bmw would do the trick and give me all the comfort, luxury and similar driving style of my m140i without so much cost. Been looking at a 4 series gran coupe - 420d xdrive probably. However, another car I quite fancy is an Alfa giulia (ideally would like the 280 veloce but obviously not the cheapest to run). The daily needs to be fairly practical, preferably auto, euro 6 and 4wd would be nice for the winter
If anyone has any suggestions/advice/experience on 987 Porsches (or any other fun cars under about £15k), and a nice daily, then it would be much appreciated
Thanks
I use a 987.1 2.7 Cayman as my daily through the summer. The 2.7 engine is apparently fairly trouble free, bore score not an issue. The 5 speed manual is slick and also avoids the top road tax. It's a nice car for a twisty country road and 245bhp rather than 295bhp in the S is fine for me. At nearly 20 years old, depreciation won't be an issue either.
I like your BMW and a Porsche choices but I wonder if they will be different enough. Maybe the weekend car should be more extreme?
I like your BMW and a Porsche choices but I wonder if they will be different enough. Maybe the weekend car should be more extreme?
Worth considering more extremes? A caterham or Elise might be more fun and hold their values more, and cheaper to run (?) allowing for upgrade the weekend car in a few years.
Perhaps then something like a reliable Toyota or lexus, or a Skoda to pick up the bulk of miles. I see what you mean about driving the nice car instead of your daily, but if you go for something more sporty, like the Elise, you probably wouldn't want to drive it daily anyway?
Perhaps then something like a reliable Toyota or lexus, or a Skoda to pick up the bulk of miles. I see what you mean about driving the nice car instead of your daily, but if you go for something more sporty, like the Elise, you probably wouldn't want to drive it daily anyway?
I would probably go 2.9 Cayman and get a cheaper daily.
I did find the 2.9 a bit harder to find when I was looking back last year, nothing wrong with the 2.7 really either tbh.
I recently sold an Elise as it was just a bit too hardcore for me, couldn't find a tidy Cayman at the time of selling but would still like to try one in the future.
I did find the 2.9 a bit harder to find when I was looking back last year, nothing wrong with the 2.7 really either tbh.
I recently sold an Elise as it was just a bit too hardcore for me, couldn't find a tidy Cayman at the time of selling but would still like to try one in the future.
Edited by Belle427 on Friday 15th August 12:55
Taking values/cost to change out of the equation, I’m almost certain you won’t save money running a Giulia Veloce coming out of an M140i. It will be worse on fuel & need more than double the servicing over 2-3 years. I’d be surprised if it’s much cheaper to insure too (it also won’t be any better than what you have now in winter). Similarly, I can’t see your insurance coming down much with a 4 Series Gran Coupe but I can see the attraction with everything else you’re trying to achieve.
JQuattroCK said:
Hi all, I’m looking to replace my bmw m140i in the next few months. It’s a really nice car and I’ve enjoyed owning it, but it’s honestly not been as fun as I expected or hoped it would be. Insurance is pretty expensive and I’m now doing over 15k miles a year so have been thinking a change may be a good idea and to get back into a car which is more exciting to drive.
I’ve been thinking of going down the 2 car route with a budget somewhere around £20-25k. A daily for the majority of work driving and long runs and a sports car for the weekends. The key thing with the daily is it needs to be nice as if it’s just an old banger then I know I’d end up driving the weekend car most of the time!
I’ve always wanted a Porsche, so I’ve been looking at 987 boxsters and caymans. Ideally I would like a 987.1 cayman s but there are many warnings of bore scoring plastered around the internet. Other option is a Boxster 987.1 3.2 which seems to not have the same engine issues and has cheaper tax, and of course there is a 987.2 2.9 Boxster/cayman, but I think these are probably a bit expensive and would limit my budget for a daily. I am open to other weekend car suggestions
Regarding a daily to run most of the time to work and over the winter I’m thinking a diesel bmw would do the trick and give me all the comfort, luxury and similar driving style of my m140i without so much cost. Been looking at a 4 series gran coupe - 420d xdrive probably. However, another car I quite fancy is an Alfa giulia (ideally would like the 280 veloce but obviously not the cheapest to run). The daily needs to be fairly practical, preferably auto, euro 6 and 4wd would be nice for the winter
If anyone has any suggestions/advice/experience on 987 Porsches (or any other fun cars under about £15k), and a nice daily, then it would be much appreciated
Thanks
If you're going for the Cayman/Boxster then I'd go for a good commuter first (as cheap as possible whilst factoring in reliability ULEZ etc) then see where you are budget wise.I’ve been thinking of going down the 2 car route with a budget somewhere around £20-25k. A daily for the majority of work driving and long runs and a sports car for the weekends. The key thing with the daily is it needs to be nice as if it’s just an old banger then I know I’d end up driving the weekend car most of the time!
I’ve always wanted a Porsche, so I’ve been looking at 987 boxsters and caymans. Ideally I would like a 987.1 cayman s but there are many warnings of bore scoring plastered around the internet. Other option is a Boxster 987.1 3.2 which seems to not have the same engine issues and has cheaper tax, and of course there is a 987.2 2.9 Boxster/cayman, but I think these are probably a bit expensive and would limit my budget for a daily. I am open to other weekend car suggestions
Regarding a daily to run most of the time to work and over the winter I’m thinking a diesel bmw would do the trick and give me all the comfort, luxury and similar driving style of my m140i without so much cost. Been looking at a 4 series gran coupe - 420d xdrive probably. However, another car I quite fancy is an Alfa giulia (ideally would like the 280 veloce but obviously not the cheapest to run). The daily needs to be fairly practical, preferably auto, euro 6 and 4wd would be nice for the winter
If anyone has any suggestions/advice/experience on 987 Porsches (or any other fun cars under about £15k), and a nice daily, then it would be much appreciated
Thanks
Q70 Sport Tech, low miles so you'll be able to keep it a while despite adding 15k per year & the drivetrain is bulletproof:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503260...
Q50 Sport tech, same as the above but smaller & still has the adaptive cruise:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202410285...
Sport but you lose the adaprive cruise:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202508055...
Q30 Premium Tech:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202506133...
Insignia Elite Nav, it's a hard car to look past if you want a low maintenance nice place to be for 15k per year:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202506163...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202506203...
SRI VX Line Nav:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202507304...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202506033...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202507034...
Weekend toy suggestions.
Z4M:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202408082...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202507014...
SLK55 AMG:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202505252...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202506303...
370Z Nismo, a great drivers car:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503230...
2.9 Cayman:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202506063...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202508065...
2.7:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202304236...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202507064...
You seem to be under the impression OP that 987.1 3.2 Boxsters don't have the same risk of borescoring as 987.1 Cayman's? They have the same risk, in the end they are the same engine, if you want to avoid that risk you need to go for either the smaller capacity engines or the 987.2 variants.
All that said, I owned a 2.7 986 Boxster and I owned an M240i BMW at the same time, the Porsche was my toy. As much as I wanted a Porsche I found the reality of the Boxster to be not as good as I was hoping, after a couple of days driving it at a time I couldn't wait to get back in my BMW again and put the Boxster back in the garage. I owned it about 18 months and after taking it on a road trip into Europe including a track day at Spa over a week I came back and sold it because I really wasn't enjoying it like I expected.
I still love Porsche as a brand and I would definitely look at a more modern Cayman in the future or a 911 but for me the older Boxster didn't live up to my expectations at all.
All that said, I owned a 2.7 986 Boxster and I owned an M240i BMW at the same time, the Porsche was my toy. As much as I wanted a Porsche I found the reality of the Boxster to be not as good as I was hoping, after a couple of days driving it at a time I couldn't wait to get back in my BMW again and put the Boxster back in the garage. I owned it about 18 months and after taking it on a road trip into Europe including a track day at Spa over a week I came back and sold it because I really wasn't enjoying it like I expected.
I still love Porsche as a brand and I would definitely look at a more modern Cayman in the future or a 911 but for me the older Boxster didn't live up to my expectations at all.
I have a M135i so pretty similar and have had two Cayman S 987.1s so think I'm well equipped to comment.
Mine were manuals and I would heavily suggest NOT buying a manual.
The clutch and shift feels on them is just really not very nice. The exhaust sound is also basically non-existant.
So I'd suggest an auto with sports exhaust if you're going for a Cayman. You'll be wanting the PDK and don't want the risk of bore score so look at the 987.2s
They are very nice cars and a better drive than the 997 911. Very practical for a 2 seater too.
It will feel slow compared to your 140i but more satisfying and special to drive. Notably the steering feel will be so much better.
As for alternatives, it depends what you're after but I personally much preferred my 350Z for fun driving (with a much nicer exhaust note) so I'd suggest looking at those or 370z. Or a Z4M.
Mine were manuals and I would heavily suggest NOT buying a manual.
The clutch and shift feels on them is just really not very nice. The exhaust sound is also basically non-existant.
So I'd suggest an auto with sports exhaust if you're going for a Cayman. You'll be wanting the PDK and don't want the risk of bore score so look at the 987.2s
They are very nice cars and a better drive than the 997 911. Very practical for a 2 seater too.
It will feel slow compared to your 140i but more satisfying and special to drive. Notably the steering feel will be so much better.
As for alternatives, it depends what you're after but I personally much preferred my 350Z for fun driving (with a much nicer exhaust note) so I'd suggest looking at those or 370z. Or a Z4M.
Patrick Bateman said:
Is there anything conclusive on the bearings in the 3.2's?? I've read all sorts now suggesting the MY 2006 cars got the bigger bearing but that table says otherwise.
There is a known engine number after which they have the larger bearing. These are now 20 years old, and the bearings may at some point start to fail. However, earlier cars with the small bearing can easily be fitted with the LN Ceramic IMS bearing upgrade to remove the issue. Replacing the later bearing requires a full tear-down of the engine, as the larger bearing can’t be removed without splitting the crankcase. I went with the earlier car for this reason. To me, that bearing is a service item, in the same way as a cam belt. Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff