What 4 seater convertible for 3000
Discussion
I've decided to get a toy and have been ok'ed a budget of 3000ish by the other half.
At first I was thinking of an MX5 or something but then decided to let the kids join in so at the moment I'm thinking 4 seater convertible.
My list so far is BMW E36 328i and Audi 80 2.6 or 2.8. I've kind of dismissed the SAAB for some reason but haven't tried one yet.
So its a 5th vehicle, doing about 5000 miles a year so not worried about fuel and insurance. Must be reliable and good fun.
Could possibly be tricked into something like a 635i csi as I've always fancied one but maybe not for 3000.
Any thoughts
At first I was thinking of an MX5 or something but then decided to let the kids join in so at the moment I'm thinking 4 seater convertible.
My list so far is BMW E36 328i and Audi 80 2.6 or 2.8. I've kind of dismissed the SAAB for some reason but haven't tried one yet.
So its a 5th vehicle, doing about 5000 miles a year so not worried about fuel and insurance. Must be reliable and good fun.
Could possibly be tricked into something like a 635i csi as I've always fancied one but maybe not for 3000.
Any thoughts
My friend had a 2.3 Audi 80 cab that I drove a fair bit this winter (as he left it for me to look after when he left the country).
I could never in any way describe it as a fun car - the handling was soggy, totally uninspiring, and extremely understeery, the cabin was very buffety with the roof down, and it wasn't particularly comfortable.
Whilst being a 4-seater, it's also not really a 4-seater for adults -- the rear seat is extremely narrow and the rear legroom pretty non-existant, so if you ever want to carry more than two adults, the people stuck in the back won't thank you.
The engine sounded OK and was eager (although as I say, it was only the 2.3) but it was extremely thirsty, seldom averaging more than 24mpg even when driven economically. On the plus side, the economy didn't drop by much if you ragged it.
Reliability was also an issue -- while mechanically reliable, the electrics were extremely finicky, and would frequently decide not to let you put the roof down (or put it back up!) At one point my golf clubs were locked in the boot for about a week as it wouldn't disengage the interlock between the boot and roof mechanism. This was a manual roof model as well, so didn't have the added complexity of the hydraulics.
Of course, the reliability may have been due to it being a lemon, but looking on the Audi forums (as we frequently had to!) it became clear that there's an awful lot of cars that have these issues.
When he sold it earlier this year, the final bit of bad news popped up -- depreciation. In under two years it had lost over 60% of its value.
Personally, if I was buying a 'fun' car, this wouldn't just come below a BMW or MX5, it wouldn't even make the list.
I could never in any way describe it as a fun car - the handling was soggy, totally uninspiring, and extremely understeery, the cabin was very buffety with the roof down, and it wasn't particularly comfortable.
Whilst being a 4-seater, it's also not really a 4-seater for adults -- the rear seat is extremely narrow and the rear legroom pretty non-existant, so if you ever want to carry more than two adults, the people stuck in the back won't thank you.
The engine sounded OK and was eager (although as I say, it was only the 2.3) but it was extremely thirsty, seldom averaging more than 24mpg even when driven economically. On the plus side, the economy didn't drop by much if you ragged it.
Reliability was also an issue -- while mechanically reliable, the electrics were extremely finicky, and would frequently decide not to let you put the roof down (or put it back up!) At one point my golf clubs were locked in the boot for about a week as it wouldn't disengage the interlock between the boot and roof mechanism. This was a manual roof model as well, so didn't have the added complexity of the hydraulics.
Of course, the reliability may have been due to it being a lemon, but looking on the Audi forums (as we frequently had to!) it became clear that there's an awful lot of cars that have these issues.
When he sold it earlier this year, the final bit of bad news popped up -- depreciation. In under two years it had lost over 60% of its value.
Personally, if I was buying a 'fun' car, this wouldn't just come below a BMW or MX5, it wouldn't even make the list.
You could probably get a reasonable e36 325 cab for that money.
However, for something a bit different:
Black T16S convertible
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/1970918.htm
However, for something a bit different:
Black T16S convertible
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/1970918.htm
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