Sunday 4th February 2018

PH Service History: Living the dream

Short of a lottery win, our dream car budgets are somewhat constrained. So, what're the best cars for £10k?

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Given endless funds I'm sure most of us have a dream garage or, if constricted to just one notional bolide, a dream car, one that we consider to be perhaps the best in the world. Would it be a Chiron or a Pagani, a 250 GTO or a Type 35? Maybe it'd be a P1 or an F1, or a DB5 or an F40? Maybe it'd be a Humber Super Snipe.

But could we buy the best car in the world if limited to a more down-to-earth budget of just £10k? Nope, don't be daft, that won't buy you a supercar, not even half of one, or indeed anything rare or exotic, not even some half-baked replica. But if you look through our classifieds you might be able to pick up a used example of what are generally regarded to be the best sports cars in their particular class for that sort of money. You might, in short, be able to choose from some of the best cars in the real world.

If you're looking for a fast convertible, for example - and for this dosh you're obviously not going to get anything with a prancing horse or raging bull on it - then you can do no better than the Porsche Boxster. Sweeter than a 911 and nimbler than a gazelle being chased by a lion, the Boxster is the trump card in the Porsche pack, the sweet spot. Our money buys this 2005 model with a 280hp 3.2-litre flat six engine, mounted amidships. Performance is in the order of 5.5 seconds for 0-62mph, top speed is 166mph, and on the road it'll be sublime - the steering of a Boxster is precise and beautifully weighted, the grip strong and the handling wonderfully sweet. You'll savour, too, the delicious howl from that engine.

Next, you might want a similar drop-top, but smaller and easier on the pocket, something that's so highly regarded it's sold more than just about any other sports car worldwide. Gotta be the Mazda MX-5. It doesn't really matter which version of this diminutive drop-top you choose, you'll enjoy driving them all. A £10k budget will buy you this 2012 Mk3.5 car, and what you'll get is a quick-steering, sharp-handling roadster powered by a lively 158hp 2.0-litre engine, enabling 0-62mph in 7.6sec and a blowy top speed of 132mph.

But those figures tell only half the story. Even this largest of MX-5s feels lithe, and a quick roof-down punt along a sunny country lane will stir your senses, its unburstable quality matched only by its unbeatable charm. Reported problems are few, and there are plenty around. Another thought: shop carefully and you could probably have an example of each, Mk1, Mk2 and Mk3, for your £10k.

What if you need a luxury automatic coupe, then, something in which to waft around town and swank across Europe? If you're after limo-like comfort and innovative safety aids in a sporting carriage, the Merc CL is the only car for you - it's got all of that as well as real dynamic capability. You can waft along in the CL500, with its near-silent 302hp 5.0-litre V8 engine. Live a little, though, and you could bag the 500hp 5.5-litre twin-turbo V12 CL600 version, which will whoosh from 0-62mph in just 4.8 seconds. Both go, stop and handle beautifully, are wonderfully made and leave nothing out of the equipment list. Our £10k buys this 2006 version of what is almost certainly the best luxury sporting car in the world. Probably.

Now, as far as hot hatches are concerned, there are so many good ones to choose from it could make your head spin. Think Megane RS, Clio RS, Fiesta ST and Civic Type R, but of them all it's surely the VW Golf GTI that must be the best all-rounder in the real world. In fact it could be all the car you need wrapped up in one elegant and understated bundle. The Mk6 version packs a smooth 208hp turbocharged 2.0-litre engine under its bonnet, which means 0-62mph in a swift 6.7 seconds and a top speed of 149mph. There's strong grip and accurate steering and the handling is a joy: eminently chuckable, instantly recoverable and immense fun. No other hot hatch can match its overall competence, possibly no other car. For £10k, you'll get this 2009 five-door with desirable 18-inch alloys.

Others? Sporty four-door saloon? Picking between Impreza and Evo requires the wisdom of a Solomon and the driving skills of a Cackett, as well as more room than we have here to discuss it. So I might not ignite that debate, except to say you'll probably be happy with either and you'll find plenty for £10k. With an RS4 or an M5 still outside our budget, what else remains? I quite like the idea of a refurbished Type R Accord, if you can find one, with plenty of change left over for maintenance...

What about an ordinary size coupe? The Audi TT seems to have that category all sown up, and likewise you'll easily bag a good 'un for our chosen budget. Alas the GT86 is still just a tad too expensive, but personally I'd be half-tempted by an old Renault Alpine GTA, which you should be able to pick up for this money - check out Lewis Kingston's buying guide from earlier this week here.

Finally, what if you need a car to transport the family around while your sporty number's being serviced? Maybe you need the best 4x4, the best all-round SUV for £10k? The Range Rover has been ploughing its own furrow since 1970, combining the qualities of a smart and refined upmarket town car and a hugely capable and capacious off-roader. It can pull like a train and glide like a swan, although it still comes as a shock to discover that the chic, stolid and innovative Rangie handles like a boat. It also comes as a shock to learn that something so tough can be so fragile - its unreliability will make you weep. But for £10k, you could put this V8 diesel Vogue SE from 2006 on your driveway, and for perhaps 50 per cent of the time you would want for no more.

So, no, you won't get your dream sports car for £10k, and you won't get the most collectable or the most sought-after supercar, but never fear - you can still get some extraordinarily good cars, almost certainly the best cars of their type, and the good news is you don't need to be rich.

Words: Mark Pearson

 

[jakesmith]

I’ve just got a 987 Boxster S as pictured for £10.5k. What a car! Feels every part the £50k it cost new. Not sure I’d describe its handling as sweeter than a 911 but that’s another topic.
Incredible value for money

[jakesmith]

dhutch said:

jakesmith said:

I’ve just got a 987 Boxster S as pictured for £10.5k. What a car! Feels every part the £50k it cost new. Not sure I’d describe its handling as sweeter than a 911 but that’s another topic.
Incredible value for money

What's it like on running costs? Compared to (if you can) a Z4/330ci or similar? Or compared to a 911 itself?

I haven’t owned any BMWs but the Porsche will definitely cost way more to run than a z4 there is no doubt. From my research the z4 is pretty solid and parts are cheap.
A 330ci is a different question as far as I am aware they are heavier, less reliable, potentially older

Compared to a 911 the costs are very similar, a lot of shared parts, access on the Boxster often slightly worse too

It’s my 4th Porsche and they seem to be about ££2000ish a year once they are 7-8 years old. The car so far has had £15k spent on it since new in 13 years, admittedly that was almost exclusively OPC and some ridiculous charges in there

But it’s once they age / have done a few miles the bills start coming in

This one has had air con rads, new tyres, discs and pads all round, pasm springs and dampers replaces, an all new stereo system, and the door membranes serviced all in the last few years mostly before I bought it so fingers crossed it won’t break me financially like the 997 before did that needed a new gearbox!!!

[jakesmith]

WJNB said:

Even now it has yet to lose it's poor mans 911/lady car image. Behind the wheel you're always going to feel as if you're trying to be something you're not as is the car.

Have you driven one?
Out of interest, what car do you currently drive?

[jakesmith]

KennyR32 said:

Nice article, will now spend ages looking at 'potential' new cars. Got excited about the Boxster featured in this article too, then saw the exhaust

j4ck100 said:

The exhaust on that Boxster is horrific!

That car was (& may still be) for sale in the classifieds. I emailed the seller to ask a few questions as was in the market at the time, questions included curiosity about the exhaust and confirming if the car has Bose as the advert stated Bose but the car had the normal storage box on the rear shelf that non-Bose cars had, plus no Bose badges on the doors.

Seller said exhaust was a custom ported backbox. And that the invoice from when they bought the car said Bose so it has Bose. I pointed out that the car didn't have Bose and they said OK & asked if I wanted to buy it which I declined as I was looking for a car with Bose. When I checked a few days later the advert still stated Bose.

No idea why Pistonheads picked this particular one as their car for the article given the extremely turgid exhaust pipes.

[jakesmith]

Patrick Bateman said:

WJNB said:

Behind the wheel you're always going to feel as if you're trying to be something you're not as is the car.

Speak for yourself.

I expect this from the general public but are car enthusiasts really this vain?

It's just cliched unimaginative quoting of Clarkson / trolling from people who I'd imagine haven't experienced one, and probably don't know very much about cars.

The Boxster is very mechanically similar to the 911 and fantastic to drive. Wins every group test and generally always has. What other car in this price band competes as a drivers car, and the Porsche brand is way stronger than BMW, Merc, Audi, Honda, Mazda etc. My first Boxster 2.5 was over £40k new in 1998. That's £70k today adjusted for inflation. Hardly a poor man's anything.

[jakesmith]

My 987s is a very well sorted car. Bought from a forum member. They’re the best cars generally. It’s had a lot of work recently including tyres and discs and pads all round. I’d be disappointed if it costs me £5k over the next 1-2 years! Spent a long time waiting for someone I trusted to come along with a high spec car for sale

[jakesmith]

ianwayne said:

A good call on the SLK350

They are very plasticky inside
The manual box gets a poor writeup although I haven't driven one
The SLK55 looked interesting to me but they are really more like £14k and main issues are no manual and traction can't be turned off

[jakesmith]

nunpuncher said:

I've been leasing fast but relatively uninteresting hatchbacks the last few years because i've yet to really find the answer to the "living the dream for £10k" question. Less than a year left on the current lease and i'm asking the question again. I'm determined not to fall back on the lease/known cost/safe option this time but when I look about almost everything that comes up is flawed in some major way (e46 M3, anything from Porsche, big engined Mercs) and most other stuff is less interesting and slower than anything you can lease.

My favourite at the moment which just about creeps into budget is an R53 mini GP. Lack of rear seats is a bit of an issue.

There are no safe options if you're buying a 10 year old performance car that was £50k+ new. Even models that are supposedly reliable like S2000s can rust
What I would say is if you use the forums and look into every car ad nauseum you'll risk never buying anything
Cars do have expensive failures but you'd have to buy a dog or be very unlucky to have a string of expensive shockers. You get a good year or two then a bad one typically
You can mitigate some of this with what you buy, for me the 3.4 Boxster seemed riskier based on what I have read than the earlier 3.2 (touch wood)
Don't the Minis have issues with chain tensioners or something anyway
My parents have a 1.8T Audi A4 on an 09 plate that needed a new engine this year, would have been more pricey than an expensive year in a CL600 if Audi hadn't paid
Just do it!

[jakesmith]

406dogvan said:

A friend recently acquired an 06 Cayman S - low miles - it was almost 50% over budget for this - BUT

We looked at a lot of cars from the mid-00s and most had issues - plenty of crusty/tatty/obviously cheaply repaired cars - most with that sense of "not well maintained" about them (even the ones with fully-stamped histories!!) - mismatched tyres, oil and water leaks, knackered interiors, tired paint etc. etc

To be clear - his needed discs/pads/springs/shocks and the zorst was tired (since replaced with a noisy one) - the others needed WAY more and nothing we saw anywhere near £10K needed less than £4K throwing at it just to make it straight.

You might get lucky - you probably won't tho, Cayman/Boxters of that era aren't "964" levels of solid - they're not even "993" levels...

Edited by 406dogvan on Monday 5th February 22:36

Then look at a lower model or one that was less expensive to start with but has been properly maintained
A 986S you are buying an anniversary at the top of the market - £10k gets you the best the market has to offer
987 2.7 £10k will get you a good well maintained low miler
987 3.2S £1k will get you a good one with higher miles
£10k for a 3.4S or Cayman S will be a cheaper one in the market and possibly poorly maintained / high milage

[jakesmith]

just passing by said:

Ditto. Had my 05 reg 987 for a year now. Best car I've ever had. Beats my 05 4200CC into a cocked hat (tho' the Mas. was so flawed, that wasn't hard).

I’ve got a Mas too it’s been pretty good to be honest no worse than any of my pork. It’s a Granturismo which has a decent rep for reliability