Thinking of a new car

[Slugsie]

I'm thinking of getting a second car to complement the Surf. I really fancy some form of 'sporty' convertible - nothing outrageously fast, but fun to drive and be able to get the top down on the 3 days of sunshine a year we get.

Knowing that some of you lot have had a very varied car history, I'm after some suggested vehicles.

Criteria:

Must be fun
Doesn't have to be especially practical but if it could squeeze in a small tent, couple of sleeping bags and an overnight bag that would be a bonus
I want something that I'll be happy to own for 5 or 6 years
Cheap maintenance would be a bonus (i.e. easy parts availability and spanner friendly)

Looking at spending maybe £5K

Definite avoids:
BMW 3 series
Escort/Astra

Cars already under consideration:
Caterham/Westfield types
Lotus Elan SE
BMW Z3
Rover MGF

So, over to you guys. Any suggestions? Any 'steer clear of'?

[hiroler]

Nissan 300Z import and cheap get a very nice one for 5K!! stay well away from the MG better off with MX5!!!

[Sancho]

I'd probably avoid an MGF unless you have a particular love of changing head gaskets, but you can pick them up so cheap that you can put the money aside to get it fixed if it does go.

MX5 is the obvious choice. An old Alfa Spider might be interesting too. Z3s are for girls.

If you want something bigger, a Saab 900 turbo could be fun.

[Apache]

Ever rolled a car?

Put me off buying a ragtop, thats for sure!

You should be able to get a specced up 3.0 V6 Alfa GTV for that kind of money though. That would be top of my list, with a 20v Fiat Coupe Turbo right behind it.

[yoshie]

I'm thinking of getting a second car to complement the Surf. I really fancy some form of 'sporty' convertible - nothing outrageously fast, but fun to drive and be able to get the top down on the 3 days of sunshine a year we get.

Knowing that some of you lot have had a very varied car history, I'm after some suggested vehicles.

Criteria:

Must be fun
Doesn't have to be especially practical but if it could squeeze in a small tent, couple of sleeping bags and an overnight bag that would be a bonus
I want something that I'll be happy to own for 5 or 6 years
Cheap maintenance would be a bonus (i.e. easy parts availability and spanner friendly)
Looking at spending maybe £5K

Definite avoids:
BMW 3 series
Escort/Astra

Cars already under consideration:
Caterham/Westfield types
Lotus Elan SE
BMW Z3
Rover MGF

So, over to you guys. Any suggestions? Any 'steer clear of'?

Then you want a Caterham great fun to drive on a weekend easy to work on parts a plenty. Best of all look after her and the re sale value will out strip anything on your list. But at £5k you will have to take your time looking and it will be car based not bike engined at that price. If you can go to £7k you will get a real nice one.

[RodLeach]

Im with Yoshie! Caterham!

[Karma Supra]

The caterham is not really practical though...

What a bout a supra Aerotop? (Targa roof)

MR2s are good fun too.

[Apache]

MR2s are good fun too.

And you could get a reasonable turbo version and keep £3000 change!

[yoshie]

I'm thinking of getting a second car to complement the Surf. I really fancy some form of 'sporty' convertible - nothing outrageously fast, but fun to drive and be able to get the top down on the 3 days of sunshine a year we get.

Knowing that some of you lot have had a very varied car history, I'm after some suggested vehicles.

Criteria:

Must be fun
Doesn't have to be especially practical but if it could squeeze in a small tent, couple of sleeping bags and an overnight bag that would be a bonus
I want something that I'll be happy to own for 5 or 6 years
Cheap maintenance would be a bonus (i.e. easy parts availability and spanner friendly)

Looking at spending maybe £5K

Definite avoids:
BMW 3 series
Escort/Astra

Cars already under consideration:
Caterham/Westfield types
Lotus Elan SE
BMW Z3
Rover MGF

So, over to you guys. Any suggestions? Any 'steer clear of'?

The caterham is not really practical though...

What a bout a supra Aerotop? (Targa roof)

MR2s are good fun too.

Hes looking for weekend fun. Practical and fun are hard to find in one car.
If it's fun, easy to fix, great re sale value the Cat/Westy can't be beat IMHO

[dee]

rag top you say....

alfa spider ('96 on) great looking thing, parts have good availability and not to dear if you know where to look
mx5 - cracking car, some bits can be expensive but ridiculous array to tuning bits.
mgf - are you joking? head gasket problems, suspension problems, parts availability can be errr interesting AVOID!
mr2 - much the same as the mx5 with some crazy imports, turbo's are blindingly fast, later cars a bit limp.


think the main thing to think about is look for a car that was always meant to be a rag top... think I would be looking for an mx5

[Slugsie]

Nissan 300z:
Didn't know there was a convertible version. When the 300z first came out I liked the look of the car. However now it just looks like a big sad fat car. Plus I'd be banned within a week from too much speeding.

Alfa Spider:
Yup, it had crossed my mind, and after all every petrol head should own an Alfa. But it's just not really me.

MX5:
Look, I own a 2nd gen, not a 3rd gen.
Serious note though, I know I shouldn't dismiss it. Supposedly one of the best handling fun cars around, so that counts for a lot.

Saabs:
I could see me buying one. I could then see me a year down the line looking at it sat next to a 2 seat convertible and regretting my decision. Good cars for sure, just don't have the 'fun' factor I'm looking for.

MR2:
Not a convertible. Targa doesn't count. Same for the Supra.

Caterham 7:
It's on my list for a reason... I love them (I'd settle for a Westfield, but I'd frequently wished I'd held out for a Caterham). I will own one one day that's for sure. I'm not interested in a bike engined one, a car engined one will be more than enough, maybe even the K series engined one would do. Maybe I'll look harder at the re-mortgage options and see if I can stretch a few extra £K's.

Lotus Elan SE/Elise:
Same as the Caterham (which is a Lotus after all). I have always loved Lotus's. The Elise is just outside my price range otherwise it'd be on the list. The Elan goes head to head with the MX5 and would be my preference of the two.

To reinforce what sort of car I'm after... I'm after a fun car for occasional use. I don't want some tarmac ripping 1/4mile munching speed machine. As long as it keeps me in front of the 'Saxo' boys away from the lights then it's plenty fast enough. I want something that can make me grin when going round a bend. Something that I will want to wake up early to take out for a spin down the country lanes of a weekend. That's a good description of the quintessential British open topped sports car, which is basically what I'm aiming for. Just not necessarily built within these shores.

Some good suggestions there guys, keep it coming.

[Nick V]

Then you want a Caterham great fun to drive on a weekend easy to work on parts a plenty. Best of all look after her and the re sale value will out strip anything on your list. But at £5k you will have to take your time looking and it will be car based not bike engined at that price. If you can go to £7k you will get a real nice one.

I agree with this one, and this type of car is great fun to drive, especially if the weather is great, but you will be hard pressed to find a relatively new Caterham for that price, maybe an older one with a X-flow engine. Don't get me wrong that would still be a quick, fun car, but make sure it has all the wet weather kit with it! Forget bike engine, they are great fun and extremely fast, but too much point and squirt and you will want to keep your foot on the loud pedal too much , and embarress Porsche 911 drivers when you leave them at the lights There are a lot of good, well built 'bodied' kit cars out there for that price that would suit. Just think a 'kit' car is another option,

Cheers, Nick

[Slugsie]

I agree with this one, and this type of car is great fun to drive, especially if the weather is great, but you will be hard pressed to find a relatively new Caterham for that price, maybe an older one with a X-flow engine. Don't get me wrong that would still be a quick, fun car, but make sure it has all the wet weather kit with it! Forget bike engine, they are great fun and extremely fast, but too much point and squirt and you will want to keep your foot on the loud pedal too much , and embarress Porsche 911 drivers when you leave them at the lights There are a lot of good, well built 'bodied' kit cars out there for that price that would suit. Just think a 'kit' car is another option,

Cheers, Nick

If I had the facilities (i.e. a garage) I'd be very seriously looking at buying a kit and building my own. It's something I'd love to do at some point. But practical head on, I do have a habit of starting stuff like that, getting half way through, and then abandoning it for months. I just know it'd end up on ebay looking for someone to finish it off.

[Sancho]

rag top you say....
alfa spider ('96 on) great looking thing, parts have good availability and not to dear if you know where to look
mx5 - cracking car, some bits can be expensive but ridiculous array to tuning bits.
mgf - are you joking? head gasket problems, suspension problems, parts availability can be errr interesting AVOID!
mr2 - much the same as the mx5 with some crazy imports, turbo's are blindingly fast, later cars a bit limp.

There is no issue with parts for an MG, although as long as people keep thinking there is, people like me can keep buying cheap cars Head gaskets and and suspension can both be avoided if you're careful. Notwithstanding that, I still wouldn't buy one.

[Sancho]

And just to labour a point, the 1.8 k-series in an Elise or even a Caterham is the same as in the MGF and will have the same problems.

I meant a proper Alfa spider by the way, not one of those new ones that break down all the time.