Your favourite affordable sports car

[moose]

Ok so it's a hot hatch rather than a sports car but I would love a mint unmodified one of these:

Now you're talking
There's one round the corner from me which I keep trying to get the guy to sell me but he won't. 24k on the clock and original leather Recaros.

 

[ICB]

My mate had one of these:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/300ZX-300-ZX-Twin-Turbo-SWB-Manual-Not-for-Swap-PX-P-X_W0QQitemZ4651141518QQcategoryZ18238QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Not what you're after at all. Tail goes all over the place Mmmm... Fairlady.

lo mate

That's a one of the nicest Zs I've seen, apart from the gold wheels.

And getting your arse out is what it's all about if you're serious about sportscars.

 

[GarfieldLeChat]

do i detect a note of sarcasm?

i've had, oh, 150 miles between faults easily

scarcasm no it's just have you seen louds attemps at greasy monkerie

this used to be a skateboard....

 

[Iam]

More of a sports car than an MX5, though.

 

[GarfieldLeChat]

More of a sports car than an MX5, though.

they are alright it's a wannabie lotus elan but other than that it's fine ... btw i'll have a short back and sides thanks

 

[zoltan]

I am afraid you are all wrong. the BEST value to EXCITEMENT purchase - with pretty much ZERO depreciation is a good 911 SC or 3.2 Carerra with the old dog leg 'box.

cheap insurance and cost less than my focus to service

engines designed to do 500,000 Kilomtres without major work and NO tricky elctro gizmos to go wrong.

buy buy buy as they used to say in the City back in the 1980's

 

[moose]

Hmmmm, cheap insurance, you say? <counts money>

 

[zoltan]

Hmmmm, cheap insurance, you say? <counts money>

Paid £350 a year fully comp with agreed value parked ON THE ROAD ( Peckham ! ) in SE15.


had to do less than 6K miles per year ( then again its easy enought to disc. the speedo for a while )

Do your research and you cant go far wrong - needs full history - most will have it - and non Porker specialisits are usually better than the dealers.

dopnt worry about a puff of smoke on startup or low oil pressure on tickover - its usual.

careful of rust - they should all be galvanised post '76 & rot meay mean theres something afoot with the panel - maybe replaced with non porker part.


avoid anything thats been "customised" - body kits etc - only boy racers want them and they will be thrashed - bog standard is normal and best............

LHD are about 20-30% cheaper and there is no loss of face to having a good LHD porker - in fact the RHD conversion changes the seating/pedal angle by a few MM so purists say the driving experience is "tainted" in a RHD - a 1980's 911 with a current or recent German TuV will be seriously clean as well, as German emission laws are seriously tight and theyr are very strict about the tests - no dodgy TuV certificates to be had from men in pubs.

you will never regret it if you get a good one wont lose money when you come to reseale , assuming you get a basic service and stamp every 5K miles or so - maybe £200 or so ?


go go go

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

I am afraid you are all wrong. the BEST value to EXCITEMENT purchase - with pretty much ZERO depreciation is a good 911 SC or 3.2 Carerra with the old dog leg 'box.

Right up until it sends you into a hedge.

The engine is in the wrong place....

 

[zoltan]

teaches you to think about what you are doing rather than barrelling down roads and relying on computers to sort out your rubbish driving.The reason that we have so many bunches of flowers crudely taped to lamposts along our dual carriageways is due to people having no feeling for what they are driving or what they are doing. With an 911 you have to feel what is hap;pening and work with the car & it becomes a truly rewarding experience. Morons treat it like a modern car and invaribaly spin them - but even the spin is easily controlled


YOu know that feeling you got when you learn how to drive a go kart properly and realise its not just putting your foot doen and hoping for the best ? thats what its like when you drive a 911 properly.

 

[mapatchli]

I see there's a few mentions of the MX5 but I personally would go for the MX6. I've had two and I still get that s*** eatinggrin every time I drive it, 2.5l engine and you can pick up a good one for less than 2k, try www.mx6.com for somewhere to start
You won't regret it.
For a car so cheap I don't believe you will get better

 

[nuffsaid]

Surprised no-one mentioned the Alpha Spyder. Get a really good one for £7k

 

[ICB]

Surprised no-one mentioned the Alpha Spyder. Get a really good one for £7k

Ahh, Alfas, beautiful cars, nice engines, appalling build quality.

I test drove a 156 and the demo car with 4000m on it had bits of trim falling off all over the interior.

 

[snorbury]

 

[ICB]

^^^^ lots of money

VVVVV in budget

 

[atitlan]

For the money you want to spend - if you want open top motoring - go for a Mk2 or 2.5 MX5. It's a great little car, guaranteed to put a big silly grin on your face - it also has the bonus of being reliable, cheap to run and with a good owners community. Forget the hairdresser comments - they originate from family men who drive identikit eurobox saloons and can't stand the thought that someones having infinitely more fun than them for the same money they spent on their Mondeo!!

If you're happy with a tin-top you'll probably get more car for your money by going the hot-hatch route rather than for a coupe.


Disclaimer: My recommendation of the MX5 is biased ... here's mine (a Mk 3):

 

[Cobbles]

Get yourself a nice little Bentley Turbo R.

Close to 400 BHP with more than 500 foot pounds of torque - on a dry road the 0-60 may only be a shade under 6 seconds but the mid range pick-up for real world instantaneous oomph is unbeatable.

Make sue you get one with the active suspension though and without the later limited slip differential, you soon learn a lot about tail wagging.

Comfy as well and cheap on "Classic" Insurance.

Oh, and the police doff their caps as you pass - very satisfying.

 

[GarfieldLeChat]

Get yourself a nice little Bentley Turbo R.

Close to 400 BHP with more than 500 foot pounds of torque - on a dry road the 0-60 may only be a shade under 6 seconds but the mid range pick-up for real world instantaneous oomph is unbeatable.

Make sue you get one with the active suspension though and without the later limited slip differential, you soon learn a lot about tail wagging.

Comfy as well and cheap on "Classic" Insurance.

Oh, and the police doff their caps as you pass - very satisfying.

erm the limited slip diff would prevent tail wagging... by stopping the wheelspin which would push out the rear end...

However the Turbo R is like piloting a larger pleassure crusing yatch it's unresponsive has little sense of the steering being connected to the wheels in any meaning full manner (a bit like out run in the arcade has little sense of the steering wheel being attached to the wheels). It postitively Rolls like a drunken fat butcher....

it's too havy, it's uneconomical, it's turbos are reliable, they catch fire...

not my idea of a great car tbh...

 

[GarfieldLeChat]

For the money you want to spend - if you want open top motoring - go for a Mk2 or 2.5 MX5. It's a great little car, guaranteed to put a big silly grin on your face - it also has the bonus of being reliable, cheap to run and with a good owners community. Forget the hairdresser comments - they originate from family men who drive identikit eurobox saloons and can't stand the thought that someones having infinitely more fun than them for the same money they spent on their Mondeo!!

If you're happy with a tin-top you'll probably get more car for your money by going the hot-hatch route rather than for a coupe.


Disclaimer: My recommendation of the MX5 is biased ... here's mine (a Mk 3):

nah you are right....

it is by far the bst thing to buy in the budget range... and has a lot of good features and is fun to drive etc....

just one thing ...

do you do set's and blow drys? perms? how about feathering?

 

[atitlan]

just one thing ...

do you do set's and blow drys? perms? how about feathering?

If I'd had a pound for every hairdresser wisecrack, the car would've cost me nothing

 

[Poi E]

I am afraid you are all wrong. the BEST value to EXCITEMENT purchase - with pretty much ZERO depreciation is a good 911 SC or 3.2 Carerra with the old dog leg 'box.

cheap insurance and cost less than my focus to service

engines designed to do 500,000 Kilomtres without major work and NO tricky elctro gizmos to go wrong.

buy buy buy as they used to say in the City back in the 1980's

Why do Porsches sound so shitty? Even the most expensive new ones have that slightly rattly engine sound with a rather flatulent exhaust. How come Subaru can make their boxers sound great but Porsche still sound rather anaemic?

 

[zoltan]

air cooled.

 

[Cobbles]

erm the limited slip diff would prevent tail wagging... by stopping the wheelspin which would push out the rear end...

<The earlier ones don't have a limited slip differential - later ones are a bit more pricey and therefore not so affordable>

However the Turbo R is like piloting a larger pleassure crusing yatch it's unresponsive has little sense of the steering being connected to the wheels in any meaning full manner (a bit like out run in the arcade has little sense of the steering wheel being attached to the wheels). It postitively Rolls like a drunken fat butcher....

<I take that you're quoting from experience, in which case the one that you drove was in need of some TLC>

it's too havy, it's uneconomical, it's turbos are reliable, they catch fire...

<Of course it's heavy, plastic and chromed plastic are light, wood and metal aren't , anyway, that's why it's got a decent size of engine and turbo, anyway, who cares about economy, we're talking about sports cars, not Prii>

not my idea of a great car tbh...

Admittedly, I'd prefer an Aston Martin but I'm saving for that.

 

[zoltan]

the AM V8s & their 70/980's ilk are relatively cheap to buy ( sub 20K ) but whether you fancy 1970's British Engineering and under 10 mpg just to show off your AM badge ? Nah. More hassle than its worth. bad bad bad cars to run on a budget - new clutch every 5000 miles ? fuck that

 

[GarfieldLeChat]

<The earlier ones don't have a limited slip differential - later ones are a bit more pricey and therefore not so affordable>

they are all quite pricey even if you get a cheap car then you are still not factoring servicing running cost or fuel...

<I take that you're quoting from experience, in which case the one that you drove was in need of some TLC>

yes, test drove the preproduction version and the first ones to roll off the production line, also the later LSD verisons when they were released (you're looking at one of the youngest people to throw B's around test tracks and attempt to break em...)

<Of course it's heavy, plastic and chromed plastic are light, wood and metal aren't , anyway, that's why it's got a decent size of engine and turbo, anyway, who cares about economy, we're talking about sports cars, not Price?>

sorry but when looking at a car it has to be worth the sports tag and the Turbo R simply isn't a sports car it's a touring car... it's not designed to have track capabilites or to mirror track racing capabilities all of the track racing ones i know of have had to have significant cahnges made other than the usual roll cage seat belt safety adjustments, this is again because they aren't designed to cope with the level of cornering tracks demand.

Moreover the op is speaking with in certain terms as in affordable sports car i don't see with the factors of cost, economy, enjoyment, bang for your buck that the turbo r has it in all ports... moreover the distant feeling from the steering to me actually takes away from the enjoyment...

Indeed they only really live up to the old bentley adagde coined by bugatti of "les canyons vitesse" (the fastest trucks)... now if we were talking out and out speed, money no object and definate sports place a turbo r next to a continental gt...

 

[GarfieldLeChat]

the AM V8s & their 70/980's ilk are relatively cheap to buy ( sub 20K ) but whether you fancy 1970's British Engineering and under 10 mpg just to show off your AM badge ? Nah. More hassle than its worth. bad bad bad cars to run on a budget - new clutch every 5000 miles ? fuck that

tbh i have never been enthused by AM's used to visit the old factory a lot when i was a lad and lived near newport pagnal (when they still wheeled the chassis accross the road from the body shop to the engine shop!!) just felt they were never nice looking cars and always seemed expensive for some thing which wasn't the fastest best handling etc...

I just don't get the love of a car which to all intents and purposes is a glorifed morgan ...

 

[ICB]

they were never nice looking cars

each to their own and all that but I reckon you're in a pretty small minority there

Sure, they were poorly put together and hardly cutting edge in their technical design but if I could afford one I'd be very happy to run an AM V8, DB IV/II or even a DBS purely for aesthetic satisfaction.

What I don't get is people who go crazy over the modern ones that are comparatively soulless and full of Ford parts.

My dad had one of these for a bit, loved it, as any self-respecting 8 year old would.

 

[GarfieldLeChat]

frot he same 1978 period

mazda rx7 rotary engined - one of tyhe best balanced sports cars in the world at the time...

512bb ferrari

911 porsche

the Lotus JPS refit esprit

all significantly better than the aston...

all significantly better looking... not imatating the british idea of a mucsel car.... and not relying on bad lucas parts....

 

[ICB]

Bah, if you're after a wedge mine's better looking than any of those, as are the TVRs (which had build issues as bad if not worse than AMs)

Admittedly the S13 didn't turn up until the late 80s but it's still nicer than any of those, only bettered by the 944

911 is just a squashed beetle, end of

And just cos the AM V8 is the Brit interpretation of a muscle car doesn't mean it's not the best looking one ever built

 

[Griff]

I am afraid you are all wrong. the BEST value to EXCITEMENT purchase - with pretty much ZERO depreciation is a good 911 SC or 3.2 Carerra with the old dog leg 'box.

All you'd get 911 wise for £8,000 would be a dog or an old 2.7 SC. You have to be looking at least £14,000 for a good one, and for that money you can start looking at 3.6 964s.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/77857.htm This wouldn't be bad for the budget if you wanted to own a Porsche.