Never thought I’d see the day I’d ask for car-buying advice, but here goes:

I’ll be returning to the UK come March, and I would like a car. It’ll be for pleasure mileage only, no commuting or anything of that ilk, and I’m envisaging somewhere around the 4-5000 miles a year mark. Fuel economy is therefore not my major priority. Nor does it need to be able to carry a bike, cos Mrs Flying Ox will be getting some type of do-it-all car that will cover bike duties. Budget is anything under new Focus money, say up to £18,000. 2nd hand only: I don’t want a new car due to depreciation. And it must be powerful. Why? Because.

Current cars on the list are:
Infiniti G35
Nissan Skyline R32/R33/R34
Mazda RX7
Honda NSX
Honda Integra DC2/DC5
TVR Cerbera/Tuscan
Honda S2000
Vauxhall VX220 Turbo
E46 M3
Maserati 3200GT

That should give an idea of the type of car I’m after. Any others I should consider? Any experience of the above?

Cheers.

And for the haters, I’ll save you the effort and do my own “The Flying Ox Has A Tiny, Wizened Penis So Needs A Fancy Dan Car To Compensate”-style tags.

Unless you want to spend lots of time repairing I would forget the TVR (although they are beautiful cars).

You do have a mix of ‘muscle’ type cars as well as Jap screaming engine cars – what sort of driving do you do?

How about a supercharged Exige? Not disimilar to the VX220 I guess, but then you can throw down your Lotus keys on the bar in the pub rather than your Vauxhall ones.

For some reason I have got a thing about some of the big American muscle cars at the moment too…

Boxster?

what sort of driving do you do?

Bit of everything really. A1 visiting my family, B-roads visiting her family, out into the great Scottish Highlands for holidays and the like.
I do quite fancy the idea of a car that wouldn’t embarrass itself on a trackday though, hence most of the above shortlist.

If I had that money and that list, it would be the NSX everytime. Only had the chance to drive one once, but it was the 3.2 V6 VTEC Manual, such a great sound screaming away just behind your ears….!!! Saying that, the S2000 is great fun too.

No Audis on that list?

Audi S3

You have a G35 but not 350z on that list. Could also get a 370Z for that.

You get get american 1.25″ hitches for them and stick a bike rack on that 🙂

thepurist – Member
No Audis on that list?

You say that like it’s a bad thing…!!! 🙂

I don’t know much about cars but the NSX is rated as one of the best drivers’ cars ever is it not?

Not cheap to run, even in that company tho.

Porsche 993
Lotus Exige

for me.

For me the NSX looks very dated.

The S2000 would be the most flexible and take pretty much all of the driving you do in it’s stride and is relatively cheap to run compared to some on your list.

It’s the one I would go for I reckon.

How about being all-out silly and get a Westfield/Caterham? My father in law has one (set up for hill climbs and geared as such) that would leave all of the above dead in the water in a sprint situation. It does only have a top speed of about 95mph but 0-60 in almost motorbike speeds is a fair compromise 🙂

370z if you can afford it.

TVR’s are the ugliest cars ever made.

BMW z4m, coupe or roadster available within budget.
E60 M5s are creeping into budget too, 500bhp V10 😈

Ohh and I drove an Exige at Silverstone and it is such a forgiving car. Amazing.

Barrelling into corners at speeds I didn’t think were possible and ramming brakes on, feeling the weight of the engine behind almost pushing you on but still staying sure-footed and composed. It was so easy to have the beating of the bigger ‘supercars’ on the track that day.

TVR’s are the ugliest cars ever made.

Your eyes are clearly broken.

I don’t want a new car due to depreciation.

All cars depreciate – basically whatever (£18k) you spend, you can/will lose.

But what about a Caymen, test drove one last year – 3.4s tiptronic – very impressed.

http://www.whatcar.com/car-reviews/porsche/cayman-coupe/summary/25487-4

oooh 370z is a good choice makes the 350z feel like a toy car…

s2000’s are great as is the DC5.

lots of truely amazing cars about for that budget.

From your list – Honda NSX

Newer:
Focus for Focus money – RS
Renault Megane R26.R
Porsche Cayman

TVR Tuscan.

Everything else seems a bit tame after that.

Porsche! How could I have missed that one out?
Not keen on the Boxster, but Cayman is a good shout.

Keep ’em coming 😀

NSX – fantastic but too sanitised
TVR but Tuscan, Griffith or T350
Mazer 0 stylish

The rest are for chavs not men. Honda S2000 is excellent but like a TT it is for girls.

I don’t know much about cars but the NSX is rated as one of the best drivers’ cars ever is it not?

Dunno whether it’s the turning wheels of fashion or not, but in it’s production days it was largely characterised as clinical but soulless, anything but a drivers car.
It’d still be a nice choice though, and unlikely to depreciate further.

Oh, and at that price the Maserati would be a money pit. IM (mates) E.

As opposed to a TVR which would be reliability personified. My uncle loves his Tuscan, and the multiple engines it has required!

911 964. I’m a luddite. TVRs look interesting, but never driven one. Scary Caterham for the shit your pants factor?

+1 Z4M coupe

I have just bought a BMW 135i because I could not find a Z4M coupe in the colour spec I wanted. 135i would not be special enough for a weekend only car for me though.

Not sure if you would get a decent 993 911 for that money but would be nice if you could. You could get a 997 911 for that but I am told there is a reason for them not holding there value as well as the 993 cars.

If it really is a toy rather and it really does not have to double as sensible transport, how about a Caterham.

You are into TVR T350 territory or a Tamora etc. Sagaris still way more expensive.

People keep mentioning Caterhams (me included) so how about it?

You could get a twin motorbike engined one.

Crap driver in that clip though – barely kissed an apex.

993/996 if you want a sports car, E55 if you want a cruiser, M3 for something in the middle.

Vauxhall VX220 Turbo – cracking little go-kart that’s quick enough and fun enough for weekend driving. I used mine daily at times, but I wouldn’t recommend it, especially in shit weather (prone to misting and moments of bad visibility). The only electrics you’ll get are heater, stereo and C/L. Brilliant on the track too. Check out the best best VX forum here – which I think they relaunched a year or so ago, so may not have all the history dating back to when it was proper busy. Defo go for the Turbo as opposed to the NA. Easy to tune too (engine, zorst and handling).

E46 M3 – extremely capable point-to-point car with everyday abilities. Proper rapid for its size. Does come with an attitude on the road though – that didn’t bother me though. Check out Tyresmoke among other forums.

Maserati 3200GT – nearly bought one of these instead of the VX. Very weird steering (because of the “can’t remember what it’s called) that makes you twitchy and prone to over-steer for quite some time. Lovely cockpit with all the stitching and dials etc. Typically Italian. Plenty of things to look out for though, so I’d recommend checking out the forums. Can’t remember which I used – but I do remember some users offering to do viewings with me. They were a nice bunch.

Skylines – pah, bit old hat now. Avoid IMO.

Thread might be over. Just spied a couple of Cobra replicas on Autotrader that come in under budget. I honestly thought they were in the high £20k bracket.
Any reason why a Cobra would be a bad move over, say, the TVR?

You’d do 1000 miles/year in a Cobra, maximum. Fun for 10 minutes, appalling for 60. Unusable in the winter. Fast, but that’s it. All the finesse of a steam-hammer.

Astonishingly pointless, but fun as a 4th car, the sort of thing you use 10 times/year.

Hmmm. Maybe not then.

Westfield SEight?

Westfield SEight?

YES.

i was a member of a car club a few years ago and they had a cobra replica. It was mental to drive – it was the only car in the fleet that you had to be tested in before you were allowed to drive it yourself.

In terms of experience it was great – so much presence. You’d pull up at traffic lights and people would hear the rumble of the engine and put their window down to ask you to rev it!

Driving it however was a alot less fun 😀

For some reason I have got a thing about some of the big American muscle cars at the moment too…

It’s cos you have the brain of a 12 year old boy.

how about somethnig a bit more classy, like a Merc 380SL

You can pick them up at silly cheap prices so you’d have more than enough money left over for any future work required.

You could get a twin motorbike engined one.

I have worked on one and believe me the twins are not worth the agro keeping them going. The transfer boxes that link the two engines together overheat and shed their oil everywhere. The 4WD versions with an engine driving the front and one driving the rear, just drive plain weirdly.

I had a Westfield Megabusa with a Hayabusa engine in it and its pretty much all the power you need really as standard (180BHP). I turboed mine to 300BHP but to be honest it did not make it any more enjoyable to drive and I was worried about blowing up a very expensive engine. It was flipping fast though 🙂

A seven type car with a Busa or R1 engine in it, is a joy to drive on track. I think they are less fun on the road but plenty of people disagree with me.

I had a TVR 5L Chimaera about 12 years ago and that was a lot of fun. I really liked it. Sensible enough to actually go places in but still raw and interesting. I would really like a Sagaris now 🙂

Edited to add

I always thought the SEIGHT missed the point of a seven type car, but each to his own 🙂

Current cars on the list are:
Infiniti G35
Nissan Skyline R32/R33/R34
Mazda RX7
Honda NSX
Honda Integra DC2/DC5
TVR Cerbera/Tuscan
Honda S2000
Vauxhall VX220 Turbo
E46 M3
Maserati 3200GT

So basically its a list of **** cars, no?

p.s. the **** rhymes with banker. :o)

Quality Sunday Car Pinkster, Bobby Ewing tastic.

So basically its a list of **** cars, no?

p.s. the **** rhymes with banker. :o)

The Pinkster: I like Mercs as a rule, but I want something less… sedate.