MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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911 996 C4S. Superb drive. Turbo body + light bar will make it classic
Flying Ox - I may well be interested in your TT - gimme a PM if you're selling. Think we're relatively local to each other
Nissan 350z
911 996 C4S. Superb drive. Turbo body + light bar will make it classic
Sounds great, can you link to where you can buy them for £4.5k?
I couldn't help myself, I've been looking for an Impreza all afternoon. It's absolutely never going to happen at current asking prices and these things never come down so I guess I'll have to live without one forever.
If you could buy one for a reasonable sum of money I'd be more willing to deal with all the grief they'll inevitably throw up. I actually enjoy some of it but I'm not paying 20 grand for a 20 year old Japanese time bomb.
sharkattack
Full MemberI couldn’t help myself, I’ve been looking for an Impreza all afternoon. It’s absolutely never going to happen at current asking prices and these things never come down so I guess I’ll have to live without one forever.
I mean, if it's got to be an STI then sure but WRXes don't have to be expensive. I mean, in this thread yep the desirable ones are pricey but a solid turbo impreza will still probably appreciate if looked after, and an unsolid fixable one definitely will if you can diy it. Definitely one of the cheapest ways to drive sideways into a tree.
I reckon an unspoiled 2000 with not too many holes in it could be a good buy. Not "investment" but, good buy.
My better half has a Panda 100hp and it's a great little thing to zap around in. Cheap as chips to run and insure too. Also consider the VW Lupo Gti. £5 to £10k and this guy really rates it:
He's also done one on these which I absolutely love as a good mate has one. More rapid than anything else I've ever been in. He paid about £10k for it a few years back. Struggle to get a decent one for less than £25k these days so like a lot of this modern classic stuff, think I may have missed the boat.
Lupo GTI is very cool
Porsche 911? Gonna need a much bigger budget.
The flying Ox. Yes watching with interest. Feel free to ping your car details over. Sounds like you’ll have a sale soon but no harm in me looking.
I'd love a Lupo GTI. Seems like basically the equivalent of a mk1 golf if it were made today. Wouldn't say no to a 6n2 polo gti either.
I reckon an unspoiled 2000 with not too many holes in it could be a good buy. Not “investment” but, good buy.
It'll be an import then, Most ukspec look like colanders.
I tested a Lupo GTI when I owned an EP3 Civic Type R: fun to drive, handled well, lovely cabin and felt surprisingly spacious in the front, but the engine was a let down. Not wholly fair as many engines are a let down after a K20A, and I imagine it'd feel less bad revisiting one now comparing it against some of the current small turbo'd engines though.
Thanks @theflyingfox - lovely example, food for thought. Time I start dropping hints to the good lady her indoors. Having dropped child three two weeks ago I need to tread delicately 😉
If you can find a lupo gti thay are doing well now. Fun too
Beware the attachment of classic cars, I've had 944's since 2005. They were pretty much at their lowest value then.
Had my 1986 944 turbo since 2010ish, I paid £1500 for a car in bits.
It would make sense to sell it now as the prices are way up but I won't, I love driving it, enjoy working on it.
Fueling it not so much, £50 of super didn't quite half fill the tank on Wednesday.
It lives outside, which obviously means keeping on top of rust proofing, cavity wax is your friend.
I put it through an MOT on wed and there was an advisory on the front wheel bearings needing adjustment and that the brake/fuel lines are painted.
It hadn't moved for a month, CO was 2% and HC 113 ppm. So not too environmentally terrible.
My BMW E87 130i is now on eBay, a bargain for someone who wants a fast car.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185284104377
perhaps the nearly 200,000 thrashed miles is an incentive you know more is better ?
Did someone shit themselves in the drivers seat?
My BMW E87 130i is
Classic? Rep mobile.
To me it looks like a FSH, bit scruffy, practical rocket-ship with a legendary engine that's sat on Pirelli's with 11 months MOT - for £2k!
The Mk1 is fugly though 🙂
Yeah, not seeing that 130i as a good buy. Non facelift 5dr with absolute basement spec/colour/wheels that looks like it’s done twice the intergalactic mileage that it has.
Now an 07 130i LE 3dr…maybe.
911 996 C4S. Superb drive. Turbo body + light bar will make it classic
I see it had to be photographed from the back, with it's face only a mother could love
This is the problem with the 996 - it will only ever be bought if you can't afford a 993 or a 997. SO while it's prices may get pulled along somewhat in the wake of the other two, it will always be significantly less well thought of. It is to the 911, what the Mk IV (and possibly Mk III) is to the Golf.
This is the problem with the 996 – it will only ever be bought if you can’t afford a 993 or a 997. SO while it’s prices may get pulled along somewhat in the wake of the other two, it will always be significantly less well thought of. It is to the 911
This is potentially a reason that it may become a classic. The 'unloved' at the time, '2nd' choice etc they often become the most sought after in the future.
The 996 Turbo already has classic status, thanks to its engine. Unfortunately prices are already around £50k or ten times the OP’s budget. I’m even coming around to the headlight design.
This is potentially a reason that it may become a classic. The ‘unloved’ at the time, ‘2nd’ choice etc they often become the most sought after in the future.
I can't think of any examples off the top of my head?
The only time that really happens is if they were just ahead of their time and didn't sell, or early models that were just a bit rubbish compared to their more developed versions but their scarcity pushes prices up.
Ducati Sport Classic springs to mind which now sells for double to triple the RRP of 10-15 years ago (assuming the dealer managed to sell them at all).
Basically, you've got to have something that was actually really good by modern standards but overlooked at the time. The problem with a 996 is it just isn't. It's predecessor is notable as the last of the air-cooled engines, and it's successor didn't have those horrible headlights.
Boggo 996 gen1's with the chocolate engine are on their way up - have been keeping an eye on them but not in a position to doing anything at the moment.
My Dad just snuck in on a 993 Carrera 4 Cabrio before they went mental. It’s a Cab so not seeing the same rise as the Coupe but it is only one of a handful of UK reg cars and is one of the last varioram off the line. Im encouraging him and mum to keep using it and not sell it! He won’t take it out if the gritter has been out.
Given the money to buy a good one, and be able to do a resto-mod out of it, I’d dearly love a Mk1 Opel Manta. I owned one once, a Berlinetta, which a mate re-sprayed metallic black. I had a set of 8-spoke alloys on it, and I loved it. Sadly the floor needed a fair amount of welding, and then the engine died on the Severn Bridge on my way back from seeing U2 at Cardiff Arms Park. Wish I could have had it fixed up, but I didn’t really have too much money, and nowhere to keep it while I got it sorted out.
Lovely looking car, really nice styling, would be a great drive with upgraded running gear and a 1.7 Turbo from an Astra.
An Opel GT would also be a nice companion for it… 😎
I had a 1990 Mk2 Golf until last Spring. I sold it for triple what I paid for it (albeit with a few upgrades along the way) and ended up about £1k in the green over 3 years of ownership.
Bloody loved that thing, and ended up missing it terribly so have just picked up a really lovely condition 1985 Mk3 Escort which I plan to use and enjoy as I did the Golf, and maybe do the same and make a few quid on over a few years with any luck!
Nissan 350z
Oddly enough one of those came in to work over the weekend. I was giving this a bit of thought as well, and there’s been two or three that we’ve had through for repair/refurbishment which I really think will be future classics. One is the Abarth 595 Competizione, along with its less well known sibling, the Abarth 695 Rivale, which is gorgeous; I’ve only ever seen one*, it was two-tone metallic blue and silver, with a duck-egg blue pinstripe, stunning glossy wood trim inspired by Riva powerboats, Acropovic exhaust system, and about 178bhp!
The other would be the Toyota Yaris GN, already examples are fetching a £10k premium second-hand, and I believe there’s going to be an even more extreme version.
*It seems that only 175 were ever made, so pretty much an instant classic already.
Some bastard in Cardiff now has a Merc the same as mine. First one I've seen since I got it.
I spent about a year looking at different interesting cars as I've never had anything other than boring cars in 30 years of driving, think my Citroen BX was quirky if you can call dumping its hydraulic guts on the M6 and leaving me with no suspension and only a handbrake to stop "quirky".
I set myself a criteria, 2 seats (just because kids have their own cars now), rear wheel drive, faster than anything else I've ever had, usable for normal day to day driving, no major work needed and no more than £10k
MX5 would have been in the frame, but I did have an X-drive BMW 320d recently, which is quicker.
Cayman and Boxter were contenders, but good ones are around 15k and if anything breaks it's going to be a grand to fix it.
N2000 again is pricey for a good one, and they are perhaps a little unforgiving for a novice rear-wheel driver, or at least that is what I have read.
Couldn't get on with the looks of the Nissan 350Z.
Mercedes SLK nah, couldn't get emotionally excited for some reason.
So, that pretty much left the Z4, obviously the M versions were out of my range and are potentially expensive to maintain, so choice came down to the Roadster or Coupe, love the way both look.
Picked up a 91k mile Z4 3.0Si Couple on New Years Day, all of the usual jobs done and pretty standard, would have preferred totally OEM but the 19" CSL rep wheels look ok (still might change them back to MV2s), a month on I still pop outside to take a look at it.
Now thinking of getting an Asguard Shed for the bikes so the car can live in the garage 🙂
The straight six engine is something else, revving it to 6,500 is very addictive, but it's not completely crazy quick (5.7s to 60).
Only around 2000 Coupe's were ever delivered to the UK so you hardly see them on the road, so the rarity is a plus to me.
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51870003725_ac67e37237_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51870003725_ac67e37237_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2n2zjZ4 ]Z4[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/10675959@N02/ ]nickgilling[/url], on Flickr
Focus ST's were mentioned above and are a good shout. I got a Mk1 ST170 a few years ago and it was good fun for a daily driver. Sold it to my mate after I got a great lease deal and it's probably worth at least 1.5k more then it was when he got it. Spec is very important though, most desirable is an imperial blue 3dr with leather Recaro's and all the option packs. Prices are climbing but you can still pick up a decent car with less than 100k miles for sub 2k.
For something a bit more fun get the Mk2 or mk2.5 with the 2.5lt engine. Prices have just about bottomed out around 4k for something worth having, with the mk2 showing signs of going back up.
Modern Classics magazine was perfect for what you are after. Unfortunately they packed up a year or two ago but if you can find some back issues they will certainly give you plenty of ideas.
Very nice motor Nick, I have two Z4 roadsters tax then SORN every other month just for a change, I love my 2.0 other than the engine as you need to rev it to get anything from it whereas the 3.0 with the amazing induction noise and torque wins the day. Winter tyres on just now very reassuring
So, that pretty much left the Z4,
I quite fancied the next gen, but would have to be the 35is if I did
The straight six engine is something else, revving it to 6,500 is very addictive
You should try 8,500 in a V8, it's glorious 😉
I do like that Coupe. My old boy used to have a 3.0 soft top and that was great fun. The Coupe might be a little more refined (might not), but in the soft top you really knew the exhausts were about 6 inches behind you, and it was all the better for 🙂
The 3.0si coupe is really the sweet spot for the Z4. It doesn't have the M tax, has a better gearbox and is only 0.8s slower to 60. You don't get the noise of an M and it won't go 30-100 quite the same, but it's a fair compromise. My old M coupe would do 186mph flat out, not bad for a 3.2 6cyl.
The only downside of the coupe (rust on the inside of the rear hatch not withstanding, is road noise. The rear clamshell seems to amplify the noise from the rear tyres and exhaust and funnels it forward. In general driving it's fine, but on the motorway, it becomes tiresome.
I didn't get it for motorway driving, but planning to drive it from Shropshire to Northumberland for a wedding in March just so I can take it on the A686 and possibly will take it to Arran in June, so will have to live with the noise, I think I can 🙂
I recently shifted my Brabus Roadster. It was a cracking car to drive but the reliability was dreadful. It leaked, most fixes were cheap but if you didn’t drive it at least twice a week, the alternator would seize. The electrics were typically French too. A fun car if you have a heated garage. Otherwise, I wouldn’t bother.
Definitely back to MX5s for me. Great wee cars especially the Mk1.
Cheers
Sanny
To bring a close to this, last weekend I did a deal on a Z4 3.0 Roadster, brilliant condition with fairly low miles, the wheels I wanted, all the additional options like M sport; steering wheel, suspension and electric heated M seats. All work done, garaged all it’s life and 3 owners. I’m over the moon with it.
Thanks for everyone’s thoughts, ideas, experiences and a wave to the fellow Zed Heads.
That's cool, a friend had one - was lovely.
He had the Alpina after which was extra lovely, though I think the standard z4 was in better condition.
Was thinking about this thread the other week and thought the Peugeot RCZ could be a future classic. Cool design, relatively rare, quirky, reliable and pretty cheap at the moment. Meant to be nice to drive too.
Interesting the love for BMW Z4
I drove a 2014 z4 3.0 on the Isle of Man last summer and was very much underwhelmed by it.
Yes it had sports car character (but much better sports cars out there that do it properly) , and a nice ish noise when revved hard, but the ride was truly horrible.
Maybe the older cars are actually better sports cars?
My money would still be on an MX5 or Suzuki Cappuccino
Smart Roadster? Quirky design and plenty about for under £5k.
Welcome to the club Paul.
If you haven't already, check out Z4-forum.com and also the Z4 UK Owners group on Facebook.
No need to use the radio/cd on your 3.0 roadster , the induction noise is so good low revs up to an amazing crescendo 6000 rpm
Might just be me but love my two Z4s
Thanks to this thread, I've bought a Lupo Gti. Got it very cheap as it needed a bit of work. Now fixed and passed its MOT yesterday! Still planning to do a couple of things to make it really nice, but what an absolute hoot these things are!
Will probably end up selling before long to fund an upcoming wedding, but thank you to whoever first mentioned the little Lupo!
Also, fully approve of the decision to go with the Z4 3.0. I had one for a bit, and although I didn't really gel with it and ended up selling to fund a bike trip in Argentina, I was generally happy with it and completely agree that the engine is an absolute peach!
I drove a 2014 z4 3.0 on the Isle of Man last summer and was very much underwhelmed by it.
Yes it had sports car character (but much better sports cars out there that do it properly) , and a nice ish noise when revved hard, but the ride was truly horrible.
Run flat tyres? Seem to be the obvious culprit for most BMWs' ride issues, and replacing them with a proper tyre is generally the first thing to do.
If you haven’t already, check out Z4-forum.com
I've still got a soft spot for the original Z4 - owned a 3.0i SE for 5+ years before kids arrived. I'm the one who organised started and organised the first Scottish runs on z4-forum back in 2010, many memories. Lots of good points about the car: the engine, styling (subjective but I still think it's a great bit of cohesive design, particularly next to current BMW styling) and practicality. The ride though... It wasn't just the runflats although switching to normal tyres helped. It simply lacked suspension travel and decent damping. But I'd love another one but simply impractical due 2 x mini a11ys.
I've just spent £360 on new Sachs dampers and top mounts on my 18 year old, was going to go to Bilsteins like my '74 Mk 1 Mexico had in 1980 but it was like having a stiffee all the time , great back then but I'm too old now so keeping it original
I think I paid much the same for my crappy Pace elastamor forks but got £100 back when I sold them last year on ebay