Can you help - A nice car problem
Discussion
Hi Every one.
Been a very long time since I posted on here.
Have been with out a 'Pistonheads' Car for a long time.... but now back in the market.
I hope you guys can help me with my problem.
I have £5,000 to spend on a car. Not for every day work (Have company car!!) But Just a weekend toy. With the £5,000 I would like to use this as a budget to buy the car, a couple of years insurance a service and 500 quid as back up in case anything untoward happens. I am aware of general running, petrol tyres etc...
Also...
I would like to be able to sell it in 18months time and not lost any money or even make a small profit. (Had a triumph Herald I once bought for £1200 and sold 2 years later for £2,200. Covering all my insurance, servicing and made a couple of hundred in profit. :-) ) not expecting to cover the wear, tax or insurance... but hopefully just what I paid for the car.
4 seats would be ideal as have kids, but 2 seats are not a problem as only have kids every other weekend. Convertible is my number 1 must have but again if the right car/right price came up then its not essential.
I'm after a weekend toy... does not have to be fast and 0 - 60 sub 6 secs etc etc and I do like an old classic. Just after some thing a little bit diffrent, some thing to go to meets in (Ace Cafe, local clubs etc) and some thing that holds its value or might be on the cusp of increasing.
Cars I have owned to give you and idea:-
TVR Wedge (Hair on the neck stuff.... fantastic even with all the faults)
Porsche 924s (Really really surprising...loved it but not the same 'Under your skin' as TVR)
Triumph Herald Convertible (Cheap as chips to run, great fun, no Tax had 2 of them!!)
Triumph Spitifre (as above)
MGB Roadster (Chrome Bumpered.... but wont get on for this kind of money, will have to be rubber or GT for FOC tax.)
All can be insured under 'classic car' policys.... so insurance cheap as.
So have number of cars on the "radar" so to speak and wont be buying or going to look until i have sorted in my head what I want to do.. (end of jan/Feb) but the top 5 list as follows:-
TVR S - Pick a good one for around 3-4k
Triumph Herald Conv - Still can be picked under sub 2K but finding a good one tricky...can only go up in price?
Triumph Spitfire - as above
Alfa Spider - Mid 90's....early old shape ones just a tad expensive. Never owned an Alfa, fancy it. Cheap as chips - 2-3k....but will they go down in value or hold or even start to go up?
Porsche 944 - Could get a turbo? or even a convertible but tricky to find one in the budget so would have to be coupe. Think these can only start going up in Value.
If any of you guys have any thoughts and any outside the box cars then please let me know... need to get back into the pistonHeads thing big time... been to long. :-)
Been a very long time since I posted on here.
Have been with out a 'Pistonheads' Car for a long time.... but now back in the market.
I hope you guys can help me with my problem.
I have £5,000 to spend on a car. Not for every day work (Have company car!!) But Just a weekend toy. With the £5,000 I would like to use this as a budget to buy the car, a couple of years insurance a service and 500 quid as back up in case anything untoward happens. I am aware of general running, petrol tyres etc...
Also...
I would like to be able to sell it in 18months time and not lost any money or even make a small profit. (Had a triumph Herald I once bought for £1200 and sold 2 years later for £2,200. Covering all my insurance, servicing and made a couple of hundred in profit. :-) ) not expecting to cover the wear, tax or insurance... but hopefully just what I paid for the car.
4 seats would be ideal as have kids, but 2 seats are not a problem as only have kids every other weekend. Convertible is my number 1 must have but again if the right car/right price came up then its not essential.
I'm after a weekend toy... does not have to be fast and 0 - 60 sub 6 secs etc etc and I do like an old classic. Just after some thing a little bit diffrent, some thing to go to meets in (Ace Cafe, local clubs etc) and some thing that holds its value or might be on the cusp of increasing.
Cars I have owned to give you and idea:-
TVR Wedge (Hair on the neck stuff.... fantastic even with all the faults)
Porsche 924s (Really really surprising...loved it but not the same 'Under your skin' as TVR)
Triumph Herald Convertible (Cheap as chips to run, great fun, no Tax had 2 of them!!)
Triumph Spitifre (as above)
MGB Roadster (Chrome Bumpered.... but wont get on for this kind of money, will have to be rubber or GT for FOC tax.)
All can be insured under 'classic car' policys.... so insurance cheap as.
So have number of cars on the "radar" so to speak and wont be buying or going to look until i have sorted in my head what I want to do.. (end of jan/Feb) but the top 5 list as follows:-
TVR S - Pick a good one for around 3-4k
Triumph Herald Conv - Still can be picked under sub 2K but finding a good one tricky...can only go up in price?
Triumph Spitfire - as above
Alfa Spider - Mid 90's....early old shape ones just a tad expensive. Never owned an Alfa, fancy it. Cheap as chips - 2-3k....but will they go down in value or hold or even start to go up?
Porsche 944 - Could get a turbo? or even a convertible but tricky to find one in the budget so would have to be coupe. Think these can only start going up in Value.
If any of you guys have any thoughts and any outside the box cars then please let me know... need to get back into the pistonHeads thing big time... been to long. :-)
Hi, a bit left field, but have you thought of a kit car?
There are plenty of Lotus 7 type replicas out there (only two seats I'm afraid) or even other types that fit your requirements in your budget - if you buy one that has been well built I can promise you wil get an awful lot more fun/reliability for your money and it will be very much more cost effective to run than an older Porsche or TVR or similar.
I had a Tiger 6 for a number of years, spent a bit on it, but sold it for a fair bit more than I had bought it for. Combined with wonderful performance, handling, and 'feel good', it was more fun than you can shake a stick at - a perfect weekend car!
And you can buy and enjoy one without getting into the clique/geeky/clubby side - I certainly did. I just regret selling it - so will be getting another one (or similar) come March
.
There are plenty of Lotus 7 type replicas out there (only two seats I'm afraid) or even other types that fit your requirements in your budget - if you buy one that has been well built I can promise you wil get an awful lot more fun/reliability for your money and it will be very much more cost effective to run than an older Porsche or TVR or similar.
I had a Tiger 6 for a number of years, spent a bit on it, but sold it for a fair bit more than I had bought it for. Combined with wonderful performance, handling, and 'feel good', it was more fun than you can shake a stick at - a perfect weekend car!
And you can buy and enjoy one without getting into the clique/geeky/clubby side - I certainly did. I just regret selling it - so will be getting another one (or similar) come March
. laup99 said:
Yes thought about MX5 (and a Boxster....a couple just in the Budget) but with so many about will it hold value/increase etc.... I thought as so many about when coming to sell will be so many to choose from that price will have to be keen and may have to drop the price etc.
Out of the options and given your budget, you wont lose a great deal on an MX5 and they dont tend to generate the bigger bills that some of your options may well do, you'll also find yourself in a newer car than the others.I know it's a bit cliched and my tongue was firmly in cheek, when I suggested it, however it is a sensible choice
Another one to consider would be an early SLK, even if the build quality isnt quite as good as some Mercs and its not the sportiest of things to drive
Flintstone said:
Just for once I'd like to see the first response to one of these to be "Not a MX-5".
Yes I agree. PH, repetitititiveness matters.OP, so if you are expecting insurance (assuming classic, and you as a driver tick all the boxes) and £500 backup in that figure of 5K, you are looking to spend around 3.5 to 4K on the car itself, yet get your money back after 18 months. Tall order!!
You need something with a bit of meat on it, and an appreciating classic.
I'd have a look at something like this.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2071832.htm
eta, look after it, and that's a 5k motor all day long.
Edited by pacman1 on Monday 27th December 20:02
pacman1 said:
Flintstone said:
Just for once I'd like to see the first response to one of these to be "Not a MX-5".
Yes I agree. PH, repetitititiveness matters.OP, so if you are expecting insurance (assuming classic, and you as a driver tick all the boxes) and £500 backup in that figure of 5K, you are looking to spend around 3.5 to 4K on the car itself, yet get your money back after 18 months. Tall order!!
You need something with a bit of meat on it, and an appreciating classic.
I'd have a look at something like this.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2071832.htm
eta, look after it, and that's a 5k motor all day long.
Edited by pacman1 on Monday 27th December 20:02
TRUENOSAM said:
pacman1 said:
Flintstone said:
Just for once I'd like to see the first response to one of these to be "Not a MX-5".
Yes I agree. PH, repetitititiveness matters.OP, so if you are expecting insurance (assuming classic, and you as a driver tick all the boxes) and £500 backup in that figure of 5K, you are looking to spend around 3.5 to 4K on the car itself, yet get your money back after 18 months. Tall order!!
You need something with a bit of meat on it, and an appreciating classic.
I'd have a look at something like this.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2071832.htm
eta, look after it, and that's a 5k motor all day long.
guys,
Thanks for all your comments so far.
This is great giving me food for thought.
And no answer to left field will consider everything. Lotus 7 Replica not thought of at all.... might have a little nosey around.
As for the Merc/Xjs...again some else I had not considered.
The issue with some cars.... is that so many for sale (over 500 odd boxters on here) that they will only go down in value. Hence why looking for something that buying this time of year or buying the right type of car will see it hold its value.
I'm not looking to cover insurance, running costs etc.... I have run Both a TVR and Porsche and know the pit falls (Cam Belts and Rollers on a Porka 2.5 any one...ouch!!!) just some thing that if I bought for 3k now would be wort, if looked after 3 k at least in the summer 2012 as such. Hence thing like Heralds/Spits....Think they are just starting to climb etc.
Think you could be right with the MX5 but think it will be a struggle to sell. My old Herald I sold within a week, had about 20 phone calls for. Sold at right time of year and bought 18 months before at right time of year.:-)
Keep them coming guys. :-)
Thanks for all your comments so far.
This is great giving me food for thought.
And no answer to left field will consider everything. Lotus 7 Replica not thought of at all.... might have a little nosey around.
As for the Merc/Xjs...again some else I had not considered.
The issue with some cars.... is that so many for sale (over 500 odd boxters on here) that they will only go down in value. Hence why looking for something that buying this time of year or buying the right type of car will see it hold its value.
I'm not looking to cover insurance, running costs etc.... I have run Both a TVR and Porsche and know the pit falls (Cam Belts and Rollers on a Porka 2.5 any one...ouch!!!) just some thing that if I bought for 3k now would be wort, if looked after 3 k at least in the summer 2012 as such. Hence thing like Heralds/Spits....Think they are just starting to climb etc.
Think you could be right with the MX5 but think it will be a struggle to sell. My old Herald I sold within a week, had about 20 phone calls for. Sold at right time of year and bought 18 months before at right time of year.:-)
Keep them coming guys. :-)
slipstream 1985 said:
lotus elan
Have looked and thought about..... but would rather have the TVR S, for me a better looking car, same type of car (Fibre Glass, British, alwyas worried if some thing will fall off!!) but a better experience. My Friend had one and I think they are very very underated cars....great to drive but the TVR just wins for me. RWD, Hairs standing on end etc... :-)The Crack Fox said:
Get something the kids can enjoy with you, 944 cabrio or a Merchant SL for example. Audi cab an easy choice if a bit dull to drive.
I like that thought... and having owned a 924S (with the porka engine)I used to hate porka's before i owned one (long story) but it made me change my mind. Porka 944 cabrio will fit the bill very well but just out the price range...will have to keep a keen eye out. (also think starting to go up in price!!)Audi cab/Saab 900.... i agree. Not dull but not weekend toy enough. With my situation (again another long story) when this car i buy gets sold I will be looking at one of those as a 2nd family car so to speak. (The 900's are seriously cheap for what you get....and super reliable, different, and just great cars!!)
this has been for sale for ages, worth a punt me thinks
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/1747792.htm
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/1747792.htm
Fleckers said:
this has been for sale for ages, worth a punt me thinks
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/1747792.htm
I thought all Mantas were four pot. Thats been rebored to 2.7?? http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/1747792.htm
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