£15k - Anything I've not thought of?

[SteveS Cup]

Hi all,

I bought another R53 Mini Cooper S earlier this year so I could save some money, be finance free etc etc.

I thought (and I did at first!) that I'd love being back in an R53 but I'm now not enjoying it as a daily.

I'm in a good financial position now and I'm looking at something around the £15k mark.

So far, these are the 3 I'm looking at...

Audi TTS Coupe
BMW 135i Coupe
Mini R56 GP

I know these 3 are quite different but I've looked at everything (I think!) other than a Boxster / Cayman.

In terms of running costs the Porsche options worry me along with M3's.

Anything else I'm missing?

[Efbe]

how about looking japanese?

[Dusty964]

A Bentley.
A Supra.
A 944.
An RX8.

Bloody thousands of choices at that price.

[Monkeylegend]

XK Jag
SL Merc
SLK Merc
Lotus Elise
Z4
MX5
Chimaera

[Froomee]

Z4MC or Z4MR

[ZX10R NIN]

G37

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

370Z

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

& if you're considering the GP then you can't not look at the RS265

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

[SteveS Cup]

I should add that I do around 12-15k miles a year, 25mpg would be ideal, I prefer modern stuff, I don't want anything that still has a lot of depreciating to do!

[SteveS Cup]

Froomee said:

Z4MC or Z4MR

Running costs would be my concern... I also fancy a Turbo again. Love the Z4 though and could stretch to a newer one. Not sure I'd get a nice 35i though. Maybe a 28i.

[SteveS Cup]

ZX10R NIN said:

G37

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

370Z

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

& if you're considering the GP then you can't not look at the RS265

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Jap stuff at this price point just doesn't do it for me. It's as if it's trying to be premium but isn't. I'd rather go all out with an Evo. But I won't be doing that!

Same with the Renault. I love RenaultSports and I've had a few Clios but I can help thinking the interiors are a tad budget.

The GP would be a safe investment as well as fun.
I've always wanted a TTS since owning a mk1 TT years ago.
The 135i coupe really appeals as something punching above its weight (although the 1 series dash etc is a tad cheap).

Z4 I think should be added.

Also need to learn more about the boxster/ Cayman to see if they're viable.

[kambites]

Lotus Europa (assuming they haven't gone up [in price since I last looked)?

[ecsrobin]

Abarth 595? A 1.4 turbo and plenty around at that price point.

[johnwilliams77]

kambites said:

Lotus Europa (assuming they haven't gone up [in price since I last looked)?

For 15k PA?

[LayZ]

E46 M3. Right at the bottom of the curve now.

[SteveS Cup]

I can't justify spending that much on an E46 unfortunately. I know it's only going to go up in value but it's going to be costly to maintain and they're a tad dated inside now especially in terms of technology. If it was a weekend toy then I wouldn't care less and my Mini would be rocking my world. But I'm in it everyday sometimes for an hour and a half at a time. It needs to be refined and modern and have creature comforts.

One thing that puts me off the GP is the lack of HK, MFSW and sat nav screen (yes, I'm missing the point of the GP blah blah)!

[DoubleD]

Megane RS

[diehardbenzfan]

I know you said you don't want japanese but how about a Lexus ISF? 5.0 V8, reliable (so I'm told) and rare, prices won't drop, there's never any more than 10 for sale at a time on auto trader, also they would all come with all the equipment you need!

[duckson]

M135i are likely approaching £15k mark now....

[SteveS Cup]

Ended up buying this!







Extremely pleased with it, its the 28i so 0-60 in 5.5 seconds plus an achievable 40mpg apparently! It also has £8k's of optional extras meaning some poor sod has lost over £25k on this in 2 years!

[SteveS Cup]

I've already replaced the aerial with a stubby one and ordered new number plates to get rid of the big motoring world ones!

[DoubleD]

How was your big motoring world buying experience?