Summer/weekend/project car for max £10k

[bennettse2025]

Please excuse what will be a long post.

I'm finally in the market for a car that will only be used on dry summer weekends to ferry me to the pub, to car shows and on the occasional summer road trip. Unfortunately I'm a bit stuck. I've provided below a list of criteria for the car, and some models that have made the long-list. I'd really appreciate if anyone could either provide their thoughts on my current long-list and help narrow it down or add some to the long-list I haven't considered. Given this is a second motor (actually a third if you add in my other half's car), I don't mind having a bit of a fixer up-er. In fact, I'm going to use this car as an opportunity to learn some basic spannering. Also not too concerned about running costs given it will be used sparingly and I'll be (trying) to do as much as I can myself (under the supervision of my father in law who actually knows what he's doing). I'll also be making some very minor modifications after a year or two of ownership. Likely stiffer springs, lighter alloys, intake, exhaust etc. Nothing crazy. So decent aftermarket support is a plus. I've already done some research and found that all brands listed below have independent specialists within a 10 mile radius of where I live. The car will be garaged at all times and kept out of the rain, so rust isn't too much of a concern, but I want to be starting from a good position! No rust buckets!

Criteria:
- Budget of max £10k
- Petrol
- Automatic (due to a serious back issue and even more serious surgery on my spine, I can no longer drive a manual)
- Saloon, Coupe or hardtop convertible
- Room for a 6'3'' driver not to develop back pain after an hour (I've sat in a MX-5 and that's a no go for me. This is also why hatchbacks are out)
- High displacement. Ideally a V8 (never had one before). No less than a V6
- Ideally RWD
- Nothing too modern (think max early 2000's. I grew up around boxy 90s/early 00s motors and I love them. Time to chase my youth).
- Must be able to put a smile on my face when I get in it (I don't want a track demon, or a supercar, just something that's worth keeping as a garaged summer car)

Shortlist:

- Mercedes SL500 R129. Pros: V8, gorgeous, convertible for sunny days; Cons: 10k gets me in the cheapest ones out there. Could be buying a lemon

- Mercedes E55 AMG W210. Pros: V8, autobahn monster, never had a AMG; Cons: As above with the SL500

- Mercedes CL55 AMG W215. Pros: As above but cheaper than the E55; Cons: would I be constantly thinking "should've got the E class". Is it more fun to drive? Why are they cheaper?

- Jaguar S-Type R. Pros: V8, I like the looks, they're quite rare, and wow they're cheap. Cons: what's the catch? I don't know anything about Jags

- BMW 540i E39. Pros: Cheap, tons of aftermarket support; Cons: I'll spend my entire time thinking "I wish this was a M5"

- BMW 740i E38. Pros: Best looking BMW ever made other than the 2002, also very cheap; Cons: is it too much of a barge? Are they fun to drive?

- BMW 840i E31. Pros: Pop up headlights!, very good looking, a bit different; Cons: cheapest ones are top of my budget.

- VW Passat R36. Pros: Pretty rare these days, very good looking, sound great; Cons: V6, and is it too modern?, also AWD, also cheapest ones are top of my budget

I'm drawn towards the Mercs. That's because when I was growing up, my dad had a few from this era. I think in an ideal world I'd like an AMG, but I'm very concerned that the top of my budget is only gonna get me in something rougher than a junkie's carpet. Am I just asking for a headache at that price?

Final note. I'll be buying in a few months time, not right now. I'm trying to do as much research as possible. I know I need to test drive these cars, but they aren't readily available near me. So I'd like to whittle the list down to two or three and then go test driving before pulling the trigger when I get back from my holidays at the beginning of October.

Thanks in advance!

[SteveStrange]

Having had an E, I don't think you would ever think a CL was a lesser option. However, I wouldn't touch another E (or anything more complicated like a CL) at lower-end market money. It was the most unreliable car I've ever owned (and I've had Citroens and Vauxhalls). But they are fantastic when they are working.

Cheaper 911 (996 flavour)? Easy to work on (engine aside), great aftermarket support, and if used sparingly will give you the wow factor. Old enough to be cheap on insurance, good on fuel, relatively speaking, and tyres and brakes etc are not ruinous. Biased, but I don't regret buying mine.

[bennettse2025]

SteveStrange said:

Having had an E, I don't think you would ever think a CL was a lesser option. However, I wouldn't touch another E (or anything more complicated like a CL) at lower-end market money. It was the most unreliable car I've ever owned (and I've had Citroens and Vauxhalls). But they are fantastic when they are working.

Cheaper 911 (996 flavour)? Easy to work on (engine aside), great aftermarket support, and if used sparingly will give you the wow factor. Old enough to be cheap on insurance, good on fuel, relatively speaking, and tyres and brakes etc are not ruinous. Biased, but I don't regret buying mine.

This is good to know, and validates my concerns about spending all my budget on the cheapest E/CL out there.

Re the 911 - I never even thought about it. I just assumed I wouldn't be able to afford one (silly me). Adding to the list for research. Is this the generation that had issues with the IMS bearing?

[SteveStrange]

bennettse2025 said:

SteveStrange said:

Having had an E, I don't think you would ever think a CL was a lesser option. However, I wouldn't touch another E (or anything more complicated like a CL) at lower-end market money. It was the most unreliable car I've ever owned (and I've had Citroens and Vauxhalls). But they are fantastic when they are working.

Cheaper 911 (996 flavour)? Easy to work on (engine aside), great aftermarket support, and if used sparingly will give you the wow factor. Old enough to be cheap on insurance, good on fuel, relatively speaking, and tyres and brakes etc are not ruinous. Biased, but I don't regret buying mine.

This is good to know, and validates my concerns about spending all my budget on the cheapest E/CL out there.

Re the 911 - I never even thought about it. I just assumed I wouldn't be able to afford one (silly me). Adding to the list for research. Is this the generation that had issues with the IMS bearing?

Yes - but generally, if it was going to go, it would have gone by now. Mine is on 156k miles and still going strong. Budget may be slightly tricky, but mine cost me less than £9k 3 years ago, needed some minor work, so they are out there.

eg:

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/13719929

High-ish miles (but 24 years old, so in reality less than 6k miles/yr), and 4wd, but I wouldn't be afraid of it.

[fflump]

A nice Italian V8 (F136). With a choice of the Pininfarina-designed Quattroporte or the Giugiaro-designed Coupe Cambiocorsa.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202201131...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207217...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202204094...

[bennettse2025]

fflump said:

A nice Italian V8 (F136). With a choice of the Pininfarina-designed Quattroporte or the Giugiaro-designed Coupe Cambiocorsa.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202201131...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207217...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202204094...

Holy moly those are some low mileage examples. The long-list is getting longer!

[bennettse2025]

SteveStrange said:

Yes - but generally, if it was going to go, it would have gone by now. Mine is on 156k miles and still going strong. Budget may be slightly tricky, but mine cost me less than £9k 3 years ago, needed some minor work, so they are out there.

eg:

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/13719929

High-ish miles (but 24 years old, so in reality less than 6k miles/yr), and 4wd, but I wouldn't be afraid of it.

That is worth serious consideration. Onto the list it goes.

[fflump]

bennettse2025 said:

fflump said:

A nice Italian V8 (F136). With a choice of the Pininfarina-designed Quattroporte or the Giugiaro-designed Coupe Cambiocorsa.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202201131...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207217...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202204094...

Holy moly those are some low mileage examples. The long-list is getting longer!

I've owned a Coupe Cambiocorsa (which cost me £9k) and the n/a V8 is a peach. The Mark V QP is the high-point for that model design-wise if you prefer a saloon setup.

[DodgyGeezer]

C4 Corvette would seem to tick a lot of boxes - and you can get good ones for your budget, I believe that the C5's start showing up @ £13/£14k mark.

There are a couple of Corvette threads in the Reader's cars section and the advantage with some 'crude' bit of Americana is that they are mechanically (relatively!) easy to fix and service items are cheap. Obviously you'd have to cope with LHD - but in all honesty after about 10 minutes it's easy

[bennettse2025]

DodgyGeezer said:

C4 Corvette would seem to tick a lot of boxes - and you can get good ones for your budget, I believe that the C5's start showing up @ £13/£14k mark.

There are a couple of Corvette threads in the Reader's cars section and the advantage with some 'crude' bit of Americana is that they are mechanically (relatively!) easy to fix and service items are cheap. Obviously you'd have to cope with LHD - but in all honesty after about 10 minutes it's easy

I'm a huge American car fan. When I started out on this process of finding a summer car, I immediately went to my dream vehicles (50s F series trucks, Chevy Stepside trucks, Mk1 Mustangs etc.) and quickly realised they are well out of budget. So I gave up on the American dream. If corvettes are in play then they're a contender for sure. LHD doesn't scare me. Done plenty of European road trips in a RHD car.

Edited by bennettse2025 on Tuesday 2nd August 11:32

[bennettse2025]

fflump said:

I've owned a Coupe Cambiocorsa (which cost me £9k) and the n/a V8 is a peach. The Mark V QP is the high-point for that model design-wise if you prefer a saloon setup.

I personally think the coupe looks better. Though that cream interior on the saloon is speaking to me. A bugger to keep clean I imagine.

[SteveStrange]

bennettse2025 said:

DodgyGeezer said:

C4 Corvette would seem to tick a lot of boxes - and you can get good ones for your budget, I believe that the C5's start showing up @ £13/£14k mark.

There are a couple of Corvette threads in the Reader's cars section and the advantage with some 'crude' bit of Americana is that they are mechanically (relatively!) easy to fix and service items are cheap. Obviously you'd have to cope with LHD - but in all honesty after about 10 minutes it's easy

I'm a huge American car fan. When I started out on this process of finding a summer car, I immediately went to my dream vehicles (50s F series trucks, Chevy Stepside trucks, Mk1 Mustangs etc.) and quickly realised they are well out of budget. So I gave up on the American dream. If corvettes are in play then they're a contender for sure. RHD doesn't scare me. Done plenty of European road trips in a LHD car.

White with a red stripe and pretend you're Face from the A Team. Awesome.

[Llew]

Here's my suggestion

Maser Quattroporte - Get a later one with the ZF rather than a Cambio... Absolutely amazing cars for the money and not as unreliable as the internet would have you believe. Simply stonking V8 loveliness and hard to beat at the price point

C215 CL 55K, CL600K or simply a CL 500 which in itself is a superb car... In a completely different league to an E Class
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6MpGeEVx_I

Jaguar XK - A beast of a car and great value, £10k should get you a reasonably specced 2008 ish (possibly even an XKR)

I've owned all of the above (except in the case of the Maser it was a Granturismo with the same engine and box) and would vouch for any of them

[bennettse2025]

Llew said:

Here's my suggestion

Maser Quattroporte - Get a later one with the ZF rather than a Cambio... Absolutely amazing cars for the money and not as unreliable as the internet would have you believe. Simply stonking V8 loveliness and hard to beat at the price point

C215 CL 55K, CL600K or simply a CL 500 which in itself is a superb car... In a completely different league to an E Class
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6MpGeEVx_I

Jaguar XK - A beast of a car and great value, £10k should get you a reasonably specced 2008 ish (possibly even an XKR)

I've owned all of the above (except in the case of the Maser it was a Granturismo with the same engine and box) and would vouch for any of them

Talk to me about the 55k. Is the extra you'd pay for the AMG badge worth it? Is it more of an event over the 500?

[Llew]

bennettse2025 said:

Talk to me about the 55k. Is the extra you'd pay for the AMG badge worth it? Is it more of an event over the 500?

Its not the AMG badsge you should care about. The engine is ferocious and the equipment level is alot higher!

Most CL 500's have vinyl "leather look" doors and dash and an ordinary headlining fabric and a crappy vinyl steering wheel hornpad. This makes the interior feel fairly average.

In the CL 55 Komp and CL 600 Bi Turbo you get alcantara headlining and nappa leather everywhere, also you get cooled seats and a few other toys. It makes a huge difference to how the cabin feels. That and the frankly unbelievable performance makes it worth the extra cash... ! You need to study carefully and learn to spot nappa, cooled seats etc on advert photographs to make sure the standard CL's have the spec you want.

[bennettse2025]

Llew said:

Its not the AMG badsge you should care about. The engine is ferocious and the equipment level is alot higher!

Most CL 500's have vinyl "leather look" doors and dash and an ordinary headlining fabric and a crappy vinyl steering wheel hornpad. This makes the interior feel fairly average.

In the CL 55 Komp and CL 600 Bi Turbo you get alcantara headlining and nappa leather everywhere, also you get cooled seats and a few other toys. It makes a huge difference to how the cabin feels. That and the frankly unbelievable performance makes it worth the extra cash... ! You need to study carefully and learn to spot nappa, cooled seats etc on advert photographs to make sure the standard CL's have the spec you want.

Thanks! The CL is looking increasingly tempting. Lovely looking thing and so so much car for the money

[coldel]

Slightly left field of all the options so far, but a Nissan 350z? Early 2000s design, RWD, V6 obviously and come in auto. Still look fantastic for a 20 year old design.

[Llew]

bennettse2025 said:

Thanks! The CL is looking increasingly tempting. Lovely looking thing and so so much car for the money

No worries Now go and test drive one!

[bennettse2025]

coldel said:

Slightly left field of all the options so far, but a Nissan 350z? Early 2000s design, RWD, V6 obviously and come in auto. Still look fantastic for a 20 year old design.

They're lovely looking things but I thought they only came in manual?

[Ash_]

How about an SLK350, you can't quite stretch to the SLK55, but this wouldn't be too much of a slouch.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207087...

or the cheapest 911 on autotrader (brave pill required)
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207298...