10k, but must appreciate weekend toy?
Discussion
I've made money on ALL the Westfields I've owned. Their price is largely determined by the spec, and largely the engine, and that just doesn't change, and, mileage is just irrelivant. Owning 3 Westies largely paid for the TVR Griff I bought at the end of my Westie time.
Be a patient buyer, buy low, enjoy, and sell high. There is always someone that needs one "gone" and will take sensible money.
Be a patient buyer, buy low, enjoy, and sell high. There is always someone that needs one "gone" and will take sensible money.
Porsche 944 Convertible
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303155...
Mazda RX-7 Convertible
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/256408820187
Early MX-5
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202308170...
AW11 MR-2
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202402016...
Nissan 350Z
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202403087...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303155...
Mazda RX-7 Convertible
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/256408820187
Early MX-5
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202308170...
AW11 MR-2
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202402016...
Nissan 350Z
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202403087...
I reckon a BMW Z4 (especially the coupe) 3.0 manual is a good shout.
To be honest if you spend £10k and it's worth (say) £8k in 3 years time then that'd be a result. Unless you buy really poorly and/or the market crashes you're unlikely to lose too much (in cash terms) on a £10k car that has already done most of its depreciating. Just buy something interesting (as you say, manual, large capacity, more than 4 cylinders) privately following a good amount of research, job done.
ETA - also perhaps time the sale/purchase well e.g. buy a convertible in winter, sell in spring, or vice versa for a 4x4.
To be honest if you spend £10k and it's worth (say) £8k in 3 years time then that'd be a result. Unless you buy really poorly and/or the market crashes you're unlikely to lose too much (in cash terms) on a £10k car that has already done most of its depreciating. Just buy something interesting (as you say, manual, large capacity, more than 4 cylinders) privately following a good amount of research, job done.
ETA - also perhaps time the sale/purchase well e.g. buy a convertible in winter, sell in spring, or vice versa for a 4x4.
Edited by _Neal_ on Sunday 10th March 22:28
_Neal_ said:
I reckon a BMW Z4 (especially the coupe) 3.0 manual is a good shout.
To be honest if you spend £10k and it's worth (say) £8k in 3 years time then that'd be a result. Unless you buy really poorly and/or the market crashes you're unlikely to lose too much (in cash terms) on a £10k car that has already done most of its depreciating. Just buy something interesting (as you say, manual, large capacity, more than 4 cylinders) privately following a good amount of research, job done.
It’s a good shout. When you’re looking at ££ over 4 years for a £10k weekender, depreciation would be minimal. To be honest if you spend £10k and it's worth (say) £8k in 3 years time then that'd be a result. Unless you buy really poorly and/or the market crashes you're unlikely to lose too much (in cash terms) on a £10k car that has already done most of its depreciating. Just buy something interesting (as you say, manual, large capacity, more than 4 cylinders) privately following a good amount of research, job done.
So buy the one you like.
_Neal_ said:
I reckon a BMW Z4 (especially the coupe) 3.0 manual is a good shout.
To be honest if you spend £10k and it's worth (say) £8k in 3 years time then that'd be a result. Unless you buy really poorly and/or the market crashes you're unlikely to lose too much (in cash terms) on a £10k car that has already done most of its depreciating. Just buy something interesting (as you say, manual, large capacity, more than 4 cylinders) privately following a good amount of research, job done.
ETA - also perhaps time the sale/purchase well e.g. buy a convertible in winter, sell in spring, or vice versa for a 4x4.
I bought a manual Z4 Coupe in 2014 for £9,600. Put 8,000 miles on it and sold in 2016 for £10,000. To be honest if you spend £10k and it's worth (say) £8k in 3 years time then that'd be a result. Unless you buy really poorly and/or the market crashes you're unlikely to lose too much (in cash terms) on a £10k car that has already done most of its depreciating. Just buy something interesting (as you say, manual, large capacity, more than 4 cylinders) privately following a good amount of research, job done.
ETA - also perhaps time the sale/purchase well e.g. buy a convertible in winter, sell in spring, or vice versa for a 4x4.
Edited by _Neal_ on Sunday 10th March 22:28
But I missed it so much I bought another (higher mileage example) less than a week later for £8,600. Took a bath on that when I sold it 14,000 miles later for £6,400 in early 2020, then prices rocketed post-lockdown. I'd probably have got what I paid for it if I still had it, so over the long-term they seem a fairly safe bet although I bought them because I liked them regardless of whether they'd hold their value.
It wasn't a disaster though because I'd bought a Z4M Coupe in December 2019 for a price I couldn't resist.
Anything with 6 cylinders, 2 seats, a manual box and RWD like these and Nissan Zs looks like a safe bet.
But you have to like it too!
I had a similar idea a few years ago and bought a 2006 Porsche Boxster for £10,500.
Recently sold it after two and a half years and 10,000 miles for £8000.
I was happy enough with a £2500 loss but the problem was the £5,500 I spent maintaining it in that time!
On reflection I think I slightly overpaid and could have waited more into the spring to sell it for a bit more but got impatient as I had a new car coming.
What is hard to predict is the maintenance costs of a 10 to 20 year old sports car.
Maybe something Japanese (GT86, 350Z?) or more mainstream (Z4?) would be less likely to throw up big bills.
Recently sold it after two and a half years and 10,000 miles for £8000.
I was happy enough with a £2500 loss but the problem was the £5,500 I spent maintaining it in that time!
On reflection I think I slightly overpaid and could have waited more into the spring to sell it for a bit more but got impatient as I had a new car coming.
What is hard to predict is the maintenance costs of a 10 to 20 year old sports car.
Maybe something Japanese (GT86, 350Z?) or more mainstream (Z4?) would be less likely to throw up big bills.
Not sure.
There are a lot of such cars about, and as we move further towards all the EV stuff, quite likely fewer people interested.
There are 40,000 cars over 300BHP on autotrader,half of them under 5 years old.
I don't think £10k powerful cars will be in short supply in a few years.
You could look for models which you think have 'bottomed out' in value, but don't forget the cost of keeping one in good fettle for 4 years.
I expect thee will be winners and losers, but I couldn't be sure of picking a winner.
It's not so bad if you buy a powerful car and it earns its keep as weekday transport.
Your 300BHP all rounder might end up with more residual value than a 'sensible' car.
But I think there will be ample cheap powerful IC cars in 5 years time.
There are a lot of such cars about, and as we move further towards all the EV stuff, quite likely fewer people interested.
There are 40,000 cars over 300BHP on autotrader,half of them under 5 years old.
I don't think £10k powerful cars will be in short supply in a few years.
You could look for models which you think have 'bottomed out' in value, but don't forget the cost of keeping one in good fettle for 4 years.
I expect thee will be winners and losers, but I couldn't be sure of picking a winner.
It's not so bad if you buy a powerful car and it earns its keep as weekday transport.
Your 300BHP all rounder might end up with more residual value than a 'sensible' car.
But I think there will be ample cheap powerful IC cars in 5 years time.
Depends on what you want a toy for, track days or just a Sunday car for fun/cruise about in. Anyway, some thoughts....
Vauxhall VX220 - 2.2 variant may just be in budget
Vauxhall Monaro - higher miles 6.0 might be possible
Toyota GT86 - Doubt these will get much or any cheaper
Toyota MR2 SW20 - beams or Turbo if lucky
Nissan 200SX - Seen these around the £10k mark, would be safe at this money
Nissan 350Z - Must have bottomed out
BMW Z4 3.0si - As above
Ford Mustang - Mid 00's will be achievable in budget
Vauxhall VX220 - 2.2 variant may just be in budget
Vauxhall Monaro - higher miles 6.0 might be possible
Toyota GT86 - Doubt these will get much or any cheaper
Toyota MR2 SW20 - beams or Turbo if lucky
Nissan 200SX - Seen these around the £10k mark, would be safe at this money
Nissan 350Z - Must have bottomed out
BMW Z4 3.0si - As above
Ford Mustang - Mid 00's will be achievable in budget
CarlosSainz100 said:
I'd get a MK1 mx5.
The problem with your idea is even if your car appreciates, it won't have appreciated enough to cover the running costs of say a Boxster or 944 or any BMW Z car.
An MX-5 is cheap as chips to run and a MK1 won't lose any money
Edit : as long as it's not rusty!
Each to their own, but with £10k to spend on a weekend toy I wouldn't even consider an MX-5. £5k maybe but I just don't "want" one, even if they are cheap to run, which as you say if they are rusty they won't be.The problem with your idea is even if your car appreciates, it won't have appreciated enough to cover the running costs of say a Boxster or 944 or any BMW Z car.
An MX-5 is cheap as chips to run and a MK1 won't lose any money
Edit : as long as it's not rusty!
Elises are not in budget any more, non-turbo VX220s (as above) just about are.
I've made a small profit on a few old cars (i.e. 15 yrs old +, like a TVR, a Honda Prelude, Fiat Tempra yes 
) and the one that I should have maybe kept a little longer was the 350Z GT (metallic grey with the burnt orange seats, there's an 'official' name for it but can't remember it). I bought a 2005 model with 65k miles on it for £5250 in December 2016.
3k miles and 16 months later, I sold it for £5700 and it went fast. A service and attention to rear wheel arches were needed in my time as well the YouTube research on getting the airbag light to turn off. In fact, it was quite poor underneath and on the inner wings. I raised it on here and many said they'd had no issues with corrosion on 350Zs, but I had! The fact that there are so many grey imports shows you that people think it worth getting them, much like the MX5 in the 90s. Heavy car but great fun, and it'd be worth about £2k more 8yrs later! I've toyed with the idea of a 370Z but the road tax puts me off (2006-2017), its likely supposed to!
) and the one that I should have maybe kept a little longer was the 350Z GT (metallic grey with the burnt orange seats, there's an 'official' name for it but can't remember it). I bought a 2005 model with 65k miles on it for £5250 in December 2016.3k miles and 16 months later, I sold it for £5700 and it went fast. A service and attention to rear wheel arches were needed in my time as well the YouTube research on getting the airbag light to turn off. In fact, it was quite poor underneath and on the inner wings. I raised it on here and many said they'd had no issues with corrosion on 350Zs, but I had! The fact that there are so many grey imports shows you that people think it worth getting them, much like the MX5 in the 90s. Heavy car but great fun, and it'd be worth about £2k more 8yrs later! I've toyed with the idea of a 370Z but the road tax puts me off (2006-2017), its likely supposed to!
Bought a 2.7 Boxster in January 2022 for £6500.
Sold the hard top off it for £700 which brought the cost for me down to £5800.
Sold the car in April 2023 for £5400 on motorway after getting no interest privately so I guess it cost me £400 to own it but in my ownership I spent at least £1000 on maintenance. I didn't really gel with the car too much in the end, I did take it on a road trip to the Nurburgring and Spa though so thankful for the memories there
Sold the hard top off it for £700 which brought the cost for me down to £5800.
Sold the car in April 2023 for £5400 on motorway after getting no interest privately so I guess it cost me £400 to own it but in my ownership I spent at least £1000 on maintenance. I didn't really gel with the car too much in the end, I did take it on a road trip to the Nurburgring and Spa though so thankful for the memories there
Looked after then i dont think any six pot bmw cab with a manual gearbox wont hold its value reasonably and be reasonably cheap to run eg z4, 1 series, 3 series.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2024022569...
I had a boxster 2.5 previously, much under rated car,but with complexity and high parts prices. 99 or earlier or 2010 on is suggested. Early 2.5 engines howl. Suspension can get tired. Lots of ims / bore score horror story's from 00-09.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2024022569...
I had a boxster 2.5 previously, much under rated car,but with complexity and high parts prices. 99 or earlier or 2010 on is suggested. Early 2.5 engines howl. Suspension can get tired. Lots of ims / bore score horror story's from 00-09.
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