Paralysis by Analysis

[Hairdresser1]

I started looking for the following:

£25k budget, convertible, 4 seats, petrol, auto, nice sound, comfortable, ideally 300hp+, sensible running costs.

Within 100 miles of me the shortlist is:

M240i, E93 M3, B8.5 S5, E64 M6, F12 650i, XK8 4.2s, B7 S4 (1/3 of budget), SL600, XK 5.0 V8

I'm guessing low running costs will remove the Jags, the Merc and both 6 series variants.

The sensible option on paper is M240i but the interior is bland, I don't really like the write ups in terms of handling/ride and the price of circa £24k for 2018, 35k miles is off putting given prices last year.

My heart is with the E93 M3, but will this really be low running costs?

In terms of the S5, I have owned an RS Audi of the same era and it became a unreliable money pit which I gladly saw the back of after spending thousands in repairs over 3 years. So this makes me reluctant.

The frustration of shopping for something in the current market, combined with the already inflated prices North of the wall is putting me off buying anything but I have the money sitting there burning a hole and need to scratch the itch.

What would people recommend?

[SWoll]

The V8 M3 Convertible still looks decent value for the minute IMHO

Not going to be cheap to run but a good one should hold its value pretty well, certainly better than an M240i. A 2013 LE500 with <50k miles should be possible in budget.

[ZX10R NIN]

A V8 M3 won't be cheap to run but it'll keep it's value more strongly than a 340i.

M4 this will involve a budget stretch but these are less likely to give you less borkage than the V8 M3:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202204244...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202204275...

E400 very good cars often overlooked but well worth a test drive:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202202102...