Have £30K to spend on a new car..... What would you recommend...

[Gaspode]

Only me and the current Mrs Gaspode.
Elise/ Exige and Sevens too clumsy to get in / out.
Subaru and Evo a bit too garish...

So...  help a petrolhead select his next set of wheels.
What would you buy/ recommend.

Cheers
Gaspode

[mgmark]

Pre-owned/second hand, however you wish to put it - more for your money with all that initial depreciation out of the way.

For reliability - Porsche - good range at that price.
For style - Aston Martins are within reach at that

MG Mark

[johnny waring]

You Can't go wrong with a Lotus Elise

[nickliv]

How about a really nice classic, that way you can get nearly all of your money back when you sell it again.

[Lorry]

Honda S2000 (I had to agree with Clarkson eventually)

or a Landrover Freelander TD4, or a Subaru Legacy

[Chris24]

Personally if i had 30 K to spare on a new motor , then it would be an Audi A4 Avant S Line quattro 2.0 TDi. In metallic black paint.

Had one as a hire car in France and we were all fighting to take turns at driving it. Handled real well with traction control taking over if you pushed too hard and its also pretty fast  with 170 HP.

Never been in a car that turned so many peoples heads where ever we went in it. Even had people taking photos of it as we drove by.

You would still have some change left to spend as well.

Now if only I had £30 grand !

[TobyAnscombe]

In a very similar position - me and mrs Toby only, she wants a soft top sports car that she can just drive and not worry about starting in the morning (aka she loves my very heavily modified MG Midget) and wants something that drives as well, looks fantastic and has practical touches like a boot!

So far the 350z in the GT guise is winning - last years model comes in at about 27k before trade in, cheap to maintain (Nissan!), looks good although the boot is a little on the small side.

Off to 911-Virgins this morning to look at Boxsters and older 911's; I have driven loads of them and know how good they are but also know how expensive the services will be...

Audi TT is the other choice but I think that there are far to many of them on the road and dont really stand out.

The S2000 would have been a natural choice other than I am 6'4" and its a bit of a squeeze to get in

Much as I would love another classic its her car and thus it needs to work all the time! Will be watching this thread with interest

[Lazy B'stard]

If you scratched around and you were lucky you might just find a nice tidy Lancia Aurelia B20 for that money (save £1k for a tatty shopping car Heavenly

[Nobby Diesel]

No question - 911 every time.

There are so many 996's available at the moment, and some great 993's. You'd pick up a lovely 993 targa for that money.

Service cost is not prohititive at all. Over  3 to 4 years, I defy you to find a cheaper car to run and own, especially when you consider what you should get back for it if you are sensible with it.

Good luck.

[termietermite]

Pure speculation 'cos it's never going to happen to me but I'm with Nobby.  The best 911 you can afford.
Fun, reliable and low depreciation.  What else are you looking for in a car?

[Lazy B'stard]

A mate and regular Lemanser is looking for a nice E30 M3. After months of looking i showed him a mint 3 0 SC that i had in last week. Altho he agreed that a 911 would be a great choice for his money, he said that the 400+ 911's at the classic puts him off. Its a victim of its own popularity in his eyes. Its a good point. I'd love a 72 RS in orange tho' tricky!

[termietermite]

You have to ask yourself why there are so many of them though...

[Lazy B'stard]

Personally i love them, that shape, the lovely engine note, nothing faster across country and day to day usable-a complete package. But 30k is a lot of money (for me anyway) i would have to find something a little more special, more soulful.

[TobyAnscombe]

Here's the problem - I love the 993 shape and all that the cars entail however SWMBO (and is going to be the real owner!) is not too keen....

She was well taken by the Boxsters though and I had to stop her putting a deposit down on the first one that we saw (about a '99 for 16K). From hunting about through AutoTrader a nice 2002 or later 3.2 will stand us at about 23k with FSH and leave a substantial wedge for track days and a second trip to France in September (down to THE BRIDGE, off into Monaco, Italy and back up via Germany - hence the track day training as she loved the track days she has done in the Mighty Midge....)

Lots of years funding her qualifying as a serious lawyer is finally paying off.....

And she loves LM and will be joining us again this year - although subject to another thread....

[Nobby Diesel]

Personally i love them, that shape, the lovely engine note, nothing faster across country and day to day usable-a complete package. But 30k is a lot of money (for me anyway) i would have to find something a little more special, more soulful.

Yes, perhaps. But the 911 will start every time, even after being left outside in the rain.

Also, it's a safe bet that the company will still be around in a years time.

Driving to Europe? Dealers and support all over the world.



whilst the 911 might not be too special or soulful, it's a wonderful car and a pleasure to own.