Which of these sporty cars is cheapest to run..

Associate
Joined
26 Nov 2002
Posts
859
Looking to change cars pretty soon - had my Fabia vRS for 3 years and would like something (much) better.

So I've been casting my eye over these fine cars:

In no order..

Mazda RX8
BMW 330Cd M Sport
Honda S2000
BMW Z4 (probably 3.0 litre coupe)
350Z

Obviously coming from a Fabia I'm looking at massively increased costs as I'll need to buy, service, insure and Tax/MOT the car etc. What I was wondering was which one of the above would be the cheapest oer the course of a year?

I'm 25, have 3 points (motorway offence - not speeding) live near Guildford and have 3 years no claim bonus. Looking to pick up second hand and would like to stick to max 3 years old although I'm not too fussy - as long as the condition is good I'm game. Probably do around 20,000 miles a year.

I know a few of the cars are very different but I honestly wouldn't mind any of them, again I'm not too fussy! I'm hoping for a few owners to express their opinions too as I'm not too sure that it's easy to say which of the above are cheapest to run over the course of a year.

Also, any other cars I should be looking at?
 
Might not be quite up there with some of them, but you could try casting your eye over the Gen 7 Celica 190's? VVTLi model I belive, or that MAY the be GT version :)
 
Off the top of my head i would hazard a guess at the S2000 being the cheapest to run (insurance aside), RX8 was quite cheap for me when i got a quote, but the problems with them, burning oil, rubbish for short journeys, bad fuel consumption etc really put me off.
 
Wow, thats a surprise to hear.. would have thought that the s2k would be one of the highest in that list! Note, I'm looking for a complete picture though - I'll be taking purchase price/tyres etc etc into consideration so the RX8 will be a massive saving to begin with I'm guessing.

Also any S2k I get would have to be a facelift 04 or later with bodykit!.. older ones just don't do it for me.
 
Its gotta be the 330CD M Sport, surely?

Run, not put fuel in.

I imagine the S2000 is gonna be the highest insurance but main daler servicing isnt too bad. Is also a 236g C02 car which is probably where the BMW will be a fair bit cheaper than all the cars there.
 
S2000 is surprisingly frugal if you ease off the loud pedal a bit but it's probably the most expensive on to insure out of that lot.

RX8 is a nightmare with fuel, oil and possibly servicing (needs a lot of care and attention on your part to avoid early engine rebuilds)
 
Hmm, any other thoughts? Getting put off the RX8 a bit after reading a few threads about the high maintenance but they really do look quite cheap!

Have always wanted an S2000 and if they aren't too bad to run I really would consider it and try to get one. What would they be like compared to say the 330Cd? Again, taking all things into account.
 
330Cd has to be the most ridiculously overpriced car in the history of the entire world ever. Delete it from your list and spend £4000 less on a 330Ci instead.
 
To be honest with the way you worded your thread title are any of these cars suitable? None of them are cheap to run so finding out which is the 'cheapest' to run sounds like the sort of thing you'd do if you were buying something a lot cheaper to run.

Over 20k miles a year all of these cars are going to cost you a significant amount of money in fuel, tax, insurance, servicing, tyres (Most of these cars are £500 a set you'll need tyres at least once a year probably less) and repair costs.
 
They are all going to be very costly relative to a standard run-around, especially your 1.9 tdi fabia. If you are worried about the running costs I wouldn't even bother. Buy one of those cars if you know you can afford to run it, otherwise I'd settle for a decent intermediary.

EDIT: basically what fox said :)
 
I was thinking about getting an RX8 but after reading reviews and stuff ive been put of hugely...ragardless of how cheap, sexy and fast it is...

Anyone got any opinions on the 99 - 06 Toyota Celica 190 standard or t-sport?

Or anymore recomendations for a sporty coupe? (6k spending limit) without being OVERLY flashy.
 
Sime: MX5 - sorry but someone had to suggest it, especially at this budget! :)

Nah not intertested in the MX5 mate...Not butch enough :p

Ive been looking at the 99 - 06 BMW 3 Series coupe...The 330i SE, 320i SE and 328i SE. All seems pretty nippy and look superb...Theres a lot of BMW fanatics at OcUK which is the best model to look at?

Also bumping my last post :p

I was thinking about getting an RX8 but after reading reviews and stuff ive been put of hugely...ragardless of how cheap, sexy and fast it is...

Anyone got any opinions on the 99 - 06 Toyota Celica 190 standard or t-sport?

Or anymore recomendations for a sporty coupe? (6k spending limit) without being OVERLY flashy.

I wait eagerly in the morning to hear you replys! :D
 
Last edited:
I was thinking about getting an RX8 but after reading reviews and stuff ive been put of hugely...ragardless of how cheap, sexy and fast it is...

Don't be put off by reviews, it's an awesome drivers car. You've just got the wrong opinion of it if you think it's cheap :p
 
Back
Top Bottom