Used convertible - £15-£18k

alex24

alex24

alex24

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What would anyone suggest?

My old man is after a sports car (may well be a mid life crisis) and has been looking for ages, but it's been mainly at a 911.

Only requirements are that it is convertible and that there is some boot space. More than a Z4 though (unfortunately!). A 'hard' top convertible is preferred too, over a soft one. Not sure how to properly describe that.

Now 911's (more specifically 993's) have gone up in price a lot and are probably a little too basic inside for him, despite me saying they're proper cars, though I wouldn't have the drop top versions tbh.

He's looking at the SL350 around 53 plate atm, but I need to convince him it's underpowered and the economy isn't that much better compared to the SL500. :p

Anything else that we should consider? As above, Z4 seemed like a good option, but it's a little too small. Quite open to cheaper options too.

Anyone with an SL350 - what are the running costs like?
 
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Sorry, should read 53. I'll change that. It is pushing the budget, hence asking for alternatives.

Some 54 examples may be available for a shade under £20k. There's a tiny amount of flexibility in budget but not too much tbh.

Any suggestions?
 
It depends what he wants. The only thing a Z4 and an SL350 have in common is the fact the roof comes off. One is a hard riding sports car, the other is a fantastic GT car. The SL running costs are considerably more than a Z4 as its a more complex car with air suspension (Actually did the 350's have that?) etc etc.
 
I think at this point he's just seeing what's out there. The only stipulations on what it can be are above, but the Z4 was my suggestion as I regard it as much more of a drivers car than the SL350, which is more of a cruising GT.

I think the SL350 didn't have air suspension, that might be the SL500.

Assume the options are open - it can be more of a sports car if it has enough boot space , though those things don't often go hand in hand.

I think a GT might suit him better though, he's probably past wanting what I suggest. I just want to know if there's any decent alternatives that haven't occurred to me yet. If it's a nice enough sports car in budget, may well be able to sway him one way or the other.
 
Volvo C70?
I can't really think of much else with a folding hard top that isn't scraping the bottom of the pile.
The alternative of course is to get something with a folding soft top and buy a hardtop for the winter months.
 
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Hmmm, I will suggest the Volvo, never really thought about that. Plenty roomy, though what about engine options? Is there a best one to get for the most fun? It may be a bit too removed from a sports/GT car for him.
 
There's the SLK too, which can be had for your budget, but it might be too small.

The C70 has a 2.4 with 170bhp, the T5 with over 200 and then the D5 diesel..
Although I've never driven, 'fun' probably won't be the word to describe it.
Unless it's going to be his daily, the T5 is probably the best choice.
 
I'd definately pick the Volvo if.... I was escaping from an axe murderer and it was the only working car left in the world.
 
The SLK 350 might fit the bill. Budget seems to allow around 2004 models, but I have no idea about how good a car that is. It is borderline too small, but could work.

It won't be a daily, no. Just weekends and the occasional weekend away.

He really liked this, whereas I think stretching to something like this or a bit older (and in budget!) would be a lot better car. Though I have a feeling the cost of ownership may be a lot worse.

I'm thinking the C70 might not be exciting enough now.
 
Your Dad sounds like he was in exactly the same position as mine.

He is now in love with his Z4. He actually goes out 'for a drive' and everything :D
 
Yes, I'm going to try and make him at least give one a test drive so that he might come round to my way of thinking. Can you fit golf clubs in one? That gives me a good bargaining chip :p

Sticking with the german theme, what about the Boxster? I've never been that fond (always perceived them as the poor chaps 911), but how good are the more recent ones in budget? The Cayman is just a bit too expensive atm unfortunately, where it otherwise would have been a very fun choice.
 
We had an 05 SL350 for a few months, felt longer than that in retrospect. It really is a disappointing car in the fact it doesn't do anything with any real conviction or panache. The ride is too stiff for a cruising GT and the V6 struggles with the box ratios and weight of the car, to the point where it'll feel breathless when you least want it to. There's also distinct flavour of vagueness about the whole package with tangible throttle delay,numb steering and the manual mode on the box is **** poor. It's a very, very difficult car to love or justify if you have driven a SL500 or SL55, it's a frustratingly wooly posing tank.

The party-trick roof is pretty impressive though, especially with the panoramic glass option. The downside is the mechanism is heavy and expensive and seal problems are not unheard of and not cheap to rectify.

I can't give you a better idea of running costs as it wasn't with us for long but it certainly didn't have any ace up it's sleeve with fantastic fuel consumption or £25 brake pads to exonerate itself.

I'd personally avoid like the plague unless you move up the range when the car is transformed with a better ride, transmission and engine. Z4 / Boxsters are better cars, different brief but worth investigating, whilst the SL350 is not, unless your dad is a heavily sedated paraplegic fan of boulevard cruising.

alexhull24 said:
... (always perceived them as the poor chaps 911)...
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Oooh...get you, riding into the valley of death without a care in the world.
 
Thanks for that. Had a feeling this was the case anyway with the SL350, but considering he currently drives a Ford Galaxy Familymobile, it's still a massive upgrade. I do think you can do better for the money.

Oooh...get you, riding into the valley of death without a care in the world.
Click to expand...

Well I'd like someone to prove that my preconceptions are rubbish.
 
[TW]Fox;16008673 said:
We don't need to prove that the idea of a £36,000 car being for poor people is rubbish.
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Oh not that again. It's a phrase, don't take it literally. What I mean is that it's not as good as the 911 and perhaps not worth considering if a 911 was what you really wanted.
 
It's a completely different car to a 911, I wish people would stop drawing comparisons to it. It's a mid engined roadster, the 911 is a rear engined Coupe/Supercar (some models).

It's like saying 'Well I want a Nissan 350Z but its not as good as a GT-R so I wont bother'.
 
alexhull24 said:
Thanks for that. Had a feeling this was the case anyway with the SL350, but considering he currently drives a Ford Galaxy Familymobile, it's still a massive upgrade. I do think you can do better for the money.



Well I'd like someone to prove that my preconceptions are rubbish.
Click to expand...

Because you can say that for virtually every single thing in the world. 3 bedroom house.. lmao that is a poor mans 4 bedroom house.

( probably not the best example but an example none the less )
 
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alexhull24 said:
Well I'd like someone to prove that my preconceptions are rubbish.
Click to expand...

We've done this before, but:

If you are using the term literally, see Fox above.

If you are using the term like it is supposed to be used (it's an idiom, so not really supposed to be up for literal interpretation), then it's subjective. Personally I think it's a cheap dig at a good car that can easily stand alone on it's own merits, but people will persist that it's just a bottom rung on the marque ladder.

Wild guess but a good proportion of those who use the term couldn't afford a Boxster anyway, but then we are going down the literal route again.
 
OK whatever. It's irrelevant to the thread so that's that.

Which Z4 would you go for in budget? Is there a stand-out engine in the range? Any decent options to consider?
 
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