Decision - 370Z or Golf R (or alternative)

Soldato
Joined
13 Jun 2009
Posts
4,230
Location
My own head
Mmmm 370z.

Go on 350z-uk.com... you will see what people say about the 370z. Like the 350 it's reliable and very little can go wrong with it.

Sure they all have their minor quirks and small problems, but at least you don't have to worry about coming to a stop during a drive!

GT edition is a very good shout, if you can find one in good condition and the right owner :).
 
Man of Honour
Joined
21 Feb 2006
Posts
29,300
I think you are a bit daft discounting an entire brand because 2 mates had issues. They could be unlucky or drive like numb nuts, there are loads of people who have had BMW's on this site with little or no problem. I've had over 10 of the things and I can recall is a radiator went on a 323i I had and VANOS went on my first E46 M3, both warranty fixes.

For £35K (assumed) budget you are into some lovely options and to be honest a Golf R and 370Z would not be in my top 5 for that money and I like the Golf.
 
Soldato
Joined
25 Dec 2008
Posts
5,976
Location
Sheffield/Norwich
A bit of an odd one and feel free to shoot me down. What about a end-of-the-line Mk5 Golf R32? You can pick up a top-spec, low mileage (<30k) late 2008/early 2009 model approved used from VW for around £15k. The R32 has lower potential bills than the R due to having no turbo, is more special because it's V6, and if you so desire you can spend several thousand pounds on having a supercharger fitted professionally with appropriate upgrades and still have a decent amount left out of your original budget for a nice holiday :)
TBH it's what I'd do, over a Mk6 R certainly.
 
Soldato
Joined
13 Jun 2009
Posts
4,230
Location
My own head
For £35K (assumed) budget you are into some lovely options and to be honest a Golf R and 370Z would not be in my top 5 for that money and I like the Golf.

Might not be in your top 5... but people have varied tastes.

Based on this:

I'm not overly concerned about practicality or running costs (within reason). In other words, I'm not too concerned about mpg, tax or insurance, I'm just bothered about servicing costs and likelihood of things going wrong / expensive parts.

Car will be mainly used on a 25 mile round trip commute on a midweek basis plus general social / domestic / pleasure driving. The practical stuff like long road trips, carting crap around etc will be handled by my girlfriends car.

I would say the only options are German or Japanese. I will take the chance to say that BMW servicing is more pricy than Nissan, but I'm sure you'll disagree ;).
 
Man of Honour
Joined
21 Feb 2006
Posts
29,300
Might not be in your top 5... but people have varied tastes.

Based on this:



I would say the only options are German or Japanese. I will take the chance to say that BMW servicing is more pricy than Nissan, but I'm sure you'll disagree ;).

Porsche, need I say any more.
 
Soldato
Joined
7 Nov 2004
Posts
15,686
Location
East of England
Indeed, one of the lowest service cost sports cars :D

:rolleyes:

I'm not sure why the OP is so concerned with servicing costs? The calibre of car that he is looking at, servicing costs will be all much of muchness. There may be a couple of hundred quid of difference between the most expensive to service and the least expensive. And a couple of hundred quid a year is a drop in the ocean when you're talking about £30,000 sports cars that do 25mpg, £700 sets of tyres and cost nearly £500 a year to tax.

And as i've said earlier, the OP doesn't need to worry about repair costs either, because he will (i hope!) undoubtedly buy from a main dealer, and the car should have a couple of years left on manufacturers warranty anyway.
 
Last edited:
Soldato
Joined
13 Jun 2009
Posts
4,230
Location
My own head
Do you have any experience to add or are you just bored?

Tongue in cheek from the porsche thread.

I've already added my comments. I've driven the 350 / 370 / R32 among a host of others. I'm fairly biased since I currently own a 350, but I do think they're nice cars, and reliable.

I think the best solution for OP is to just go and drive them, and make his mind up that way.
 
Last edited:
Man of Honour
Joined
21 Feb 2006
Posts
29,300
Tongue in cheek from the porsche thread.

I've already added my comments. I've driven the 350 / 370 / R32 among a host of others. I'm fairly biased since I currently own a 350, but I do think they're nice cars, and reliable.

A Cayman/Boxster S with an OPC warranty is not an expensive car to service and run, not for someone who is looking to spend £35K on a car at least. You can easily have things like pads and discs fitted by a good independent to save cost, the warranty will cover big bills and servicing is likely to be very close to the Golf R/370Z.

He asked for alternatives, well the Cayman/Boxster S are good solid alternatives that will out handle and outperform both of the above cars and though it won't be brand new that wasn't a requirement the OP suggested he was worried about. I've not driven a 370 but I have driven a 350 and had a Mk5 GTi in the stable over the years so know how the cars compare pretty much and I'd chose neither over a Cayman.
 
Associate
Joined
23 Sep 2009
Posts
324
Surely the M135i is worth looking at?

Hatch and rear seats like the golf, rwd like the 370/86. Should be able to get one with decent options at around the £30k point
 
Man of Honour
Joined
17 Oct 2002
Posts
159,534
I simply cannot understand why anyone with this sort of budget would be satisfied to drive away in a 2 litre Volkswagen Golf. I actually quite like the Golf, the GTi is a great car, but in R form they are simply ridiculous. Plus you said you dont want FWD - why is this, because do not forget the R isn't conventional fulltime 4x4 it's Haldex, which is FWD biased and therefore if its FWD style handling traits you want to get away from the Golf R probably isn't the way to do it.
 
Back
Top Bottom