Spec me a fast, useable 20k car

m3ben

m3ben

m3ben

Associate
Joined
1 Jan 2012
Posts
104
Morning all,

So im giving serious thought to chopping in my trackday M3 and my everyday 330ci and putting the money into a nicer daily driver. Im lucky enough not to live far from work, my commute is only about 6-7 miles so fuel costs arent too much of a problem.

My criteria is as follows -

Quick and comfortable with lots of toys
2 or 4 seats ( not fussed)
Not too much depreciation over the next 2 years
Coupe or saloon, i dont like verts
Ideally not in the £400 per year tax bracket
Ideally i would like a manufacturers warranty, or decent 3rd party cover

I have a budget of 20k, so my current short list consists of -

e9x M3
Audi RS4
Audi S5
e60 M5
E63 M6
996 Turbo

Iv had M3's since i was 19, so naturally the E90 was my first thought but part of me thinks it might be time for something else. Has anyone got experience of the above cars, or is there anything else that I should be looking at?

Thanks,
Ben
 
Your right Fox, it is trivial but

A: I object in principal to having 400 notes stolen from me on an annual basis for the 'privilage' of driving on some of the worst roads in the developed world.

B: Cars in the higher tax band seem to be harder to shift come resale time vs earlier cars in a lower band. For example, 2005 plate M5's and M6's (£200 odd per year) seem to be selling better than 2006 plates (£400 per year)

It wouldnt be a deal breaker, but its something to factor in.
 
There are deals to be had Dr house, mainly because nobody is buying these cars at the moment. Last month I was offered a 2008 manual e90 with 55k on the clock for 21500. Im guessing it will be May at the earliest before i have the cash in my hand to make the purchase so prices will have dropped slightly by then.
 
[TW]Fox;21519010 said:
What about a non turbo 911? This money buys an awesome one rather than a dodgy turbo.

As quick as an M3, too.
Click to expand...

This is an interesting option, and one I have looked briefly at. There were a couple of reasons behind me leaning towards the turbo though -

'standard' 996's are still dropping in value quite quickly, whereas the turbos seem to be holding their value now.

I may be wrong, but I doubt many turbos have fallen into the hands of people that cant afford to look after them yet?

For some strange reason, turbo's are cheaper to insure for me than C2's or C4's (27 with 4 years NCB)

Im by no means a porsche expert, so feel free to correct me if im wrong.
 
I do have a soft spot for 997's, but I cant help but thinking that they are going to drop like a stone in the next year or so when more attractive deals on 991's become avaliable.
 
I hear what your saying Fox, but depreciation is still a big factor for me. Iv never lost much on any car iv owned and while im not dumb enough to expect £0 depreciation on any of the above list I dont like the thought of having 10k wiped out in 2 years etc.

I will be looking at getting a car with under 60k on the clock and getting it covered with a manufacturer warranty which will soften the blow somewhat, but im used to fairly large running costs having run a 2002 turbo, e30 M3, e36 M3, e46 M3 within the last few years!
 
Simon said:
2002 turbo. pics ? :D
Click to expand...

I will dig some out when i get home, awesome car but they are serious money pits! Managed to buy it off an elderly chap very cheaply, spent some money tidying it up then sold it on when prices started to get silly
 
DAIR said:
Okay, here I go...

Mini GP. These cars hold their value almost too well and as time goes on they may even increase in value. The GP is well over 5 years old now yet some owners and dealerships won't hassle to place a 15k + asking price.

There's a GP with a little under 800 miles on the clock going for 20k and I've recently had dealership contact me to find out whether I'd be interested In their latest arrival.. a GP with 8000 miles on the clock..... Alas their asking price is a little over 17k.... I'm not prepared to stretch that far just yet.

Anyway, that is my wild card.

Flame on...
Click to expand...

Iv never actually driven a new Mini of any kind so out of interest I may well get a test drive in one of these. Although its a very different car to what i was looking for Id prefer to drive one before dismissing it out of hand as it does tick many of my requirements.... thanks for the suggestion :)
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys. I think im going to go with an M6, going to look at a couple over the weekend, both 2005 plate, full BMW warranty etc one has 37k and the other 46k - both up for £19995

I will let you know how it goes
 
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