Spec me a fun 2+2

[mjt]

No, probably not to be fair. It's a great car, but it's still relatively mundane. As I said, never forget that the RRP is a lot of what makes it so appealing; at £30K new, it's fantastic, but much more than that and it probably cant compete with more special, second hand stuff.

That's what making the choice so difficult. It's incredibly good value for money and will cost me nothing other than tax, insurance & depreciation as it will be a new car with a very long warranty.
Anything else - 1M, M2, Elise, Caterham, etc. will be €10-20k more without a doubt, and that's purchase price alone.
Head over heart this time perhaps?

 

[mjt]

Probably as cheap as they are ever going to get. S3s are still depreciating a bit, but that won't go on for long going by S1 and S2 values. My S2 is worth about the same as it was in 2006 even with all the miles on it.

One of the few times I'll ever agree with you
Impressive how the S2 prices are creeping back up again.

 

[mjt]

Ugh... Sport 220s worth having are about 10k more than the 1M, which is 10k more than the GR86.
Do you ever use ear plugs in the Elise?

 

[mjt]

Yeah that’s what I thought in terms of requirements too but I’m one for finding the right tool for the job so 2+ cars is my preference as I’m fortunate enough to be able to do that. I would be in favour of the GR86 in that case, although I think the back seats stretch the definition of +2. Bigger than that though and you’re out of sports car territory and more into hot hatch or GT type vehicles?

If I was only taking it out Sundays, occasionally hitting the track then I would agree that the Caterham may be better. However I don’t track the car, will drive it in all weather and often use it on average once per week to commute. So Elise wins there. Not that I didn’t consider a Caterham. A few colleagues have them and they look fun but the track day costs are high and I’m not that into it or have the time at this point in my life.

Not planning to track anything of mine any time soon. Was looking at Elise, Caterham, etc. last night but they're just so expensive I can't justify it. You're looking at a minimum spend of £50k, potentially even more for recent ones. I can't believe how much things cost over here these days..

The rear seats in the GR/BRZ are so pathetic it might as well be a 2-seater. Early OG M2s are back in play now..
I'm going round in circles here :/

 

[mjt]

From your list, the Evora is the best fun car if you don't have to drive it all the time. If you do have to drive it for non-fun reasons, then an M2 (LCI or Comp) is hard to beat.

I used to have an LCI, I currently have a Competition. In most ways, the LCI is the better of the two.

I've always wanted an M car but prices are all over the place, and people seem to think that non-OPF cars are worth paying overs for...
I want a manual OG or LCI, and finding one that hasn't been modified is impossibly difficult. What are the chances of something expensive breaking within 12 months? Happy to pay a bit more for a 12-month BMW warranty but dealers' pricing is even worse than the private dreamers.

Manual LCIs are more expensive that M2Cs and I don't want an M2C as it means £5k in taxes (compared to £1.5 for the OG)

 

[mjt]

33 grand for a less than 30k mileage, manual M2 comp over here. I guess at least you get cheap chocolates over there!

I’m looking at £10k more than that.
If it holds its value it’s not a problem per se. Everything’s expensive ‍

 

[mjt]

I don't remember having any warranty issues at all with my LCI and I've not had any yet with the Comp. There are potential issues though - boost pipes are reported as common failure issues, water pumps and injectors can have problems and some other small things iirc. The warranty is quite inexpensive for the peace of mind it gives you, so well worth having IMO.

I personally wouldn't buy a manual. I understand why people do but the gearchange is typically BMW ie not that good. DCT suits the character of the car unless you want to be a total hooligan with it.

Yeah I know BMW manuals are nothing to write home about, but I'd like the "fun" car to be a manual... But if it's an M2 then the premium they appear to command may not be worth the trade off. I might even end up using the DCT as a daliy instead of my i3S - and that's not what I was planning here

 

[mjt]

I'm going round in circles here. Was set on an M2, but now the sun's come out it would be a shame not to get a convertible....
Would a non-comp F83 M4 Cab be worth a punt, or is Comp the only way to go?

 

[mjt]

Get an M2 with a sunroof like me, problem solved

Going to look at another one tomorrow, but private seller with unrealistic price expectations. I've overpaid a few times for my cars and I'm determined not to do it again. I know what I think it's worth and I'll walk if he won't budge.

However, there's a (almost) poverty-spec non-comp M4 Cab for sale in the German dealer network which isn't selling (6+ months). Maybe I can lowball. Grey with red but no HUD, neck scarf, etc..

 

[mjt]

Update: I can see why the M2 LCI pre-OPF is the sweet spot. Manual is a bit sloppy and see why @DRZ said not to bother.
I put in an offer which I thought was more than reasonable, he needs to sleep on it. Then I noticed the diff is weeping
I see that this is a common issue, but rather labour intensive.
Also the rear strut dust boots are crusty, but it's from 2017 so that's expected.

M4 would be complete overkill, and this one is literally just down the road so let's wait and see..

 

[mjt]

Have you driven the M2 yet ?

Yes, and put in an offer. Not budging so will keep looking if he rejects. I don't really need anything as big as an M4 and a cabrio can bring a whole world of pain on top of standard M4 issues & costs.

 

[mjt]

Beep beep

It's no Caterham, and it left me feeling underwhelmed, but the noise is great, boost is fun, and it's more than quick enough.
Might end up being a daily, in which case I should've gone for the DCT, but I'll play with it over the summer and see how it goes..

I've sure an Evora would've been the perfect car here, but they're too expensive (60 grand for a good one) so forget it. Will post more info when I pick it up next month. Thx all for the advice