Mid Life Crisis - What Car to get

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I've reached a certain age and decided I'd like to spend some of the kids inheritance on a weekend car. My current drive is a BMW 520d.

I'm looking for something with a bit of panache but don't want to be bankrupted on running costs.

Budget is £15k and I don't want an MX5. I had a look at a Jag XK convertible which appealed except for the £500 road tax.

So any suggestions appreciated.
 
Was gonna suggest MX5, but instead Merc CLK then. 3.5 litre job.
 
Boxster, 987 version with your budget. Plenty of cars as fast, or faster, but for balance and handling they are IMO hard to beat. The idea of a mid-engined, two seater, purpose built convertible appealed to me far more than anything else, which is why I bought my 986 version. I've had it 11 years now, eight of those as my only transport and still not even thinking about changing it. Even after I've had it all that time I still get in and drive off and think "oh yes, this is why I bought it."

Or a TVR, plus set some of your budget aside for AA membership :p .

edit - Suz has had a variety of interesting cars, hopefully she'll see this topic and have a suggestion or two.
 
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onomatopoeia said:
Boxster, 987 version with your budget. Plenty of cars as fast, or faster, but for balance and handling they are IMO hard to beat. The idea of a mid-engined, two seater, purpose built convertible appealed to me far more than anything else, which is why I bought my 986 version. I've had it 11 years now, eight of those as my only transport and still not even thinking about changing it. Even after I've had it all that time I still get in and drive off and think "oh yes, this is why I bought it."

Or a TVR, plus set some of your budget aside for AA membership :p .
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LOL - tell me about Porsche gearbox/clutch issues...
But hey - get a 987 if you fancy just sub 7 sec 0-60 times...
http://www.performance-car-guide.co.uk/performance-cars/porsche/boxster.html

He's got a 520D so fancies something fun ;)
 
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midlife crisis you want something deeply impractical, and red with smoked windows and a black rag top , with just room for you and your 25 year old blond girlfriend ... since you don't want an MX5 I suggest a second user RX8 (totally impractical especially when the wankel engine grenades itself)

.... or a Harley Davidson (yes i know that's a bike)

if you actually just want something that's fun to drive maybe an Elise or a MR2 or as DD said a CLK
 
RX8's depreciate like anything so it's a balancing act between cost of buying and cost of repairs. Great car to drive everyday, bit like the boxter , not a nice exhaust note and not that special.

Midlife crisis should be small, stupid, fast and ridiculously unpractical like a caterham, elise, vx220 or a something with a big V8, V10 engine :D

New right hand drive mustang comes soon, give that 3 years and that'll be down around £15k. Having driven one around the states recently it's a good car, proper suspension, great engine, - could be interesting on the market in later years
 
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Byker28i said:
RX8's depreciate like anything so it's a balancing act between cost of buying and cost of repairs. Great car to drive everyday, bit like the boxter , not a nice exhaust note and not that special.

Midlife crisis should be small, stupid, fast and ridiculously unpractical like a caterham, or a something with a big V8, V10 engine :D

New right hand drive mustang comes soon, give that 3 years and that'll be down around £15k. Having driven one around the states recently it's a good car, proper suspension, great engine, - could be interesting on the market in later years
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RX8s are also notorious for grenading themselves if you don't treat them very gently - you get owners of older ones mixing two stroke oil into the fuel and all sorts, its a buy it drive it for a year then sell it to some mug teritory.

if you want totally impractical - how about an atom ? (you won't get one for 15k though unless its utterly f***ed) http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/ariel/atom
 
Any answer that doesn't include the letters "T", "V" and "R" is basically wrong.

Unless you can find an Atom for 15k, obvs.
 
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big soft moose said:
RX8s are also notorious for grenading themselves if you don't treat them very gently - you get owners of older ones mixing two stroke oil into the fuel and all sorts, its a buy it drive it for a year then sell it to some mug teritory.

if you want totally impractical - how about an atom ? (you won't get one for 15k though unless its utterly f***ed) http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/ariel/atom
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Posts crossed :) Yeah, good luck finding one for 15K.
 
JonathanRyan said:
Any answer that doesn't include the letters "T", "V" and "R" is basically wrong.
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Seriously?
Who'd drive a car called Trev car ? sounds like something Noddy would drive :p
 
XK8. Should be able to find a good one well under budget and use the cash saved to tax it for a few years. Expect sub 20 MPG from a 4 litre version unless driving with a very light right foot at 50 in Norfolk!
 
Cobra said:
Seriously?
Who'd drive a car called Trev car ? sounds like something Noddy would drive :p
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The garage that used to service my Chimaera actually made Noddy cars based on some sort of Fiat. Apparently they used to get funny look when they overtook people on the motor way. It's possible the engine was non standard.
 
JonathanRyan said:
. Apparently they used to get funny look when they overtook people on the motor way. It's possible the engine was non standard.
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LOL excellent :D
 
JonathanRyan said:
Any answer that doesn't include the letters "T", "V" and "R" is basically wrong.
.
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Mate of mine had a Griffith - it was the only car I've ever encountered that broke down more than my old XJS (although the alfasud my mate farley had when we were 18 comes close)-, plus the roof used to leak like a b*****d in the rain so the only solution was to leave it down and drive really fast to stay dry (the police did not accept that as an excuse when he got tugged for doing 82 in a 60)

I realise build quality may be better now and i'd fancy a Chimera if i had the coins but just saying..

also a post with the words ferrari in it could also be acceptable (although again not for 15k ... and they break down a fair bit too)
 
If you get a VX220, garage it....They're prone to leaking like sieves. :)
 
big soft moose said:
Mate of mine had a Griffith - it was the only car I've ever encountered that broke down more than my old XJS (although the alfasud my mate farley had when we were 18 comes close)-, plus the roof used to leak like a b*****d in the rain so the only solution was to leave it down and drive really fast to stay dry (the police did not accept that as an excuse when he got tugged for doing 82 in a 60)

I realise build quality may be better now and i'd fancy a Chimera if i had the coins but just saying..

also a post with the words ferrari in it could also be acceptable (although again not for 15k ... and they break down a fair bit too)
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Griggs, chimaeras etc should be very reliable. Rover v8 modified engine, nothing much to go wrong. Quite simple cars, trouble is some buy then don't look after them and pass them on.
Mines supposed to be the most complicated, yet has been stunningly reliable. I've driven it over Belgium this year, down through france. It's like anything, look after it and it performs great.

I'll accept they aren't for everyone, that's fine, I quite like having things that aren't really common.
 
big soft moose said:
Mate of mine had a Griffith - it was the only car I've ever encountered that broke down more than my old XJS (although the alfasud my mate farley had when we were 18 comes close)-, plus the roof used to leak like a b*****d in the rain so the only solution was to leave it down and drive really fast to stay dry (the police did not accept that as an excuse when he got tugged for doing 82 in a 60)
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If you're looking for a car that will keep you dry, you're probably misunderstanding the whole "mid life crisis" thing ;)
 
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JonathanRyan said:
If you're looking for a car that will keep you dry, you're probably misunderstanding the whole "mid life crisis" thing ;)
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This is true - although i think most MLC sufferers prefer it if it doesn't breakdown every 3 days, probably in the middle of nowhere - in fairness to TVR it was a second user vehicle and it was fairly ragged to f*** before he bought it

the trophy girlfreind won't be impressed when she has to walk 3 miles in the rain to find phone reception and then get a cab home
 
JonathanRyan said:
If you're looking for a car that will keep you dry, you're probably misunderstanding the whole "mid life crisis" thing ;)
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Oh goody mine leaks so that's me saved from the expense of buying something else :D
 
Byker28i said:
Have they got the same roof as the Elise? Awful things to put on and sometimes leak.
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Not sure, but Uncle Google would suggest yes.
A bloody fun drive though :)
 
A few years back my choice was a BMW Z3 great car it for me it was like an old British sports car. Not the fastest but it was so much fun hood down on all the dry days.
 
What a great thread. Thanks for the contributions as you've probably guessed I don't think it's a full on mid life crisis for me:

1) I've asked on here for advice. For a proper one I'd have just turned up in the car

2) I'm sticking with higher management !! 25 year old gf ?? I think my mind would be making appointments my body couldn't possibly keep

3) I'm concerned over the ved just how sensible is that ??


At least I've got some more ideas to research
 
I'd look at the BMW Z4 or if you don't want a convertible, the Peugeot RCZ.
 
True mid life crisis car is impractical :)

Z3 2.8 is a reasonable choice but I'd avoid poverty spec ones. Plus they seem to have a few issues which make the gear change a bit crap when they get a bit older. Z4 might be the better choice and is much newer.

Merc slk is another good one but avoid any with the sbc I think it's called braking system which has a limited life and is a fortune to fix. They also seem to have rust issues. Air suspension is another money pit but there are after market air shocks available now which are about half the cost of merc ones.

I decided I didn't want Porsche anything due to bore scoring and ims problems with some engines. But everything has weaknesses of one sort or another. Handling of the z3 isn't brilliant but it makes a good noise. In gear acceleration is also excellent. It's very torquey so you can waft along in 5th gear at 30mph. I'm still not sure I made the right choice and should have got a boxster instead.

I have a z3 as a daily run about. It's just the right size for one or two. Cd changer takes up too much boot space so I'll be taking mine out and redoing the boot interior.
 
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