£20-£23k - What weekend car?

[gadgetJunky72]

Why not just spend a bit on the Z to make it more focussed. bucket seats, 4 point harness, coilovers, etc.

That budget doesn't buy much these days. well nothing as reliable as the Z that is. you've already got an engine that beats a lot of the cars on the list.

is the M coupe different enough to the roadster that it's worth a swap?

 

[speedy239]

I owned a VX220 great car really fun to drive. I would never buy another one purely because how weak they are. My 2 cents.

I remember reading about the VX220 Turbo when it first came out and I think it was pretty much the quickest car on sale for the money at the time and I have always liked them, I have never owned a Vauxhall(loads of fords though) and I have always fancied a VX220.

I had mine for 6 years and it was an animal!! It was only a standard turbo so christ knows what a stage 3 would be like

Fantastic handling, acceleration more brutal than ZM, no frills just raw driving.

You can't buy better performance for the money if you are not a badge snob

 

[john-e89]

VX220 ? Speedy 123 has just sold his if you we're interested for his opinion on them.

Speedy who? [/quote

:lol: Can of cider down Graham, I've blown it..do I get a point for the 2 numbers at least?

 

[speedy239]

VX220 ? Speedy 123 has just sold his if you we're interested for his opinion on them.

Speedy who? [/quote

:lol: Can of cider down Graham, I've blown it..do I get a point for the 2 numbers at least?[/quote

Glad you didn't post in a couple of hours , I could have been called Deepys!!!

Enjoy

 

[john-e89]

have a good w'end mate.

 

[inkey$]

You can't buy better performance for the money if you are not a badge snob

Embarrassingly, guilty as charged :lol:

 

[DanStarr]

I owned a VX220 great car really fun to drive. I would never buy another one purely because how weak they are. My 2 cents.

I remember reading about the VX220 Turbo when it first came out and I think it was pretty much the quickest car on sale for the money at the time and I have always liked them, I have never owned a Vauxhall(loads of fords though) and I have always fancied a VX220.

I had mine for 6 years and it was an animal!! It was only a standard turbo so christ knows what a stage 3 would be like

Fantastic handling, acceleration more brutal than ZM, no frills just raw driving.

You can't buy better performance for the money if you are not a badge snob

Your not wrong i have a 2.2 in the dry you could just do what you wanted in it never budged! I hate to say it but compared to the Z it was miles ahead... i only had mine 2 months bumped someone changing lanes and it got written off. You'd never want to take it to tescos or park it anywhere other than your driveway to be honest...

 

[domsz4]

if your considering any kind of 7 then look at a westfield also. much better bang for buck. on your 22K budget you'd have your pick with enough spare to pay for many track days and sets of tyres :evil: .

no matter which 7 you look at go out and have a ride/drive in one as they are not quite what you might expect. very raw very quick and not to everyone's taste.

 

[LeeZ4MR]

I owned a VX220 great car really fun to drive. I would never buy another one purely because how weak they are. My 2 cents.

I remember reading about the VX220 Turbo when it first came out and I think it was pretty much the quickest car on sale for the money at the time and I have always liked them, I have never owned a Vauxhall(loads of fords though) and I have always fancied a VX220.

I had mine for 6 years and it was an animal!! It was only a standard turbo so christ knows what a stage 3 would be like

Fantastic handling, acceleration more brutal than ZM, no frills just raw driving.

You can't buy better performance for the money if you are not a badge snob

I would love one and I bet when tuned they are crazy fast as you suggest the favourite car I have had was my S14a 200sx and the badge has never worried me and I think its more about how much fun you can have in a car for me, I love BMW`s but a raw driving experience isn't something they ever offer sadly, they are great all round cars though but are too heavy and laden with mod cons.

 

[Jaw]

noble m12

although despite the ford lump I'm sure they're not high on the reliability list.Prices look like they may have gone up a bit but used to be able to pick one up for the 25k mark.

 

[LeeZ4MR]

noble m12

although despite the ford lump I'm sure they're not high on the reliability list.Prices look like they may have gone up a bit but used to be able to pick one up for the 25k mark.

I have always been a big fan of the M12 and I have also owned a couple of V6 mondeo`s so I don't mind the Duratec engine either and with a couple of turbo`s bolted on it will certainly deliver the goods in that light weight body for sure.

Nobles much like TVR`s are a little marmite but I really like Noble and they are incredibly rare plus they have always held their value very well too.

 

[Beedub]

id love a noble but the issue list with them is HUGE.....

 

[inkey$]

Honestly, for £22k I'd buy a top spec new MX-5.

 

[Darren Slone]

Honestly, for £22k I'd buy a top spec new MX-5.

Or a 240Z

 

[Darren Slone]

Or a 1980's 911, either SC or 3.2 Carrera, you may get a 964 for that money too

 

[Beedub]

Honestly, for £22k I'd buy a top spec new MX-5.

then send it to BBR and get them to turbo it with one of their world class installs and revel in uber levels of awesomeness!

 

[BMWZ4MC]

id love a noble but the issue list with them is HUGE.....

Also, you don't get much Noble for £20-23K. The rough ones start around that, a good one can be £10-15K more. You'll occasionally find a road-legal Radical for £20K - I'd love that as a weekend car :evil:

 

[Easty-5]

Thanks for all the ideas folks. Quite a few left field choices. I'm torn at the moment, I really don't know if I could let the Z go unless it was for something pretty special. I think the only car the could tempt me out of the Z is a Lotus. Either Exige S of Elise SC. Perhaps a 111R also but would need to drive one first. I wouldn't touch a Noble with a barge pole. 2 of my friends have them and they are forever in the garage being repaired.

 

[Jaw]

Yeah the Nobles are far from reliable - Just always a favourite of mine. As for realistic I guess it depends what way you want to go and what the maintenance budget is.. There's not much that offers the same or better pace (elise or VX220) but maintaining the same level of comfort/relative reliability. It's also M6 and older XKR terretory etc.. or a v8 monaro - all very different beasts though.

I've been toying with changing the Z as of late and not sure what the values are like in the UK at the moment but the shortlist for the same money here (give or take $10k, 5k pounds) was DB7 (decided it's too old, aweful interior, dated exterior), Cambiocorsa (wayward, dated looks from certain angles, plus points being the badge, handling and that v8), M6 (SMG only, but the v10. omg.), the c5 corvette (big engine, typical early 00's yank build), and I came to the conclusion that the only way I could retain what I like about the Z whilst feeling like a step up, was by spending a little bit extra and going for something special

 

[jimmybell]

The M is better than any car mentioned. Very Very difficult to replace

Seriously, i'm glad it's not just me that thinks this. I'm not one of those "my car is the best in the world" types but i really do find it difficult to find an upgrade to a z4m that isn't significantly more expensive, and even then i'm not bowled over..

At double the price you're on an M4, and whilst it's an incredible car, it's not really that 'special', no wonder everyone loves 997's so much.