M1k3yC said:
Pros and cons of each vehicle? What's top of your list to buy in 2023?
They all had their unique qualities and problems - but were equally enjoyable for being cheap soft top motoring at the time.
The Alfa 916 Spider was the first of the year and while it was a soft top, it was a manual roof which was a faff (1st world problems) and never really felt that quick. It had the 2.0 T-spark engine and after cleaning the MAF it certainly picked up a lot, but never really felt quick or alive as it was quite heavy. The interior was lovely with some nice design touches so felt relatively expensive but not a car I would want to keep and cherish.
The Mini Cabriolet was an opportunity to grab something very cheap - it was grubby inside and out - a common theme, but did have the handling of a little go-kart. The best bit for me was the 2 stage roof, you could retract it just over the heads of the front passengers rather than fully lower which was great if you weren't going on a long journey but still wanted some wind in the hair action. Parts were cheap and anything outside of the engine bay was quite easy to work on. Although it was useless for any sort of luggage as the boot was tiny. When it was polished up, the red looked great and it was good to use around town, but the 1.6 was never going to set the world alight performance wise. In the end, someone made me a decent offer and it was on to the next one...
The BMW E88 120d was a surprise ebay purchase - i put a bid on one evening with no expectation of winning, and i did! Probably the dirtiest car i've had to date, the interior literally changed colour when i cleaned it. It had been lowered in a past life and the wheels filled the arches well so it looked quite good on the road and the 120d with 6 speed box was very frugal to drive. I didn't have any plans to sell it, but my son sold his car and wanted to buy it, so of course i took a loss on it and he now owns it, so its still on our drive.
With a reduced spending pot, i started looking for another convertible and the TT popped up on FB marketplace - the ad wasn't the most detailed but did say it had recently been serviced and MOT'd so it was worth a look. It was in surprisingly good nick with a massive folder full of history. I really like the design of these and it drove well being the 225bhp quattro. Had a few minor issues to sort in my time, drain holes blocked and gutter had come loose which only revealed itself when it really rained - simple fix and 3 of the coil packs went on it - at the time it felt like the engine was going to explode, but thanks to google and Youtube it was a simple fix. The TT forums were really good and supportive and i had planned to keep it, but after a few months i got bored and wanted a new challenge.
Enter the Z4 - i'd seen the ad on Gumtree for a few weeks and initially laughed at it with all the spoilers and stickers on it - but the price kept dropping from the original price of £2,750 until it got to the point i could make a very cheeky offer via Gumtree. The seller came back with a counter offer that was close enough to go and look at it and it was just as bad in the flesh as it looked in the photos, high miles and little history. BUT it had recently been serviced, had new pads and discs all round, a couple of new suspension components, the roof worked and it drove OK. So i thought i could "save" it and bring it back to more of an OEM look.
I'd say its a good all rounder, the 2.5 is silky smooth and not as manic as the TT in the power delivery. The interior is well screwed together and feels much more solid than either the Alfa or Mini, but it doesn't have the design flare of the TT. The electric roof is great and now that i've cleared the drains and repaired the door membrane it doesn't leak anymore which is nice! Still getting used to that really long bonnet, and reducing the tyre pressures has made it handle a lot better and removed the majority of tramlining.
It doesn't handle anywhere as good as my old Boxster 987, but then its no where near the same price or age so that's not a fair comparison.
For the money, its surperb, there are a few things i could do to improve it further but i don't think its ever going to be worth enough to make the outlay/effort worthwhile so i am going to enjoy it as it is until its MOT in May and see what happens.
The forum and support network for the Z4 is as good as the TTs - its easy to find a solution to any problem you may have and the parts aren't that expensive.
I do like it, but as with the others, its unlikely to be a keeper as i want to try others as well - lets see what 2023 brings!
On the list of cars to try that i haven't had so far and still possibly in the "budget" end of the cost
- Mk3 Toyota MR2
- Mercedes 190E
- Original MGF
- MK3 Mazda MX5
- Mk3 VW Golf Cabriolet
- Jaguar XJ6 (350)
- Mercedes CLS
- Range Rover L322
- BMW E36 Cabriolet/Coupe
- Audi 80 Cabriolet/Coupe
At the summit of the picturesque fens
