R60BBA said:
As a principle I don’t buy nice cars over 40,000 miles (mainly to avoid problems and also to get fun out of them during their youth as it were). I broke the rule once and bought an 80,000 mile Z3. The car had FSH, but ‘developed’ rust after one month of ownership and ended up being written off as a ball joint popped out of the wishbone as I was going round a bend on a dual carriageway. The airbags didn’t come out either. It wasn’t a nice experience. (And before you say it I wasn’t pushing the car).
The type of Z4MC I want will cost me £26,000 plus the annual servicing and insurance would double. (E.g. I’m 24 and have been quoted £1,200 for my Z4 and a Mini Cooper S. Quotes on the Z4MC are circa £3,000, and that’s on a 5,000 mile limited policy.) As previously said the Si Coupe offers me the performance I need at a fraction of the cost.
I’ve also put fresh wheels and tyres, a Supersprint Race exhaust, fresh discs and pads, changed all fluids including diff and gearbox oil and will be putting it in for paint...this car isn’t going anywhere.
I do 10,000 miles annually, but as long as the car can give me the same or more mpg than the Z4 I’m not that fussed.
Seeing as I already have a 2 seater sports car I am after a hatchback or 2 door Coupe with at least 4 seats. Not interested in an estate or saloon car or a convertible for that matter. Brands I’m open to are BMW, Audi, Mini, VW.
The budget is £7,000 but that doesn’t mean I have to max it. For the purpose of buying a second car I would want one under 50,000 miles.
So far I’m considering the Mini Cooper S R53 and the BMW 130i, but open to others...
TBh if you were selling you would remove the mods and sell them separately because they dont add value to most people and you would get more money from the sale, otherwise its just normal servicing really isnt it.
Fair enough. The issue you had with the Z3 is its age and mileage there is a correlation between age and wear, same as milage and wear but cars that do average miles generally move and they self lube seals etc when left to sit they dry up and you end up with leaks expensive repairs with engine out etc etc. TBH because that happened to you you should be even more cautious, im assuming it wasn't inspected as a loose ball joint should have been something you could tell on a test drive. That sort of stuff is super easy to sort out, at the end of the day it is a wearable serviceable item, the rust not so much.
Last thing you want is to spend 7k and then find it has issues and end up having to spend loads to get it reliable or be landed with big bills.
The thing is with all the brands you have outlined is that non of them are cheap new or cheap to look after. They may be cheap to buy but mainly because they cost money to look after. With the budget and the brand 7k wont go that far or it will but will need repairs.
The Z is a perfect example many are starting to rust... they have corrosion warranties to 10 years for a reason. Obviously it all depends on how they are looked after but in the market at the price there is wild differences across cars that have similar mileages because some will have had money spent and others not. Although you might find a 40k miler for 7k there might be a 60-70k miler at the same age and spec at a similar price.
Porsche 987 Boxster s are a perfect example. You can buy them for 10k but the same age, spec, similar mileages the prices may vary as much as 8k! Because they are 90% 911 they need looking after as such and many haven't. They have crap service history, no paperwork etc. They have loads of issue that cost £ to sort.
I bought a dealer car Boxster S with 70k on it. Within a week it had an engine knock due to piston slap and bore score, turned out the IMS was leaking which got on the clutch and flywheel which needed replacing and it needed new 2 new condensers and disks all round. The only thing you could check was the condensers at a push because they are deep in the bumper and the disks. The engine was sweet sometimes and awful on other occassions... Took it to a specialist who diagnosed all for me.
Ended up needing an engine rebuild and with the rest totaled up to £11000 and I paid £10750 for the car. I ended up taking it back under consumer protection law as not fit for purpose.
So really without the engine rebuild all the rest was wear and tear and on its own cost £5-6k to sort with labor. Add that to the £10,750 thats £17k. Hence why there is so much difference in pricing and its the same across the board although the Porsches tend to cost more to look after.
That was a steep learning curve for me, huge amount of stress, hassle and im not good with a wrench but I would say I know more than the average. The problem is you cant see half the issues unless you take shields off on a ramp and dealers arent so keen. Inspections are the best £300 you will spend.
Just a bit of advice that although ye its nice to aspire it might not be the best idea and have a look around because there are so many good, newer, quick cars for sale that cost very little to tax insure and service. Especially as you have the Z as a nice weekender. Newer cars need less work and may have warranties or service packs as a lot of lower end cars get 5-7 year warranties. Beaters also dont loose money regardless of miles really buy something better down the line.
Determine if its a need or a want, like many have said in the thread buying something you dont care about too much means less hassle and stress when im sure really if you want to put 5-7k into the 3.0si and focus on that car instead.
I didnt really enjoy driving that clio for 18 months but it cost literally nothing had all the mod cons that worked a good speaker system and was a fairly nice place to be.
