Considering a change from the Z4...

G

GaryThomlinson

Member
 Manchester
Well I do love my Z... but can't help the costs going up and up... so I'm considering alternatives... something still quick, but perhaps a bit cheaper to own/run, and a bit more practical/comfy.

Porsche, unless its an old one, is out, I have a £10K cap set in my own head. I'm trawling through Mazda RX8 ad's at the mo, as these seem cheap, and also are way cheaper to insure here in Manchester. Without going to the likes of ford etc, does anyone else have any suggestions based on my criteria above? (Watch me cry like a baby if my Z goes lol)...

*edit... Well, I've found a couple of RX8 forums... one sticky thread is all about mpg, and most are getting 12mpg around the city... holy crap... I thought my 24mpg in the city was bad... hmm possibly not the best solution after all...
 
LOL @ the RX8 economy - just as well you added that edit because they're truely horrendous on fuel!

What sort of car do you have in mind? Hot (but economical) hatch, salooon, another coupe or convertible? There's several fun but far more boring quick diesel hatches, e.g. Fabia vRS: running costs very low but nowhere near the fun factor as the Z4.

I personally think the Z4 3.0i is quite cheap to run considering the performance and type of car it is. It'd be a big compromise to change to something cheaper.
 
Tax is in the naughty band too, and from what i hear they need constant topping up with oil, seems you've already found the fuel problem and tbh i can't see how insuance would be much less as its in the same group isn't it?

Take a look at everything else and then realise you already own possibly the best compromise of speed and practicality around.
 
I had an RX-8 for 3 months earlier this year. I got rid of it when I couldn't stand the costs any longer. It's hugely more expensive than my 3.0i. The oil is expensive (a litre every 1-1,500), the fuel economy is truly appalling, the performance is less than the zed, the depreciation is unbelievable.

It's just a bad choice all round And possibly the most inappropriate one in the entire sub 50k used car market that you could possibly make, if you're thinking about costs. Seriously.
 
EVO just ran one as a long termer - final report in this months mag. overriding issue for them was the running costs and thirst. That said they did end by saying you can get a sizeable discount at the moment (order of 6k) off a new one. Meaning first few years worth of fuel are effectively free....

I find the zed surprising economical and practical given its performance and style :thumbsup:

I can't think of anything at the moment that I could replace it with :?
 
lol you're not helping me guys haha... I know, I loooove my Z... but its very expensive to insure in Manchester... like £1000 a year fully comp!... The RX8 ins comes in around £650 a year. But thats gonna be offset by fuel costs definitely.

350Z is nice, my bro had one, loved it... but NOT cheaper in any way at all lol... I even tried his next car, Honda S2000 and that's nearly £1500 a year in insurance. EVO is an interesting thought, but I'd never consider is stylish?!?

I'm looking for something still with some style, a nice bit of quickness, not bothered diesel or petrol, I've owned both in the past. The primary -ve i have with the Z is that suspension... the fact the wheels are bolted str8 to the chassis does little for my bones. So something stylish, quick, comfy (er), ... Its a challenge lol
 
I wasnt suggesting an EVO - just that EVO magazine have been running an RX-8 R3 as a long-termer recently...

Regarding the hard suspension on the zed - you on original bridgestone runflats? a change of run flat make or switch to non run flats will improve things here no end!

Diesel TT ? :exitright:
 
Goodyear Runflats (*edit, Goodyear on the front, Bridgestone on the back) , they were put on by the stealer when I bought it AUC route. The whole thing is just so bloody bouncy... there's a particular part of the M62 for instance, between Manchester and Liverpool, around the Warrington turnoff... wow, its a killer, tree roots under the motorway, no matter what speed I try it at, 50mph to well faster, it shakes me around like a rag doll for miles.
 
GaryThomlinson said:
Goodyear Runflats (*edit, Goodyear on the front, Bridgestone on the back) , they were put on by the stealer when I bought it AUC route. The whole thing is just so bloody bouncy... there's a particular part of the M62 for instance, between Manchester and Liverpool, around the Warrington turnoff... wow, its a killer, tree roots under the motorway, no matter what speed I try it at, 50mph to well faster, it shakes me around like a rag doll for miles.
Click to expand...

is that section of motorway a concrete surface? The M42 concrete stretch is a killer in mine too :(
 
Hmm, Audi TT is interesting, but the styling is quite bland on the sub £10K models... facelift looks lovely, but can't (well I'm forcing myself not to) stretch past £10K. Its a possible tho... but I get the feeling I'll be driving around going, why does no one look at my car any more... ;)

*edit... I can't remember if the motorway there is concrete... it may well be... I'm usually bouncing around too much to be able to focus (while also making a grrr sound)!
 
cant think of anything similar that would fit, youve ruled out most of the ones id have suggested. mr2 or mx5 perhaps?

youll be hard pressed to find something i think, well sub £10k at least.
 
MR2 is a great car but is totally impractical. If that's not a problem then I'd be tempted at under £10k. MX5 has a little less performance but still a good car.

Best idea....2.5 Z4. Fantastic car, got decent performance, reasonable running costs,great looks and the badge :)
 
I test drove a new JCW MINI S yesterday. Very nice. Great fun. :thumbsup:

I was tempted but just couldn't see me handing over a Z4 for a MINI now!

My girlfriend might be buying one though. :wink:
 
I'd not change for an RX-8. They're a bargain for a reason. Honestly, I really wanted one. In fact, before I read up about them, I almost paid £16,000 for a year old example! (One year later, I saw a year old example up for £8000 at Autoquake)

If you start it and stop it straight away, it won't stop again, as it's too cold. You have to call the AA 9 times out of 10 to get it started again.
If yu drive it for ages, stop it, then try to start it again, it won't. It's too hot. You have to wait for it to cool down.
Short trips kill the Catalytic Converter in the car. The Cat is around £1000 to replace.
The car drinks oil.
The car drinks fuel.
It's in the high tax bracket.
If you're buying second hand, you have NO idea if the person before you has put oil in when needed, so you could face a big bill any day.

Just some information for you on the RX-8, coming from someone who really wanted one, so did all his research.


To be very honest with you, if you're going down in car, you may as well do it properly. That's my honest opinion. My two choices of car if I sold mine would either be a £2k Suzuki Ignis Sport (04) or a £4k Mazda MX-5 (02). Just enjoy driving, and sod what people think of you. I've not driven an Ignis Sport, but they are apparently a real drivers' car. If you ripped out the back seats (as you obviously don't need them), you'd be looking at around 750kg and 107bhp! That, or the MX-5, which I have had experience of; 130bhp in something that weighs not much more than 1000kg; and you still get top-down action and a sports car that looks fantastic. Both cars are extremely reliable, chuckable, fun, cheap to run, etc etc....

I hope my post goes some way to helping you. If you fancy a longer chat about it, please feel free to PM me.
 
This is such a hard one. I love RX8's but wouldn't own one purely down to the shocking economy. The oil thing hardly matters, average annual mileage would probably find you putting about 150 quids worth of oil a year in, in top ups...hardly a bank breaker. I'd better tempted for a hot hatch, on the cheap/practical front. But then again, I can hardly tell a difference between my 3.0 Z4 and old Civic Type R on fuel.
 
GaryThomlinson said:
lol you're not helping me guys haha... I know, I loooove my Z... but its very expensive to insure in Manchester... like £1000 a year fully comp!... The RX8 ins comes in around £650 a year. But thats gonna be offset by fuel costs definitely.

350Z is nice, my bro had one, loved it... but NOT cheaper in any way at all lol... I even tried his next car, Honda S2000 and that's nearly £1500 a year in insurance. EVO is an interesting thought, but I'd never consider is stylish?!?

I'm looking for something still with some style, a nice bit of quickness, not bothered diesel or petrol, I've owned both in the past. The primary -ve i have with the Z is that suspension... the fact the wheels are bolted str8 to the chassis does little for my bones. So something stylish, quick, comfy (er), ... Its a challenge lol
Click to expand...

I dont think its fair to say the insurance is a problem due to manchester alone, i suppose it depends on where you live and no claims bonus etc, i live south manchester (about 7 miles) from the centre and pay £600 fully comp including protected no claims and thats with points on my license. As for the mini, the wife has a 2003 53 plate CooperS, and it drinks fuel like there is a hole in the tank, its far worse in terms of economy than the 3.0I Z4 i have. Great car, but very poor fuel economy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom