Decisions, decisions

P

pec

New member
Hi all,

I have decided to take the plunge and get a roadster. My budget is around the $55-60k range.

The choices I see are:

1. SLK 250 (nicely equipped)
2. Z4 s28 (nicely equipped)
3. Boxster (base model)

I am wanting a fun roadster that is also comfortable enough for 6-8 drives.

SLK 250 I like the heater for the neck and an actual spare tire but I have heard of many horror stories on reliability
Z4 - Absolutely love the look of this car. Do run flat tires really work? What happens if you are further than 150 miles from a repair shop. I live in Texas and there is a lot of wide open space here.
Boxster - I will concede this is the best performing car in the race, but how often will I be going 140+ mph? Also to get the options I want pushes this car closer to $67K

I am sure others have gone through similar decisions.

Comments welcome :)
 
Jeez I wish I had this dilemma :o
I'm sure any of these will put a mile on your face, although the Zed will give you the biggest and longest one :D
 
You could consider leasing one of them for say 3-6 months, won't of course own it but least can hand it back when the weather turns & you won't be suffering big depreciation
 
Hi and welcome to the forum. You've summed up fairly well. The Merc will break down, the Boxster is pricey, so that leaves the Z4.

Run flat tyres do work. Although many forum members replace them with non run flats, as the ride is much smoother. I think the 50 mile safety margin on a 'flat' could be stretched if you were driving at low speeds etc.

Good luck finding the right car :thumbsup:
 
pec said:
Do run flat tires really work? What happens if you are further than 150 miles from a repair shop. I live in Texas and there is a lot of wide open space here.
Click to expand...

That's an interesting point... I wonder, given that the US was the main target market for the Z4, whether BMW factored that in? I don't fancy waiting for a tow truck to turn up in the middle of nowhere in the Texas heat...
 
Having driven a SLK 250 auto, I can say that the Z4 drives much better and it's a lot faster, figures suggest its slightly quicker than the 2.7 Porsche too. The SLK though has some nice touches, the interior and the see through roof are good. The Porsche you get the six pot :thumbsup: but options make your eyes water. I think the only way is to test drive all three, but my money would be on the zed
 
Interesting comment about replacing the tires with other tires with the result being a smoother ride.

Question: How do the three compare on noise (top up and down) and storage room?
 
I think the noise is mainly down to the tyres. Noise in the zed ain't great top up, people claim it is good and it might be compared to other pram tops but I say 'pardon?' far too often over 70.

There are always compromises.
 
Ok, now the silly question. When I build out my z4 on the BMW USA website, it doesnot say if it is the 2012 or 2013 model.

Has the 2013 come out yet?
 
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