What on earth am I thinking about
- Thread starter Mad Professor
- Start date
Mad Professor said:
Mr Professor. Not had many sports cars but I always do my homework. As an engineer, a lack of reliability is not really an option for me and being tighter than 2 coats of paint, losing money also is not one of my hobbies.
After having two Toyota Supras over 9 years and finally letting them go, , picked up my M as a bit of an impulse purchase as the car was priced much lower than expected when reading the advert. Two and and a half years later and 8k miles, I decided to scratch the P word itch after seeing a white Cayman S online. Manual gearbox is rare with the 3.4 NA engine as I haven't seen any for sale since in S guise. 20" wheels and the gearshift seems half way up the dashboard in comparison to where you are sat. Lovely throw on the gears too. An easy car to drive at all speeds.
So far I have only done around 450 miles in the Cayman, that includes 120 miles from Leicester to Wigan and a weekend up to Melrose in Scotland which was 320 round trip ish. So not much more besides. The car is epic, feels really planted and balanced, it feels like a racing car, great noise from the sports exhaust, better satnav, just coming up for 4 years old and only 8200 miles on the clock. It is in essence a new car. No servicing required for 2 years and warranty until late Dec 2018. All for a bargain price of £43K.
It feels a quality machine and a precision instrument. Storage in the front and rear compartments is really handy and you forget the engine is behind you at times.
The M is a completely different proposition. I actually feel lower in the M than the Cayman. The steering wheel is chunky and small, rather than being sat in the middle, you feel like you are over the rear axle or even in the boot at times. The engine noise through the dash board makes me smile. The S54 sometimes sounds a little unrefined but I love it's unruly nature. I feel like I am hanging on with this car, rather than being in control, even though the steering and grip don't often give you dramas. It wants to go and seems impatient if you don't push it a little. A fairly difficult car to drive at low speeds with the clutch and gearbox in first and second. I find my self kangarooing if I haven't been in her for while.
Out on the open road both cars are very rewarding and defo put a smile on my face. I told the missus that I was falling in love with the Cayman in Scotland but when i got home, I wanted to take the M out too...
Will I ever get rid of one, who knows? But at present, I can't think of any cars that are sub £40K that I would want to change. Considering the M is 35% of the price of the Cayman it is a no brainer.
Why it didn't sell at £15k is anyone's guess. This has just reminded me to cancel the AT ad. At £57K miles, she is the cheapest MR in the country but not a single call. One e-mail enquiry that made me feel funny and then I realised I couldn't part with her. :wub:
H.
Mad Professor
Active member
you've hit the nail on the head about finding a decent cargriffnut said:
Mad Professor
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Yep i have indeed considered a 55 AMG -and drove its big brother SL55 which was dissapointing -apparently their electrics are a nightmareZeld4 said:
Mad Professor
Active member
Havard said:Mad Professor said:
Mr Professor. Not had many sports cars but I always do my homework. As an engineer, a lack of reliability is not really an option for me and being tighter than 2 coats of paint, losing money also is not one of my hobbies.
After having two Toyota Supras over 9 years and finally letting them go, , picked up my M as a bit of an impulse purchase as the car was priced much lower than expected when reading the advert. Two and and a half years later and 8k miles, I decided to scratch the P word itch after seeing a white Cayman S online. Manual gearbox is rare with the 3.4 NA engine as I haven't seen any for sale since in S guise. 20" wheels and the gearshift seems half way up the dashboard in comparison to where you are sat. Lovely throw on the gears too. An easy car to drive at all speeds.
So far I have only done around 450 miles in the Cayman, that includes 120 miles from Leicester to Wigan and a weekend up to Melrose in Scotland which was 320 round trip ish. So not much more besides. The car is epic, feels really planted and balanced, it feels like a racing car, great noise from the sports exhaust, better satnav, just coming up for 4 years old and only 8200 miles on the clock. It is in essence a new car. No servicing required for 2 years and warranty until late Dec 2018. All for a bargain price of £43K.
It feels a quality machine and a precision instrument. Storage in the front and rear compartments is really handy and you forget the engine is behind you at times.
The M is a completely different proposition. I actually feel lower in the M than the Cayman. The steering wheel is chunky and small, rather than being sat in the middle, you feel like you are over the rear axle or even in the boot at times. The engine noise through the dash board makes me smile. The S54 sometimes sounds a little unrefined but I love it's unruly nature. I feel like I am hanging on with this car, rather than being in control, even though the steering and grip don't often give you dramas. It wants to go and seems impatient if you don't push it a little. A fairly difficult car to drive at low speeds with the clutch and gearbox in first and second. I find my self kangarooing if I haven't been in her for while.
Out on the open road both cars are very rewarding and defo put a smile on my face. I told the missus that I was falling in love with the Cayman in Scotland but when i got home, I wanted to take the M out too...
Will I ever get rid of one, who knows? But at present, I can't think of any cars that are sub £40K that I would want to change. Considering the M is 35% of the price of the Cayman it is a no brainer.
Why it didn't sell at £15k is anyone's guess. This has just reminded me to cancel the AT ad. At £57K miles, she is the cheapest MR in the country but not a single call. One e-mail enquiry that made me feel funny and then I realised I couldn't part with her. :wub:
H.
Am amazed you didnt have to fight them off with a stick at 15k for your M
43k is serious money -and its going to take a big hit -out of my league im afraid
Mad Professor
Active member
Cant see the point of a cab which is going to be a rattle box -at least the MR was designed with built in stifnessRedUn said:BMWZ4MC said:
What he said...
If you had to change though, I reckon an E63 M6 cab could be good fun, incredible value and sound unbelievable...probably drive like a tank though?
The fact remains that there simply arent many decent days up here when i'm off and able to take my MR out for nice run
Also TBH the MR isnt that happy on our shoddy B roads -it much prefers smooth tarmac
Also it feels kind of wide on B roads -not sure why that is -maybe its just my perception -i'm always concious of its girth for some reason
Anyway its tucked away on trickle now till April
I live up a mile private potholed muddly farm track which is barely passable even in my CRV in the winter -so no point ruining the MR
Mad Professor said:
I hope it doesn't take a hit.
They haven't come down much from new and when studying prices, a manual 981 Cayman S with sub 10k miles is impossible to find. These are the last of the 6 cylinder engines in the Cayman. You are then into GTS specification which is 55K plus.There are cars with 30k miles around what I paid for mine. If I keep the M, the mileage will not increase much as I will swap when events dictate. Not sure if you saw the advert but here it is.
http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=99614
Still on AT with 12 days to go but I am just keeping her on to see if anyone at all was interested. 1200 views and not one phone call...FFS..!!
H.
Mad Professor said:Cant see the point of a cab which is going to be a rattle box -at least the MR was designed with built in stifnessRedUn said:BMWZ4MC said:
What he said...
If you had to change though, I reckon an E63 M6 cab could be good fun, incredible value and sound unbelievable...probably drive like a tank though?
The fact remains that there simply arent many decent days up here when i'm off and able to take my MR out for nice run
Also TBH the MR isnt that happy on our shoddy B roads -it much prefers smooth tarmac
Also it feels kind of wide on B roads -not sure why that is -maybe its just my perception -i'm always concious of its girth for some reason
Anyway its tucked away on trickle now till April
I live up a mile private potholed muddly farm track which is barely passable even in my CRV in the winter -so no point ruining the MR
The m6 cab is hardly flexible, it's just a big car, know what you mean though!
What tyres/suspension are on the zed? Makes a big difference...
Cant help the weather or pot hole situation though
What about a hot hatch? Some are brilliant fun
Mad Professor
Active member
mcbeee said:
Haha
Mad Professor
Active member
RedUn said:Mad Professor said:Cant see the point of a cab which is going to be a rattle box -at least the MR was designed with built in stifnessRedUn said:What he said...
If you had to change though, I reckon an E63 M6 cab could be good fun, incredible value and sound unbelievable...probably drive like a tank though?
The fact remains that there simply arent many decent days up here when i'm off and able to take my MR out for nice run
Also TBH the MR isnt that happy on our shoddy B roads -it much prefers smooth tarmac
Also it feels kind of wide on B roads -not sure why that is -maybe its just my perception -i'm always concious of its girth for some reason
Anyway its tucked away on trickle now till April
I live up a mile private potholed muddly farm track which is barely passable even in my CRV in the winter -so no point ruining the MR
The m6 cab is hardly flexible, it's just a big car, know what you mean though!
What tyres/suspension are on the zed? Makes a big difference...
Cant help the weather or pot hole situation though
What about a hot hatch? Some are brilliant fun
Hot hatch does not appeal -not sepcial enough
Im on stock suspension -all new at 42k and new F1s
Handles very well actually -its just a bit twitchy thats all
I have a B7 RS4 Avant as a daily driver. It's a heavy car but handles remarkably well on country lanes due to its adaptive suspension. It's far more tolerant or poor surfaces than my modified ///M and accelerates to 60 mph in under 5 seconds, even on wet or muddy roads. It might be the ideal solution for your combination of fast car and farm track requirements.
With so many companies now capitalising on the want and NEED from real drivers to get back to basics, and seemingly away from where we have arrived as a modern day motoring world..... i'll say it again, stick with your awesome analogue platform and make some changes..... You will not believe what it can become, with alittle time, effort and money.
Just like this old alfa.... the z4m has all the ingredients, we just need to add alittle heat, and some spice, and enjoy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BuZmJmpTdk
Just like this old alfa.... the z4m has all the ingredients, we just need to add alittle heat, and some spice, and enjoy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BuZmJmpTdk
Mad Professor
Active member
Beedub said:With so many companies now capitalising on the want and NEED from real drivers to get back to basics, and seemingly away from where we have arrived as a modern day motoring world..... i'll say it again, stick with your awesome analogue platform and make some changes..... You will not believe what it can become, with alittle time, effort and money.
Just like this old alfa.... the z4m has all the ingredients, we just need to add alittle heat, and some spice, and enjoy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BuZmJmpTdk
See what you mean but im not sure driving an Audi S4 would make me want to go out for a drive -and wouldnt feel special -nice idea for a daily driver
Mad Professor
Active member
Beedub said:With so many companies now capitalising on the want and NEED from real drivers to get back to basics, and seemingly away from where we have arrived as a modern day motoring world..... i'll say it again, stick with your awesome analogue platform and make some changes..... You will not believe what it can become, with alittle time, effort and money.
Just like this old alfa.... the z4m has all the ingredients, we just need to add alittle heat, and some spice, and enjoy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BuZmJmpTdk
My dad had an Alfa GTV and a Lancia Fulvia when i was a young boy -just fabulous cars
Mad Professor
Active member
So just paid for my insurance on the M for another year at £125.81
For comparison my wife's picanto [with me on the policy] came in at £130.02
Hard to figure how they work out the realtive risk on those prices
That's kind of made my mind up now to keep the MR as my insurance would rocket if i switched cars -even a humble MX5 would be a lot higher apparently
For comparison my wife's picanto [with me on the policy] came in at £130.02
Hard to figure how they work out the realtive risk on those prices
That's kind of made my mind up now to keep the MR as my insurance would rocket if i switched cars -even a humble MX5 would be a lot higher apparently