As some of you may be aware I have had an Alfa 916 Spider for about nine months. I have had several (major) issues with this beast, including replacement engine, clutch, suspension, etc.. All these issues have been sorted, and the car is utterly lovely. The noise of the Twin Spark is great when using the right foot... the problem I have is that I really do NOT enjoy driving her . The handling and scuttle-shake on the roads around me is unpleasant, and she rattles like a super-tanker full of ball-bearings on anything other than a motorway.

I still want a rag-top for the summer months; any recommendations on a replacement for the Alfa? As I have two Coupes I do not want to own a third money-pit , so I am thinking Japanese. MR2 Roadster anyone? I am considering an MX5, but they are SOOOOO common, and the MR2 seems to tick a lot of the boxes. Budget basically what I can get for the Alfa; 85000 miles, 1996, two owners including me, all in black with nice black leather so I would have thought £2.5K to £3K.

Any ideas??

Tim

Barchetta - soooooo cool

(although at £2.5k, the chances are you'll end up with another money-pit)

... could have bought Hovedan's.....

Saab 9-3, I have the Aero convertible, never goes wrong and a good looking car.

The mr2 mk3 suffers with a fair amount of scuttle shake, compartivly the mk1 mx5 I had suffered much much less with this.
Go with a nice mk2/mk3 possible mx5, there common as muck but there is a very good reason for this!

The saab is a good choice but when they go wrong, they go expensively wrong. So, my recommendation is get a mx5 you will not regret it.

Probably a but too old/cheap for you, but I've had a Peugeot 306 Cabrio for the past few years, it's a 52 plate so one of the very last ones, got a hardtop for it too (but you need somewhere to store it in summer). It's only a 1.8 petrol but nippy enough and with 4 seats it's pretty practical too. But maybe you don't want/need 4 seats?

I just couldn't see myself in a Saab, even being as old as I am, sorry Phil!

it's not that bad!

... and I am of a certain age

aha, so it will be tim43 later this year then?

You could possible get an early (2001+) Mk2.5 MX-5 from £2500 up. My Fiancée has the 1.8i SVT Sport, 147bhp, heated leather, 6-speed and Bilsteins. Not sure if you'd get one for under £3k but you might be lucky!

Otherwise you could easily get a decent Mk1 for <£2k. I think I've even seen supercharged Mk1's for £2500 up.

A mate of mine had the latest shape MR2, which he changed for a Boxster. He sold that and now has a Polo but is after a cheap Mk1 MX-5 for fun in.

The MX-5 is fun to drive slow too, which is why I think I prefer it over the Coupe in congested Kent! They are a good, cheap trackday car too.

And possibly the simplest car I have had the pleasure of taking a spanner to, everything is accessible.

Corrected that for you Tim. Just don't keep one near the sea though, that cost me on mine!

Would buy another in a heartbeat Even more exlusive than a coop, and even more questions and comments from fellow drivers and passers by, and you hear them all with the roof down

If it was me, it would be the mk3 mr2. Great handling, no cam belt to worry about and rear wheel drive.

I dont see that many around either. I have driven one also and I enjoyed it.

If you could up your budget a few hundred you could have one of these

Didn't think this would be in my price range; close though

Are they rear-wheel drive? You can see that I have done my research .. know that the MX5 is RWD, but if the MR2 is the same it has just gone up a couple of notches!

Plus a few

100% rear wheel drive.

http://www.mr2dc.com/index.php/page/cat/about-mr2s/post/mk3

MR2 means

Mid engined
Rear wheel drive
2 Seater

So yes they are RWD

What a wally? Just get me on QI with Alan Davies...

Cheers guys

SAAB; either 900 Turbo S convertible or 9-3 Aero convertible. Had both over a period of 12 years and they never went wrong.

Lovely cars, but I really want a little nipper ( ) , not a grand tourer. She will only be used for sunny drives in the summer, and will spend the winter in the garage whilst I thrash the Coupes. A 2-seater is fine.....

I've driven a Mk3 MR2 and a Mk1 1.8 MX-5 and I thought the MR2 felt much more special/exotic than the Mazda, I think it was to do with having the engine behind you and more stripped-back interior - sort of "Elise Lite". So I'd go for the MR2.

Mazda was great though, I can see why they're so popular.

Do you need any luggage space, cos there is naff all in an MR2! And harder to get in and out of.

Neal is right, there is a reason why the MX-5 is the worlds best selling two-seater sports car.

But really, you should test drive good examples of both and then decide

I've heard it means 'midship runabout two-seater'...

A chap at work has a Mk3 MR2 and loves it to bits - bit tail-happy though, and with it being mid-engined, when it lets go, it will change ends far quicker than a front-engined RWD car

A well-driven Coupe would be much faster in the wet

Quick search on Autotrader comes up with:-

BMWZ3 - you'll get a 2.8 for your £2.5k - £3k
Honda CRX DelSol - should be able to get a V-Tec - FWD, but VERY good handling
Merc SLK or CLK (or even an SL-Class)
Suzuki Cappucino (strangely appealing...)
Reliant Scimitar SS1
Volvo C70

LOADS of choice.....

Good point, early MR2s are meant to be the worst for it, I think they changed the settings for later cars. The early one I drove felt very nimble and pointy, imagine it'd be a handful in the wet.

Should be okay here though as it's just for sunny days, although if I had one I'd definitely take it on track too.

Volvo c70.Cheap swedish reliable,
I have one myself.And you enjoyed driving it

The other car,although not really a cabriolet is the Nissan 300 T top.
Cheap,and look okay.

Both too heavy and toy-laden to be properly good to drive though, surely?

MGF?

RWD and mid-engined. 1.8VVC is ~145bhp and Trophy is ~160bhp.

Cue K-series related HG posts

Surely many will have been upgraded already and will be fairly easy to find? Particularly enthusiast owned cars and that issue is well known.

Just a suggestion anyway, all cars have some achilles heel. CHOD stories don't seem to put people off Coupe ownership particularly.

Agreed, it's all the other issues that put people off, CHOD is minor by comparison

MGF is a decent shout if you can live with the image.

I'd love to test drive one, I just wouldn't want to spend my own money

I just think I would need more hair........

You'd have to dig out Civic_Legend's review of the MGF. His girlfriend owned one I think.

I would imagine she had more hair than me.......

Make sure you dig out the extremely camp picture of Shabba (and Civic, I think) in the MGF while you're at it.

Saw this MX5 on another forum

http://www.vx220.org.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/109513-2002-mazda-mx5-mk25-phoenix-special-edition/

Seems cracking value for an 02 plate MX5, no idea if it has any problems or if the miles are high but it looks tidy enough.

MGF, no thanks. I would prefer an MX5 or MR2 anyday, just watch out for cheap tyres and/or knackered suspension.

That MX5 looks lovely......

Got to sell the Alfa first though

Corrected that for you Tim.

That MX5 is a nice spot, but I look on it with no more appreciation of it's aesthetic qualities as I do a Ford Focus, sadly. Instantly forgettable

So, how about these...

The sensible option;
Pug 206cc

The car that will make your neighbours think you've won the lottery;
230 SLK

If you can live with the hairdresser comments
Titty

How about a BMW 320 convertible - year 2000 - 2002, German, reliable and the E46 models had 6 cylinder engines so really nice and smooth... you can get hard tops for them for the winter if you wanted, they come up on E Bay from time to time.

Pug a no-no...
SLK is very nice
TT is also nice, but......

I'll do some more research next month.....

[quote=DanTheManc]MR2 means

Mid engined
Rear wheel drive
2 Seater

So yes they are RWD [/quote
The original translation of MR2 stood for midship runabout

I'm looking for a 330 convertible. Prices these last few months have gone up where there were plenty going for 2.5-3k they now seem to be up for 3-4k for the sane spec car,before my coupe I had a Peugeot 306 cabriolet 2.0litre. I thought It was a great motor and still looks good all these years later,for me the 1.8. Is very under powered

MK3 MR2 for me. EVO mag rave about the car and call it "The Japanese Lotus Elise" I was considering one before I bought another coupé. Close second would be a mint MK1 MX5, you'd get a later plate 1.8 in a red that's actually red, not pink! A mate of mine has an early Import that's been supercharged and it's probably the best fun you can have with yer clothes on!

You cant expect me to recommend anything else for the price bracket, I really miss mine, you will rarely see another on the road, cheap to run (if bought wisely), fun to drive, loads of luggage space, uber cheap to insure, more importantly:

Italian, mid-engined, hand built (in a fashion), pop up head lights, targa lid, usable classic in the summer, handbrake and door pins from a Ferrari Dino/308/F40 ...

... and spawned the MR2 MK1!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you...

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C244182



Happy hunting, and enjoy whatever you decide upon!

Another vote for the X! I've had 8........

Find a few more pennies and revtastic S2000s come into your price range. A mate has just paid £3100 for an X-reg one.

Or get a loan and buy a vx220 turbo!!