OK, the time is nigh. I really fancy a 2 seat roadster of some kind, budget around 7k, less is better.

Main shortlist...

350z
S2000
Boxster S
Z4 3.0
TT V6
GTV V6 Spider
Z3M (if you can find one in budget)
SLK 350 (again iffy on the budget)

Other possibilities..

VX220
MR2 roadster
Barchetta

Now, I know the VX isn't a roadster really, but I quite like them.

Truth is, I could probably live with any of the above, my main problem is I'm not really sure what I want to use it for.
It'll be a fun/weekend car, I'd quite like the Mrs to be able to use it, (which sort of rules out the more track orientated types), I'd like a bit of comfort myself, but then I want to trackday it and, all being well, take it to the ring next year.
the eagle eyed will also be saying...wheres the MX5? That's about the only thing I am sure of, I don't want an MX5.

So, rambling post aside. Pros and cons if anyone has any experience of the above please.
Or any other left field ideas welcome.

S2000...some good ideas there buy most are cars with the roof chopped off rather than a dedicated roadster. The s2000 is quick, sexy and not made anymore with Jap reliability plus tuning potential if need be. Oh and its definitely in budget just get an 04 plate onwards as it has better kit and looks nicer

Ah, other considerations. Must be standard, can't be bothered doing power mods or taking on someone elses 'project'.

I think I need to drive as many as possible and eliminate some. Wife isn't keen on the S2000, and to be honest, if the Vtec kick is as they say, I think that would scare her to death!

Still I wouldn't rule it out till I've driven one.

No experience of any of the others except the Alfa V6 Spider and Barchetta.

The Barchetta is an excellent little car and I don't think you'd regret owning one.

You'd have to get used to left hand drive of course, but other than that, I think you'd love it

For me, having to put the lady in a car with some of my input it would be the z4 or boxster s.

Z4 is modern looking/fell and should be alittle more refined than the others.

The boxster really is quite a easy going car to live with i reckon. I have been driving a 2.5 around recently and seems well built. Soft enough for our rubbish roads and good for a spirited drive. The "s" i can imagine being a fantastic drive. The interior is alittle dated though is looking at an older model and history is a must.

3.2 boxter s is a highly rated car and the better looking one too.
Speak or pm Edz he owned one for a while not too long ago.

In my opinion 350z and TTv6 are numb, but like you say ultimately test driving as many as you can is going to make your decision a little easier and you can start to make a shortlist.

Good luck and keep us posted, will be interesting to hear how you get on.

We have a Boxster S and rate it very highly. My wife drives it most of the time but I'm always happy to borrow it. It sounds good (important to us), has been reliable, not bad on fuel (31 mpg av.), parts are pretty reasonable and I can work on it myself. The boot space is excellent too making it a good car for a long weekend away, to the 'ring for example.
As a track machine there are better but as an all rounder I think it's hard to beat.

Boxster if money not the issue or Barchetta if it is for me from that list. What about an Elise?

S2000 is a great car, but, the rev happy engine does insist on being driven up in the rev range for most response, otherwise it can be somewhat lethargic pulling away. And if you're up in the rev range (which is addictive), it will come at a cost of mpg. Significantly!! Then there's the appalling vision both front and rear. I have a customer who got rid of his after 3 months for mostly these reasons. He bought an Mr2, which his good lady loves.

Barchetta's. I've owned 4. Great little cars. But not a track toy.

Porsche 3.2 wins it hands down for me.

Like others have said, keep us posted.

Consider the v6 slk320 as well. I've had a couple lately and a good one (clean underneath and round arches) will be available for 4k. Lovely smooth v6 and noise!

There are a few converted right hand drive Barchettas for sale on various websites at the moment

I have to say, this all started when I discovered the price of Boxter s's had fallen to sub 5k in some cases.

Doing research on them throws up the IMS and RMS issues, so that prompted looking at everything else.

So far I've pretty much decided to buy everything on my list at one point or another :-)

Research so far...

The S2000 is the sensible choice. Fast and reliable but it just doesn't grab me in any way. Maybe a drive in one will change that.

The 350Z again, is a solid sensible choice, but the roadster isn't a pleasant shape with the top up. (yes, I'm a being a tart about it!)

Z4, stylish, if a bit marmite, Runflats and a dodgy ride quality by all accounts.

TT V6 Potential Dash issues, and even the Mrs thinks its 'soft'.

GTV V6, Again, not a shape I like with the top down

Z3M Long in the tooth now and the Mrs wouldn't drive it, "It's a hooligans motor..." Perfect for me then !

SLK 350 this is the wifes choice, and I have to say it does make sense, fast (in a straight line) , folding hard top, (handy in Harlow!), and you can hustle it round a track with a little coaching.

I think it's most likely to come down to a fight between the Z4, Boxter S or SLK if we can find one.

Wait a few more weeks/months and get your choice even cheaper

Well, it might be a little while longer yet. The taxman may have something to say about my budget!

All three are good looking cars, the merc offers a litte more security and class IMHO

Saying that a z4 has torn past the pub I'm sitting in and it sounded lovely!

S2000 tuning potential, really?

Aside from supercharging (lots of money), or changing the gear ratios there's not much there that is easily accessible for a tuning perspective.

I don't get the vtec 'kick', they just make a load more noise and go a bit faster. I can't see them being too lairy for your wife to drive unless she revs the nuts off it the whole time. Good fun on track though as long as set up right (suspension all fully adjustable for camber, toe, etc.) pretty raw car for everyday use - depends if that is what you are after.

Boxster s would get my vote, with s2000 coming 2nd.

The 3 litre I hope. I had a run out in Shabba's one and it was nice. Lacks the turbo shove in the back but still very quick (plus rear wheel drive). It lacks an limited slip diff but those can be added if you have the money. The Si version of the 3 litre is slightly quicker as well (but also lacks the limited slip diff). The 2.5 is a detuned six cylinder as far as I can tell.

The Z4 just because it sounds good, handles well and has surprisingly good MPG for a big engined car. (watch the hood motor which can get flooded because the drain holes get blocked).

How about a Maserati? Reserve is £7,400

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2003-MASERATI-...=item4adbbbb8f0

Take an age, and an industrial angle grinder to get the top down on that.

Beautiful car though! Personally I can't stand convertibles, they look like prams. When it is really hot the top of your head fries. When it rains they leak. And they are so easily vandalised.

An Italian car with electrical issues. Who'd have thought it.

I used to think that, especially in this country, but had my mind changed when I bought a Westfield, completely on a whim. It was a totally useless car in every respect except one, driving fun.

It's marmite I agree, and we're heading into winter, so probably won't get the top down much for a bit, but convertible it is for me.

One good thing about convertibles, they tend to be low mileage. Do you like the Lotus Elan? I don't know anything about them except they look nice. I've just looked up Westfield cars - they do look a bit impractical - but fun! If I had £7,000 to spend on a car I think I would like an electric blue coupe plus in showroom condition with a sunroof and special alloys.

Do you know what Lotus stands for?

Yeah and FIAT stands for?

Yeah. And Ford stands for? (This one only works in French...)

Lots Of Trouble, Usually Serious

Fix It Again Tomorrow

'Orrible Rubbish Drive?

:-)

Nearly! It's "Fabrication Ordinaire; Réparation Difficile"

But what does Nick Clegg stand for...?

Back on topic, I think the 3.0 Z4 is gorgeous.

Fix Or Repair Daily

I once gotta bit annoyed and amended fiat to:

Italian automotive trash.

I later forgave the car once I'd fixed it!

Just to add, after getting some insurance quotes, the Beemer is now nosing ahead of the Boxster. I can get a newer car for the same money and it'll cost less to insure.

I'd be interested to hear what you go for TBird; MrsC has always loved the Z4 and who knows, I might be entitled to PPI insurance or something...!

Found On Road Dead

I stress, I've yet to actually sit, let alone drive any of these cars, so the final result is still a complete unknown. Its also complicated by the Mrs wanting a Disco 3 and if I get mine first there could be hell to pay but all being well, the money will be available from tomorrow :-)

Well I had a run out in friend of a friends Boxster. 55 plate 987 2.7 model.

I was a bit surprised by it...and for all the wrong reasons really. Getting in felt awkward, but maybe I've just got used to big, roomy barges and need to re-adjust. When you're getting on a bit though, those contortions get harder to perform.

When I got into the drivers seat, it just felt really uncomfortable. Now I didn't adjust the seat (didn't seem right to undo the kind fellows settings) so maybe it was just a case of fiddling a bit, but I couldn't have driven it very far as it was.

That's said, it felt really together and the sound, even from the 2.7 was a lovely growl. He was very positive about the car generally though, and also said his choice came down to Z4 or Boxster and he has absolutely no regrets about buying the Boxster.

Hopefully the wifes disco will be sorted tomorrow and I can get down to some serious test drives.

Think you need to write that test drive off and get into a Boxter S and get into a comfy driving position and then go for a good test drive.

Quite.

I might get the chance to have a look at a 53 plate S tomorrow. Depends on timings and how tired we are after the 160 miles drive to get the Disco.

OK, haven't had the chance or time to go look at anything, but, an 05 plate 987 S popped up local to me at a price that's too good to pass. The fella who owns it is currently in Singapore (yes I know, but he's back this Thursday) and I shall go see it next Saturday.

If it's all it's claimed to be I shall buy it :-)

I had an 05 987 for 5 years, and it was great. Best thing I ever bought! Get it thoroughly checked (of course). I remember having it serviced, and a guy had bought in an 07ish Cayman. Bought it and only a few weeks later the engine was . That is not a cheap job...

Now how cheap is too cheap?

Another 55 plate S just appeared on AT but his one at a suspiciously low price. I will phone later and see but I fully expect a scam on this one.

As I thought, the car is in Innsbruck, yeah right, but it can be delivered to the uk for the princely sum of 8k.

I'll have 2 for that price.

Next :-)

Keep looking, TbirdX! I wish I was in your position, so I'm enjoying your quest vicariously...!

I had another bit of luck today. One of the directors at work, who is on his 5th boxster and has just bought a shiny new black Panamera, wandered past as I was looking at Boxsters.

I called him over and showed him the one I'm looking at Saturday.

'Oh', he says ' I've got a hardtop for one of those in the garage'
'Really' says I 'How much you want for it?'
'For you?, not to sell on'
'Yes, if I get one'
'Free as long as you don't sell it'

I always liked him :-) We talk a lot about Porsches.

On the minus side, I might drop the S and get a 2.7 instead. I don't want to but my budget has spiralled already and I'm really wanting a 987 now. We'll see.

What is your budget now? I would opt for a better condition 2.7 than a slightly worse 3.2. The handling is the essence of the Boxster anyway, and that is a constant over the two versions.

budget is around 9k +/-...I'm not averse to a 2.7. If its the right one I'd be happy

Not sure where you are, but there is a Porsche specialist near Reading called Northway Porsche. Seems a really decent guy. He is right next to a industrial estate where there used to be a Coupe specialist many moons ago.

Also Boxa.net is a good forum for advice etc

I'm on boxa.net :-)

I haven't really started in earnest. I'm in no hurry but hopefully this weekend will get out and about and see a few.

Went to see a Basalt Black 05 plate 987 S today. It was lovely.

It's slightly more than I really wanted to pay so I'm just sitting at home being cool and giving myself some time to avoid jumping in blindly.

Watch this space.

So you'll phone up about it tomorrow?

Nope.





It's sitting on the drive right now :-)

It was 9 miles from me and it took me 90 minutes to get home ;-)

Pics to follow

Wow! Congratulations!

Nice one!

Good one. You snooze, you lose.

Pics...but remember, I'm no photographer
















And what a first day to spend top down. It's such a docile beast if it needs to be. You can pootle around with just that little burble behind but when you need to, it'll roar like a dragon.

I got some mud on it as I took the father in law down to our local tea hut in the depths of Epping Forest, so it's not as clean as it was yesterday but its still shiny, shiny ;-)

Fair play! Looks lovely. The S looks tidy aswell, nice wheels etc. Im sure you will enjoy it. Great day for the top down, ive had mine down all day today. Makes the experience all the more enjoyable.

Very nice. I've had a hankering for one of these for a while.

Lovely car very nice!

Tbirdx, when you said it was slightly more than you wanted to pay, I'm guessing you mean a significant step on your original budget? Or did you snag a special bargain!?

That's a long story really Jim. I might start another thread on how I ended up here, but the short story is a bit of both.

Budget started out at around 5K, I went round and round in circles, even to the point of saying I wouldn't bother.

I ended up handing over 9.5k for the Box, which was pretty much the cheapest one I could find anywhere in the country.

There was another, broadly similar, car in Scotland, but it had a sand interior, (which I hated), and slightly more miles. There was also no chance of realistically viewing it and then the travel expenses getting there and back. It also had more miles on it than my car.

The next examples ramped up in price by anywhere from 1-4K.

So, all things considered, I got what I wanted, in the colours I liked and I only had to travel 9 miles to do so, so I do believe I got a bargain in all honesty.

I'm very lucky I have a very understanding Mrs ;-)

Sounds fantastic. Just for, ahem, research purposes, I looked for similar cars on Autotrader and that suggests you've done a very good deal. May you, Mrs TBirdx and the Boxter enjoy many sunny days!

Well I took my first trip up the motorway with the Box. It handled it very well. Noisy, yes, but you could still hold a decent conversation at the speed limit without having to shout.
It also gets to the speed limit very quickly, I might've strayed just over it once or twice ;-)

Despite everyone seemingly wanting to wipe me out, had two, lets call them, people, just pull out of side roads as if they hadn't seen me. I assume they were buried in their Iphones. Be careful out there folks.

SO far, I'm very impressed with the Porsche.

Looks like a good price! I am sure you will enjoy it - the handling is fantastic.

I had the 18" wheels on mine - I wondered how the ride is on the 19s?

I have to say, it changes direction like nothing I've ever driven before. N rated Goodyears all round with plenty of life in them yet, seem very good.

I don't really have anything to compare, except for the brief ride in the 2.7 and I don't know what size wheels they have, but I would say the ride is very good for a full on sports car. It takes bumps and uneven road without jarring your fillings loose or kicking you in the coccyx and doesn't rattle or bang or creak at all.

I don't know if its just me, but when you get out after a spirited blast, it even smells like a proper sports car :-)

Bung a bit of Castrol R in there and you'd have the full set!!

Sounds like you are enjoying it.

The 2.7 has 17in wheels, but I had the 18in. If you are still getting a decent ride with 19s, that is great - like you said, considering its performance, the ride is very good.

Well, we're 6 months + into Porsche ownership and so a little update is probably due...

First, the painful bits...

Major Service inc new plugs and brake fluid change £475
2 rear suspension springs and drop links £400
2 Bonnet struts £15
Set of Osram Nightbreaker Headlight bulbs £15
Roll of compressed foam £6
MOT £35 (passed, no advisories)

So spend of just under £1K thus far. Which is pretty much in line with expectations...or at least the accepted ones.

I also purchased a set of Zunsport grilles, to protect the front rads, £50 2nd hand from ebay.

Issues.

Well, one headlight blew, hence the Osrams, the compressed foam was to fix the internal door seals, which had perished and caused the bottom of the doors to get soaked. A cheap and not too difficult fix in the end.
I've cleaned and cleared the oh so important drain holes.
I also discovered, in a bit of a frightening way, that the car had a denison gateway fitted, which is a £500 addition to the Porsche PCM that allows me to play and control an ipod, from the steering wheel controls. Result.

The reason it was a bit scary was because I didn't RTFM, as is the way of blokedom, and thus was blissfully unaware of the very important switch you need to flick over when you wish to use it, because if you don't, it confuses the hell out of the canbus and causes the PCM to constantly restart itself. No harm done in the end and one very relieved Tbird :-)

The car itself...well, what a machine. It goes well, turns well and sticks like the runny stuff to that proverbial army blanket.

In a fit of, well, god knows what, the Mrs urged me to tick a bucket list item and pay the Ring a visit.

What started as a simple ring trip morphed into a 4 night/5 day 1400 mile trip through France, Germany and Belgium.

We took in the Schlumpf collection in France, a visit to the Porsche Musuem with factory tour in Stuttgart and then onto a two day visit to the ring. Coupled with a 150mph blast along the autobahn (and yes, I had Kraftwerk playing as we did so :-) ) I also had 2 laps of the ring, one of which was the VLN layout, which means the ring plus the GP circuit combined. To borrow Mr Martins phrase. It was mega.
The car, shrugged it's shoulders at it all and took it all in it's teutonic stride with ease.

We did 25 hours in the seats of the Boxster and I fully expected to get crippled by them. It's a testament to the whole car that neither of us suffered in any great way after such an amount. The only bother being I missed cruise control on the long stretches. If I were doing that sort of thing regularly, I would have it retro fitted for sure.

Following that, I took it on a track day to Snetterton. Blasted it around all day on its very sticky Goodyear eagles and melted one of the brake pad wear sensors!! Quite common apparently. Another simple fix.
The pads were fine and I had no fade in the pedal at all.

Now, were coming into 'top down' season and just last weekend I was on a Pistonheads' run out of east anglia to Aldeburgh. Lovely sunny day and we were top down all the way there and back. Great fun.

Lined up. World Rallycross at Lydden on the 23rd. (watching not driving ;-) ) Simply Porsche at Beaulieu on the 7th, which is also soft top sunday at goodwood but cant do both.
Theres an event at our local (ish) Porsche dealer in Colcheter coming up and others as and when they pop up.

So far, it's been everything I wanted and more. I'm stunned at how usable and practical it is (my first lap of the ring was done with both boots full of luggage and you'd never have known) and yet how bootable it is. You can drive like a hooligan and chances are, you will run out of talent before the car does, or you can drive it like its made of cheese and it won't complain.

In short, I still smile just as I walk by it in the morning. I smile when I fire it up, when I give it a bootful and when I get out.

Bring on the summer..can't Wait.