Count Steer wrote: ↑Sun Jul 30, 2023 9:45 pm
Someone mentioned the MX5 and it reminded me about the Honda S2000's. They have a lot of fans and my petrol-head neighbour had one. I rather like that VTEC engine too. So I looked at the prices. Woah...they really do have their fans, pretty pricey for the later ones - £20k for a 55k miles, 2008, £12k for a 116k miles 2005.
The later ones are less likely to kill you. The earlier models didn't have traction/stability/anti-yaw, that combined with a peaky v-tec engine meant that if you were an average driver the chances were if you tried to push on, or it was wet, you'd be going through a hedge backwards.
Crazy amount of power out of an NA engine tho'.
Something like 286bhp for some of them iirc. Sounds like a good candidate for a mid-life crisis car.
(I had a Honda saloon with a 2litre VTEC engine in for a year or so, dunno what model - took what was available on a company car scheme while I pondered what I wanted. It didn't turn heads but it was a good drive. The gearbox/change was v nice and not unlike the MX5 box. It was all 'quite sprightly').
Doubt is not a pleasant condition.
But certainty is an absurd one.
Voltaire
Can't really stretch to anything really cool like the Griffith, but you could get a Chimaera for 10k, as well as an old 'S'.
4 litres of booming V8, open top, all the performance you could need, what else could you want for? Plus, you'd have a nice hobby for your middle age in keeping it running
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...certainly kept me busy...
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What about a 944? I had only the 2.5 as an every day car for a couple of years. Was a great car to drive and useable all year around. One of the many I regret selling and certainly far more engaging and fun than the lump of a boxter I had a go in.
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weeksy wrote: ↑Mon Jul 31, 2023 12:01 pm
I don't think you've quite grasped the mid life crisis thing and are stuck firmly in the horrible pile of shite thing instead
I've always had cars like this so you might be right and one day I'll wake up (at 3am for a piss) and feel the need for an overweight german barge in order to attract a 'dolly bird'
Porsche 928 is a nice car if you don't want a 911? I had a 928 S2 back in my younger days ( early / mid 90's!) - lovely thing if a little lardy but went and sounded well. Also had a TVR (350i convertible), sounded lovely. Do like a TVR but chassis rot from the inside out leaving you with Maccy D straws for a chassis
More modern'ish MLC car, I think a Honda S2000 is a great call if you can get a nice one on budget.
Le_Fromage_Grande wrote: ↑Mon Jul 31, 2023 1:06 pm
944s are a bit poo by modern standards, a 20 year old 2.2 Astra has the same performance.
True but my 2.5 was incredibly well balanced, you could place it where you wanted and balance it on the throttle. As always, it depends on what you want i guess. The lack of performance was why I got rid of it in the end though.
v8-powered wrote: ↑Mon Jul 31, 2023 1:11 pm
Porsche 928 is a nice car if you don't want a 911?
I've always fancied one, so I just had a look on eBay and there isn't much under £20k, there are one or two but you'd easily spend double what you paid for it on the restoration.
For many years they were almost giving them away. I hankered after an air-cooled 911 at the time but didn't have the budget whereas the 928 was pretty cheap in comparison. Still think they look good now, well ahead of their time.
Old Porsches can be expensive for parts, the parts they share with VWs are okay price wise, the Porsche specific stuff is expensive, obviously it depends on what you want, but an old Porsche for £10K is going to end up costing a lot more.
Looking at what's about for £10K I don't think I'd buy any of them.
I very nearly bought the a non-notchback SMART Roadster a few years ago - quite glad I didn't actually after the test ride (and argument with the brummie owner who seemed to believe that water sloshing about under the floor carpets and 3 mm gaps in the roof fitting were perfectly acceptable).
My wife has an MX5 which I am reduced to driving while my van is at the dealers for some warranty work. 'At' rather then 'Having work done' seems to be the best description.
