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Whats the best 2 seater under £5k

flango

flango

Hardcore MB Enthusiast
Joined
Jun 10, 2008
Messages
10,984
Location
Gods own country
Car
Mercedes SLK R171
Pal of mine is looking for a weekender that will also get used occasionally on his commute of 80 miles round trip (motorway). We were going to test drive a Chrysler crossfire over Christmas but it was sold before we got the chance

The criteria is under £5k and preferably no older than a 53 plate and no Porsche Boxtsers (cant get them at this money and they are sh*te)

The options I see so far are

1. Chrysler crossfire
2. Mazda MX5
3. Mercedes SLK
4. Audi TT
5. BMW Z4
6. BMW Z3

So what do we think? What's the best of the above or any alternatives?
 
1. Ugly and cheap interior. Suspension is quite bouncy.
2. Icon. Quite fun, not too powerful and tiny. Lots of aftermarket parts.
3. Would rather have CLK. Looks better in my opinion.
4. Very good 1.8T engine, with Quattro drive is quite fun to drive, even if it's only Haldex Clutch operated, instead of (true:)) TorSen. Hard to get unmolested example though.
5 and 6 - don't know anything about them.
 
flango said:
Pal of mine is looking for a weekender that will also get used occasionally on his commute of 80 miles round trip (motorway). We were going to test drive a Chrysler crossfire over Christmas but it was sold before we got the chance

The criteria is under £5k and preferably no older than a 53 plate and no Porsche Boxtsers (cant get them at this money and they are sh*te)

The options I see so far are

1. Chrysler crossfire
2. Mazda MX5
3. Mercedes SLK
4. Audi TT
5. BMW Z4
6. BMW Z3

So what do we think? What's the best of the above or any alternatives?
Click to expand...

230 Mercedes CLK for me.

202 240? - Bit of a sleeper if he is in to that sort of thing.

Out and out sporters though would be the Audi TT. I hear BMs have head gasket issues. Not the end of the world but it haunts the drivers as in, when will mine go.
 
It depends how he measures 'best'. I guess only he can decide on that one.

@£5k I'd avoid the Z3, they're more of a £3k car IMHO.
Likewise for the SLK, avoid the R170, stick with a higher mileage R171.

£ per smile the MX5 wins my vote.
 
Avoid the Crossfire. I picked up a nice little Z4 from a dealer at the end of the summer for £4,500. I've since learnt it's a very very rare colour combo (sapphire black with beige mohair roof). It was a little rough around edges so I had it detailed and bought some new BBS wheels and it's a great car now. I like it and would recommend it. Alas, I'm selling in the next month or so as I prefer my big cruising cars (S-Class, 7 series etc.) and will be getting another Audi S8 as a toy. Will probably kick myself once it warms up in a few months but oh well!
 
Why limit himself to 2 seats if he wants a rag top. Lots of pseudo 4 seater cabriolets out there at very reasonable money. Off the wall choice I think these are very distinctive ---German mechanics and built by a French Coachbuilder Heuliez . OPEL/VAUXHALL TIGRA 2 often "the wife's car" generally unmarked ones available for silly money if you can find one.
1280px-Opel_Tigra_2_vl.jpg
 
What about a VW EOS ?
 
trapperjohn said:
230 Mercedes CLK for me.

202 240? - Bit of a sleeper if he is in to that sort of thing.

Out and out sporters though would be the Audi TT. I hear BMs have head gasket issues. Not the end of the world but it haunts the drivers as in, when will mine go.
Click to expand...

Has to be a 2 seater to suit the brief
 
grober said:
Why limit himself to 2 seats if he wants a rag top. Lots of pseudo 4 seater cabriolets out there at very reasonable money. Off the wall choice I think these are very distinctive ---German mechanics and built by a French Coachbuilder Heuliez . OPEL/VAUXHALL TIGRA 2 often "the wife's car" generally unmarked ones available for silly money if you can find one.
Click to expand...

Has to be a two seater for the driving dynamics non of the Pseudo cabs have anywhere near 50/50 weight distribution with either roof up or down. Also the Vauxhall's are prone to wiring looms and roof motors going regular . Tigra and Astra both fall into that category as the Astra was one of my first thoughts too
 
Out of the initial list it has to be the MX5 for the combination of fun, engineering quality (we will come to the rust issue!) and cost of ownership.

There are quite a number around with heated seats, both special editions and standard models so worth looking out for, the 1.8 Sport has the better 6 speed gearbox (leather and heated seats were usually fitted as standard but trim levels did change a little), I would also try to find one with the hard top as it does make it an all year round car but the tops can be found after although they can be expensive.

Check the sills for rust and repairs but critically the front crash members, the crash safety was greatly improved post 2001 with deformable front beams. The problem was they were laminated steel and can corrode out of sight and rarely get properly inspected at MOT time. Before buying one insist on removing the under tray and getting a very good look at the front sub frame and crash members.

Good ones are out there so invest a little time and it will pay dividends later. :)
 
SLK for me, but I am biased. You can get a very good 230SLK for well under 5 grand.
 
DSM10000 said:
Out of the initial list it has to be the MX5 for the combination of fun, engineering quality (we will come to the rust issue!) and cost of ownership.

There are quite a number around with heated seats, both special editions and standard models so worth looking out for, the 1.8 Sport has the better 6 speed gearbox (leather and heated seats were usually fitted as standard but trim levels did change a little), I would also try to find one with the hard top as it does make it an all year round car but the tops can be found after although they can be expensive.

Check the sills for rust and repairs but critically the front crash members, the crash safety was greatly improved post 2001 with deformable front beams. The problem was they were laminated steel and can corrode out of sight and rarely get properly inspected at MOT time. Before buying one insist on removing the under tray and getting a very good look at the front sub frame and crash members.

Good ones are out there so invest a little time and it will pay dividends later. :)
Click to expand...

I totally agree with your comments particularly the chassis and sill corrosion, I know this was bad on the Mk2 and Mk2.5 as when we had the business we welded up more than I care to remember. I thouht this had been sorted on the Mk3 though and was no longer an issue? I've never seen a rusty one and the forums don't seem t report any issues with Mk3's but its dead easy to check.

There does look to be some good ones out there though

Thanks for the comments
 
Mx5 all day long ...
 
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