Mid life crisis car on a budget?

[rsgordini]

Try and get as new as possible. You don’t want to have to worry about things breaking and costing a lot of money. You want to get in and drive and enjoy. As nice a c55 amg sounds and drives it has a weak spot the gearbox. And that is R90k. Then it’s other things like electronics that’ll go. Japanese is good as they don’t break.

test drives ers test drives

 

[TBP88]

Just on this, given it is of some interest, I'd narrow your search down to the following target purchase price of R150k leaves you a nice margin to do immediate fixes, keep in mind that a set of tyres for most of these cars is R10k on it's own...:

350Z (I think a 370Z is gonna be out of your price range)
Alfa GT 3.2 V6 (the 1.9 JTD is fun and nice and maybe more tunable but it's also slower and doesn't sound as great)
Mazda MX5 (NC or NB - both are in the pricerange)
Toyota MR2 (probably a gen3 car, the gen2 are rare and grey-import only here AFAIK)
BMW Z3 (you'll be able to get a 3.0si for around 100-150k I'd guess)
BMW Z4 (you'll likely be looking at either 2.5i or 3.0i, not Si models for the money, but maybe?)
BMW E46 330ci or E93 330ci
Perhaps a Porsche 944 or 924

That'd be the list I'd focus on and look for. Perhaps you can squeeze in an S2000 (i see a few in the high 100s and low 200s) but that would leave you pretty much 0 cash to keep it running and sort out small things.

 

[Maljan]

Thanks for all the inputs guys. Big speed is not really needed. My 60th is coming up, hehehe.

A six cylinder soundtrack would be nice. A V8 would be nice, but options are limited and running costs are a concern.

The world is just a little too crazy to go car shopping at the moment...

 

[PsyCLown]

If you are interested in a 350z roadster, I know of someone who has one up for sale in Cape Town and it has KW suspension on, big brakes and clutch.
Engine is stock. Priced well within your budget, I not 100% on the other details though - can put you in touch if you are interested.

 

[MR_Y]

Thanks for all the inputs guys. Big speed is not really needed. My 60th is coming up, hehehe.

A six cylinder soundtrack would be nice. A V8 would be nice, but options are limited and running costs are a concern.

The world is just a little too crazy to go car shopping at the moment...

More reason to go for that V8 S80...
No one will look twice at it.

 

[Gordvisr]

For me hands down 125i, owning one for five years, repair cost within this five year ( traveled +/- 65000 km ) period was a starter replacement ( R2000 for a new bosch unit at GW ) and the oil cooler/OFH rubber seals ( =/- R1000 at agents ) the rest was the normal annual oil changes at BMW ( +/- R2000 a pop at agents )
Fuel wise a bit on the downside but that never bothered me since owning this car. After a few other hurdles is out of my way it will also go to Sherwin for software.

 

[rsgordini]

For me hands down 125i, owning one for five years, repair cost within this five year ( traveled +/- 65000 km ) period was a starter replacement ( R2000 for a new bosch unit at GW ) and the oil cooler/OFH rubber seals ( =/- R1000 at agents ) the rest was the normal annual oil changes at BMW ( +/- R2000 a pop at agents )
Fuel wise a bit on the downside but that never bothered me since owning this car. After a few other hurdles is out of my way it will also go to Sherwin for software.

I owned one for 3 months and I spent R30k on mine. New brakes and discs all round and service too. R20k at bmw.
New tires all round R10k.
Services are decent at around R2k.

 

[Gordvisr]

Was only refering to cost involving "problems" encountered, I did the brakes and disks myself, got all the parts from GW and cost me around R3500, did the front dampers myself bought them from GW too, I guess you did not put on run flats, rear cost me 9000 and front 7000 ( 18 inch ), was due for replacement again and decided on a new set of rims with non RFt tyres at 12000

 

[Gordvisr]

 

[mattblackza]

@TurboLlew has some good points above. You also seem to have nailed down which parts of the experience are absolutely non-negotiable (Purchase and running cost). The nice to havs are always power, but the 2-seater or, if you're like everyone else who looks at things like a Toyota 86, "Its technically a 4 seater."
Then, what do you like? From the BMW 125i, E46 and E39 comments, you seem to be a BMW fan. So we can work with that, but, why not look at something different from an NA front-engined, rear-drive BMW coupe (ok E39 is a sedan but you get my thinking).

This raises some new territory to explore.
1. What about a luxury sedan? Think Lexus LS460, BMW 750i in F01 shape or W221 (Maybe even a W222) Mercedes S-Class. I know they cost more than the entire US Military budget to maintain, but they're quite wonderful to drive and move around in. I had a Lexus LS400 and while it drank 16l/100km, it was like moving around in the most comfortable armchair ever. Might be worth peeking into this space.
2. MX-5 or S2000 could be a new experience. Small engined Japanese roadster. S2000 would require a bit of searching to find a nice one that hasn't been cheaply modified and/or had the shit kicked out of it, but they exist. MX5: Buy the newest, nicest one you can afford and it'll be a joyful, reliable car for as long as you own it.
3. Please don't buy a Nissan 350Z. They don't sound very good, don't drive that nicely, aren't that fast, generally feel quite poorly built and are just a bit of a letdown.
4. If you want to go BMW, the 125i seems a good bet. Not sure how many manuals are around, but they were always less loved than the 135i, but I think the 125i has better classic potential.
5. Total wildcard but how much Subaru WRX could you get for your budget? I know they carry a specific kind of image but they are a lot of fun

 

[individj]

@TurboLlew has some good points above. You also seem to have nailed down which parts of the experience are absolutely non-negotiable (Purchase and running cost). The nice to havs are always power, but the 2-seater or, if you're like everyone else who looks at things like a Toyota 86, "Its technically a 4 seater."
Then, what do you like? From the BMW 125i, E46 and E39 comments, you seem to be a BMW fan. So we can work with that, but, why not look at something different from an NA front-engined, rear-drive BMW coupe (ok E39 is a sedan but you get my thinking).

This raises some new territory to explore.
1. What about a luxury sedan? Think Lexus LS460, BMW 750i in F01 shape or W221 (Maybe even a W222) Mercedes S-Class. I know they cost more than the entire US Military budget to maintain, but they're quite wonderful to drive and move around in. I had a Lexus LS400 and while it drank 16l/100km, it was like moving around in the most comfortable armchair ever. Might be worth peeking into this space.
2. MX-5 or S2000 could be a new experience. Small engined Japanese roadster. S2000 would require a bit of searching to find a nice one that hasn't been cheaply modified and/or had the shit kicked out of it, but they exist. MX5: Buy the newest, nicest one you can afford and it'll be a joyful, reliable car for as long as you own it.
3. Please don't buy a Nissan 350Z. They don't sound very good, don't drive that nicely, aren't that fast, generally feel quite poorly built and are just a bit of a letdown.
4. If you want to go BMW, the 125i seems a good bet. Not sure how many manuals are around, but they were always less loved than the 135i, but I think the 125i has better classic potential.
5. Total wildcard but how much Subaru WRX could you get for your budget? I know they carry a specific kind of image but they are a lot of fun

i have to disagree with the sound of a 350z