The largest Civic Type R club forum

Established in 2002 it brings together people from all over the world to discuss their one love of Type R's.

We all move on at some point, get some help from our members on what to buy next. Usually a monster V8 or second hand Lambo will suffice but usually the three letters M P S will be muttered......standard!
User avatar
By Alexandros!
#3840599
So the EP3 is getting prepped for sale soon and I have been looking for something under £15k to use as a daily, which will still provide smiles-per-gallon.

No need for silly rear seats, so I have narrowed it down to:

Porsche Cayman S (Gen 1)
BMW Z4M
Nissan 370Z
Also had a gander at some E92 M3's & non-M 135i & 335i's (E46 examples are starting to look their age) but even high mileage M3's are over my budget by a grand or so.
+ any other options people suggest

Am after something for the daily A/B Road cruise (30 miles daily) with a fun factor when need be, and also have a few modern necessities such as heated seats, sat nav & phone connectivity. Am happy to fill and forget with regards to fuel and the usual maintenance, but would rather not end of with something which constantly caused my bank balance to sh-t a brick! Also plan to be hanging onto it for 3/4 years so needs to be something which I won't tire of.

What are people's thoughts? Any and all advice is welcome!
User avatar
By yella
#3840947
The Z4M is a fast appreciating future classic. prices are getting silly quicker than most thought so grab whilst you can if you can find a good one for £15k. However M Tax means high running costs. Mate just sold his for £19500 after buying 3 yrs ago for £15k Personally i would rather a 3.0 Si coupe, 270bhp, bullet proof N52 engine and still quick without the silly running costs and good ones are £10k

Cayman S is a great shout, still porsche running costs and the constant scare of IMS failure, trouble is 15k you are in same situation as the e92 M3, you are at bottom end of the S money and you will be looking at leggy unloved ones. If you don;t care about rear seats then Boxster will give you more choice.

135i coupe is a good shout, not as reliable as the NA bow's of similar age but you an get something nice for £13k and that leaves back up money.

Me personally i would be going for a nice E46 M3, say 9-10k for a nice one with good history and then keep the balance for a few mods then you are in a nice quick car that will be more than you will ever need and spend the rest of money on trackdayas and learning to drive it properly. A real car for sure and again prices are on the rise, this time last year there were loads of £4-5k e46 m3's now £7k is starting price for even tatty ones so chances are if you buy a good one now you could run it for 4 yrs and sell it for what you paid for it now. M3's just don't drop silly money like EP3's for example, just look at E36s ( pretty sure someone on here cried me down few years back when i said £3k e36m3's will rise, now they are £6k.

what else for a silly idea........

well Vauxhall VXR8 is one to look at if you can stomach the running costs of the 6.0, but these start at 14k now and lot of kit for the money and pretty easy to put to 600bhp with a supercharger bolt on. so has potential but may break the bank to run daily

Audi RS4 ( B7 shape) with the 4.2 v8, 15k will get you a leggy one but probably one of the best RS4's ever, again running costs although they are

Also sensible options, Audi S3, souless compared tot he rest but fast none the less or megane 265,

£15k is mega money time really, choice is so wide but if it was me i'd be looking at E46 M3 all day long
User avatar
By yella
#3841004
*nub* » Mon Sep 21, 2015 5:44 pm wrote:Yella who's on his 10th EP3 doesn't approve of my suggestion [emoji3]
6th sir 6th.

I'm done on cars, losing my job the other week means the days of frivolous wastage are well and truly over....lol Quite happy to keep my Ep3 even if i cant afford to use it currently... :oops: Skoda as my daily is best all round car i have ever owned, in fact think its now the second longest i have owned a car ever
User avatar
By Alexandros!
#3841791
yella » Sun Sep 20, 2015 10:50 pm wrote:The Z4M is a fast appreciating future classic. prices are getting silly quicker than most thought so grab whilst you can if you can find a good one for £15k. However M Tax means high running costs. Mate just sold his for £19500 after buying 3 yrs ago for £15k Personally i would rather a 3.0 Si coupe, 270bhp, bullet proof N52 engine and still quick without the silly running costs and good ones are £10k

Cayman S is a great shout, still porsche running costs and the constant scare of IMS failure, trouble is 15k you are in same situation as the e92 M3, you are at bottom end of the S money and you will be looking at leggy unloved ones. If you don;t care about rear seats then Boxster will give you more choice.

135i coupe is a good shout, not as reliable as the NA bow's of similar age but you an get something nice for £13k and that leaves back up money.

Me personally i would be going for a nice E46 M3, say 9-10k for a nice one with good history and then keep the balance for a few mods then you are in a nice quick car that will be more than you will ever need and spend the rest of money on trackdayas and learning to drive it properly. A real car for sure and again prices are on the rise, this time last year there were loads of £4-5k e46 m3's now £7k is starting price for even tatty ones so chances are if you buy a good one now you could run it for 4 yrs and sell it for what you paid for it now. M3's just don't drop silly money like EP3's for example, just look at E36s ( pretty sure someone on here cried me down few years back when i said £3k e36m3's will rise, now they are £6k.

what else for a silly idea........

well Vauxhall VXR8 is one to look at if you can stomach the running costs of the 6.0, but these start at 14k now and lot of kit for the money and pretty easy to put to 600bhp with a supercharger bolt on. so has potential but may break the bank to run daily

Audi RS4 ( B7 shape) with the 4.2 v8, 15k will get you a leggy one but probably one of the best RS4's ever, again running costs although they are

Also sensible options, Audi S3, souless compared tot he rest but fast none the less or megane 265,

£15k is mega money time really, choice is so wide but if it was me i'd be looking at E46 M3 all day long
Thanks for the input yella.

I get your point about the price-point being the bottom end of some of the nicer machinery - E92, Cayman etc.

Was looking at E46's but for my money they're looking dated now and if anything I won't be spending money on mods - just wanting something great 'out-of-the-box' that I can just drive instead of spending hours pouring over shiny parts on my lunch break. Was fancying the Z4, just 'cos it has all the nice bits from the CS i.e. brakes, rack, airbox etc. and was a little bit more interesting than the usual M3's I see driving round.

Liking the RS4 idea though, no need for the rear 2 doors/seats, but I agree the B7's are pretty special cars that already come as a sorted package. Plus that V8...

Food for thought anyway, will continue my PH, Autotrader, Forum searches and get some test drives sorted. Cheers.
User avatar
By walrus
#3861139
A sorted Subaru Impreza..... £15k will get you a stunning example.

Blobeye JDM import/wide-track for around £10k. There is nothing quite like the savage acceleration on a Scooby...
User avatar
By *nub*
#3861976
I've got myself a Nissan 370Z and I love it. Put a few mods on them and they are great value and fun [emoji41]


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