OK - having sold my Spec C to get something more refined and sensible I have fallen at the first hurdle. I tried the Scirocco, quick, pretty, very cheap to lease, and it was just too sensible and efficient.

My imagination has shortlisted three cars: last M3, latest M3, 996 GT3 II. These can all be had for between £30-40k with FDSH and low(ish) mileage.

Which would you go for and why?

 

E46 M3 hard top for me..........

No reason other than I flippin love them. Use the money saved to get some 19" blingaling BBS alloys.

 

Out of those, latest M3 (last a bit dated now if a new one is in scope, 911 wouldn't suit me as day to day) but with 35k in my pocket, I'd also be looking closely at the S5

 

I am aware of the S5 but I have yet to be convinced by an Audi. I did not realise until today how my driving experience has been so defined by (opposite ends of the spectrum surely) Subaru and BMW!

 

Off your list, I'd go for the GT3. But for £40k I'd have thought you'd be looking at a Mk1 rather than a MkII?

There is always the 996 Turbo. They are priced between £30-40k.

 

Current M3 in white, looks amazing!

GT3 though has to be the car that every petrolhead owns once in their life

RS4? M5?

TX.

 

There are several quality GT3s MkIIs between £38 and 42k from respected specialists. You can get MkIs for £30k and I don't think they are a patch on a MkII. I have been driven around Bruntingthorpe in my old Spec C and a MkII GT3 by Don Palmer. The GT3 was sublime.

I have also discovered 997 911s for £30k now (cheap!).

Turbo is not for me. More complicated and ultimately probably not as good as the GT3. They are both fairly bullet proof however!

 

997 without a doubt

 

This looks like my nearly perfect car (although Seal Grey would clinch it!!)

GT3

Richard - do you think that a vanilla 997 would be better than this?

Spooky

 

Have to say, that does look very nice. The GT3 does look fantastic, and I think the 997 GT3 is the best looking 911 ever.

 

Here's an example of what I was talking about:

 

For that sort of money I'd go for something newer like BMW 135i, plus they are now very tunable!
http://www.feelride.com/wp-content/u...135i-coupe.jpg

 

Hey Spooks, what do I think?

I'm wondering where you're coming from bud That doesn't look much like a £20k Scirocco at all! I have found that internet 'buying' takes on a rather different significance when it comes to actually handing over the cash for a car that you've got to live with for the next few years, especially if it's your only car.

That is a really fabulous looking GT3. But it would take me about a month of research and test drives to find out what I'd actually do with £45k. However, I'm pretty sure I'd end up with a Porsche 911 of some sort. Some glorious options at that price. For sure, if money was no object, I'd get a 997 Turbo with PDK box right now and live happily ever after. No doubt at all. I think And I'm not sure the Turbo even has the PDK box yet... there's always something missing

More seriously, I wouldn't buy a new car right now, simply because the best deals are to be had amongst used ones. Three year old cars, big petrol ones, just coming off lease are huge bargains - still up to date cars with loads of reliable life left in them, but half the new price and the worst of the depreciation over.

Richard.

PS Have you seen the new Scirocco/Golf R20T? 270bhp, light weight body, 4WD, £25k next year. This, Mr Ford, is how to do an FRS. Ultimate Golf?s ready to turn up the heat | Auto Express News | News | Auto Express

 

It'll cost more than the quote. They always do. Lies lies lies!

 

Hoppy,

interesting post!! To give you context I have owned 911s in the past and to my mind I 'tried' to go the sensible route hence the Scirocco idea. I have many times researched this market and been in 911s as an owner, driver and passenger. In reality the Scirocco was just too sensible for me. I might as well just keep my Swift Sport!

So this is not, as hinted at, internet tyre kicking. Indeed if it was not snowing so heavily here I would have taken a test drive this very afternoon!

I was simply intrigued by your post that you would take a 997 Carrera over a GT3 MkII.

Spooks

 

There's noting wrong with internet tyre kicking mate I do plenty and this would be a dull place without it. What I meant was, it all gets real when your cheque book is out, doesn't it? If all we wanted was fast fun like we all say, then a Caterham fits the bill perfectly. Exept nobody ever buys one, not as a main car anyway. For most folks a car has got to do far more than that and if when you got out of that Scirocco you didn't want to sign up there and then, then walk away and think on it a bit.

I just don't know enough about Porsche's to offer much help. We talk about a 911 as if it's just one car, but there are loads of them from under £10k to £100k-plus. With your budget, I would be looking at a GT3, 996 Turbo and a 997. I'm leaning towards a 997 because it's the best looking I think (a big reason to buy a Porsche for me), fast enough and newest. But I know enough to appreciate that all three of those 911s will drive completely differently and I'd want to spent time in them all.

One thing I will say if if you try to be sensible, you will end up disappointed. You don't want a sensible car. A sensible car is a Golf diesel. None of the cars we lust over is sensible at all, and I found that once I had admitted that to myself then a little bit of self indulgence came naturally As it happens, I had a sensible car the other day - an A4 diesel Avant courtesy car, top model 2l TDi with variable auto-tranny thing. Even had S-Line trim I thrashed it, and it would cruise all day at 80mph, and I couldn't get it below 36mpg. Inside, it was eactly the same as my S4, apart from a bit of leather. I couldn't fault it. But I didn't enjoy driving it at all. Efficient. Dull. Boring. Bland. Feeble FWD grip and no power. I could have spent my money on a new one of those. Thank God I didn't.

Fast cars make as much sense as matching shoes and handbags, and I spend very little money on those, so a slightly silly car is okay

I'm prattling again...

 

Great post. I am very, very lucky to have an already sensible car on the drive - my wife has an E39 530d Sport Touring for carting around the kids and the dog. In fact if we could only ever have one car again, this would be it.

I also have a Swift for getting into town, however the au pair wants to use that more and so I need a car for work and play. Sensible needs, silly desires.

One reason why the Spec C went was that it was great but was perceived as a hooligan. Whilst I care little what people think I worried that it attracted the wrong attention. For some daft reason I think the 911, even a GT3, does not stick out as much. There are Porsches everywhere. Also the performance is far less compromised and the car is more usable daily.

It is also a car that is massively strong, both in terms of performance and reliability. On track it takes a massively tuned Scoob to even keep pace. I was talking to a Scooby time attack car with 440bhp that struggled to keep up with a GT3 ClubSport, and he is a handy wheelman.

I am currently looking at finance options - it is a lot of money to put into a car - I would prefer to keep the cash in the bank and do something over a term. Or maybe I will just buy something sensible with the deposit and leave it at that! (The latter seems less likely now the Scirocco has bitten the dust).

 

Honestly mate, it sounds a bit like you're in denial of a mid life crisis or something. It's not the au pair's fault that you're lusting after a GT3

If you can afford it, just get something self-indulgent and openly unjustifiable - at least in practical terms. I would. Like a shot I've spent too much of my life pretending I was sensible.

Don't do anything reckless, but you do indeed seem to be in a fortunate position. No need to feel guilty about that. Just enjoy it. Or get a scooter

 

Oh dear - it is a dangerous thing to put 'lusting' and 'au pair' in such close proximity!!

Scooter, definitely not, GT3 maybe.

 

I'd probably be looking to towards the M3 - I don't know whether or not I could live with the GT3 as a daily driver.

The M3 does do both roles very well indeed. Can't comment on the new M3, as I haven't driven one - I got distracted by a similar priced M6 at the dealers

Dan

 

Only joking

But have you asked the au pair about a scooter?

 

The new M3 is a genine alternative - it also means I can fit my skis in the car!

Hoppy - the denial is financial. Mid-life crisis, been there done that, got the badges

It is strange that I could own an Sti and over the five year life spend £28k on the car and then £30k on modifications (it did end up with 550bhp), but to spend £45k all at once seems frivolous and inappropriate.

My roots are clearly set in parsimony and scarcity

 

45 now?
What happened to 30-40..???

Put me down for an AMV8

 

Yes, you surely have some enviable choices for that budget.

I didn't realise your Scoob had quite that much power. Mine is only about 340bhp but dynoed with some 370lbs/ft (it's 2.5l) and there are very few other cars at any price that, from stock, can better that. If you want power, you my friend are spoiled for life

I don't know what I spent modding my Scoob - I daren't work it out - but over time it is certainly possible to spend utterly daft money. I guess my totall modding bill would be somewhere north of £20k, but I baulked absolutely at the thought of spending £15k straight out on turboing an R32 to 450bhp

I can just image you at WOT in the Scirocco wondering when the other 300bhp was going to make an appearance Maybe you should try what I did, and that was to give up chasing bhp and go for a different blend of driving chacteristics. My Scoob is fast (still got it), but it has absolutely no other virtues so it was not too hard to come up with a new/different/better (?) mix.

Good luck with your quest to keep the au pair happy

 

Bently continental

 

Spooky - your Scooby ended up with 550bhp?!! Flippin 'eck that must have been a bit rapid!

 

It was my STi V that ended up with 550bhp, one engine and two gearbox rebuilds in very short shrift. In fact the very first time I used 5th it sheared the Woodruff key, the dog then spun on the shaft until it got really hot and welded itself to the shaft. 0-100mph was 7s or less, it has done a quarter in 10.25 and 194mph at Brunters.

Mind you it was not the power that amazed - when we first mapped it, at 2600rpm it had 120 torques, at 2,900 it had 501 torques Peak torques was well over 550. It was literally bonkers. Floor it in 4th and without even realising it you could change lanes!! That was with LSDs at both ends!!

So I sold that (it still performs at TOTB, TA as the Lateral Performance Car) about four years ago and thought I would go sensible then. That lasted about two months and I then bought a Hawkeye Spec C (350/360). I had that for three years and sold it last month.

Sensible for a week, as Richard says, that didn't work out!

PS I love the Bentley, my wife thinks it is a ridiculous idea. To me a perfect combination of the BMW and a Scoob! Fast and serene.

 

I thought your username was Trout? or do you have more than one username on Scoobynet?

I would be tempted to say GT3 but I have never driven a Porsche 911 with the engine at the rear, some people really don't like the feel of the steering with no weight at the front. So if it was me I would want to have a good drive of one to see If I could live with it. I would even be tempted to hire one for a weekend to spend some time with it.

Failing that the E92 M3's look good value for money but I would hold out for the DCT models to come down in price first and get one of those. If you went for one being a V8 it would be rude not to put an exhaust on it to hear that V8

Also, have you seen the prices of M5's and M6's there are a real bargain but fuel consumption frightining with a V10 and 5ltr.

 

audi rs6..............

 

Interesting day today - through a friend I have found a car broker. He basically finds cars to spec and price (and not from auctions like most dealers).

He has found me an almost identical car to the one above for over five grand less and he can finance it at near base rate.

All good