have a garage... now need another cool car to park it in :D

[MRC]

Engee

Not a car person at all. For me they are a money draining means to an end. I like driving, but have no interest in cars, however, I had one of these in the years BC (Before Children) and never enjoyed driving a car more.

I love them too, drive flat out and won't get arrested for it 😉 Seriously anyone should have to prove they can drive one of these well before being allowed anything with muscle.

If I were making this choice my primary concern would be "Who is going to fix it?" If it's you @Lonestar and you have the skill and the tools then all you need is a good welder nearby. If the maintenance is going to be done by a third party then consider who is close enough and what makes they can fix. The list so far includes a majority of known unreliable money-pits. Personally I love Lotus and have had a number of them, but I also have a moderately large toolbox and specialist parts & service dealers nearby. At less than 2000 km a year the car won't get hot enough to burn crud out of the engine, electrics in particular will corrode and give trouble at low mileages. The most reliable "exotic" cars I've had were never allowed to get cold, were run around racetracks, run to 100rpm of the redline (after a proper warm-up) and gave more smiles per dollar than I'd imagined. 1960s Mini-Cooper 'S' and 1980s Lotus Excel: both would be a good addition to the list, but both need to be used hard.

If decent Toyota MR2s are available in your position I'd be looking at them seriously. Never driven one but I've been a passenger in a motorbike racer friend's early example and it had no vice I could feel from the passenger seat while it was being thrashed by a nutcase.


Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[vinylcall]

Tough call, all very nice cars.
I would go for the GTV6. Very affordable, you get very easy parts which are not expensive, and it is easy to get stuff fixed as a daily driver.
It's got great weight distribution due to the transaxle. Ok, might have a bit of gear shifting precision issues though. However not a big thing.
Drives and sounds great and you can transport a bunch of things in it.
Also it looks beautiful and is an iconic 80's Giugiaro coupe. 🥰

Plus you would be the kid now stepping in and driving home... 😀

 

[vinylcall]

Tony C.

I have owned two vintage cars, and, while quite different, enjoyed them both thoroughly. The first was a BMW 2002tii – a classic. Probably not enough oomph (i.e. acceleration) for you, but lovely cars, easy to maintain, and could be had within your budget.

The second was close to your GTV6. In the U.S. it was called the Milano Verde, in Europe the 75, and/or Twin Spark. These were made in the late '80s, and were the last to employ the fabulous Alfa "Busso" V6 engines. I have heard mechanics claim that only certain Ferraris could match the sound of those engines, and I'm a believer! They also featured Recaro seats as original equipment, and handle outstandingly well.

The body design is polarizing. I, and many others like it very much, but plenty of others are turned off by it.

Here's a very good video:

This was mine:

Beautiful! 🥰

 

[Archer]

mrbreen

I love these. Like, a lot. And I’ll also suggest an E30, an heir to the 2002. Again, not a lot of oomph, but easy to maintain, reliable, and they will never be cheaper than they are today.

Here’s mine:

I'll second this suggestion. My wife had a e30 325ix that she absolutely loved. It was a rock for reliability and although not a lot of power, was great in the snow.

 

[p4ul]

£11,000 delivered?

 

[cakey007]

I'm not sure how easy it is to import into Switzerland compared to France ( where I am ) but I was able to bring in my TVR Griffith when I moved here a few years ago,
I think early ones started in 1992 and are generally pretty reliable . Hell of a car for the money and be fantastic in the mountains .

Keep them on a trickle charger when not in use and it'll be fine.

 

[lillatroll]

A VW Karmman Ghia. Cool looking cars, cheap to maintain. Not sure what kind of money they go for though.

 

[Lurk41]

cakey007

Hell of a car for the money

It was before you have to pay 30k€ of taxes because of CO2, and add import taxes on top of that. It does not worth to import small sport car in France anymore 🙁

When I was looking for a replacement there was a Tamora available for 20k, already french. Plus a TVR specialist near where I live to take care of if (and the brother who is a hell of a mechanic but living a bit far if I need to take care of an issue). Awesome bang for the buck but didn't have the guts: 350HP + RHD was too much for me, especially as a daily car.

To buy and import the same car today, it would cost at least 60k... 🙁

 

[cakey007]

Lurk41

It was before you have to pay 30k€ of taxes because of CO2, and add import taxes on top of that. It does not worth to import small sport car in France anymore 🙁

When I was looking for a replacement there was a Tamora available for 20k, already french. Plus a TVR specialist near where I live to take care of if (and the brother who is a hell of a mechanic but living a bit far if I need to take care of an issue). Awesome bang for the buck but didn't have the guts: 350HP + RHD was too much for me, especially as a daily car.

To buy and import the same car today, it would cost at least 60k... 🙁

I just had a look on leboncoin and the prices are a fair bit higher than expected but LHD, mine is RHD and fortune enough to bring over before worrying about import duties etc.
Maybe it wouldn't fit the remit for you then
How about a triumph tr6?

 

[TDBK]

S2000 is great but I think now too expensive to recommend unless you really have to have one. I've been window shopping on bringatrailer.com for something similar for a while and right now I think a Boxster S is the best value for sportiness, although I'm tempted by something more distinctively vintage.

 

[The Father]

How about a nice Suby

 

[Pazzo]

The Father

How about a nice Suby

....

Did you say "nice"? ... 😀

 

[eugeneandresson]

That Suby looks like the type of car a guy will meet his buddy in to do a deal at a gas station and drink alcahol free beer out of a plastic cup…😗…

 

[watchyouwant]

The Father

How about a nice Suby

Here in Australia these get stopped at every police checkpoint for Alcohol/Drugs.... 8 years ago, a fairly new one (1year old) slammed into the back of my VW station at 70km/hour. Looking at his phone and missed the stand still traffic hazard......my station repair was $9000. His was a write off. The road was full of broken plastic parts and engine dislocated....

 

[ghce]

Never could understand peoples desires to own a Subaru, I drove many of them throughout the 80's to 90's (for work) on road and off road and found them abysmal performers in all areas and even worse they always broke down with engine, gearbox, steering and front suspension breaking or wearing out on almost monthly basis.
Recently got into a new Subaru forester or similar and it was like stepping back in time to those old ones I had driven, nothing improved in feeling or performance. They quite simply dont ever figure in a car I would ever like to own or drive, woeful performance and reliability.

But of course that's just my take 😁 🍿

 

[Foo2rama]

E46M3

reliable, in the price range for a good no excuse example. One of the last truly mechanical cars you could buy.

fast, useable ( huge trunk and surprisingly useable back seat) fairly low cost of ownership compared to a comparable 911 of the era.


I’m biased.




Edit

xjs is a GT…I’d only buy later examples from after the ford update. 3 pedals are rare.

The early Callum AM’s can be found at slightly more then your budget in the US. Im not sure about Euro prices.

the Z32 300… great car esp in TT short wheelbase form. But those are really hard to find globally in good unmolested condition.

As some one that’s been very lucky to drive an insane amount of cars the e46m and to a slightly lessor extant the v8 E90m are great cars. Mechanical limited slip, non electric steering, and still a great drivers car. Sadly something BMW seems to have lost. ABS and a fully defeatable traction control are the only nannies. The s54 in the e46 builds power to redline and constantly whispers in your ear to just keep going, just a little faster. If anything it tells you more then any car I’ve ever driven that it’s capable of more then what you can do on the street. It does 0-90kph under 5 seconds yet doesn’t feel high strung under normal driving.

it’s truly a special car that is in your range and worth checking out.

Edited: Aug 28, 2021

 

[blubarb]

or an R series Wolfsburg

 

[TasMike]

ghce

Never could understand peoples desires to own a Subaru, I drove many of them throughout the 80's to 90's (for work) on road and off road and found them abysmal performers in all areas and even worse they always broke down with engine, gearbox, steering and front suspension breaking or wearing out on almost monthly basis.
Recently got into a new Subaru forester or similar and it was like stepping back in time to those old ones I had driven, nothing improved in feeling or performance. They quite simply dont ever figure in a car I would ever like to own or drive, woeful performance and reliability.

But of course that's just my take 😁 🍿

Not all Subarus suffer from that... and I'm surprised that, being French, @Lonestar hasn't considered an RS Megane - with its ultimate smile inducing chassis.

Edited: Aug 28, 2021

 

[abrod520]

I've just been reminded that I brought this one home 5 years ago today!



Someone said these were expensive... not sure where that is, but even with prices rising you can still find a good example with reasonable mileage (<80k miles) for under 20,000 US. And then there's the maintenance costs to consider, which are really low for a well-cared for example.

 

[Fatcat]

Here is what you need to fit in the parking a real Porsche the last in 2 wheel drive and no electronics aid . A996 Carrera 2.