Alternative to Porsche 911??

[Pondrat]

Hey gang,

My wife wants to buy an old (1983ish) Porsche 911, preferably a convertible but Targa will do or even sunroof in a pinch. She wants it to be a beater car - looks don't matter, as long as it runs nice and is still fun.

Seems like the going rate is about $10000 for one in good condition, a bit more for the convertible. My question to y'all is this:

What would be a good alternative to an old Porsche 911 Cabrio?

Criteria:
1) FUN! i.e. driver's car, high performance, doesn't need to be comfy. Think more like Nissan 300Z than Mazda Miata
2) CHEAP! Definitely less than $10k, preferably more like $6k.
3) AIRY - as in convertible or targa (and, as before, sunroof as last resort)

Some thoughts so far were:
Honda S2000 (although surprisingly expensive)
Porsche Boxster (although kinda common and boring)
Porsche 944 (although Cabrio is just as expensive as old 911)
Lotus Elise (still too expensive unless it's a piece-of-junk)
Old BMW or Mercedes convertible? (I know nothing about these...)

Thanks for the help!

-Mike

p.s. Bonus points if the car is any kind of safe in winter driving...
p.p.s If anyone has such a car for sale, PM me!

 

[Botch]

First hit up your Porsche dealer and inquire on the costs of standard repairs; I'm afraid you'll find an older Porsche isn't such a great deal...

Pedestrian, but the greatest bang-for-the-buck, and reliable as heck, would be a Toyota MR-2, available in a convertible.

I don't fit in those, so I drive an '01 Saab 93 convertible. Over 100,000 trouble-free miles; it doesn't have the acceleration of the other models you mentioned but it's slightly unique, fits me, reliable, and I love her to death!

Let us know what you finally end up with!

EDIT: PS: As long as you trade out the Pirellis for some decent snow tires, the front-wheel drive Saab, with heated seats, is an excellent winter car!

 

[champion221elite]

+1 on a Nissan 300Z... those cars are just drop dead sexy!

Second vote goes for a Corvette, they're just classic cool. I like the new ones, but the curves on the 'Vette's from the 1970's and early 1980's really turn me on.

 

[Wolfman]

Your wife has excellent taste...good luck on talking her out of the 911!

They are a beautiful car...

 

[Jblk9695]

+1 on a Nissan 300Z... those cars are just drop dead sexy!

Second vote goes for a Corvette, they're just classic cool. I like the new ones, but the curves on the 'Vette's from the 1970's and early 1980's really turn me on.

I'll second that, I still regret selling my 93 300ZX, what a fun car and mine was normally aspirated and would still break the rear end loose in the twisties. Get the twin turbo version and hang on. I think there is a good after market for them with some upgrades that can go over 500hp:BLAA:

Jerry

 

[06FZ6_IN]

Pedestrian, but the greatest bang-for-the-buck, and reliable as heck, would be a Toyota MR-2, available in a convertible.

I agree a MR2 would be a good option.

The first car that came to mind when I read your post was a Miata. Why consider a S2000 but not a Miata they are about the same class?

You might even look into a Mitsu Eclipse 95-99 GS-T convertible, something cheap and reasonably quick.

300ZX would be a good option but might slightly be out of your price range, they really seem to be holding their value a decade and half later.

 

[Smersh]

I saw "driver's car", "airy", and "cheap" and immediately thought "miata", but then saw you used it as antithesis.

Another fun driver's car (keep in mind, i'm biased) would be subie WRX, but those don't come in convertible, and to be honest, the only roof opening smaller than subie's sunroof was a hatch on russian UAZ 452 (used for engine maintenance).:spank:

Otherwise, i second Botch's opinion - Saab 9-3 convertible is one serious fun car. They are quirky, not the fastest in the stable, but they are FUN! I drove an auto-equipped sedan for a few weeks, and test drove a manual-equipped convertible. I did not want to return them.

Z3 looks like it may be something to look into, but I do not have any experience with them.

 

[FZ-B]

BMW Z3's can be had on the cheap. Get the 6 cyl. Spare set of snows in the winter.

Check the BMWCCA classifieds for the well maintained examples. BMW's are probably the most reasonably priced high end car to maintain. The Z3 is a fairly simple car. M versions are fun, but Mgines can be a bit more to work on.

An old Porsche will be hell to maintain if you plan on driving it.

300Z's are great. Had an 86 and 91. Tons of torque!

 

[Mexi-can't]

BMW 325's and 328's are nice cars in fit and finish and performance. Loads of aftermarket for them as well. The E36's are my favorite!

 

[greg]

a mazda mx5 (miata) would be my first thoughts too, they should be reliable too, and supposed to be fun to drive. I'm not so keen on the looks though

 

[Mr Buck]

Im a sucker for MR2's but ive worked on shed loads of em over the years, from bog standard to twin turbo jobs with pollished engines, and I absolutely love em!

Ive always looked at cars from a mechanics point of view (since i am one) and what they are like to work on, since I cant afford to pay stealership prices, and with that in mind, BMW's suck ass!! you gotta remove a ton of plastic before you can do any engine work, and even then, you need to be the size of a Nat to get your hand in the gaps! Lovely cars to drive mind you, dont get me wrong, but repair casts can be astronomical.

Japanese stuff is reliable too, Oh yeah i guess you guys figured that out already lol

 

[tuningfork]

Another vote for a Z3 with any of the 6-cylinders. I owned a 1999 Z3-2.3 for several years and it was a fun car, I bought it on ebay, had it shipped up from Houston TX and "restored" it myself, here is a pic from when I sold it:

A 1997-1998 2.8l will be a bit simpler to work on (no double vanos, no ETK throttle) and the engines are BULLETPROOF except for some waterpump and radiator issues which can repaired DIY.

Shifter linkage wear is also common on high mileage but parts are cheap and there are many aftermarket kits to improve.

Problem area to check on the chassis is the rearmost mount point for the differential...the sheetmetal is known to tear, but this is mostly an issue with the "M" model.

Soft-top will add to maintenance costs as they need regular care and will need replaced at some point due to fabric wear.

BMW = reasonable parts costs and HIGH Dealer labor fees, so DIY or find a good indy to do the work.

I have been looking for an older Porsche myself (912 or 911) but have tabled the idea for now as the cost of restoration is very high. Just an engine service alone can exceed your entire budget.

 

[krid80]

Buy a $4,000 miata and a $2,500 turbo kit and go annihilate 1983 911's.

 

[JAZZ-n-FZ6]

I had an '87 Supra...it was great never had a problem with it. They come in targa tops, which I know is not your favorite, but it's an option. The only complaint they had was they would blow their head gasket, but this was caused by incorrect torquing by the dealer. It can easily be fixed by putting a new one on before it blows and retorque the bolts to 75 lbs.

 

[jblake00]

I second the Supra, but I would say look for a 92-96 N/A supra. Still has about 200hp and has the reliability of Toyota. Plus they always, ALWAYS turn heads going down the road!

 

[rchamberlain]

This is my Mercedes SLK. I bought this for me but I am sure my wife put more miles on it than me. She loved the convertible hardtop and the fact that she just pushed a button to open and close it. These can be had used for under 10k. I have since sold it but we had a lot of fun with that car.

 

[Ridgeback]

Do you guys get the Renault Alpine in the States?
It was always seen as a rival to the 911 in the '80's and '90's.Turbo charged mid engine,fibreglass body,rear wheel drive and tons of pedigree in rallying and circuit racing.

They go for next to nothing here and the pick of the bunch is the blister arched Le Mans. I've had one and they are a great car. :thumbup:

 

[Pondrat]

Thanks so much to everyone who chimed in - what a response! Great ideas too.

There was a lot of nods to the Miata, and I agree, seems like a fun car for cheap, but it's not serious enough of a driver's car to compete with the Porsche. I will, however, suggest that she drive one to see if it fits the bill for her.

I dig that SLK I really like the idea of a retractable hardtop and some creature-comforts, especially considering that where we live (Boston) it takes a while to get to the good roads, whether it be on the FZ6 or in our future fun car. I think we'll be hard pressed to find a car in our price range, but if we do, I'm sure it would live up to our demand that it be a "beater" car. Maybe one that's been in an accident???

On the SAAB: we have a 92x now (which is essentially an Impreza WRX) and I hadn't even thought of an old 900 convertible - great idea.

On the BMW Z3 - anyone here have one?? I'd love to know how it matches up against these other seriously fun cars.
TO TUNINGFORK: How did it drive? Fun, fast, furious? Did you drive it at all in our New England winters?

MR2!! Totally forgot about those - and I love the idea of Toyota reliability and opportunity for "tweaking."

Thanks again to everyone that spoke up - I'll keep you updated as we move forward, but we have vowed to save up CASH for the purchase as this will be purely a fun-mobile. On another note, she is taking the Motorcycle Safety Foundation beginner's course this week so maybe the whole thing will be a moot point when she finds out how much fun she'll have on the front of a bike instead of on the back!

 

[08fz6]

This might help. Auto trader is your friend for ideas! I put your location as Jamaica Plain, MA

Find Your Car: Used Listings Near Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 - AutoTrader.com

 

[mostro]

Do you guys get the Renault Alpine in the States?
It was always seen as a rival to the 911 in the '80's and '90's.Turbo charged mid engine,fibreglass body,rear wheel drive and tons of pedigree in rallying and circuit racing.

They go for next to nothing here and the pick of the bunch is the blister arched Le Mans. I've had one and they are a great car. :thumbup:

Unfortunately we don't get Renault's here. But that car looks great! I have a sweet spot for the "mechanical" look of the pocket rocket sports cars of the late eighties and early nineties.

To the OP: have you considered an older Audi TT? Really fun car and they can be had for a great price since they've been around a while..

And I know some other members here that really love their Acura RSX's as well (Moldmaker and Wavex).