Best used convertible sports cars?

[James Burleigh]

If you happened to know a fellow who was having a mid-life crisis and always wanted to own a two-seater convertible sports car, which models would you recommend around $10K (there's a website to that effect I've seen)? The fellow I know is a bit on the tall side, but loves a Boxter if he can fit into it. Any recommendations?

 

[airboss]

You're looking at Boxsters?

May be a little "cheap" side for you J B, However one of the most fun cars I've ever driven, and I mean driven was a Mazda Miata.

 

[RadioHowie]

That's not a bad list. If your friend isn't too tall, the best car in that list is the Honda S2000. The Porsche may have more gravitas, because of it's name, but to quote Car and Driver when they did a comparo between the Boxster, the BMW Z3 and the S2000, they opined "the S2000 will eat the other two for lunch and not even bother to spit out the bones."

I've craved one since Honda introduced it in 1999, but unfortunately I AM too tall -- 6'4" -- and a little pudgy, too. Ask anyone...any Honda is cheaper to maintain than any BMW or Porsche. And in the $10k price range, you're gonna need some maintenance.

"One Man's Opinion"

 

[Fred W]

Yeah, but...

To have any fun at all in the Honda requires winding the shit out of the engine. And it still feels like an Asian car.

The Porkchop has the more prestigious nameplate, complete with racing heritage, but I would not want to be the one to have to work on (or pay for the work) on that car. Mid engine design has marvelous advantages for performance, just not so good to get at it.

The BMW Z3 with the biggest I6 engine you can find (skip the 4 cyls) is a hella good car. It is well balanced (50-50), smooooth engine, and has enough displacement that it has decent torque and you don't have to rev it to infinity like the littler Honda engine. Compared to other Bimmers it is light, and feels a tad chintzy as compared, say... to a 540is I had at the same time. But I still miss my '98 Z3 2.8L 5 speed. It was a great fun car and handled the back roads like a dream.

As for repairs, BMW cars are actually cheap to service if you can do most of the work yourself. Parts are not much more than for other cars, and the engineering actually makes the service easier. You wouldn't know that if you brought it to a stealership or other specialist, as they do have a rep for ripping folks off. But I've owned several Bimmers and they are quite nice cars. You just need to get past all the poseurs that just wanna look rich.

 

[Bustanut joker]

The one your son owns?

Ok it's a coupe but it was still a howling blast playing in it for the 2 weeks.

 

[Geezer]

You're looking at Boxsters?
May be a little "cheap" side for you J B, However one of the most fun cars I've ever driven, and I mean driven was a Mazda Miata.

Miata for me. I always wanted a roadster and finally bought one two years ago. I was looking at left over 2012 models which were heavily discounted, but simply could not resist the brand new 2013 club edition in the showroom window. It is a great car and almost as much fun as a motorcycle.

Mazda seems to regularly discount the leftover models, and they just announced a major makeover for 2016, so the current models should be selling pretty cheap in another month or two. That said, you won't get a new one for 10K.

The people who own older models love them and I'm sure you can find a nice one within your budget. Parts are easy to get and maintenance in general is pretty easy and inexpensive.

The Honda S2000 is nice, but it is pricier and, since they stopped making them a while ago it is harder to find a nice used one. Any Porche is going to be more expensive to buy and a lot more expensive to maintain.

 

[Fred W]

Miata is a great option. It goes along the lines of "It is more fun to drive a slow car fast, than a fast car slow." And the price for admission is much more reasonable.

I once owned an RX-7 ragtop. It was the perfect poor man's sports car. Sporty enough to keep you interested, slow enough not to get you into jail, and cheap enough not to send you to the poor farm.

I've never driven a Miata, but I envision it being close (though not quite as good as the Wankel) Wish they still made an RX convertible

 

[Bustanut joker]

I AM too tall -- 6'4" -- and a little pudgy, too. Ask anyone.

A little Pudgy? LMAO! That's like saying Zilla is a little slow.

 

[juniorfjr]

I'm with Howie, I think that Honda is the schnizzle.

 

[beemerdons]

I AM too tall -- 6'4" -- and a little pudgy, too. Ask anyone.

A little Pudgy? LMAO! That's like saying Zilla is a little slow.

Damn you to hell Barry, you beat me to it! A little Pudgy? Fuck me running, that's like saying that Bustanut joker is just a little ugly! jes' sayin' and nuff said, aye!

 

[bigjohnsd]

In the $10k range the Miata is your best bet.

There are kits to enable you to slip a 5.0 Ford V-8 powertrain or a chevy LS3 into the Miata.

One of the Docs here had one for awhile, he got lots of performance awards and eventually sold it.

That was one wicked fast vehicle. And quite the sleeper as well.

 

[Niehart]

I'm with Howie, I think that Honda is the schnizzle.

I think Jim's friend is to tall for the Honda.

 

[James Burleigh]

Thank you for the tips! I think I'll tell my li'l friend to forget the Porsche and look at the Miata for best all-around value: "While this pint-size roadster is not screaming-fast, it'll power through the twists like a rocket. Compared with the stock Miata, it's a fire-breathing dragon!"

 

[rckendall]

Miata, Miata, Miata!

 

[floridalawdog]

I like the Pontiac Solstice GXP. or the Saturn Sky.

 

[1maxman]

Triumph TR 6, Fiat Spider lots of fun to drive and classics but hard to find

 

[user 213]

Buy a gen II miata, or even a gen 1, and turbocharge it. I owned, (and built), a 300 rwhp turbo Miata with many mods that would do an honest 165 mph, GPS verified, dyno verified power. It was not, however, a $10k car. More like $30k at the end of the day. Still, you can have stupid fun with a 150-200 Hp Miata and still run on pump gas, humiliate most other cars in the short distance stoplight runs and enjoy it tremendously in the twisties. Not to mention, you can toss the keys to anyone and not worry about it too much. At 300 Hp, you have to be very, very careful about where, and when, you drop the hammer. Track time for the most part.

The Honda is a fun car, and well made, but as has been said, you really need to wind it out and be on the VTEC to feel like you're driving a performance car. It's smooth, but also qualifies as a economy vehicle when not on the VTEC cam. The Miata is more fun at lower speeds, but feels faster and has a higher grin factor.

Depending on how he drives and what he wants, he can find a nicely pimped Miata for his price point or a hopefully well taken care of, but higher mile P-car that will be expensive to maintain. The BMWs are fine, but never exicted me much. The Boxter S is worth it, if you're going to go down the Boxter path.

FWIW, I owned and wrenched on Miatae for money for about 12 years. I know the NA cars inside, outside, upside down, the NB pretty well, and nothing about the NC other than it uses a lot of RX8 parts and a Ford engine, but is a good car too. A good deal on the NC generation car would be worth while for a mid life crisis car.

Hope that helps

 

[RadioHowie]

I'm with Howie, I think that Honda is the schnizzle.

I think Jim's friend is to tall for the Honda.

If he's over 6'2", then yeah, he'd be too tall.

As a Honda car owner for over 40 years, my heart was absolutely broken when I first test-drove an S2000. Couldn't put the top up, and even with the seat all the way back, my knees were in my chest. I damn near cried, I wanted one so badly. The (at the time) old lady was only 5'2" and was saying "Buy it--buy it--buy it!!" I wanted to strangle her.

 

[Uncle Hud]

On my second Audi TT roadster (2001, grey, 104k miles now). Long waisted guy, and bumped my head on the roof of every Miata I've sat in. (Into which I have sat?) Frankly, the Honda S2K scared the bejeesus out of me on a test drive, because my TT has all wheel drive -- which allows her to take corners at rather high speed, like I do on my fastest pair of skis. She'll also cruise at 85 mph and 28 mpg.