$120,000 for One Car

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kent
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No convertibles for me. I'm absolutely not interested in convertibles, so forget my previous post. :D

Aww... Party pooper. Come on, pick a hard-top convertible and just pretend it's a coupe. :dopey:
 
Not a fan of soft tops, but if forced to choose one I'd take a Maserati Grancabrio.
 
Well...
Thanks for the input everyone.
Interesting to see how many people just read the title of a thread and don't actually bother to read the OP. :(
Moreover, interesting to see how many people would take different approaches to the same question. Some people seem to think it's best to have a DD that could break down, require work just to get into DD shape, and always look dated (or classic :dopey: ). Others think it's best to max the budget and run a slightly used supercar, very cool but too expensive IMHO.
Some seem to have the true DD in mind, new, reliable/warranty backed, just under price max or even far less.

I can't say any approach is wrong (though I genuinely believe an old car has no place in a thread like this).

My thoughts are down to three candidates.

911
http://neworleans.porschedealer.com.../2013/Aqua+Blue+Metallic/blue/848302/info.php

SL550
http://www.autotrader.com/dealers/d...rt_type=priceDESC&resultCar=null&cardist=6222

Jaguar F Type
http://www.parettijaguar.com/details/SAJWA6GL4EMK04490

Not sure what the final verdict would be for someone else but for me it would probably be the Porsche. I'm in love with Porsches and even a soft top wouldn't ruin that for me. However, I must admit that if it were me, I'd definitely get a coupe and leave the convertible out of the question.
 
Aww... Party pooper. Come on, pick a hard-top convertible and just pretend it's a coupe. :dopey:
Ok, a Porsche 997/991 S convertible but with a hard top. Buuuut don't remove the hard top. :D

Or a white Mazda MX-5 with a hard top.
 
Btw, I should mention that the R8 is a strong contender but the styling is so aggressive that it's appeal is lost (not to me but to the mystery buyer).

Likewise, the Jag is an option only for the sake of style, in reality the buyer doesn't have faith in Jaguar's reliability. At this point in time the strongest contender is the MB SL 550 due to the mix of luxury, status, du-dads, and folding hard top.

Again, I think the Porsche is the way to go but in reality the question is geared more for a man who's in his 60s and not much of a car enthusiast (I know I left that out to start but I was trying to get as many different opinions as possible).
 
Ok, a Porsche 997/991 S convertible but with a hard top. Buuuut don't remove the hard top. :D

Or a white Mazda MX-5 with a hard top.
Another mistake. :O
This is not a $120,000 car.
 
^It doesn't have to cost exactly 120k. You can buy any conv. for under 120k. So, the MX-5 is fine. Actually, I think a 2013 MX-5 would be a good alternate option for me as well or a Porsche 911 Turbo Convertible.
 
Ok, a Porsche 997/991 S convertible but with a hard top. Buuuut don't remove the hard top. :D

Or a white Mazda MX-5 with a hard top.

As RCG17 said, it doesn't have to cost $120k.
MX-5 hard top? I like it, one of my favorites, but didn't think of it, so if I have any change left from my F-Type I'll have a MX-5 too. :sly:
 
Why in the world anyone would take an MX5 over some of the other stuff that's an option here is beyond me. Really, I can never imagine taking a new Miata over a new Boxster S, none the less a Cabriolet 911.
But hey, to each their own right? :D
 
I don't know what it is about it..
KA_640.jpg
 
Moreover, interesting to see how many people would take different approaches to the same question.

My thought process was that I figured I was simply getting another car, on top of the one I already own; just making the new car my daily rather than my current. Plus the SL55 is the master of all trades for my purposes.

Mind you there's something a little odd about a man who owns an SL55 AMG as a daily driver and a bright yellow boy-racer WRX for the weekends but hey, I'm an odd kinda guy :)
 
Why in the world anyone would take an MX5 over some of the other stuff that's an option here is beyond me. Really, I can never imagine taking a new Miata over a new Boxster S, none the less a Cabriolet 911.
But hey, to each their own right? :D
It's more fun under 65, harder to overcook, easier to recover if you do, less likely to get you tickets, less likely to be keyed and less likely to be stolen.

The others are just fast.
 
Lotus Exige V6 Cup - Color: Ardent Red.
£63.000 -> $102.000, keep the rest for fuel and tires. :)
Ow convertible! I didn't see that part, but I think you can still remove the roof like the S2 Exige.

e91k.jpg
 
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The convertible TVR Sagaris, which is going for £30K on Ebay. Would buy it in a heartbeat if I had the cash.
 
Not sure why it has to be a vert, but i'd probably get a last gen Continental. I haven't found a GTC speed for less than $130K though, that would've been really nice.
 
I just thought of a few other alternate options:

Honda S2000 CR AP2
Honda-S2000_CR_Concept_2007_1600x1200_wallpaper_07.jpg


2003 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra Conv.
112_0405_01l%2B2003_Ford_Mustang_SVT_Cobra%2BFront_Passenger_Side_View.jpg


Porsche 997 Carrera GTS Cabriolet
porsche_911_carrera_gts_cabrio_1_11.jpg


BMW M3 e93 Conv.
BMW-M3_E93_Convertible_mp2_pic_54401.jpg
 
So tomorrow (later today, early morning) a few of you will live vicariously through me. I'm headed to the south shore (new orleans) with my dad who enlisted my help in buying a car.
All the people who posted stuff about miatas, s2ks, mustangs, etc. are out of luck.
The rest of you who suggested Porsches, Audis, and especially Mercedes will get a report in the near future.

As it stands now things haven't changed much, Pops still wants a SL550. Hard top, all the techno gizmos, rear camera, etc.

However, I've done my best to convince him that he needs to drive other cars in the price bracket and so we will be going to other import dealers.

Looking forward to reporting back,
-

btw, famine,
It's more fun under 65, harder to overcook, easier to recover if you do, less likely to get you tickets, less likely to be keyed and less likely to be stolen.

The others are just fast.

Fun under 65, less likely to get tickets, and keyed, I'd say are all opinion.
Harder to overcook, and easier to recover are relative, especially with some of these insanely awesome cars, and well, the stolen part I can't argue. :p
(though the stolen part is being nice because stolen is also relative to where you keep the car and what sort of security you use)... Just saying. :sly:
 
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If I'm feeling stupid and want to blow the entire 120k.... a Turbo S convertible or an R8 Spyder it is

I've I'm smart... C7 Vette + a used E93 M3 on the side
 
Fun under 65, less likely to get tickets, and keyed, I'd say are all opinion.
Well... yeah...

But MX-5s are more fun at road legal speeds than many, many much faster cars which only come alive further up - I recently drove a 991 911 Carrera 2 and a Jaguar F-Type that were way more car than the road would let you experience and there's a frustrating edge to that. You feel like you're going through the motions somewhat because it's all too easy - you're so far inside the car's performance envelope that it's more irritating than fun.

That means to have fun you need to go faster and when you go faster, you get tickets.

As for being keyed, who ever keyed a Mazda MX-5 in a fit of car park jealousy? A Porsche 911 on the other hand...
Harder to overcook, and easier to recover are relative, especially with some of these insanely awesome cars
When you have 500hp under your right foot, even in a 1.6 ton car, you can overcook it in the blink of an eye. A 140hp 1.2 ton car takes more than a single misjudgement with your loud pedal.

And when it does go, you don't want huge, fat tyres with no profile and no play that suddenly lose and regain grip - pitching you off the other way into a hedge. You want little skinny ones that feed the grip back in. Drift-heroing a roundabout is a piece of proverbial in an MX-5 (not that I'd know, naturally!) and you need more than a little skill to do it consistently in a 911.

Apart from the F-Type, I'd take an MX-5 over any car mentioned thus far as a daily driver. But the F-Type is very good indeed.
 
I've seen a couple S15s on craigslist, it's a shame I don't have the money for any though.
 
Were it not for the whole convertible thing, the obvious choice would be a Nissan GT-R Black Edition.

Otherwise, give me an SLK 55 AMG. It's a sweet little sports car that could still be driven every day. And the hardtop negates a lot of my gripes with convertibles.
2012-mercedes-benz-slk-55-amg-r172-2.jpg
 
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