Mrs wants a cutesy classic open top. Budget 5K, performance irrelevant, lowish running costs and good looks the factors. Tax exempt would be handy.
Obvious candidates are MG Midget / Sprite, MGB, Spitfire and Alfa Romeo Spyder.
I think my role in this is to go out and buy one and 'surprise her'... Any other suggestions, or tips on what I should be looking for?
Of for heaven's sake! There's only one choice - a ragtop Series One 80".
Fiat 124 Spyder Or a Ferguson TEA :-)
You've already got plenty of classic reapirs on your hands so why not go for a late-model reliable roadster? Otherwise you'll forever be in the dog box because the bloody thing won't go, won't stop or has failed it's MOT.
Apparently it has to be old. We don't like the new ones. Or blue ones. Or red ones...
At one point I thought I'd talked her into a Lotus 111R, but apparently not :-(
My SWMBO is happily driving a BRG Mazda MX5 with rather nice cream leather trim. 2 days of making her use a friend's MGB-V8 in winter had her convinced that newer was better, but she still won on the no blue or red ones.
Mazda MX5
How about a SII 88" soft top?
Budget 5K, yep, performance irrelevant, should qualify on that count too, lowish running costs, just about, good looks, eye of the beholder, tax exempt, yep. Ideal!
MGA are nice, but would have to double the budget at least. I like the Spitfire over the Midget I would say, but haven't really seen any promising looking ones advertised. I also like the Stag, but again, double the money for a good one. Much more useable than a Midget IMHO.
There are a number of TR6's about, but lots seem to be track cars and probably shagged / modified beyond recognition.
Midget seems like the sensible choice - pay top dollar and get a goody, then actually drive it instead of decorating the garden with it. Shouldn't need massive money every year for maintenance with a bit of luck either.
"Tim Hobbs" wrote
If she drives a Series Landy then an MGB would make her feel at home. A Spitfire will have her in a hedge backwards if she's not careful. The Alfa Spider will get her talking to all the local Alfa mechanics. No, as others have said, for a small roadster there is only one worth considering at that price, the Mazda MX5. Well built and Fun to drive.
Unless you can find a Porsche Boxster in good nick for that price. Some hope!
When I was at the dealer looking at the Elise the other day I was talking to her only to find she wasn't there any more. Apparently purple 911 convertibles are definitely 'allowed'....
The Elise is an excellent roadster, but it's more a serious drivers tool than just an open top experience. Wide sills to clamber over etc., perhaps a compromise too far for the wife? That said, the MX5 has good handling and is fun. It's rather like a modern version of an old MG.
Convertible 911? I though you said £5,000 not £50,000. Mind you it is possible to pick up an old one, a Targa perhaps, for reasonable money but worth joining the Owners Club first to see what's on offer.
Perfect summary - a cracking car, but at the money it would have to replace her Merc rather than add to it, which in reality is just not practical. I'd have ended up driving it every day leaving her the Volvo. Which would have been awful.
2 problems with the MX5. Her friend has got one, and it's just too obvious a choice. It's certainly the most sensible of all the options though. £58,000 for that particular one. She tried to justify it on the basis of 2 rear seats (such as they are). Not in this lifetime...I think I'll have a tour of a few dealers in the next week or two and see how good a Midget or MG Roadster I can find. It needs to be a car, not a project. Wet weather issues, speed and practicality don't come into it really - it's a second car for nice days. It will be under a tonneau or in the garage for the rest of the time.
Read my sig....
:-)
If it's got to be fun, impractical, tax exmpt summer toy how about .............
On or around Thu, 17 Mar 2005 12:40:44 +0000, Tim Hobbs enlightened us thusly:
nah, the Stag, lovely though it is, has an awful reputation for reliability, unless you bastardize it and put a ford cologne lump in it, of course.
On or around Thu, 17 Mar 2005 13:49:22 +0000, MVP enlightened us thusly:
yeah, it's a shame they didn't do more with the soft-top TR7. A soft-top TR8 would be fun.
it's rumored that TR7 - TR8 is not too bad a conversion job.
On or around Thu, 17 Mar 2005 17:22:17 +0000, Tim Hobbs enlightened us thusly:
Prolly still outside your budget, but I rather liked the Honda S2000. not sure if there was a ragtop one.
On or around Thu, 17 Mar 2005 18:55:45 -0000, "Smurf" enlightened us thusly:
hmmm:
Ahhh, some day I'll have one too. Absolutely gorgeous. They seem to be the most popular of the TRs so if you do find one, It won't be cheap. When I was looking at prices, I think they were around 12k stg for a good-to-mint one :-(
Is the 150hp one PI or carbed?
Gromit
On or around Thu, 17 Mar 2005 22:05:05 +0000, Gromit enlightened us thusly:
PI. the original was a twin carb and 125 hp.
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