[Closed] Midlife crisis car for 20k max

Diesel Alfa?

MX5 and several [i]really[/i] nice holidays.

Lotus Exige. What better way to announce your midlife crisis than having an out-and-out trackday monster as a Sunday Best garage queen?

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Go to Carribean every winter.

Is there any reason not to Porsche though?

Good call mr ox.

'Straight on autotrader''

I have thought about this a lot but alas finances have dictated that it's not gonna happen any time sound ( Damn the strong Pound )

I would go for a Boxster, but as bike Mike said, I would not splash all the available cash on the car alone. If you have the holidays sorted use the rest of the money to use the car, track days trip to the Nurbergring etc.

The Boxster is a good mix of comfort, speed and handling, so you could enjoy country runs to the pub / cafe and going round a track. I was speaking to friend who had both a Caymen and and Boxster, and he said the Boxster just felt more special.

Have a look at petrolicious on Youtube for some great inspirational videos of people who really enjoy their fun cars ( warning it may get expensive)

Edit Elise/Exige are great cars but pretty full on, although I would love one, I would never get the wife to go in it you may think this is a good thing, but I would want something we could both enjoy.

A thought. You can still maybe just about squeeze a Honda NSX for around the £20k mark, if you do it via one of those Jap import auction middleman type places. I'm thinking New Era Imports and the like.

You'd have a car cooler than the Fonze when he's woken up feeling particularly cool. They're extremely exclusive, still pretty quick by today's standards, and given the way prices are going over here for the NSX, a rapidly appreciating asset.

How much is an Ariel Atom? Surely enough fun and impracticality for a proper mid-life crisis?

I see a real problem for anyone not advocating a caterham, hookers and blow.

Caterham?

A friend has one and does hill climbs with it and another friend is thinking of getting one as a track day car (also thinking about an Aston Martin which falls into the same price bracket).

I'm having a similar crisis at the moment, albeit with a slighty lower cost ceiling. £20k would get you a nice 911.

Boxster is worth a look - convertibles are great.

If you're happy with something older, a TVR?

Anyone with experience of the mystical Boxster engine bearing problem?

Later ones (07 onwards IIRC) were upgraded and fixed so provided you get one often this you should be fine. jambalaya off here owns a Cayman..
I looked at a Boxter, you can get an 09S for what you are prepared to spend.

i'd go boxster too. has to be a later 's' though. bearing issue pretty much sorted i believe. still a sportscar, so still 'relatively' expensive to run, if you actually use it.

leave TVRs alone unless you fancy doing a re-chassis at some point.

I have been running a Cayman for the last five years.
Brilliant car. The precision with which you can position it on the road is amazing.
Comfortable, reliable and carries a surprising amount of luggage.
It's a bit thirsty. I get about 19 to the gallon.

E46 M3, plus a good few grand in the bank for holidays and fuel.

I had this similar "dilemma" this year, and on my list were:

Porsche Boxster or Cayman
Elise/Exige
Caterham
VX220

I drove all of them, most on a track as well as on the road, and ended up plumping for a Cayman, as the best blend of out and out handling/performance, pose factor, and everyday usability. Had it a couple of months and still get that flutter of excitement when I walk up to it.

Things to watch out for are clutch: (320bhp can eat these quickly, if mis-treated) and those engines don't like being over-revved so if you can get one with a recent ecu download to show that it hasn't been over-revved, that's better. Not a problem with the pdk gearbox, but a manual can be over-revved on the downshift.

With your budget, its do-able, but be VERY selective, so as not to just buy a load of trouble.

Hmmm...

Got a nice early 3.2 boxster a while ago and tbh glad I didn't pony up for a newer one..

it's a nice car and surprisingly practical but with the speed limits an general traffic madness around here it's just not fun anymore 🙂

Mine just sits on the drive and occasionally goes to spain..So my midlife Chrisis is The reverse of everyone else's ...riding everywheres so much more fun..

Later boxster with 9A1 engine don't have an IMS so don't suffer and it's not a mystical problem the bearing fails and your left crying as it lets the chains slip and your engine turns to a mess of poo

Great suggestions from Ox.
NSX is a good shout, pricey servicing and running costs though. Rare, cool and an investment.

I've just cured my midlife crisis with a used:

MX5 and several really nice holidays.

If you can't put the roof down, your midlife crisis will continue to eat away at you.

9A1 Boxster engine are they all of the 07 models?

I've got a new Cayman GTS. It's everyday usable, comfy seats, torquey engine, enough comforts. But then when you hit the right road it turns in to a beast of a car. I've had it 4 months now and still like a school kid when I go out for a drive.

here is the problem though, whilst it still feels special at 10 miles an hour, it's very fast and very capable, and whilst it's 100% down to the driver I'm probably going to be selling it to stop me getting in trouble.

Cars are funny things. As a kid, I always though, when I was rich and famous, I'd have a 911 with the big silly spoiler on the back. Now, if I won the lottery and had time for dicking about in a car without having to worry about practical things, it would be a lotus Elise/Exige.

In reality, my car musing rarely go beyond a Berlingo Multispace or a Toyota Verso (or something very similar)

I had fast cars in my youth.
I had sports cars when I was a little older.
I now have a big planet killing 4X4 and love it to death.
There's too much traffic, too many cameras and too many potential problems to enjoy a fast car these days.

9A1 engines are in the Gen 2 models, roughly from 58 plate onwards

People are getting confused with the minor IMS bearing change on the Gen 1 engines around 07 model year.

I had a Cayman S for a couple years, got written off when some tube decided to ram me in the rear. Great car, really felt special and the way it handles was just sublime. Mine was a 55 plate, bought it at about 7 years old and was in the OPs budget. Was always aware of the engine risks but never had a problem personally.

The thing I rwlly loved about it was the handling, it felt like you had to try and drive it smoothly to get the best out of it, and as someone with no pretensions that I am Ayrton Senna, it always felt like it could catch you out if you didn't. The steering feel was just so good and as someone said above you could place it so accurately.

Would recommend one, only caveats would be obvious point s like the engine thing and budgeting enough for repairs servicing etc.

[i]There's too much traffic, too many cameras and too many potential problems to enjoy a fast car these days.[/i]

Which is why my mid life crisis (number 7) car will be an old classic.

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Not with those wheels, I hope.

I would buy the Caymen if I wanted a sports car to use every day, but for a weekend car it's got to be a soft top.

And if it is a true 2nd car, would have to be an Elise, Caterham, Westfield.

[i]Not with those wheels, I hope.[/i]

No, they're not very nice. Hopefully get the original spoked wheels.

Not with those wheels, I hope.

No, they're not very nice. Hopefully get the original spoked wheels.

Those look like MG Maestro wheels 😯

I had a 1500 Spitfire and it was great fun.
And yes, get rid of those wheels, otherwise it's a fine looking car.

Lotus Elise or Exige. Go for post 2006 with the Toyota engine and bills will be small.

I've just sold my Elise 111R, it cost bugger all to run. Service costs are pretty much the same a Toyota, 4 tyres cost £320, insurance was £200 a year.

Whatever you buy do your homework. I looked at Porsche before buying the Lotus and backed away, my pockets weren't deep enough to run one.

S2000

Lots of nice 911s available for £20k or less. We're all recommending our own cars, right ?

Howabout something with a barking V8 in it, an Audi RS4 or a Lexus IS-F

Had an Elise. Wont have another. Poor build quality and overrated in my opinion
Had a TVR. Wont have another. See above, although Chims are cheap for V8 noise.
Had Westfields, would definitely have another. Actually discussed with Mrs TJ about mid life crisis of building one soon. A mate has built 5 and has a full workshop to make bits and help.
From a car point of view, I am looking at a Z4 m Coupe for the next toy. Very rare, actually starting to appreciate and the straight 6 is pretty reliable, except for Vanos issues.

Howabout something with a barking V8 in it, an Audi RS4 or a Lexus IS-F

The running costs on that era RS4 are pretty brutal, especially now they're getting on a bit. The M tax on parts is nowt compared to the RS tax. I love the B7 RS4 a lot but I don't think it's special enough for a weekend toy...as a fast every day car, great if your pockets are deep enough.

My friend has an Alpina Z4 (similar to an M) - it's lovely.

For my midlife crisis I ended up with a defender 110.

@flip I came to the thread to recommend a Cayman. Its a great choice. I am biased as I have one of the first ones, Cayman S ordered in 2006 and delivered in 2007. Great performance, very nimble, more unusual than Boxter's and half the price of a 911. I don't use mine for biking but there's regularly one in the Surrey Hills (as you'd expect 😉 ) with a roofrack and bike. Mine his pretty low milage (only 35k) but it's cost me only £250pa in servicing (2 year service intervals) at main dealer.

Porka 996 Turbo worth a look for an exciting and usable car that will possibly increase in value over the next 10 ish years. For me though, I'd go a little older, maybe a nice 993 - Definitely porsche though.

You'd have to add on another £10k to the budget for a 996 turbo. They are going up in value.

Proper 2nd car, something that gets you tingling every time you use it - Caterham... Nothing else comes close! (maybe a Westie). Every trip feels very special.

Skoda Octavia?

No? I'll get my coat.

If it's for driving thrills/pleasure £10k - £15k on a monster Westfield or Caterham would be the way to go. Spend the change on track days and spares, decent tyres and pads are seriously expensive. Or if you're looking for a big torque-pedo then AMG mercs are stupidly cheap. You can easily get 500bhp, low mileage cars for your budget. But maintenance.

If it's got to be Porsche I'd go Cayman. Porsche seem to be doing a good job of fostering their reputation as a drivers car with the GTS and GT4 so that should help keep their values up, whereas the Boxster always has that trophy wife/hairdresser vibe. Either way you'd need to know your onions spending £20k on a car that cost £70k.

I'd be avoiding luxury marques and looking at something that will hold it's value or appreciate, and would have said NSX/Escort Cosworth etc a couple of years ago, but now they've gone through the roof. Maybe a hot MK1 or MK2 escort before they all get to silly money?

Anyone with experience of the mystical Boxster engine bearing problem?

I was worried about this when I bought my boxter. Chatted to the guy in Porsche Indy to ask him how much for an IMS retrofit kit. He said in the last 12 years he had only seen around half a dozen of these bearings go across the boxter and 911 range, and assured me it wasn't something to stress about.

I'm sure I may not have the same outlook when my engine blows up at the cost of 6k, but just giving another opinion. Plenty of old boxters still on the roads afterall..you only hear about the broken ones.

I was worried about this when I bought my boxter.

My missus bought herself a 987 Boxster about 5 years back and has had it since.. When we were looking I did loads of reading up on the IMS issues, and figured out pretty much the same thing - there's a lot of p'd off people who have had problems that make a lot of noise, but there aren't actually all that many failures. Porsche refined the design over time - by the time it got to the 987 model (2005ish) and the slightly later revision (with the 3.4 engine I think) they pretty much had it sorted. If you are worried about it you can get a product called IMS guardian that checks for metal particles in the sump and sounds an alarm if you want some piece of mind.

In terms of it as a midlife crisis car - I'd seriously consider one.. It's great to drive, not ridiculous running costs, ours has been reliable, and it has a magical 'something' about it that a lot of other cars don't have - polished up on a sunny day with the roof down and the flat 6 howling it just makes you happy... I'd have one over a Cayman just for putting the roof down, they don't drive any differently to each other day to day (maybe on the track you could tell the difference though...)