Spec me a car for £10k

Porkie · 14 Dec 2014 at 09:48

I have owned a 2004 Skoda Octavia VRS Estate for 7 years and fancy a change. While it is an OK car, and it has been a damn good runner over the years, it never really inspired me.

I am looking for something that is faster and more fun. I am looking at spending up to £10k.

At the moment I am considering a Nissan 350Z or an E46 M3.

Any other ideas?

rodenal · 14 Dec 2014 at 10:14

This will sound stupid given the on paper bhp difference bit the 350z won't feel much if any quicker than the vrs (straight line at least) - it will give you a completely different driving experience though.

The M3 on the other hand feels in another league

rare · 14 Dec 2014 at 10:32

I would just buy the M3. Another car like it will never be made, and it won't be too long until they are all dogs

RogerMesenseless · 14 Dec 2014 at 16:07

As above. I'd go E46 M3.

Gibbo · 14 Dec 2014 at 16:17

The 350Z is a bit bare inside and lacks mod cons, so will no doubt feel like a downgrade interior and toys wise compared to your VRS.

The M3 has a better interior, an engine to die for and superb handling and 10k will get you a nice one or buy one for around 7k and have 3k aside for repairs, running cost and some mods.

fizzle-187 · 14 Dec 2014 at 16:46

Gibbo, what happened to your m3? Not the CSL one.

Gibbo · 14 Dec 2014 at 17:15

fizzle-187 said:
Gibbo, what happened to your m3? Not the CSL one.

I still have it, literally just updated my thread.

Sukh · 14 Dec 2014 at 19:30

Gibbo said:
The 350Z is a bit bare inside and lacks mod cons,

Bose sound, leather seats, bluetooth and sat nav is hardly bare?

Gibbo · 14 Dec 2014 at 22:19

Sukh said:
Bose sound, leather seats, bluetooth and sat nav is hardly bare?

The M3 has even more toys and though interiors don't bother me the M3 interior is in a different league quality wise.

Housey · 14 Dec 2014 at 22:42

I have never understood the comparison with the 350Z and the M3 (yea I know marketing departments and car mags tell us they are the same sort of thing) but for me it has never come close to the M3. For 10K it's where my money would be going. Make sure you get the key areas checked, not least the rear subframe which is a known weakness and will need fixing at some point. There are quite a few bodge jobs out there these days so buy with caution but get a good one and you will have a bullet proof motor that still feels quick today.

Porkie · 15 Dec 2014 at 13:26

I was not really trying to make a comparison between the 350Z and the M3. They are just two cars that I quite fancy in the right price range.

It looks like everyone is suggesting the M3. I will start looking into those.

Gibbo · 15 Dec 2014 at 14:40

Porkie said:
I was not really trying to make a comparison between the 350Z and the M3. They are just two cars that I quite fancy in the right price range.

It looks like everyone is suggesting the M3. I will start looking into those.

Drive both!

Everyone has different taste, yes I prefer the M3, but you might prefer the 350Z. So please drive both and then decide. So many of each car for sale so if I were you I' test drive 2-3 of each from dealers to get a real feel. Problem is with both cars, M3 in particular there are some poor shoddy examples available.

I'd buy a clean high miler for 7k if I were you with an M3, then you have 3k for stuff like boot floor re-inforcement, repairs and some uprades etc.

For 7-8k you can get cars with boot floor already done and in good condition, just gotta search for the gems amongst the trash.