Which car to buy?

Europoors I need you here. Ex bikefag here. I can't drive bikes for at least two years after an accident and I'm in the market for a decent sport car. I would like to spend more or less 10k€ but if the car feels right I can push to 20k. Mandatory rear or 4wd. Better if with a manual transmission. I do 15000-20000 km normally in the year so it's not necessary to worry too much for small dispacements. I'm ok with two seaters. At the moment I've found a bunch of BMW 6 series (e63). Having compared them the 635d twinturbo seems the best choice. The 630 petrol is ok too, I won't ever track my car so I don't care for the fastest-car-in-da-street meme.
Does anyone in Veeky Forums have experience with the 6 series? Any proposal of a good looking used car for that price range?

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OP here. I'm into vintage cars and bikes too. I actually prefer to work on them too. So something like a 850 or an Giulia is fine too

I don't have first-hand experience with the 6 series, though the general consensus seems to be that used BMWs from that era can turn into money pits really fast as they're not very reliable nor cheap to fix.

If you don't mind the ricer memes and you can find an unmolested example i guess a Nissan 350Z could be a decent bet, they are really cheap now and quite reliable as far as i know.
Probabily cheap feeling interiors though compared to a beemer

i don't mine jap cars at all. I have 4 Yamaha after all. But I have to say, I find the 350z a rather ugly car. Like in really ugly. I have to buy the car in central Europe and then register it in Slovenija so I must limit my search field between north Italy, Slovenija and south Germany. Here there's a 300ZX twin turbo for 15k, 100kms. I dig the 80s aestethic but if I have to spend that kind of money a Bmw 850 maybe makes more sense?

I wouldn't mind to know which cars anons on Veeky Forums have and what they think about them

Don't get a 6 series, they are rather unreliable.
Porsche's are strangely reliable, but expensive when they first break.
Just get a 235i, 2010+ Z4 or something if you want a bmw.

Oh, going to add e39 M5 to this list, even though it's not really a "sports car", it'll probably only go up in price from here on out as well.

the 850 is an exceptionally cool car IMHO, but that's another one i hear the worst horror stories about which i find really offputting.
Also it's much more of a GT than a sports car, if that's what you're looking for

The 235 is waaaay out of budget, just checked. I have to say I prefer a very good looking car to an efficient,newer and more powerfull one. Basically the only BMW that I like and can afford is the 6 series and the old 850-840 (an old tick of mine). Add the i8, the 635 csi and the M1 and that's basically the only cars from BMW I like in the last 50 years.
What about a Mercedes SLK 32? Post 2004, I really like the F1 nose. Anyone with some experience?

yeah i've driven a few SLKs, though all with the supercharged 4 cylinder. about the worst steering feel this side of a smart, quite cool otherwise

Since you seem to dig 80s esthetics, have you considered a Porsche 944?

Here in Italy and Slovenija You can find a lot of them. An old guy from the bar I frequent has a SL55 AMG. Very cool but unreliable as fuck. And in Italy the possesion tax is more or less 3200€ every year so LOL no..

I heard the too but they don't really scary me. Up to the distribution I can do everything by myself. I will have to check if it's difficult to find the workshop manual and software for BMWs..

Yes. Good choice! The glass rear is cool. Any experience?

Sei italiano anche tu?
If you're going to register a car in Italy, in some regions 20+ years old cars are still exempt from the possession tax, provided you register to an historic registry.

Nope, i was about to buy a 924 but then the seller kind of backed off. Only heard good things about them though

mezzo italiano, ma è meglio parlare in inglese per far capire a tutti.
The 924 has an Audi engine inside, a piece of shit. The 944 got a proper v8. I live in Friuli Venezia Giulia and that tax thing has been modified. now is for 30 years plus. I work and live in Slovenija so a 645 cost me 500€ years in tax there. in Italy is 950€. Let's say that to import a car with 200kW in Slovenija I have to pay 2000€ so..

My bad, the 928 was the v8

yeah the 924 had an audi derived 4 cylinder, i think porsche designed the head but i'm not sure.
The 944 also had a 4 cylinder, though with larger displacement, more power and entirely porsche-designed.
The 928 is the one with the V8.

I hear you, owning a semi-powerful car in italy sucks.

SLK's should be quite reliable according to statistics. Not sure about AMG's though.

Z4's are around 16k Euro.

mmh.. No I don't like it. The SLK seems far prettier

as i mentioned before, SLKs are completely devoid of steering feel. personally that would be a dealbraker for me. shame because i really like them otherwise.

i strongly advise a test drive if you think this could bother you as well.

Also, since we're talking convertibles, honda s2000 would be another obvious choice.
Also they're probabily only going up in value, so that's good

there's one violet (!) in the parking lot of my workplace. I wouldn't touch it with a 2 meter pole. Ugly. The Toyota MR-2 seems a fine car instead (post 2002)

Can get relatively new MX-5 for under 20k as well, even as new as like 2016/17 maybe.
Low horsepower though.

370z from around 2010 for 20k as well.

Have you ever tried a SL instead of a SLK?

1990-2000 Toyota Supra is around 10k Euro, probably not in great condition though.

no i haven't.
i assume it's much more of a soft GT than a sportscar.

I really like MR2s they're much cheaper than your price range so i assumed you wouldn't considered them. they probabily have cheap old japanese-car plastcky interior, will that be an issue for you?

The MX5 is literally my mother choice for a car. The ones with the popup light. So, no. I think It would be a little helpfull if I wrote down a list of car I find pretty:
Lancia Stratos
Lancia Beta coupè
Lancia Delta
Lancia Fulvia
Alfa Romeo 159 (God those headlights)
Alfa Romeo Junior
Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
Opel Monza
Opel Speedster
BMW 850
Mercedes SLK (the front part)
and somewhat the e63. The more I look at it the more I like it

i don't care for reliability. But it has to move something inside me. My last bike was an MV Agusta F4, my10. Not the absolute fastest on the track, Absolutely not relialable (but I have to say the only problem I got in 2 years with it was because of a fucking japanese part lol). But every time I got out of the office I took a minute to look at it. It was a piece of pure beauty. I'm trying to find a sport car (used obv.) that does the same thing to me as the F4. I think Veeky Forums is the right place to ask

You're not seriously thinking of driving 15-20k a year in one of those are you?

Get a Opel Manta, stick a C20LET in it.
youtube.com/watch?v=a2v9f6xJbNY

get a 635d, best of both worlds. It does have some electrical shit but its generally light on the upkeep costs

I have done it on a 1987 FZR 1000.. I think I can manage it. After the accident i borrowed the Old Opel Corsa from my grandpa. 84 model. Fucking ridiculous how much is reliable. But since it's gonna take at least 2 years before I can bend the right knee i have to buy a car, The Corsa is a little, let-s say, underwhelming. From my experience with older bikes having any electronic is a big plus.

Not the manta but the Monza was my car of choice until I couldn-t find one in Italy. My father had an 86 3.0 one, lock diff when I was reaaaaaly young. They recall I was crying a lot the moment he went to the dealer to swap it for a Range |Rover v8. The Monza had 600.000 km the moment he selled it.

200+ HP, easy to work on, cheap parts.

Ugly. But thank you for your contribution

...

Eh.. nope. I'm calling right now a guy for a 2007 635d. 150k km, He ask 18500€. If he sells it for 15-15500 and the car is in good condition I think I will pull the trigger

Stay away from the 6 series, it's a unreliable pile of shit, especially the diesels from that era which have massive problems.

Have you considered a Merc CLS? The CLS is the direct competitor to the 6 Series Grancoupe, and the E Coupe to the 6 Series.

Alternatively, at 15k you could afford an B5 S4 which is a legend on wheels. With AWD and a 2.7 twin-turbo V6 250 bhp engine that can easily go to 306 bhp on stock internals. But an S4 will require a lot of care.

>Stay away from the 6 series, it's a unreliable pile of shit
I agree with this wholeheartedly, I would never get one.
It's like they made a car for executives that break all the time because the executives can afford to repair it, so they milk them.
There is a reason it's so cheap.

you are ugly

Thanks for the advices. I spoke with a friend of mine that worked at my local dealer and he said that the e63 didn't have particular problems except for the electric water pump. His opinion seems to be consistant with what i found on bmw-s forums. Care to expand your opinions& tell me what you know happened?

And you expect for dealership people to tell the truth?
Have you heard of the tragedy of the M57D30 engine that was installed in the 530d, 730d E65 and the first X5?

Oil leaks, oil consumption, transmission problems, fairly random electronic problems which can get quite bad if you don't drive the car every single day.

the old guy is retired, doesn't have any stake in it anymore. But thank you, I will absolutely check if the M57TU2D30TOP suffers the same problems

Well for the next two years it's gonna be my daily driver. The one I'm looking at is 155k kms, so fairly new for a diesel. I will check, thank you for your input

Ok make sure it's not leaking oil. :^)

Just keep in mind that the M57D30 in the 635d has 2 timing chains and 2 turbochargers. Also, be aware that the timing chain replacement requires for the whole engine to be removed and it is usually a nasty procedure. Not to mention that once the original timing chains get replaced, the whole rollercoaster of pain starts.
Also, don't forget that most BMW engines from that era leak oil everywhere due to old af plastic orings and seals.
Also, you may want to check if the swirl flap was removed, otherwise it can get in your engine and kill it.
And that is just the tip of the issues of 2005-2010 BMW diesel engines.

Saab 9-5

A CLS 320 cdi or a CLS 55 AMG

What about an infiniti coupe? Basically a 350z but more luxurious, better looking and with a back seat

pretty rare in south/central Europe

>M57D30
well.. Since you are a based Alfista.. Can't ignore the warning

checked. not used on the twin turbo e63

10k to 20k puts you in the market for one of these, if you're into mid-engined 2-seater roadsters. Avoid tiptronics though, they're shit.

Yeah, that's an idea I played with too in the beginning. But around here they have the reputation of being a Porsche but not really a Porsche. I kinda like it btw but not having enough space to recline the seats can be a little dealbreaker for me. Oh, softop are not really good looking in my book too. I will check if I can find a second series near me

You can get hardtops for them, and some aftermarket companies even make Cayman-style hardtops.
And the "not a real Porsche" argument is pretty bullshit, the majority of components in the front half is shared with the 911 of the same era and the only difference in the interior is the top of the dash.

avto.net/Ads/details.asp?id=12825526&display=Porsche Boxster 2.7 SLO-1.BARVA-XENON-UG...
Not many around here..

Dunno, I think I'm not a Porsche guy after all. Wednesday I will go to see a 635 and a SLK. Probably I'm gonna limit my choices between those two.

You could expand your search to Z4s and SLs too.