Girlfriend is looking for a stylish car

bogmanfan

Her budget is 15k-18k. She was looking at a convertible, originally the BMW Z3, but after sitting in one reckons it's too small. MX-5 was also rejected. Then she saw a 01 Merc CLK hardtop and really liked it. Other contender is Renault Megane Cabrio (2004). An outside bet would be a Mini Cooper (2004). Any opinions on these? Megane is gorgeous looking, but roof might be a little troublesome I've read.
Also, browsing carzone earlier I saw some '00 Volvo C70s for around 12k, which seems like a cracking deal for a good looking car. Anyone know anything about these?
Cheers

cantdecide

E36 318 cabrio?? big, solid classic shape.

Quint

My girlfriend is mad into those Megan convertables with the glass roof too. The only problem is, they're Renaults. I'd go with the cooper

Lex Luthor

Cooper gets my vote also

bogmanfan

Thanks for the replies guys.
Should mention the Volvos would be convertibles also. Saw a '00 T5 230bhp convertible with leather etc. for only 12k. Are these cars rubbish? Why so cheap?
Also, any opinions on a '99 SLK?

prospect

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=759489


I don;t know how anyone would think the Convertible Megane, or any of those "afterthought" convertibles. They all look terrible imo, 307cc, 206cc, Megane, Eos, focus etc.

Táck

stay away from the renault, their crap and their renault which is worse then just being crap. they also have some weird default in the front wings which make one stick out a few milimeteres from being flush with the door and, in the trade, it looks like the cars had damage at some stage.

RobAMerc

I have driven all of these bar the Renault and Mini (in vert form anyway)

if not the Mx5 - then the Mini.

Z3 is rubbish - but a nice motor for non enthusiast. ( to look good in )
Megane will cause trouble soon - (I hate to say that but i think its true)

The Volvo is like driving a piece of wet celery - the body flex is atrocious.
You could also consider the Saab 9-3 vert.
It too suffers massive body flex but it will last forever to be fair, and imo always look classless and cool.

henry hill

My brother got a '01 CLK-200 Komp-70K miles, with leather interior, air condition, mint condition, hard top, for 15K private sale. It is a manual but the cars lovely. I will prob get something similar when I'm changin my car next year. Would recommend them and prob could do better then 15K

Owen

Cooper has a fully automatic soft top, glass rear windscreen, and a sunroof built in, BUT, when you look at one, make sure where the roof support structure underneath meets the soft-top that there are no wear marks (This will be off-grey/white in colour). Some of the very early 04 Cabrios suffered from premature roof wear, and would need a new canvas fitted.

colm_mcm

Táck wrote: »

stay away from the renault, their crap and their renault which is worse then just being crap. they also have some weird default in the front wings which make one stick out a few milimeteres from being flush with the door and, in the trade, it looks like the cars had damage at some stage.

Anyone in the trade who knows what they're doing will know that the Meganes have plastic wings and never line up properly. Hardly a reason not to buy!
The "worse than being crap" bit is the reason not to buy!

cjt156

prospect wrote: »

I don;t know how anyone would think the Convertible Megane, or any of those "afterthought" convertibles. They all look terrible imo, 307cc, 206cc, Megane, Eos, focus etc.

An assault on the eyes, all of them. Plus with all that metal & hydraulics they're slower than a glacier.
Personally I'd have the MX-5 or the Cooper. How does the A4 cabrio rate?

Táck

colm_mcm wrote: »

Anyone in the trade who knows what they're doing will know that the Meganes have plastic wings and never line up properly. Hardly a reason not to buy!

true this but its not necesarily gonna be known to everybody.

michaelanthony

Porsche Boxster.

IrishPhoenix

One thing about the Mini's; they have high service costs. Any parts cost an absolute fortune!

woop

a mini

girls like the minis

Max_Damage

Get an original Mini, they look far better in my opinion to its successor.

TychoCaine

bogmanfan wrote: »

Thanks for the replies guys.
Should mention the Volvos would be convertibles also. Saw a '00 T5 230bhp convertible with leather etc. for only 12k. Are these cars rubbish? Why so cheap?
Also, any opinions on a '99 SLK?

They're cheap because they may cost a fraction of what they did new, but they still cost the same to run. You're looking at €600 services, €200 tyres, €1,200+ timing belt changes and < 30mpg. You get a lot of metal for your money with an older Volvo and Merc, but running costs are high compared to a chop-top family hatchback.

Owen

IrishPhoenix wrote: »

One thing about the Mini's; they have high service costs. Any parts cost an absolute fortune!

Absolute boll*cks. You can buy 5 years servicing for a MINI for 250 Euro, and 95% of new MINIs have that service package which is transferrable to the new owner.

Owen

Max_Damage wrote: »

Get an original Mini, they look far better in my opinion to its successor.

OP is looking for a Cabrio, there were only 280 original Mini Cabrio's made, and the roof mechanism was far from elegant. I know of 2 in Cork, and while they're great fun for the odd blast, I'd hate to live with one day to day.

bushy...

TychoCaine wrote: »

..... €1,200+ timing belt changes and.

I don't doubt you at all but where do these e1200 timing belt jobs come from ? it would be amazing if a belt+tensioners was e1000 allowing for 4hours@e50(balance it either way). Either I am missing out something huge or it is 1 belt,pulleys,tensioners and most pulleys are pressed metal sh*te anyway.

TychoCaine

bushy... wrote: »

I don't doubt you at all but where do these e1200 timing belt jobs come from ? it would be amazing if a belt+tensioners was e1000 allowing for 4hours@e50(balance it either way). Either I am missing out something huge or it is 1 belt,pulleys,tensioners and most pulleys are pressed metal sh*te anyway.

the 5 cyl engine is pretty wide, so needs to be dropped to change the belt in most of the P2 platform cars, so it's more than a 4 hour job.

bogmanfan

Cheers for all the reponses. I think the Merc CLK is her first choice, either a '99 cabrio or '01 coupe. Anything I should know about these cars?

Jumpy

Im selling an FTO if she like those

JHMEG

Top Gear survey #1 car since the survey started: Honda S2000.

Should get one for that kind of money and will be a hassle free ownership experience (CLK is #99 out of 152. Might not be hassle free, especially as it's older)

Bendihorse

I was in the same bracket as your GF, wanted something stylish and not necessarily parctical, looked at a few options including an audi TT which has not been mentioned here but is worth a look...

Anyway I decided on a mini cooper because it meant i could stay up in the years and resale value is great. I'v only had it a week but i love it, its a JOY to drive
Make sure she gets a speced up one if possible, the standard ones are pretty standard from what iv seen out there!

Mind you, honda S2000 is worth a look too, but may look a tiny bit girlracery...

GB15

Bendihorse wrote: »

girlracery...

I haven't heard this term before. It reminds me of when people post on here wondering if certain cars have a girly image. Girlracery is a good description for them.

MercMad

Merc servicing is not dear. Budget €350-€450/year. Tyres are no dearer than any other since most cars now use 16" wheels.

CLK's never really gave problems, it was the dealers that did that !

Anyway as is typical with older Mercs any niggles that occured when nearly new will have been sorted by now. My family have 4 of them and no issues !!

skypette

how about toyota mr2, looks like porsche and its jap! mx series are great in mazda to drive and reliable. had mx3 never in garage once in 7 years!!personally i would like merc clk. no way mini or megane compare, too small. hear bad things for renault!