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This is true. Open flowing B roads and it's fantastic (mine was a Mk1, haven't tried a newer model). But unless you get up at 6am on Sundays, you don't often get those journeys.
I bought a MK1 MX5 a few months ago, I've been using it as a daily driver since. It only cost a couple of grand, and I've spent about another grand getting it really mechanically sorted and rustproofed, but in terms of smiles per £ I don't think it can be beat.
It's not ideal on motorways as you're sitting at about 3300rpm, but on a nice twisty road or even just cruising around on a sunny day it's lovely.
It's happiest on a twisty B road where you can keep it working between 2nd and 4th (ie 35-70mph).
I'd love either a late model NC 2.0 Venture edition, or an ND, but both would cost over 3X what I've spent on the MK1.
The NC probably wouldn't be noticeably quicker either.
I've nothing more planned for it this year (after getting all the major servicing done and a clutch change, and repainting the hardtop and a bit of lacquer repair), but next year I might have a look at a turbo kit if the insurance isn't extortionate. 180WHP in a 950kg car would be nippy to say the least
My 944's were used for daily commuting, as were my Boxsters for a while. I always think Porsches are really reliable for that. My brother had and Audi TT and the engine went on it, which also happened to me on an Audi A4, so I've been a bit put off Audis.
In a similar vein to the MX5 I've had a lot of fun in an Alfa GTV 3.0 from about 20 years ago......really rorty little thing and cheap as chips now
I owned a 2007 Cayman S (Gen 1) About 4 years ago. Owned the car for about a year. I didn't have much money but I fancied trying one out before life got serious with a mortgage and kids so decided to go for it. A friend helped me find the right one as he was also an owner. For what you get it's not bad value and when i sold it i think i lost about £500 but in that year i probably spent £1k on just stuff that it needed (one tyre was about £200). These cars are nice but you cant really run them on a tight budget and even though it might not have cost anywhere near what it did new the parts still cost a lot in comparison.
It was a lovely car to drive and i enjoyed it a lot but every creak and odd sound had me a little worried. Main thing with these cars is to do your research and if you don't know enough go out and get familiar with your local Porsche club. IMO the best place to find used Porsche's is when these people upgrade and want to sell off their old car, these guys usually look after their cars.
My word of warning though would be to stay away from Boxster & Cayman 'S' from the Gen 1 period as they suffer from bore score. Theirs loads of threads elsewhere about this and its a pretty big problem with certain Porsche's although i forget the exact engine types.
Don't let that put you off though. If it's an itch that needs scratching then scratch it.
The bore score is generally the 986 S and Gen 1 987 S.
IMS failure on the other hand can happen in all 986, Gen1 987, 996 and Gen 1 997 cars excluding Turbo and above.
It basically happened because Porsche decided to use the same cylinder head for both banks rather than one being a mirror image of the other.
A definitive fix will cost a couple of grand, which I'd add into my budget for peace of mind if I were buying one.
Don't buy one with lots of owners who seem to have only kept it for a year or two, it's likely they've not bothered doing any major servicing.
MX5s on the other hand, other than suffering from rust, are generally reliable and cheap to maintain. The engines are pretty bulletproof up past 180k miles even with a turbo fitted (you need new conrods to go past 240bhp but the block is good for >400bhp), spares are plentiful, and there are plenty of specialists around who aren't hard to pay.
Even good early examples are fairly cheap and plentiful, and there's lots of scope for customising it to your liking (though they drive very nicely stock)
The only ones to avoid are later MK1 1.6s which were restricted to 94bhp, although if you plan on sticking a turbo on they'll work fine as you'll be buying an aftermarket ECU anyway, and the models with power steering have a tighter steering rack than the non-power steering, which is generally seen as desirable.
Mk2s rust the worst, but are priced to reflect this (I wouldn't pay much more than £2k for a MK2)
I have a 7-year-old 2.0TDI A5 (quattro coupe, black edition S-Line) and it's about as exciting a luxury diesel as you can get, but the S and RS versions are monster, cost less than Porsches and are a bit more discreet when you're just driving.
The old V8 would be my pick of them, the problem is you don't want to own one when the timing chains need replaced, it's an engine out job, and that requires removal of most of the front of the car.
On an older car that could easily cost 60%+ of the value of the car.
Haven't heard much about the newer supercharged ones, although I'd imagine in the real world it's probably even less economical than the V8 due to supercharger leeching.
Similarly classic, the X1/9 - lovely, but you'd have to be an enthusiast.
Or if you really like a challenge with the welding kit, get a TR7, or even better a TR8.