[rohan999]

Hi Everyone,
Happy to be a part of the team bhp.

I am finally entering the sports car territory and needed expert advise on the same.
I am planning to go for a pre-owned option as my budget is around 75 lakhs (max 80).
I have been on a search for many cars on sites like Big Boyz Toyz, and some local car re-sellers.

Also I currently drive a Mercedes C Class AMG which I am really happy with because it offers both luxury and a decent power for price (245 bhp).




Expectations

- I love the sound of a V6 or a V8 engines (the crackles and pops), so I would prefer a car with one.
- Practicality is something I can compromise on a little bit but wouldn't mind if I can drive the car around at least on a decent enough road freely without worrying.
- I am a bachelor so even a 2 seater works for me.
- I would absolutely love to own a convertible.
- I would not prefer an SUV.

Considered Options

- 2014 (registered 2015) Jaguar F Type R (V6 convertible) (20k Kilometres)
This I saw at a local dealer. The price quoted was 70 lakhs which I think is pretty high for the age of the car.

- 2019 (registered 2020) Porsche 718 Cayman (5k Kilometres)
Quoted Price: 80 lakhs, base model with no special additions
This is my friend's car. I am not sure if this is a good price or not. The car looks absolutely great but the flat 4 engine is a bummer. But at the same time, it's barely 2 years old.

- 2015 BMW M4 Coupe (14k kilometres)
Quoted Price: 64 lakhs
This is the same one on Big Boyz Toyz. I like this car but it doesn't look as sporty as the the previous two, but is much more practical (4 seats + ground clearance).

- 2015 Audi RS7 (7k Kilometres)
Quoted Price: 69 lakhs
This bad boy has a V8. This is the same one as on Big Boyz Toyz. I haven't seen it personally but I am not sure if this car ages well. It looks pretty good. Not sure what the practicality factor is on this one.



Cars that I really like personally
- Jaguar F Type (convertible V6/V8)
I really like the F type in general. Especially the sound and the drive. I am not sure if this is a standard feature now, but the active exhaust button is pretty cool when you want to show off

- Porsche 911 carrera cabriolet
I was not able to find this one pre-owned. The ones that I found were really really high priced. But I really like this car.


Cars that I would not prefer
- Ford Mustang
Mustang is a good car. Just that, I don't want to own one. No offense to the proud owners, its just a personal thing.


Would love to hear your thoughts on this.

[GTO]

You're definitely moving in the right direction .

- Porsches would be my top choice for their engineering, reliability & usability (especially in India). The Cayman or a used 911 (I'd prefer an older 911) are superb. Be open to the previous-gen Cayman S; will be significantly cheaper & has a sweeter 6-cylinder motor.

- Drive the M4. You'll go crazy. It is a phenomenal machine.

- Somehow, the F-Type never pulled the strings to my heart, but if you like it, test-drive it. Please be sure to test-drive all your shortlisted cars as much as you can. With these cars, how they "make you feel" is very, very important. As an example, I was warm toward the RWD S63 Coupe and would buy the cheaper, less exotic AWD E63S over it any day.

- I hear you on the Mustang. It looks awesome & has a beautiful 8-cylinder engine, with everyday reliability. But the interior quality + dumb gearbox are turn-offs. I love it though and would buy one in a heartbeat.

Happy shopping!

[Turbanator]

Current generation Z4 will be my pick followed by Boxter range from Porsche if you absolutely want a convertible. BMWs will be available cheaper in Preowned market over a Porsche.

A one year old, 1500 km, Gurgaon registered Z4 was sold for 70 lac last year. That was an exceptional low mileage case but you can get similar. Porsches will be little expensive but may bring you more smiles due to the handling and overall gear shifts.

If you are ok with a 4 door sedan, head to the nearest bmw dealership and book your M340, should be here in March/ April.

From the cars you have checked

M4- Bigboy avoid. That must be bmw track car with multiple owners. Besides the asking is too much. They have a 911 too in blue which was shown as sold last year at their web and has come up again.

F types- suffer from very poor resales and are plagued with problems.

Porsche if your friend will be my pick of all these cars. Due to certain import restrictions, you can add only few options on this range. But you won’t buy that car for leather or interiors- right ? If luxury and fun both are must than that’s not for you. Remember, options on Porsches are very expensive. You won’t get leather dashboard on a 911 unless somebody paid extra while configuring.

[androdev]

Your preference for "Conv + two seater + great engine" is just perfect. Stick to it.

Z4, M convertible, etc.: Good choice but a bit understated for a young driver.

Porsche 911 cab or Boxster (flat-6): You have to either increase your budget (911 cab) or decrease your budget (Boxster flat-6). Perfect choice in India - good balance between 'bad-boy' and understated. Decent availability (relatively). I must warn you that you should not use Mercedes AMG as a reference when you go shopping for Porsche. You should be open give up such luxury and features.

Audi R8 spyder: Loud in every way if you prefer TT roadster: if you dig it.
https://www.olx.in/item/audi-r8-v10-...iid-1619143923

Jag F Type conv: Don't haggle much on the price if your heart is set on it. +10% is no big deal in the big scheme of things. It's like you won't buy a mustang if you get a killer deal (I hope).

[EightSix]

If I were you, I’d get me a Nissan GT-R. It’s only downside — it’s not a convertible.

There are plenty of Porsches and BMW Z4s too in the used car market which you should check out.

Hyderabad I believe has many used premium car dealerships, so you should look offline too.

PS. Since you are used to a Mercedes, why won’t you consider a SLK or a SLC or an AMG convertible?

[rohan999]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Current generation Z4 will be my pick followed by Boxter range from Porsche if you absolutely want a convertible. BMWs will be available cheaper in Preowned market over a Porsche.

A one year old, 1500 km, Gurgaon registered Z4 was sold for 70 lac last year. That was an exceptional low mileage case but you can get similar. Porsches will be little expensive but may bring you more smiles due to the handling and overall gear shifts.

Interesting. I really like the Z4 as well, but I have never driven it.

Originally Posted by Turbanator

If you are ok with a 4 door sedan, head to the nearest bmw dealership and book your M340, should be here in March/ April.

The car seems interesting, but I feel like I can get a better car pre-owned (there will be a new vs old compromise though)

Originally Posted by Turbanator

From the cars you have checked

M4- Bigboy avoid. That must be bmw track car with multiple owners. Besides the asking is too much. They have a 911 too in blue which was shown as sold last year at their web and has come up again.

F types- suffer from very poor resales and are plagued with problems.

Porsche if your friend will be my pick of all these cars. Due to certain import restrictions, you can add only few options on this range. But you won’t buy that car for leather or interiors- right ? If luxury and fun both are must than that’s not for you. Remember, options on Porsches are very expensive. You won’t get leather dashboard on a 911 unless somebody paid extra while configuring.

Porsche was my choice as well, the only problem I have with it is the flat 4 engine. I would still keep it under consideration.

Originally Posted by androdev

Your preference for "Conv + two seater + great engine" is just perfect. Stick to it.

Z4, M convertible, etc.: Good choice but a bit understated for a young driver.

Porsche 911 cab or Boxster (flat-6): You have to either increase your budget (911 cab) or decrease your budget (Boxster flat-6). Perfect choice in India - good balance between 'bad-boy' and understated. Decent availability (relatively). I must warn you that you should not use Mercedes AMG as a reference when you go shopping for Porsche. You should be open give up such luxury and features.

Audi R8 spyder: Loud in every way if you prefer TT roadster: if you dig it.
https://www.olx.in/item/audi-r8-v10-...iid-1619143923

Jag F Type conv: Don't haggle much on the price if your heart is set on it. +10% is no big deal in the big scheme of things. It's like you won't buy a mustang if you get a killer deal (I hope).

That R8 looks really good. Will have to travel to Pune to test drive it though

Thank you everyone for the awesome advises.
Here's what I have taken away from everyone.

- Z4 seems to be a popular recommendation. I haven't driven it personally, but it looks great and I hope it sounds and drives great as well

- Porsches also seem to be the best option (if available) for the Indian Roads. Will look out for older 6 cylinder Porsche models.


And I have decided to not go with the 718 cayman (at least for now). Its a pretty new car, but again the 4 cylinder engine is not satisfactory.


Also since some of you guys advised me to look at offline re-sellers (in Hyderabad) , can you guys recommend any specific ones? I know BBT and a couple more.
The reason I want to buy it from BBT is because of the warranty, and generally the re-sellers will try to rip you off big time.

[Naman_Ferrari]

Apart from all the cars mentioned, I would also strongly consider a M2. You can get an almost new car in your budget easily. That will be a modern car with 6 cylinders. Seems like a great option to me. The other car I would consider judging by your requirements and budget is the 981 Boxster. Flat 6 but relatively modern interiors and will be slightly cheaper than your budget too!

If I were you I would choose between these 2. Z4 is great, just not as good as the above 2 in my opinion. F-Type is also good, not sure about the reliability bit to be honest. If you wanna go super car, you can easily also get a slightly older R8.

Lots of options and no right or wrong choice here. All the best!

[kashesh]

- 2019 (registered 2020) Porsche 718 Cayman (5k Kilometres)
Quoted Price: 80 lakhs, base model with no special additions
This is my friend's car. I am not sure if this is a good price or not. The car looks absolutely great but the flat 4 engine is a bummer. But at the same time, it's barely 2 years old.

Rohan, I sold this car to BBT two weeks ago. Flat 4 engine is not so much of a bummer tbh and ODO reads less than 2k.

[shree_shell]

It is always super-exciting - buying that first sports-car.

You seem to have got a heterogeneous set of choices - Front-engine, mid-engine, a sports-coupe and a German muscle car. Z4 is more of a grand tourer. I can imagine the job of choosing one may become very simple once you decide on your favorite sports-car setup. But then, the lack of options makes things tricky, esp. when things like reliability and cost of ownership come into play.

I once saw a Bhpian arguing that Porches have poor A-S-S in India despite being, perhaps, the most reliable option. Next, watch out for the F-type's rear subframe rusting/corroding before you fall for the British car. Search for M4's reliability issues, if there are any - absolutely stay away from them if out-of-warranty.

Lastly, strict 2-seaters can be troublesome when you cannot take that third family-member/ friend with you.

As far as engines are concerned, avoid the turbo-L4s. You *will* end up upgrading once you realize what you are missing out on. Also, give an I-6 a good thought because the only thing that beats the rumble of a V8 is a mechanical and racy sounding Inline-6.

Also, once you buy a sports-car, you will learn a bit more about sports-cars in general and will want to move to the next "better" car. In that case, buy the one that will depreciate the least, or in fact, even appreciate in value.

More unsolicited advice: Patience and research pays off, and it is okay taking time or buying from out of state (if that special car exits out of state)

Happy shopping!

[bhargav2015]

Just my two cents:
The Z4 is a slick looking car but I don't think it's got the track/ street cred.
The 718 or the older 911 are likely to be more reliable and mechanically sound. Plus they are everyday use cars.
The second generation R8 was a proper sports car perfectly capable of creating a ruckus yet be usable for the daily grind.
Not sure if you'd like it, but are you against considering AMG/ older Lamborghini?

[carthick1000]

In your considered options, I think 718 Cayman is the best of the bunch in terms of:

• It can stay with you for 10-15 years more, as it is quite new and you can always retain it as a proper second fun car, if ever your bachelor life turns into a family life
• Personally, I think a sportscar should have a mid engined rear wheel drive configuration and cayman is a proper driver's car.
• Getting a car from your friend means, you dont have to go through a lot of hassle with sportscar dealers (who are sometimes inflating car prices, selling multi owner cars as single owner ones etc.)
• 4 cylinder boxer engine in a porsche cayman is as fun as a 6 cylinder. Less <the following> - weight (100-150kgs lighter than 6cyl models), moving parts, replacement costs of parts, fuel consumption.
• The engine sits even closer to you than a 911
• I have had a convertible in the past. Inspite of any level of sound insulation, at highway speeds, you will feel that you could have had a fixed roof instead of a convertible.
• And don't forget to test drive your considered options.

Good luck with your search!

[anks_at]

Originally Posted by rohan999

- Porsche 911 carrera cabriolet
I was not able to find this one pre-owned. The ones that I found were really really high priced. But I really like this car.

a 997/991 Porsche 911 Carrera S/4S/Turbo cabriolet for sure (depending on how old you are willing to go & how much electronics do you like). Do get the sports exhaust (even can be fitted new from Porsche later, if your car does not come with it). Your face will hurt with the constant smiling :-)

You could also look at the Targa models but that would be much more rarer - a hard top instead of a flimsier (though lighter & not bad) soft top - but not a "full" convertible, but pretty close. Try it out, if you see one.

But yes, please stay away from the Flat-4's, not that they are terrible in performance, but umm something is missing (& definitely poor(er) sound).

A much much cheaper option would be the BMW Z4 as others pointed, or a Mercedes SLK/SLC 350 - pretty good for the price. Wait a while, if you don't see a 911 that fits your criteria yet; something will turn up.

[Crazy_Bean]

You can also look for used GLE43/ new GLC43. I know they lack outright power etc, but they are so much more usable.

Whatever car you buy you will end up driving it in the city for 95% of the time and while we dont realize before buying, low slung cars are extremely hard to use on Indian roads.

I would say look for practical power, as IMO supercar experience in India is 80% power and 20% chassis (given the roads). So that power becomes more usable in a high ground clearance vehicle.

I bought a Mini JCW just for a budget sportscar experience, and its not very usable now given the harsh ride and limited capabilties on bad roads.

[rohan999]

Hey everyone,
Happy to see such different perspectives from everyone.

I have found a pre-owned Z4 (6 cylinder engine) 2020 model. Price quoted is 85 lakhs (negotiable).
As far as I know, when a car leaves a show room, it loses almost 25% of its value. So is this a good price for the car? I am interested because its pretty much a new car.

The dealer is ready to get the car checked from BMW itself for any issues.

[a4_attitude]

Originally Posted by Crazy_Bean

I bought a Mini JCW just for a budget sportscar experience, and its not very usable now given the harsh ride and limited capabilties on bad roads.

Would you mid sharing your experience with JCW in traffic or bad roads I was considering ro buy a used JCW, as a daily driver around 50 km/day