Cheaper daily driver to replace Cayman

I'm looking for a fun daily driver in the $15k - $20k (or less) range to replace my 2006 Cayman S, which is more car than I can justify at the moment. I expect to do 1 - 2 HPDEs a year and possibly try autocross. I don't drive many miles, but it would need to get me through the Midwest winters (snow tires are OK).

A few ideas that come to mind are the Mini Cooper S, Miata and possibly a Boxster. Are there any others that I should add to my test drive list?

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I can't get the search to work.

Thanks! Lambe

Sell me your Cayman for $25k, lol.

Interesting...my girlfriend has a Cooper S but has a hankering for a Cayman...

Obviously, the answer is ALWAYS Miata.

E46 M3.

C5 Corvette and a Tahoe for winter. Should be able to get both for what you can sell the Cayman for, and you will up your cylinder count significantly.

I don't think snows come in factory C5 sizes, and I wouldnt want to try mine in the snow anyway.

your car is my dream. But for a cheaper car that might do ok in the winter, M3 with blizzaks in the winter maybe? Mini of course. What about a WRX?

I say Mini. If you did the Boxster it would feel like a down grade. The Mini will be new and different. You also get a back seat.

nderwater wrote: E46 M3.

I agree, though to get a good one with less than 75k miles you're going to be at the top of the price range or a bit over. The one I just bought was daily driven for 10 years in Buffalo - with a good set of snows there were no problems.

I drove a Mini Cooper S several times. I really wanted to like it, but the torque steer was just too much, and it lacked enough grunt for me.

As for the Miata, they're fine as a daily even in a Buffalo level winter. I had one with Nokian Hakka1 snows and had absolutely no issues ever.

I agree with the E46 m3.. personally, the best compromise in M3s. Not as hardcore as the E30.. but not a luxury car either... able to do both with drop dead looks and a sexy exhaust note.

1 year old gencoupe 2.0t track?

wow.. I may like Hyundais.. but from porsche to hyundai?

NC Miata?

Might be difficult to get rid of the Cayman. Not easy to sell a car of that value sometimes.

I'm not sure I can offer any insight, because I'm that special kind of stupid that would buy a used NSX instead of a Cayman S.

But, when considering reality, I'd have to say E46 M3. Fast, daily drive-able and track-able, and as long as you don't park like a jerk 95% of people won't even give it a second glance.

Where in the Midwest are you located? I may have a few suggestions...

Thanks for all the suggestions! I didn't realize the E46 M3 was in my range. What years would I be looking at for a clean one?

Woody, I'm in Indy.

From a superb, balanced, 2 seat sports car to anything else will feel like a mistake after a week and that "new to me" feeling wears off. Minis are cool little cars but - kitchy interior and wrong wheel drive make them just the best option in the US for a small compromise car - not a sports car replacement.

I like the Boxster but I'd need the S and if the Cayman isn't lighting your fire enough to keep it - a Boxster S is more of the same.

The Miata is a good choice (you can get 4 really nice ones for 25k), and add S2000 to your list of "must drives".

Does your Cayman have a Tiptronic or a normal transmission? How many miles? Color?

Not like I've been shopping or anything...

I think you need to narrow your criteria a bit. Need storage for trips to Home depot on occasion, do you need to carry kids from time to time. is mileage more important that outright power, or does power override mpg? Long commute, short commute?

Is, and only you can honestly answer this, is the Brand of importance to you, or how others precieve you for business? (see prior multi-page thread on this one)

An S2000 is lots of fun, and the engine screams, but if you have to pickup and drop off teenagers a couple of times a month, it's useless. Sooo, aside from a couple of days a year doing HPDEs, what is of "got to have" importance?

Oooooh... cheapER. Thought it said cheap. The zx2 was 1 sack.

I'd say awd Subaru if you can find one in range knowing how we can suddenly get a lot of snow unexpectedly.

triumph5 wrote: I think you need to narrow your criteria a bit. Need storage for trips to Home depot on occasion, do you need to carry kids from time to time. is mileage more important that outright power, or does power override mpg? Long commute, short commute? Is, and only you can honestly answer this, is the Brand of importance to you, or how others precieve you for business? (see prior multi-page thread on this one) An S2000 is lots of fun, and the engine screams, but if you have to pickup and drop off teenagers a couple of times a month, it's useless. Sooo, aside from a couple of days a year doing HPDEs, what is of "got to have" importance?

well.. he's already going from a rather non-utilitarian 2 seater.... how can any car be less practical?

Just keep the Cayman

lambe wrote: Thanks for all the suggestions! I didn't realize the E46 M3 was in my range. What years would I be looking at for a clean one?

The preference seems to be 2003 or newer for the "facelift" - primarly LED tail lights - but if you really need those there's aftermarket available or OEM can be retrofitted. Mechanically there was no change for the entire run except for the rod bearing fiasco in 2002 and all of those have been sorted by now (the one I just bought got an early replacement engine and then new rod bearings on the replacement, all under warranty/service campaign). Pricing varies regionally quite a bit but for 20k I'd expect to get a clean '04-'05 with under 75k miles on it. As with any used performance car, buy based on condition and records, especially look for Inspection II (several hundred bucks for the valve adjustment).

Read up at m3forums.net and e46fanatics.com.

docwyte wrote: Just keep the Cayman

That's what I'd like to do, but it may not be in the cards.

triumph5: Practicality isn't really an issue because my wife has a wagon. MPG also isn't a big deal because I have a short commute.

Brand is a factor, but not key. As long as it's in good condition, clean and doesn't scream teenager, then I should be fine. Ideally, I would keep the Cayman, because it's my perfect car (I guess it could always be a little faster ). But I would still love it if it wasn't a Porsche. I could be ok with the brands mentioned above.

So I guess my goals are: high fun factor (handling over power, but power isn't a bad thing), something that looks nice to my eyes and that's in good condition. I also like cars that are a little less common, but this isn't a big factor. I would want something that is at least fairly reliable.

Woody - the Cayman is a gray 6 speed manual in great condition with around 65k miles (I would have to check) and some nice options. It's still under the factory extended warranty.

C5 Z06 is in that price range

lambe wrote: So I guess my goals are: high fun factor (handling over power, but power isn't a bad thing), something that looks nice to my eyes and that's in good condition. I also like cars that are a little less common, but this isn't a big factor. I would want something that is at least fairly reliable.

Find a clean, well maintained 80's 911 3.2L. They are right in your price range, meet all of your criteria and if you want out - they will not depreciate at all so you get out even money or better if you don't wreck it. Just really do your homework to get a good example and it's like a free rental for as long as you want to keep it.