Being a car guy has it's pluses and minuses. One of the major pluses is that you are willing to learn a lot about cars and love looking, as well as working on as many as you can get your hands on.
One of the minuses, at least when it comes to me, is that I get bored with cars quickly and want to switch them out for something else more often than I should. I just love driving and owning as many different cars as I can. So, I buy all of my "toys" used, that way I don't lose much when I flip them in a year or two.
My current "toy" is a 1999 Mazda Miata LS. It's in excellent condition and besides doing a tune up to it when I got it, it has not needed a thing. It's the nicer model with leather seats and a locking rear end. This makes the car wonderful to drive and even somewhat good in the snow, which I found out this winter, unfortunately.
But the car isn't without its drawbacks, mainly when it comes to finding time to drive it.
At best, I get a couple hours on the weekend to go for a drive, but that doesn't even seem to happen much anymore. The problem is that my wife doesn't like driving in it because it is so low to the ground and small that she feels like someone will take us out at any moment. My daughter can't go in it either because it's only a two seater and she's to small to be in the front.
I'm looking to sell the Miata and get something that my wife will enjoy driving in and has a back seat for my daughters booster seat. Having 8K to spend, I have narrowed my choices down to two cars.
2003 or 2004 Volvo C70 HPT Convertible with the 5 speed
The first choice is an old favorite of mine. That would be a 2003 or 2004 Volvo C70 HPT Convertible with the five speed transmission. There are a lot of pluses for me with the Volvo. I know the C70s powertrain inside and out so I can fix anything that will go wrong with it.
Because it's manual, I definitely won't have any issues with the transmission like some C70 automatics have had. It's also safe for my daughter, it has the latches for her car seat and roll-over bars. I also like the interior and the trunk has a good amount of space for weekend road trips. The only real drawbacks I can thing of with the C70 would be the fact that it is FWD and the suspension is soft. It definitely will not come close when it comes to handling like my Miata, which comes to my second choice.
2001 to 2004 BMW 3-series Convertible.
The BMW will definitely be a lot more fun to drive then the C70 on a twisty road. It has a better suspension and it is RWD like the Miata so I know I won't miss the handling so much with the BMW. That being said, I don't know much about BMWs. I've never owned one.
I have read that the E46s are better then the E36s when it comes to reliability, but I'm not sure if something like the BMW 325Ci is as bulletproof as the 5-Cylinder 2.3 liter Volvos are. That would probably be my biggest concern with a BMW. The not knowing what to expect or look for when shopping for one. Also, I don't know if they are as safe as the Volvos in a crash. I will say they are a very good looking car with a lot of solid features like the C70, so this is definitely a tough decision.
Let me know what you would buy and why with your $8k, as well as the pros & cons for each car and what I should be looking for.
About The Author: Andrew Owendoff
Andrew has been working with us at FCP Euro on and off for many years. He brings to the team over a 10 years of automotive experience and has worked on many vehicles from Volvo, Mazda, and Ford. Beside doing normal maintenance, he his also an avid modder and has done everything from exhaust systems and stereos to tuning and turbo swaps. He can be reached at aowendoff@outlook.com
