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MAYBE IT’S SOMETHING you’ve always promised yourself. Perhaps you’ve had a few good years of saving but the property market is putting you off making a purchase. Or, just maybe, you’re heading towards a mid-life crisis.
Regardless of what excuse you want to use, for some people, there comes a time when you just want to buy the car you always dreamed of owning. Yes, it may be impractical and flashy, but who cares?! You only live once.
1. Porsche Boxster
As these cars go, the Boxster ticks a lot of the right boxes. Firstly, it’s a Porsche (sorry Porsche enthusiasts), and it’s a convertible, so whoever buys it will be able to enjoy feeling the wind in their hair as they sit in morning traffic.
Joking aside, finding the right example of a Boxster can be a bit of a bargain. They did sell in significant numbers, so there’s a good deal of choice, but that also means that many haven’t had the same care and minding as well as others.
2. Mazda MX-5
We’re sticking with the convertible theme, and there probably isn’t a more instantly recognisable droptop than the Mazda MX-5. This car has always been sold as a cheap, fun sports car that has modest performance levels but remains excellent fun to drive.
The MX-5 is much more than a mid-life crisis car, though. If you’re a fan of driving, you should try to own one of these at some point in your life. Our advice is to find one that’s in as close to original condition as possible.
3. Mercedes-Benz SL (2002-2008)
There is a long history of Mercedes-Benz producing sleek convertibles, but the SL-Class from the early-to-mid 2000s had the benefit of having a folding hardtop, like the smaller SLK.
After all, not everybody wants to cruise around with the roof down and the added security of a hard top over a fabric hood is a plus.
Thanks partly to the economic boom at the time, you won’t find it too hard to come across some cheap SLs for sale. However, do be thorough when viewing – this model came at a time when the company was going through a lot of reliability issues.
4. Audi TT (1999 onwards)
If it was good enough for Hugh Grant’s character in About A Boy, it should be worthy of making our list. The original Audi TT from 1999 is rightly considered a bit of a design classic at this stage, and clean examples regularly sell for strong money.
The second-gen model did sharpen up a bit in the looks department and lost some of its charm in the process. Its rear seats are almost useless other than throwing your coat on, and while it might make sense for the monthly budget, we recommend sticking to the petrol variants rather than the diesel. It is a sports coupé after all.
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