FriedEgg

I second the Lotus recommendation above. They are great driving cars and are excellent on both track and back roads. Depreciation has hit them hard, so pretty good deals out now, landing them squarely below your target budget. They are actually not that bad as a daily with height clearance being the primary issue.

twosheds

'98 to '00 BMW M coupe. Still the stiffest platform BMW has ever made. The '01 - '02's are getting expensive and in spite of the extra HP don't feel that different just tooling around town. You can search mcoupebuyersguide.com Unfortunately, at the moment there seem to be a lot of higher mileage ones offered for sale but there are usually some with mileage in the 50,000 to 80,000 range.


Geoff.

Serge944

You can find 996s for that money if you look hard enough. There are no other cars that I consider true alternatives to the GT3.

ChrisF

E92 M3 is a great car for the street. Not so much for the track in stock form compared to any GT3 variant. I currently have both and love them. If I had to have only one car though, I'd probably go for the Cayman R with a few mods. Best balance between street and track.

Spyerx

M Coupe. Like that one. There are a few that run with the POC here locally that are driven to the track, and are FAST.

A432

Totally agree with the above, have had M3/R and although very different, both great cars.
With the engine issues on the S65 in the M3 and how bulletproof the Rs have been, I'd lean towards the R though.
For whatever reason, Spyders are running 5-10K cheaper than Rs right now and are essentially the same minus the top.
If you can't swing the 55K for a Spyder or don't want a ragtop, '10 DFI Gen 2 Cayman S's can be had for 44K with no problem.

Regarding the Elise/Exige, almost bought one until doing some more research. Crack a front or rear clamshell, $11K+, if you go off
and tear a suspension mount on the aluminum tub, new tub. Those are Lotus requirements, and surely people are fiberglassing and aluminum welding etc.,
but they can get expensive in a hurry if you bend/break one.

MikejGT3

this one just popped up today....you might be able to get them down on the price with the mileage...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Porsche-911-...US_Cars_Trucks

MikejGT3

Just noticed on Ebay that the RS's are coming out of the wood works for sale now!

zanwar

Boss 302

Jlopez55

I'm still bummed the 07 I had my sights on is gone. I'm hoping the owner gets 991 fever again. That car was highly optioned and a one owner.

I like e92 m3 and cayman s. I do have kids so a backseat would be a plus but not required on this car. The lotus is probably a little too hardcore for my needs. I drove an exige once and thought it was too rough and noisy.

I would love a cayman r but its past my budget and would rather pony up more $ to get a higher mileage 997.1 gt3. Is there really a significant difference between an S and R cayman other than exclusivity?

How much sportier and capable is a cayman s over the m3?

Thanks!!

MikejGT3

I sent a email to a guy who is here on the forum that has a 997.1 Carrera white GT3 for sale.....it is a well maintained car.... told him about your post and said he was going to check into it and contact you. There are a few other people i talked to here on the forum that were going to be putting there GT3's up for sale soon.... I believe i still have there Info in my mailbox...if interested i can pass thet along to you....send me a PM if the 1st gentlemen does not workout or if your interested in looking at more...I got a lot of help from fellow members on here leading me to ones for sale but not posted....you may want to do like i did and Post a WTB in this section and you will get a lot of response. Good luck! there out there but just have to search!

Jlopez55

Thanks Mike!

widers911

+1

Jlopez55

Can a cayman s be made a lot more hardcore with a limited budget to be comparable in driving excitement and experience to a gt3? Obviously excluding power.

Terry L

I would say yes, they can be made more hardcore, but not on a limited budget. One of my friends has an Interseries Cayman which is as hardcore as a Cayman gets, but the price is really high, and he still can't circulate much faster than a well driven streetable GT3.