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Looking back at car models over the past 15 odd years, It would be interesting to hear which car would you feel as solidly safe in after those 15+ years as you do in your Z3 ?
Which car would have had the same level of endurance both mechanically and general body / interior trim ?

Will be going back to a performance car.the z is nice enough but to slow and lacking in handling.10 years and 140,000 miles in a 450 hp Evo has spoiled me. I have an itch for a tuned slk32 amg but after that back to evos.

easy choice this one (although not what some BMW owners may want to hear)..............either an Impreza, an Evo or an FTO. both my wife and i own Imprezas, my wifes one being 15 years old, although mine is much newer. we have owned a 12 year old EVO and we have both owned 13 year old FTOs. all solid and strong with years of life left in them and great to drive.
i would be hard pushed to give up the Zed now but i would buy another one of the above models any day of the week.

BMW Z4 - 6 cylinder. Really like the Porsche Boxster - happy with a later 986 but the US lawsuit around the intermediate shaft issue and more difficult DIY have both spooked me a bit

Hi! Recently drove a new Fiat 500 hire car around the French Alps and French and Italian riviera, what a fantastic little car, no really.. couldnt fault it. Ciao. J.

S2000 without a doubt

993

The problem with jap cars (and I hasten to add I've had most back in the day, x3 scoobies, x2 200SX, x2 300ZX, x1 S2000, x1 type R, most from new) is that plastic interiors do not age well. I never got on with V-tech engines and the S2000 was like blackpool illuminations, did my head in. The scoobies though where one of my favourite drivers car, not the fastest in a striaght line but a to b on the twisties hard to beat. 300ZX where my favs though but more GT. I would take the Z3m over any of them though as a classic sports car, more character and fun, it's not about ultimate speed with a classic or 15 year old car.

The 993 is my fav car from that era not due to speed but simply the looks and character, quality, heritage and experience of the drive.

Probably I would look at some Lotus. Because of lightweight, handling and overall driving pleasure. And it's quite exotic car here where do I live.

Of all the cars mentioned, how many would still be in the mechanical and body condition of a Z3 after 15 plus years ?
The durability of the Z3 in all respects seems to have endured beyond any of it's convertible cousins with possibly one or two other German makes.
I had a look at a couple of Ferrari cars, which were only 4 or 5 years old and wasn't impressed by the general finish. There were door rattles and some of the trim was tatty. Perhaps this is due to a weight saving aspect. IMO the Merc, Porche and BMW convertibles are streets ahead of any other mass produced convertible.
Name one non German convertible which after 15 plus years is still anywhere as sound as the Z3...

The condition of any car is dependant on use and environment. Your z lives in South Africa. No salt on the roads. I regularly see evo's freshly imported from Japan that are 17-20 years old with no rust what so ever. Many pampered cars live in garages and are fair weather cars especially 2 seater convertibles that by and large are often second car weekend luxury items and not daily drivers all conditions. That said the German cars paintwork and anticorrosion coatings do seem to stand up to adverse conditions better than most. Japanese imports tend to have minimal undersealing and if not treated on import do tend to suffer.
The major influence is salt and which countries use it on their roads.

My son has an S2000 as his daily driver. It's a year newer than my Z3 and the condition is poorer because of the usual rear wheel arch corrosion. It is a less civilised car in many ways: no gas struts on the bonnet, manual seats, no seat heaters, no traction or DSC, noisy and harsh. But that engine is sublime. I want it in my 635kg Westfield. Imagine, 240bhp and <635 kilos* pulling 9,000 rpm!

*Alloy engine vs cast iron at present so possibly sub 600kg?

The question was what car if not a Z3, hence S2000. I'd be tempted by a Z4 but that's not really in the spirit of the question is it?

Wouldn't say no to a Nissan GTR - in my view one of the best sounding, standard exhaust notes as well as breath taking performance. My nephew had an Evo which had been tweaked to around 400 BHP and it was a bit of a beast to drive in normal road conditions and gave around 15 MPG max. Also, didn't like the baked bean tin diameter exhaust or massive "spoiler" on the back.

Del wrote:Wouldn't say no to a Nissan GTR - in my view one of the best sounding, standard exhaust notes as well as breath taking performance.

join the que

i think, if i had supercar money i'd stray from the norm and go for a Z8