There will never be a perfect time to buy your first sports car, or your first future classic.
Be it school fees, a house purchase or your second daughter’s wedding – or even your daughter’s second wedding – there will always be at least one financial obligation to discourage you. If we accept that this is the fact of the matter, however, it must follow that now is as good as any time to buy your first Aston Martin, or your first V12. If not now, then when?
We’ll look at 19 different ‘firsts’ and steer you around the pitfalls and towards the light. Your first Bond car. Your first getaway car. Even your first TVR.
The only thing that each of the 19 categories has in common is a strict theoretical budget. Not so strict that it becomes completely impossible to buy, say, your first handbuilt British sports car, but strict enough that we don’t immediately descend into the realm of pure fantasy. Read on – your first Italian supercar may be within much closer reach than you think.
The V8 Aston Martin Vantage is the best-selling Aston Martin of all time. Having first gone on sale in 2005, and with so many having been sold across a 12-year lifespan (all things being relative), you can buy one todayfor just £27,000. The question is: should you?
Given how pretty the Vantage is, and how brilliant it is to drive, the obvious answer is a resounding ‘yes’. Like all handbuilt cars, however, particularly first-of-the-line handbuilt cars, the Vantage is not without its issues. They’re generally tough and reliable, but they are affected by niggles, often electrical, particularly if the battery is allowed to run f lat. Budget for a steady stream of three- or four-figure bills on topof the purchase price to put these gremlins right.
Mid-engined sports car
For your first mid-engined sports car, look no further than the original Porsche Cayman. Both the entry- level 2.7-litre model and the 3.4-litre Cayman S start at around £12,000. The bigger engine, with 295bhp, should be the more desirable of the two, but it is notoriously troublesome. It can suffer from scored bores and intermediate shaft bearing failure, both of which can cost thousands to put right. The smaller 2.7, which is still potent enough with 241bhp, is much more dependable. The Cayman itself, meanwhile, is one of the sweetest, most enjoyable sports cars of the last couple of decades.
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Lucky boy!
I am fortunate enough to have bought an Aston Martin DB7 Vantage recently. What an amazing, beautiful, powerful thing! Yes, I know that the fuel and maintenance costs will be very high, but I won't suffer the big cost of motoring: depreciation. It makes me smile every time I get in it, and that, surely, is what a car enthusiast wants.
I did try a Cayman, but it left me cold. Getting in it didn't give me any sense of occasion. It just shows you that the better car isn't necessarily the most fun.
Ian callum
What about the stunning looking Ian callum designed volvo C70, in 5 pot turbo charged T5 they also meet the unusual engine category and can be had very cheaply.
First mid engine, MR2's have been forgotten, are cheap, in plentiful supply and farely reliable without massive bills same with MG f/tf or if its the porsche name you want what about a boxter, available older and cheaper than the cayman.
Having owned a Ferrari some