Corvette c6

2003 Corvette Convertible

Buying A Used Performance Sportscar

The Market

The term ‘performance' has of course, to be one of the most over-worked words in the motor industry's language. It's used to designate everything from a bog-standard family hatchback with stickers, spoilers and a silly name to the kind of Ferrari you'll be buying with your next lottery win.

Here, we're going to talk about ‘Performance Sportscars' in their truest sense. Cars that offer the ultimate in roadgoing excitement. They're not all Coupes or Convertibles, nor do they all have exotic badges. But all of them will reward their drivers in a way you simply wouldn't believe. So where to start? Well, for simplicity, we've divided what is a very wide category up into three sections.

The first, and most affordable, centres around cars of two types. There are hairy-chested big-bruising roadsters like Chevrolet's Corvette and the TVR Griffith. And there are properly-sorted, motorsport-inspired versions of more ordinary roadcars. Go for rally-derived models like the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and ultimate versions of the Subaru Impreza or opt for German high-speed fare like BMW's M3 and M Coupe, Mercedes C Class AMG models or Audi's RS4.

If you can afford to move up to the next stage of Performance Sportscar motoring, then the stakes get higher. If you need something practical, the Germans can again deliver proper motorsport-tuned versions of their larger executive saloons - cars like the Audi S6, the BMW M5 and the Mercedes E55 AMG. All these will reward the experienced driver but not in the same way as a pure coupe or cabriolet that was developed for the enthusiast from the very beginning. Cars like the Chrysler Viper, the Porsche 911 Carrera, Honda NSX and the last of the Nissan Skyline GT-R R34s.

It's only at the highest level however, that the product is truly pure, developed for the enthusiast, with almost nothing borrowed from more mundane fare. Most Ferraris, Lamborghinis and later Maseratis and Aston Martins fall into this category of course. So does the Porsche 911 in its more exotic GT2, GT3 and Turbo incarnations.

Cheap & Cheerful

You can actually get a surprisingly large amount of performance for a relatively small outlay, though as ever with a car like this, you're potentially letting yourself in for a whole lot of trouble if you buy in at this end of the market.

At the entry level point are the Japanese sports models. The Mitsubishi Lancer Evo and the more collectable Impreza models like the 22B and the P1 fall into this category, as does the Nissan Skyline GT-R and the last of the British market Toyota Supra Twin Turbos. If ultimate on-the-limit handling's your thing, try a Lotus Esprit, while for the ability to turn your next door neighbour green with envy, there's Aston Martin's six-cylinder DB7.

Most recent TVR models fall into this category as do slightly older Porsche 911 (993 Series) and Ferrari's rather unloved 348. Other prestige tackle that can be yours for realistic money includes the Maserati 3200GT, early Viper RT/10 and GTS models, clean examples of the Honda NSX and, if you want something a little left field, the awesomely exhilarating Noble M12 GTO. If you need something more practical as an only car, then tuned versions of the Mercedes E-class (the E55 AMG), BMW 5 Series (M5) and Audi A6 (S6) should fit the bill but they won't give you the buzz of something developed for the enthusiast from scratch. Finally, there's the exciting 400bhp Jaguar XKR to consider - a car that just seems to get better looking as the years roll by.

Affordable Mid-Rangers

Here, of course, are some undervalued bargains. Chief amongst them is the Porsche 911 Turbbo in 996 generation guise. Sandwiched between the last of the air-cooled 911s (the 993 generation) and the rather prettier 997 generation cars, the 996 Turbo might be the performance car bargain at the moment. There's certainly no shortage of used stock around. Spend a little more and you'll land a clean, low mileage Ferrari F355, surely the cleanest-looking Ferrari model of recent years. Left-hand drive Ferrari 360 Modenas might also tempt.

You could say exactly the same about elderly Aston Martins and Maseratis. Only the later Aston DB7 V12s and Maserati 4.2 V8 models are really well sorted in terms of build quality and reliability: if your budget will stretch to one of these, you'll find it to be a great everyday supercar. Your budget might even stretch here to an early Lamborghini Diablo or a Ferrari 512TR, but given the enormous running costs of these V12 behemoths, we'd probably counsel against it.

Desirable But Potentially Pricey

Okay - the gloves are off. What you're looking at here are late, low mileage models that have lumbered some other poor sap with the initial sting of depreciation. Three models stand out as being head and shoulders above the rest. The first is the Porsche 911 GT3. Available in 996 and 997 generation guises, this is a brilliant driver's car and one that will always be in strong demand. If you need something even more focused and collectable, try the stripped out RS version. The second car that demands attention is the Lamborghini Gallardo. Introduced in 2003, the Gallardo is relatively plentiful, but those in the know will look for late 2006 model year cars, as the baby Lambo was much improved during a 2006 revamp. The third car that gets a solid thumbs up might be a little harder to track down. It's the astonishing Audi R8, a car that shares some of its mutated DNA with the Gallardo but which is a more sensible everyday proposition, effectively bridging a gap that existed between cars like the 911 and cars like the Gallardo.

Other choices? Nissan's GT-R could be worth a punt and Aston Martin's V8 Vantage is looking interesting as a used buy. If you're feeling particularly outrageous, the Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 and the Ferrari 599GTB are both about as good as it gets when it comes to supercar charisma although you'll need a billfold like a wrestler's neck should anything go wrong.

What To Look For

You can never over-emphasise the potential for buying yourself into problems in this sector. It just isn't worth getting something out of the small ads. It goes without saying that you should insist upon a full service history and examine it with a magnifying glass, looking for the official dealer stamps as proof of proper servicing.

As usual, try and buy from a dealer or a specialist, get an independent AA or RAC check carried out on the car in question and look out for botched accident repairs. Parts of course on prestige cars like these are astronomically expensive, so anything you find out is going to help you a great deal in the final price negotiation. Little pieces of interior trim are unbelievably pricey to get fixed and, as for electric hood mechanisms, well, you don't want to know….

For convertibles, leaky hoods are an obvious issue to consider: try building a trip to the car wash into your test drive to put the rag top under some serious duress. If the vehicle you're looking at hasn't got an alarm, budget for one: you'll need it. Cars like these are a magnet for the light-fingered. Many cars will have been broken into as well and may have suffered slashed roofs: look carefully for signs of repair corner-cutting.

Many cars will have been used for regular track day work - or even raced: ask the seller some pointed questions and check his or her answers against the overall look and feel of the car. Worn tyres and tired brakes may give the game away for track work, while shiny steering wheels and gear knobs and worn, saggy seats that don't match with a low mileage readout may also indicate the presence of some untruths.

About the Author

By Author Jonathan Crouch. Anybody thinking how can I sell my car for cash should visit the UK's cash for cars comparison site www.dealerbid.co.uk

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