My current car is an M3 and whilst I love the car I should have taken some advice from existing owners before taking the plunge. Hence here I am. I am interested in getting a used V8 convertible. My budget is max £50K. What are the things to look out for? What are the must haves? What issues do these cars commonly suffer from? Is the switchable exhaust standard (sounds like something I need in my life)? Any colours to avoid? Or not(subjective I know). Many thanks for your advice.

 

Which model M3 are you coming from - E46, E9X, F80?

 

I have a manual E92 with lots of mods.

 

I would say switchable exhaust is a must and avoid black-you lose a lot of the detail on the front bumper since the grills just blend in. Also, think long and hard about coupe versus convertible. The convertible is pretty but the coupe is gorgeous. I have second thoughts every time I see one, but then put the top down and don't feel as bad. The base v6 feels slower than my old 335 e93. But with a tune it is plenty fast.

 

Like caviar mentioned, the biggest decision is whether to get a convertible or a coupe. If coupe, then you must 100% find one with a sunroof.

Switchable exhaust is default on a v8 (I think?) but if it's not then it's pretty important.

I've had issues with the chrome window frame, particularly it not being glued tightly enough to the quarter panel. They fixed it on one side and when it came back the other side came up.

With colours I'm not sure, it's subjective like you said. I didn't choose the color (mine was polaris white) since I wanted to get it wrapped anyway.

And when cold-starting the car, it'll take maybe half a minute for the rev to idle down. If you shift gear before that you get a pretty huge lunge forward. This probably isn't specific to the f type I guess but the lunge is pretty big.

There's also a "what did you find out after owning the f type" (or similarly named) thread that you could go over

 

Vision pack is essential with a vert. The blind spots are enormous.

As for color - Red is undoubtedly the fastest.

 

Great advice - keep it coming - thanks guys.

 

I was about to say, with the price of petrol in UK being what it is, maybe a V6 with a tune and the lower crank pulley would save money without sacrificing speeding fines or smiles ;-)

I got a coupe because I preferred the looks and didn't like the blindspots in the convertible with the roof up (even with BSM). With the pano roof, it lets in a huge amount of light when you want it.

 

There is no sun roof. There is, however, a panoramic roof which, assuming you're getting a coupe, is definitely a plus (nothing being a must). Yes having the vision pack is great - I have tons more options that I initially intended on getting and, yes, I love and, for the most part, use them all - but you're talking "first-world" problems. I do like the idea of a "6", for various reasons, but, again, you'll not go "wrong" with any configuration or color combination.

IMO.

Good luck!

RJ52

2015 V6S Stratus Grey Coupe