Choosing the right car - Compromise is a necessity

Establishing  that I am a self-confessed petrol head and that I've always compromised to some degree when choosing a car, I was adamant that my next car would be what i wanted. No more compromises.

As this car, in my mind would be for fun for me (and Mrs P). We have another car for family duty - 2011 Mini Countryman (not so mini) SD All4 Auto (I separated this into it's own blog post).


So immediately i looked at the de facto sports car - Porsche Boxster/Cayman S.

I've always liked the Boxster/Cayman, especially the 981. They looked amazing and sounded even better with the Porsche sports exhaust (That flat 6 sound, you know the one). 
Prices quickly gave me a reality check. Not just to buy, but cost of ownership (I don't cheap out on servicing or parts - just OCD like that). Salvage cars weren't that much cheaper and parts were expensive and rarer than unicorn ****.

I didn't like the looks of the 986 and 987 (bit hairdresser) plus they were down on power. And then there's the IMS bearing problem. Along with mid-engine cars being difficult to work on and not being able to add power easily, the Porsche was ruled out.

Next came the Z4. 

I like BMWs and their Boxster/Cayman equivalent is the E89 Z4, which I would argue is the best looking car BMW currently make. A good selection of engines were available (unlike the Porsche), but as much as I'd like the 35is, the 28i was still quick and economical. It also has massive tuning appeal (300bbhp from a AC Schnitzer ECU).

This car had more power than the standard Boxster & metal folding roof (so best of both, kinda). 

I wanted one.... badly. There were a couple of salvage examples available for decent money too, and I almost got one.


I had my heart set on a Z4 until i had a conversation with a mate I used to play ice hockey with who works for BMW. "Don't think you can get the stick in the car unless you have the ski hatch and the boot is tiny" he said. "There not even proper cup holders"

That one sentence was a reality check. As much as i wanted a fun car for when I drive it (which would be mostly to Ice hockey training and games), a 2 seater sports car wasn't going to cut it in the real world for me. Even if i tried to rationalise it against the Countryman.

Then I remembered another hockey mate had an M135i. A car that was both quicker and way more practical. Spoke to him and he sold me on the car in 30 seconds. Which was surprising as my wife had a E87 118D M-sport and the car was fun drive but not really anything special, so always over-looked them (kinda like how no-one pays attention to A and B class Mercs, well not until the A45 AMG came out).

Got added to the M135i owners Facebook group and lurked on there for ages, slowly getting hyped at the thought of getting one.

So all in all, compromise is necessary, but sometimes it can get you to better place. With the M135i i get a affordable, practical, sports car that won't require monopoly money or a small nations reserve in liquefied dinosaurs to run.

The hard part was going to be finding one for the right price and right level of damage....