We’ve scoured the classifieds to compile a list of the most used fun cars we’d love to find in our garage this year We gave each of our team a modest (and, sadly, imaginary) used car budget of £10,000, plus a morning’s time to find their dream used car.
We also set some simple criteria for the search, specifying that the car must be unusual or interesting. That means flinging practicality and fuel economy to the winds and allowing each writer to pick a motor that speaks to their enthusiast streak.
Scroll down to browse the Parkers used fun cars wish list. We reckon you’ll learn an awful lot about the team, simply by reading about their dream transport option. And if you’re feeling generous, we have plenty of space in the car park at Parkers HQ to store any presents. We won’t even complain if they aren’t gift-wrapped.
The Parkers fun car wish list 2024
Keith Adams – Editor
Breaking the rules with a Swedish barge and a French hot hatch
I’ve only ever spent this much money on a car once, and that was on a new MINI First, which proved excellent. So, with me being completely out of my comfort zone, I am going to bust the rules and buy a ‘modern’ car for the day-to-day stuff, and a modestly priced classic for sunny summer weekends (sorry). For the former, I’m still a sucker for a large saloon, so will plump for a Saab 9-5 Aero. It’s one of the final generation of models, in high-performance petrol form (so hopefully future proof), which still looks eye-catching to my eyes, has great parts support, and should chomp through miles for years to come.
Yes, it’s not as imposing as Graham’s brilliant Audi S8, or as much fun as Alan’s Mitsubishi Evo, but it’s way, way cooler than both. As the Saab is a snifter less than £6k, that leaves £4k to play with. I’ll put £1,000 aside for any unforeseen issues with the Saab as well as a modern stereo upgrade, leaving me a cool £3k to find myself a Citroen BX GTI or Peugeot 405 SRI for the weekend. Tidy ones are still out there for that money – you just need to know where to look.
CJ Hubbard – Head of the Digital Automotive Hub
BMW’s answer to the Porsche Boxster
This is not really a good idea. For starters, the last time I started idly looking at interesting cars I accidentally ended up buying one (much to the continuing chagrin of my bank account). Then there’s distinct recollection of the back ache one of these gave me on a three-hour journey when they were new. But something about that test car has always stuck in my mind – black with lemon-coloured leather – and I always come back to the BMW Z4 Coupe whenever someone asks me to contribute to this kind of list. The reason is simple: I absolutely love the way they look – like a fractal Shelby Daytona.
It’s got to be the ‘ordinary’ 3.0-litre Si, mind, not the ugly and even more uncompromising Z4 M variant. The Si’s 265hp N52 engine is generally considered to be one of BMW’s more reliable efforts as well as being made from a tantalising, lightweight combination of magnesium and aluminium, revving freely and sounding great. I suspect the suspension on any used example will need a bit of work, but that’s just an opportunity to install a more rounded set-up than the factory settled for. Availability isn’t abundant, but there are enough in the classifieds to make finding a good one fun rather than a chore. Thank heavens I haven’t got any more parking space…
Alan Taylor-Jones – New Cars Editor
Deliver presents over any terrain! And have them there for yesterday
As this is a fun car wishlist, I’ve picked something that I’m sure Santa would approve of. I know the car in the image above is black, but the one I found on Facebook marketplace is red with white accents. It also has a massive boot for the presents and a bit of snow shouldn’t slow it down either. The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution II really does tick all the boxes.
While not as punchy as its successors, 252bhp in a 1,200ish kilo car means it should still be swift. That is assuming the engine is stock, something the large intercooler and chunky piping on the car in the advert suggests may not be the case. All four wheels are driven and there’s a limited slip differential, if sadly no Active Yaw Control system. That was introduced on the IV.
As you’d expect from the cheapest taxed and tested Evo I could find, it’s not without its problems. The turbo sounds in need of a refurb, there’s a damaged roof and we’re not as impressed by the respray as its current owner. Oh, and its 4D plates immediately need to get in the sea. However, with a £7,500 asking price there’s something in the kitty for any necessary maintenance.
Richard Kilpatrick – Used Cars Editor
About as different and unusual as it gets
Like Keith, £10,000 is more than I’ve spent on any used car, so I’m spoiled for choice. I already have a 1990 Range Rover with a Jaguar XKR engine, so maybe something more economical and sedate would be useful. Lurking in the pages of Classic Cars For Sale is just the thing I’d want to find waiting for me in the garage – a Panther Kallista. Not a kit car, but definitely a rather curious collection of bits, Panther’s story is interesting even without the weird and wonderful cars they made.
The car I found is a 1984 model and claims to be fully restored, although I’d take that with more than a pinch of salt looking at the overspray on the running boards and wobbly joins. Still, as a gift I’m not going to complain! It’s based on Ford Granda/Capri V6 running gear with a bit of Vauxhall and British Leyland (recognise the doors?) thrown in for good measure, so it shouldn’t be too hard to maintain. Plus, it’s modern enough to handle rather better than its looks suggest. It won’t appreciate a great deal (it’s too obscure), but it shouldn’t end up worthless after a few years either.
Tom Webster – Deputy Head of the Digital Automotive Hub and Vans Editor
The benchmark for small sports cars
£10,000 is the kind of car-buying budget I’d be very happy with if I was looking for a sensible family runaround. But we’re in wish list territory, which means all thoughts of Isofix, boot space and reliability got thrown right out of the window at the start of my search.
And I tried so hard to stick to this, I really did. The problem is it’s clearly been a while since I played this game and all the exotic old-school Americana that would have once featured in my hunt is well out of range, unless you want something generously described as a ‘project.’
That means I’ve looked elsewhere on my historic wish list and gone somewhat more modern. Thankfully, £10,000 will still get you into a Porsche these days, and a good one at that. Not a 911 mind, but you can get a good example of the 987 generation of Boxster which was launched in late 2004. It happens to be one of the first Porsches I ever drove and I’ve wanted one ever since, but life/other cars/budget restraints have all got in the way.
No need to find a ropey S model, the ‘basic’ 2.7-litre with the five-speed manual transmission will do me just fine thank you very much. They’re great to drive, offer a sense of joy every time you get behind the wheel and are unlikely to go plummeting in value.
So, even when trying to be a bit reckless, there’s an element of sensibility in there. But if it gets me into that bucket-list Boxster then I’m fine with that.
Luke Wilkinson – Deputy Editor
Italian style and an intoxicating engine note… when it works
I’m an Italian car tragic, and I’ve wanted an Alfa Romeo for a very long time. Specifically, this Alfa Romeo – a pre-facelift GTV powered by the firm’s wonderful 3.0-litre V6 Busso engine. I know it’s flawed, but I can’t help but look at the adverts through rose-tinted specs.
I don’t care that it’s a front-wheel drive sports car, I don’t care that the bodywork is allergic to water and I couldn’t give a flying proverbial about the slightly dicky electrics. That’s because all the car’s foibles pale into insignificance when you take a step back and look at it. It’s as well-proportioned as a Titian landscape painting.
It’s even better when you get it on the road. But, if I ever was to splash some cash on one, I’d probably make a few improvements. I reckon Alfa Romeo’s engineers got the GTV to 95% completion before downing tools for an extended lunch break – so I’d finish the job by fitting some racier suspension, slightly rowdier camshafts and a free-flowing exhaust, to really let the engine sing. Oh, and some new headlights. The standard ones are about as useful as candles in beer bottles.
Graham King – Senior Staff Writer
An affordable way to live out your silver screen fantasies
£10,000 is the Goldilocks zone of used car budgets. Whatever kind of car you want/need there will be something that fits the bill for that amount of money. It’s what I had to spend in 2022. I needed something with a big boot that was enjoyable to drive and would dispatch 300 miles-plus in a day without causing backache or costing a fortune in fuel. Which is why I bought a BMW 520d Touring, arguably the best car in the real world.
So, if you want the best car for £10,000, you could buy mine. No, really. Circumstances have changed and I need something different. Best of all, it’s now only worth about £5,500. But we’re talking about dream cars here and that means one I’ll keep forever. So, it has to be a first-gen Audi S8, the star of the greatest car chase film there has ever been, Ronin. They’re hard to find and a nightmare to run, but it’s fast and oh-so cool. If I had one, I’d be buried in it.
Seth Walton – Staff Writer
Life’s too short to be uncomfortable – and this Roller is too cheap to ignore
It’s the Duke of Kent; it’s Charles Dance; it’s Roy Hodgson. It’s a 1990 Rolls Royce Silver Spirit, finished in metallic sky blue with a full blue leather interior (don’t panic, I haven’t gone mad – the image above is just for decoration). The cabin is dated, and it’s lost most of its road presence over the years, but what this elder statesman still has in abundance is refined English elegance. You won’t find any screens or technological wizardry in this Roller. Electric seats and windows yes, but most modern technology terrifies this poor outdated car – it was built to gracefully waft through England’s green and pleasant land with little care for anything else but the pleasure of driving.
Make no mistake, this is a slow and cumbersome geriatric. It takes 9.5 seconds to reach 60 and is baffled into distress by Civic Type Rs on every multi-lane roundabout. But just as Dance and Hodgson continue to drag lacquered combs across their thinning heads each day, this Silver Spirit can still scrub up and will go on doing so until the very end. Now, a 6.8-litre, 20-foot, two-and-a-half tonne luxo-barge probably isn’t what I need as a 25-year-old living in central Manchester. But for under £10,000 with 57,000 miles on the clock? My very own piece of England? I wouldn’t turn it down for the world.
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