Thinking of an Auto Droptop for 3k

Ive had my 2003 Saab 9-3 Convertible for years, they are great cars if you pick a good one, highly tuneable, cheap on spares as a lot of the parts are shared with Vauxhalls and there's still stacks about to pick from at all price ranges.

My sister has a 9-3 like retrolegends, albeit in the 2.0 low pressure format, aka 1.8t



For the money these are superb, especially what we paid for it. They are quiet for a convertible, and comfy too. What do I like about it?

-The styling is actually very good. They do look good with the roof down, better IMHO than the E46 3 series
-Saabs are known for being very safe
-The mid-range torque is strong! It certainly feels pokey if you put your foot down.
-Remapping them is easy enough and can bring big gains ; This 150BHP 2.0 Turbo engine (aka 1.8t in Saab language) can go to 190BHP just with a remap.
-Spares are reasonable
-So far this car has been very reliable. My mate owned it from 77k to 109k without any real issues and my sister has taken it to 120k and rising.
-They are great motorway cruisers ; it's almost like it was built for them. With Cruise it would be great.

What don't I like?
-The handling is nothing to shout about. Even my sister feels it is not as good as the mega mileage Mk3 Mondeo she had before. This car however is on mid-range tyres; Kumho KU31s up front and Toyo CF-IIs on the back with other cars on our driveway having Goodyears or Michelins, as was the Mk3...
-Steering is a little lifeless. I don't know why people think these handle well...
-It does have scuttle shake
-The ratios for the 5 speed manual in this are a joke. The gaps are massive between some gears that you could actually put another gearbox in between then! 5th does 70mph at 2300rpm ; That's lower than my M3 and 200rpm taller than our Mondoe 2.5Ts with 6 speed 'boxes. Town driving can get interesting ; you can cut it out in 2nd ; it's that tall ; 3rd is more like 3.5! An auto should circumvent this .
-For overtaking it's not the quickest thing. But again, it's all relative ; The Mondy 2.5T has 211BHP and the M3 is an M3, although that does lack torque below 2 or 3k...

Chrysler Crossfire? Just to be different?

My only concern about the CLK is that it may well have rust issues now as well a few pricey bits to go wrong. I don't know much about them, except for £3k you are getting a Merc from the era they were built to a cost. They are a lovely drive however ; I drove a W210 E-Class and yes it was tired. However, it just cruised!

It doesn't meet the auto count but an Audi TT "could" be had around the budget in 150BHP flavour.

my Mrs has a C70, a later one with the retractable hardtop, D5 motor with the tip auto box, fantastic car, pulls like a train, 40 mpg and really comfy, no wind noise when top is up, good build quality, only down side is small back seats and reduced boot space when top is down, i know its a diesel but it doesnt drive like one, they do turn up with the T5 petrol motor as well

similar to this one which is petrol

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Volvo-C70S-Auto-Convertible-Coupe-Geartronic-Automatic-in-Excellent-Condition/232537825037?hash=item3624559f0d:g:87EAAOSwe51Z5xK0

I know you don't like bmw's but z3 2.8/3.0 are supposed to be great

Bit weird that they used pics of 2 different cars though

Also the MOT history shows it as being a 230 rather than a 320. Could be a typo though. Interesting that it was pretty much laid up for a while - it only did 69 miles in 4 years!! 

However, I need to get the money together first so I'll let some one else have that one. Looks nice though.   The CLK does seem like a good possibility. I'll do some more digging into potential convertibles - it would seem that SLKs, CLKs and potentially the A4 are possibilities. The Crossfire, even though a Mercedes underneath, is a big no. I don't like the butt on it - and that's the best looking bit   And joem83, I didn't even consider the Z3 6-pots - good shout! Much better looking than the Z4s, although not such a good car. Worth a look.

Thanks to everyone for your help.

Stop it Stiff !!!!   Although that said, it is "only" a  V6. Should one even consider a Camaro with anything other than V8??