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Choosing what make and model to buy

Background

I'll keep this brief. Selling house in centre of Bristol (driving opportunities: nil) and buying house in Lancashire on the border with Yorkshire (driving opportunities: excellent). House in Bristol has been a nightmare to sell and the process has dragged on for years - builders, decorating, dealing with estate agents, remortgages etc. To console myself, I decide early on that once it's sold I'll buy another sports car. There's going to be some money left over, and it's always good to have something to look forward to.

In all the years of owning old cars, I've never owned a convertible. My loss, I think, so whilst the hair's still predominately on top of the head and not spilling out the ears I'd better find a soft-top.

Options

The (total) budget is £5000, and the aim is to buy a fast soft-top. As the owner of a Scimitar SE4 Coupe, I want something a bit different in character.

An opinion is like a certain part of the anatomy - everyone's got one. Here are mine:

CAR	PROS	CONS
Alfa GTV Spider  (FWD)	Good looking car Lovely engine Nice interior	Front-wheel drive Understeer Expensive to maintain Will depreciate rapidly Not many for 5 grand, and they won't be the best
Alfa Spider  (RWD)	Early ones look the part Cracking engine Will keep its value, if it's a good one	Rust 80's body kits Difficult to find a good one, and to keep it that way
Lotus Elan  (FWD Isuzu one)	Handling Reliability Modern mechanics	Front-wheel drive Too wide for the lanes Difficult to find for 5 grand Expensive to maintain
Marlin	Some have Alfa engines Look the part Cheap	Most have Marina engines Little weather protection All depends how well the kit was built Not very practical
Mazda MX5	Lots about, and prices are falling Reliable Sensible	Prices will keep on falling No real character Too sensible, too obvious and maybe even a bit boring
MGB	Lots for sale, often at less than the cost of restoration 60's ones look the part Cheap insurance Lots of specialists	Rust everywhere Not especially quick as standard Don't really handle that well A bit of an obvious choice
MGF	Modern mechanics Unlikely to be rotten	Few around for 5 grand, and they won't be the best ones Not known for their handling No character
Toyota MR2  (Mk 1 T-Bar)	Fantastic to drive Reliable if maintained properly Cheap	Many are rusting now Not a real convertible
Triumph TR6	Fast and fun - a real driving machine Character Lots of specialists	Rust and knackered bodywork Couldn't buy a good one for 5 grand Too similar in character to SE4 Coupe
Triumph TR7	Um ... Er ... Cheap?	Rust Tractor engine 70's BL interior Dodgy V8 conversions
TVR 350i  (wedge-shaped)	V8 Brutal and fast Fibreglass body Beautiful (I like wedges)	Thirsty Dodgy electrics Expensive to fix V8 if it breaks Difficult to find a good convertible for 5 grand

As you'll have worked out by now, I decided to go for a later Scimitar. As I saw it, prior to purchase, the car weighed in like this:

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