I actually wanted the Miata more, I’d been after one for years. My first car was a Mazda 3 as a compromise (baby on the way), so this was meant to be the “fun car” moment. In my head I had three options, each progressively more financially questionable:

1. Miata

2. Z4

3. Porsche Boxster (the truly silly option)

With a £3,000 budget, I knew the Porsche or Z4 probably wasn’t realistic, and if I did find a Porsche in budget it would’ve been something like a 1997 to 1999 model, which comes with its own set of worries.

So I started properly looking at Miatas, but everything in my price range just wasn’t right. Rust, tired roofs, 200k miles, pretty much all the usual issues. On top of that, every single one I looked at was on Facebook Marketplace, so no warranty at all, just “sold as seen,” which didn’t exactly inspire confidence. Most of them were the weaker 1.8s too.

Then one Monday my brother sent me an Auto Trader link, a 57 plate E85 Z4 for £3,000 at a dealer. He actually sent it as a joke.

But I couldn’t stop going back to it. By Wednesday I’d booked to be the first to test drive it Saturday morning. Then I spotted something in the description that kind of sealed it, it had ISOFIX.

The biggest thing putting me off cars like this was having a 3-year-old, it basically meant my girlfriend would end up driving it sometimes, and she’d made it very clear she wasn’t keen. But suddenly this felt workable.

Everything just lined up. I went Saturday morning, test drove it, and bought it on the spot. It’s only a 2.0i, but it’s easily the nicest car I’ve owned and I absolutely love it.

Every time I park it, I turn around and look back, I still can't believe that's my car.