Key buying points for me are:
(a) They are cheap to buy, but expensive to maintain (mostly parts costs).
(b) A recently fettled high-miler is better than a neglected low-miler, because of (a).
(c) A car well known to SportsItalia, Aldous Voice, Migliore, or someone like, that is worth much more than some randomly-maintained one
(d) A pre-purchase inspection by someone like the above is absolutely imperative (don't get carried away on viewing)
(e) Most dealers don't know what they have
(f) Look at and drive at least 5 cars before you buy one
I think £15k should get you a fairly good post-facelift 2008-ish 60,000-ish car, but you may need to put a few £1,000s into getting it mechanically right, and also have a reserve fund of a couple of £1,000 just in case something else goes wrong. Keep in mind that wheel bearings cost about £700 and shock absorbers are £1,000 for a pair.
Below are some 'for sale' list prices (mostly from Autotrader) from about a year ago. Probably about the same now.
| Year | Engine | Exterior | Interior | Price | Miles |
| | | | | |
| 2007 | 4.2 | Black | Cream | £8,999 | 109,000 |
| 2007 | 4.2 | Blue | Cream | £12,250 | 25,000 |
| 2007 | 4.2 | Black | Beige | £12,500 | 75,000 |
| 2007 | 4.2 | Black | Black | £14,995 | 75,443 |
| 2008 | 4.2 | Black | Grey? | £11,450 | 69,000 |
| 2008 | 4.2 | Silver | Black | £11,995 | 75,000 |
| 2008 | 4.7 | Grey | Cream | £20,995 | 25,000 |
| 2009 | 4.2 | Blue | Grey | £12,200 | 79,620 |
| 2009 | 4.7 | Blue | Beige | £15,995 | 86,000 |
| 2009 | 4.2 | Grey | Black | £16,499 | 31,468 |
| 2009 | 4.2 | Grey | White | £16,945 | 44,000 |
| 2009 | 4.2 | Grey | Ivory | £16,945 | 44,000 |
| 2009 | 4.7 | Grey | Grey | £17,500 | 86,000 |
| 2009 | 4.7 | Grey | Grey | £17,995 | 41,000 |
| 2010 | 4.2 | Grey | Black | £16,750 | 52,500 |
| 2010 | 4.7 | Grey | Black | £23,995 | 28,000 |
| 2011 | 4.7 | Grey | Blue | £23,000 | 54,808 |
| 2011 | 4.7 | Red | Black | £26,000 | 54,300 |
