Buy them before we do: second-hand picks for 7 February

Lexus IS F, £17,985: This plain-looking BMW M3 chaser is powered by a 5.0-litre V8 producing 417bhp and 372lb ft of torque. Drive goes to the rear wheels via a clever eight-speed auto and 0-62mph takes 4.8sec. Our find is a 2010-reg with 69,000 miles and full Lexus history.

Skoda Superb 3.6 Elegance DSG 4x4 estate, £6495: Powered by a detuned version of the VW Passat R36’s V6 engine (256bhp here, for 0-62mph in 6.5sec), this Superb is essentially the same car under the skin but with more space. It’s also better value. This one is a 2010-reg with 60,000 miles.

Volkswagen Passat 3.6 R36 DSG 4Motion estate, £10,995: And you thought the Passat was as exciting as an office water dispenser. In fact, this R36 version is good for 0-62mph in 5.8sec thanks to its 296bhp V6 engine and four-wheel drive. Our example is a 2008-reg estate with 84,000 miles.

Vauxhall Vectra 3.2i V6 24v GSi auto 5dr, £1189: Vauxhall has form with quick repmobiles. Remember the Cavalier 2.5 V6? This later Vectra 3.2i V6 has 210bhp for 0-62mph in 7.0sec. It’s a front-driver but the chassis is well sorted and it steers well. Just over £1k buys a 2003 car with 113k miles.

Auction watch

Porsche 944 Turbo: Everyone likes a Porsche Turbo. Cayennes are cheapest, with prices starting at around £5000, but you can pick up 924 Turbos from £8000. Then there’s the 996-generation 911 Turbo, prices for which start at around £23,000. In between is the 944 Turbo, priced from £10,000, although at this money you need to be very cautious. For £5000 more, you could be in a one-owner 1987-reg 944 Turbo with 95,000 miles, a car we saw advertised (but with no mention of service history). Alternatively, how about an immaculate 82,000-mile 1991-reg example with full Porsche and specialist service history that went under the hammer recently for £21,400?

Future classic

Nissan 370Z Nismo, £18,500: We may not regard modern-day Zeds in the same light as the Datsun 240Z and 260Z but, then again, a generation raised on Need for Speed may think differently. Indeed, in 2008, Nissan and PlayStation launched the GT Academy to find two gamers to race a real 350Z. Since then, the model has been superseded by the 370Z. The Nismo version, launched in 2013 and powered by a 339bhp 3.7-litre V6, is our pick for a gamer’s classic. New, it costs £40,370, but we found a 2016-reg car with 46,000 miles for less than half that.

Clash of the classifieds

Brief: Find me a soul-stirring Alfa for £5000.

Alfa Romeo Brera 3.2 V6, £5000

Alfa Romeo GTV 3.0 V6, £4000

Mark Pearson: Some time back, just before the Black Death, I bought my first car, an Alfasud, and I liked it so much that I went on to buy the Sprint version next. Other Alfas followed, as did inevitable bankruptcy, but nothing can replace the thrill those old cars brought. This awesome GTV captures that Alfa magic entirely: it’s great to drive, wonderful to look at and deliciously quirky, and this beautifully kept 1999-reg 3.0 V6 is in perfect nick, with a full history and a low mileage. What you got, Max?