I have been a keen follower of your column and am writing to you as I am now finally in a position to buy my first sports car, having saved up for many years. I am looking at secondhand cars and am looking at a budget of no more than £22,000. I am torn between going for a TVR Tuscan or a Porsche 993. My brother, who is also an avid follower of your column, thinks that I should go for the Porsche for a multitude of reasons, but mainly due to the good price. However, he also thinks the TVR is unreliable and breaks down all the time.

I am put off by the Tiptronic/automatic transmission on the Porsche but my brother, who has a 993, says that the clutch is too heavy and this may be a blessing in disguise. I do like the styling on the TVR but do not know what a good price to pay for it would be and whether I'll end up paying the difference on repairs and parts. Could you please advise me as to which of the two in your opinion would be a better car to go for, bearing in mind price, future depreciation, reliability and day-to-day maintenance issues and anything else?

Equally, if there is another great secondhand car marque that I should be looking at in the £20,000 price range, please point me in the right direction.