Not at all! There are a fair few small coupes or convertibles for that money but one of the best - both in terms of handling and reliability - is the Mazda MX-5 and you can get one with leather seats for your budget. You can also get a BMW Z3 (again with leather) for up to £4000, although they tend to have higher mileages. Another car to consider is the Toyota MR2 - a real driver's car.

If you want something different then you could look at a Daihatsu Copen. It's not especially quick but is great fun to drive, economical and pretty much all come with leather seats. It's also very reliable as it's made by Toyota and has a metal folding roof rather than a fabric hood. Ones to avoid? The MG TF is awful and don't be tempted by a Peugeot 206 CC, as the roofs are notoriously unreliable.