Track/road car under 3k to buy...

[E-bmw]

That looks fairly ropey to me.

[Xcore]

Evil.soup said:

There is this but not sure how happy I would be with a car that has already been used as a track car, but it does save money on parts etc. Description is rubbish though and gives you little to go on...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103059...

Worth a punt at £1500 maybe.

[Shiv_P]

Evil.soup said:

There is this but not sure how happy I would be with a car that has already been used as a track car, but it does save money on parts etc. Description is rubbish though and gives you little to go on...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103059...

That was for sale in early 2020 as well, I remember seeing it and having a chuckle

[HustleRussell]

Evil.soup said:

There is this but not sure how happy I would be with a car that has already been used as a track car, but it does save money on parts etc. Description is rubbish though and gives you little to go on...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103059...

Sorry to join the pile-on, poor thing does need saving- but there is nothing to suggest that this is a thoughtful track prep. Directional tyres on the wrong way, filthy inside, obviously no info about maintenance or mechanical mods... none of the visible modifications which have been made to it are worth retaining. Seats, belts, induction kit, tyres- all needs re-doing. The belts especially are lethal.

[Evil.soup]

Lol, maybe it was a poor example and I have seen a few better ones when looking at possible track cars myself. Fiesta ST150 has always come up as a good bet, just didn't find any with any track prep when I did this search.

[anonymous-user]

Don’t buy an MX5, after three track days you’ll be bored. I speak from experience. They handle very well, they are fun, cheap and easy on consumables and maintenance…..but they are just too slow. Yes you can modify them, add forced induction etc etc but then it’s not a £3k car, it’s a £5k+ car in which case you’re better off saving for longer.

[Xcore]

pablo said:

Don’t buy an MX5, after three track days you’ll be bored. I speak from experience. They handle very well, they are fun, cheap and easy on consumables and maintenance…..but they are just too slow. Yes you can modify them, add forced induction etc etc but then it’s not a £3k car, it’s a £5k+ car in which case you’re better off saving for longer.

Even for 5k what comes close to the fun of a turbo mx5? S2000 or an Elise is 2x-3x the price

[brillomaster]

For 5k id have an early z4 3.0, with £400 track tyres and £400 track brakes.

For 3k id have a ropey e46 330ci, again with the same track tyres and brakes.

230bhp, rwd and a naturally aspirated straight six is a great combo for a track car.

[Mr MXT]

pablo said:

Don’t buy an MX5, after three track days you’ll be bored. I speak from experience. They handle very well, they are fun, cheap and easy on consumables and maintenance…..but they are just too slow. Yes you can modify them, add forced induction etc etc but then it’s not a £3k car, it’s a £5k+ car in which case you’re better off saving for longer.

Completely disagree. Its way more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow. My MX5 is 90% of the fun of my 250bhp Westfield at 10% of the cost.

[brillomaster]

On a road, maybe, where breaking speed limits is an issue, driving a slow car 'fast' is more fun than having a fast car, but having to stick to speed limits/ other slower road users.

However, on a track there are no limits, and therefore, id rather drive a fast car fast.

If you did a trackday with only mx5s, then sure, itd be a hoot. But on a general open pitlane day, a standard mx5 will be the slowest thing there. Everyone else will see you as a rolling chicane, and you'll spend the entire day looking in you mirrors as even renault clios and ford fiestas are pestering you to get past.

[anonymous-user]

Mr MXT said:

pablo said:

Don’t buy an MX5, after three track days you’ll be bored. I speak from experience. They handle very well, they are fun, cheap and easy on consumables and maintenance…..but they are just too slow. Yes you can modify them, add forced induction etc etc but then it’s not a £3k car, it’s a £5k+ car in which case you’re better off saving for longer.

Completely disagree. Its way more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow. My MX5 is 90% of the fun of my 250bhp Westfield at 10% of the cost.

Driving a “slow car fast” still means you’re going slow. What you can do is extract all the potential from a slow car and then, yes, it feels fast. But you are still driving a slow car.

[Mr MXT]

Trackdays are about fun, not lap times.

[Derek182]

For £3k I would be looking for a Clio, probably a 182 with a few mods already done.
182s are significantly lighter than a 197 or an ST150.
I speak from experience having tracked all 3, personally would steer well clear of an ST, heavy, tall and only 150hp!

[phazed]

Exactly.

MK4 Golf gti or similar platforms can easily be mapped to 250 bhp. Cheap and plentiful tuning parts.

Pretty bulletproof as well.

[anonymous-user]

Mr MXT said:

Trackdays are about fun, not lap times.

No one mentioned lap times except you!

[DocSteve]

brillomaster said:

On a road, maybe, where breaking speed limits is an issue, driving a slow car 'fast' is more fun than having a fast car, but having to stick to speed limits/ other slower road users.

However, on a track there are no limits, and therefore, id rather drive a fast car fast.

If you did a trackday with only mx5s, then sure, itd be a hoot. But on a general open pitlane day, a standard mx5 will be the slowest thing there. Everyone else will see you as a rolling chicane, and you'll spend the entire day looking in you mirrors as even renault clios and ford fiestas are pestering you to get past.

I did mention I'd already had a few MX5s so was after something different. The idea of them being rolling chicanes is really not true at all - unless either the car is a nail or the driver can't pedal. For the price I'd favour something low-power, simple and lightweight. I will let you know how I get on with this silly mission! Still, even if I am a rolling chicane, I've never done Angelsey before and that will be enough of a break from weekend childcare :-)

[TREMAiNE]

Suzuki Swift Sport

£1,500 for a decent example.
£500 for some used bucket seats and harnesses
£300 for some good discs and pads
£300 for some track tyres

£400 left over for a couple of track days.

[Evil.soup]

TREMAiNE said:

Suzuki Swift Sport

£1,500 for a decent example.
£500 for some used bucket seats and harnesses
£300 for some good discs and pads
£300 for some track tyres

£400 left over for a couple of track days.

Good example, but £1500 won't buy you a sport at all these days, even a high miler. A good example is more like 3 grand now. Used market is insane!

[TREMAiNE]

Evil.soup said:

Good example, but £1500 won't buy you a sport at all these days, even a high miler. A good example is more like 3 grand now. Used market is insane!

Really? I didn't realise they'd shot up so much in 6 months!

We bought ours for £1,400 back in June, after a weekend of test driving about 8 examples between £1,000 and £2,000.

It had done 88k and had a full-service history.

It's done nearly 1,500 track miles now and is still going strong!

[Evil.soup]

TREMAiNE said:

Evil.soup said:

Good example, but £1500 won't buy you a sport at all these days, even a high miler. A good example is more like 3 grand now. Used market is insane!

Really? I didn't realise they'd shot up so much in 6 months!

We bought ours for £1,400 back in June, after a weekend of test driving about 8 examples between £1,000 and £2,000.

It had done 88k and had a full-service history.

It's done nearly 1,500 track miles now and is still going strong!

All seems to be going that way at the moment. I have been looking at various track cars and £1500 6 months ago would have bought a good example of the Fiesta ST150, today you can add a grand to that price and it still seems to be slim pickings.

There may be the odd ST and Swift sport come up now and again in private terms now and again, but they seem to be slim pickings now...