Sell 330ci and buy a MK7 celica 190?
Discussion
Hi all,
Apologies for celica overload, and yes Ive read the threads about them, but wanted to hear the consensus of opinion as to whether selling an e46 330ci sport for a celica 190 is a good idea?
My driving is about 100 miles a week, half is commuting (under 10 miles a day round trip) and maybe a little potter about on the weekend. Every now and again a 350 mile round trip to isit family or friends.
I currently enjoy the 330 as it seems to do most things I want it to well, although I am concerned frequent short trips arent really what it was designed for. The odd longer trips I find it an excellent motorway cruiser, and can happily play on a / b roads when needed (although not so good for b roads).
Thinking of selling and buying a celica 190 / T sport. From what Ive read this is a bit more raw than the BMW, and has less toys. However is good fun on more twisty roads and will be happy with the short commute.
Selling the BMW will free up about £1500 towards a house deposit as well, which, although Im not desperate for as Im saving well, its a bit more cash nonetheless. (and probably a driving factor in this consideration).
I am also considering a track day or two in the future with either car, including a trip to the 'ring
at some point.
So, what does PH recommend? Keep the BMW, or sell it and buy the celica?
Cheers!
Apologies for celica overload, and yes Ive read the threads about them, but wanted to hear the consensus of opinion as to whether selling an e46 330ci sport for a celica 190 is a good idea?
My driving is about 100 miles a week, half is commuting (under 10 miles a day round trip) and maybe a little potter about on the weekend. Every now and again a 350 mile round trip to isit family or friends.
I currently enjoy the 330 as it seems to do most things I want it to well, although I am concerned frequent short trips arent really what it was designed for. The odd longer trips I find it an excellent motorway cruiser, and can happily play on a / b roads when needed (although not so good for b roads).
Thinking of selling and buying a celica 190 / T sport. From what Ive read this is a bit more raw than the BMW, and has less toys. However is good fun on more twisty roads and will be happy with the short commute.
Selling the BMW will free up about £1500 towards a house deposit as well, which, although Im not desperate for as Im saving well, its a bit more cash nonetheless. (and probably a driving factor in this consideration).
I am also considering a track day or two in the future with either car, including a trip to the 'ring
at some point.
So, what does PH recommend? Keep the BMW, or sell it and buy the celica?
Cheers!
Although just singing its' praises in the other thread I'd be inclined to recommend something different in this case.
A 330ci is a car I would have preferred over my 190. In fact what I wanted to do was sell up and get a 330D Coupe but funds did not allow when the time came.
I think for doing that few miles a week I'd want something a little more fun. The Celica is quite civilised and whilst you say it would be fun down a B-road, you really have to be on the ball with it. They have such a narrow powerband it can be tiresome keeping the revs that side of the clock and the gearbox isn't one which likes to be stirred too much.
Down a B-road I think I would have struggled against a Clio 182 for example. More torque and a wider powerband. Slightly more hooligan-looking but more comfortable for people to sit in the back of should you ever need to carry passengers.
And if you don't need to carry passengers...
...Mx5?!
A 330ci is a car I would have preferred over my 190. In fact what I wanted to do was sell up and get a 330D Coupe but funds did not allow when the time came.
I think for doing that few miles a week I'd want something a little more fun. The Celica is quite civilised and whilst you say it would be fun down a B-road, you really have to be on the ball with it. They have such a narrow powerband it can be tiresome keeping the revs that side of the clock and the gearbox isn't one which likes to be stirred too much.
Down a B-road I think I would have struggled against a Clio 182 for example. More torque and a wider powerband. Slightly more hooligan-looking but more comfortable for people to sit in the back of should you ever need to carry passengers.
And if you don't need to carry passengers...
...Mx5?!
Test drove a 172 and hated the driving position. I guess its the same in the 182, and although Im sure Id get used to it, it just didnt do anything for me.
Current boxes it must tick are:
2k ish budget
fun on track
Enough space to leave a set of golf clubs in the back
cheapish to maintian (consumables etc) N/A preferred.
200ish HP or more.
N/A preferred (maintenance costs...anything turbo-ed around 2k will be on about 100k miles, and ill be worried about expensive failing turbos etc, or want to tune with expensive mods which either way defies the point).
I used to have a fiat coupe 20vt running about 330bhp, Id love another but Id need to spend more for a reliably tuned plus model in good condition, and although I loved the car Im worried if i went back I'd ruin the memory of the ownership experience!
Current boxes it must tick are:
2k ish budget
fun on track
Enough space to leave a set of golf clubs in the back
cheapish to maintian (consumables etc) N/A preferred.
200ish HP or more.
N/A preferred (maintenance costs...anything turbo-ed around 2k will be on about 100k miles, and ill be worried about expensive failing turbos etc, or want to tune with expensive mods which either way defies the point).
I used to have a fiat coupe 20vt running about 330bhp, Id love another but Id need to spend more for a reliably tuned plus model in good condition, and although I loved the car Im worried if i went back I'd ruin the memory of the ownership experience!
Naddy786 said:
What about a Honda Accord Type R? I'd say that should meet your requirements and it really is a hoot to drive!
My first thought too.Not a lot else out there for 2K that fills the criteria, really.
If you're lucky you might get a Civic Type-R for that, like a cat D or something.
I looked at the Accord Type R too before I realised what it cost to bring up a child! There are a lot of horror stories circulating about the gearbox problems on these, and that they're not that exciting to look at. Definitely a drivers car; the front seats are amazing.
I imagine a 190 would be good on track, but as I pointed out in another thread earlier today, the brakes are a bit pants so consider upgrading these. £2k would buy you a tidy (possibly forced-induction) MX5 though, which you'll struggle to fit golf clubs in but you honestly won't have as much fun in anything else for less than £2k, and the community online is immense and a lot of fun to get involved with.
I imagine a 190 would be good on track, but as I pointed out in another thread earlier today, the brakes are a bit pants so consider upgrading these. £2k would buy you a tidy (possibly forced-induction) MX5 though, which you'll struggle to fit golf clubs in but you honestly won't have as much fun in anything else for less than £2k, and the community online is immense and a lot of fun to get involved with.
C.A.R. said:
I looked at the Accord Type R too before I realised what it cost to bring up a child! There are a lot of horror stories circulating about the gearbox problems on these, and that they're not that exciting to look at. Definitely a drivers car; the front seats are amazing.
I imagine a 190 would be good on track, but as I pointed out in another thread earlier today, the brakes are a bit pants so consider upgrading these. £2k would buy you a tidy (possibly forced-induction) MX5 though, which you'll struggle to fit golf clubs in but you honestly won't have as much fun in anything else for less than £2k, and the community online is immense and a lot of fun to get involved with.
I think it was only the pre-facelift ATR's that could potentially have the 5th gear synchro issues which didn't affect the later cars. I think a clean pre-facelift though in red or pirates black would look very nice!I imagine a 190 would be good on track, but as I pointed out in another thread earlier today, the brakes are a bit pants so consider upgrading these. £2k would buy you a tidy (possibly forced-induction) MX5 though, which you'll struggle to fit golf clubs in but you honestly won't have as much fun in anything else for less than £2k, and the community online is immense and a lot of fun to get involved with.
Or the Ford Puma! I've had a 1.7 16v Thunder Edition which comes with AC and leather interior as standard. It's also great fun to drive and I think Evo magazine placed it in its list of top 100 drivers cars. I think could squeeze in a set of golf clubs in the back if not the boot but not sure!
I wondered why there was so much Celica talk all of a sudden. Here's my 10 pence worth: I had a gen 6 celica for 3 and a half years and loved it. I kind of reluctantly decided I needed a newer car so the obvious choice was the 2003 gen 7 T-Sport I bought about 3 years ago for £6k, 80k miles, looked great in dark blue metallic and grey leather.
I only had it two weeks. I had made a grave error, I loved my gen 6 so much I didn't investigate what else was about. First of all the gen 7 was a right rattly old thing, the seats squeaked, the parcel shelf rattled, the whole dash is made of this brittle hard plastic that just accentuates all the rattliness. When you go into 'lift' (Toyota's version of VTEC) it took off impressively but at over 6000 rpm it was far too high up the rev range, also the gear ratios are an utter shambles, 6 speed but 6th was still too low for cruising on the motorway. It did handle pretty well, steering felt nice, turned in nicely and plenty of grip but unfortunately the interior wasn't the only thing that rattled - there was a concerning noise from the engine that, when I did my research, sounded just like the big end problem people were talking about. After some haggling with the dealer they agreed to take it back and swap it for something of similar value off the forecourt. The only thing they had that was vaguely sporty was a 2004 Astra H SRI turbo 170 so I took that. It was fine but not really what I wanted so I traded that in about 9 months later at a £2k loss.
3 years on and what am I driving? An E46 325ci M Sport, it's fantastic and, in terms of build quality, on a different planet to a gen 7 celica. So my vote is keep your beemer, trading down can often be a false economy anyway but if you must - EP3 Civic or Accord Type R.
I only had it two weeks. I had made a grave error, I loved my gen 6 so much I didn't investigate what else was about. First of all the gen 7 was a right rattly old thing, the seats squeaked, the parcel shelf rattled, the whole dash is made of this brittle hard plastic that just accentuates all the rattliness. When you go into 'lift' (Toyota's version of VTEC) it took off impressively but at over 6000 rpm it was far too high up the rev range, also the gear ratios are an utter shambles, 6 speed but 6th was still too low for cruising on the motorway. It did handle pretty well, steering felt nice, turned in nicely and plenty of grip but unfortunately the interior wasn't the only thing that rattled - there was a concerning noise from the engine that, when I did my research, sounded just like the big end problem people were talking about. After some haggling with the dealer they agreed to take it back and swap it for something of similar value off the forecourt. The only thing they had that was vaguely sporty was a 2004 Astra H SRI turbo 170 so I took that. It was fine but not really what I wanted so I traded that in about 9 months later at a £2k loss.
3 years on and what am I driving? An E46 325ci M Sport, it's fantastic and, in terms of build quality, on a different planet to a gen 7 celica. So my vote is keep your beemer, trading down can often be a false economy anyway but if you must - EP3 Civic or Accord Type R.
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