What car would YOU spend ~£10k on in my shoes?
Discussion
TroubledSoul said:
StottyEvo said:
TroubledSoul said:
The E46 330d and E60 535D that followed never really grabbed me like the Scooby did. As a result, I sold the 535D and bought a cheap 2003 Impreza WRX Wagon as my daily and I feel very at home with the car. I'm so much happier with it than I was in the dervmobiles.
I've read this part now, it transpires that I made an excellent suggestion 
I can relate entirely, moving from the Impreza to a 535d is like parting with Jenna Jameson for Fern Cotton. You wouldn't be disappointed but your prospective isn't what is should be
I owned a 123d prior to the Evo, I could happily go back to a quick derv but I'd spend a lot of my time looking in the classifieds
Actually if I am honest a 335D or equivalent A4 probably IS exactly what I should be going for, as I will have the MR2 for weekend and evening kicks. I'll have to think about this very carefully as I don't want to make the wrong choice.
I just don't want to regret the decision either way to be honest. Most of the petrol stuff I like would be lucky to see 25mpg and that would become a huge problem if I ended up needing to commute from Leeds to Manchester every day at some point, which isn't out of the question.
On the other hand, diesel engines have no character and I love my Subarus so much that I can forgive the fuel to an extent. It's just if a major change in mileage occurred, it could realistically become a problem.
More serious thought required.... I also don't want the location of our future house purchase to be dictated by my daily driver's MPG! But if DON'T buy something fairly exciting, will I regret it?
BMW 123d
Not this actual car, but something along these lines. They are 204hp as standard, and with a DPF delete + remap will see 275hp (I had mine running at this power) they are pretty quick. I could manage about 70miles to £10 with spirited driving so the real world Mpg was always above 40. E-Diff and a 1200rpm turbo threashold so the design negates a lot of negatives about diesels. Also with the DPF delete it sounds like some sort of diesel touring car post 2800rpm.
Knowing what I know now, I would have never bought a 123d though, I would've just bought an Evo from the get go, even when doing 30k+p.a
Servicing is £80 at a specialist or £50 if you do it yourself and a clutch change is £275 labour, I told my friend this who paid £1350 to have his clutch in his S3 changed and he almost passed out. They are simple cars to work on.I asked the same question with the same budget and a slightly different set of criteria earlier today. It seems to be a tricky price bracket for used performance cars. I've been searching for over a month now and still haven't found the one answer.
Don't get a 123d. If the 6 pot BMW derv didn't do anything for you then the 4 pot will make you want to kill yourself. For the last 18 months I had a new 125d. It was quick and ridiculously economical. However, its not entertaining and had no soul or character.
Don't get a 123d. If the 6 pot BMW derv didn't do anything for you then the 4 pot will make you want to kill yourself. For the last 18 months I had a new 125d. It was quick and ridiculously economical. However, its not entertaining and had no soul or character.
I used to have a wrx about 5 / 6 years ago. Had it for nearly three years and it was perfect , quick , fun and rock solidly reliable. Running costs also made me move on to something more wallet friendly. But I knew I wanted another and I swore that even if I won the euro lottery I would have the most mint hawkeye sti prodrive I could find first.
My money couldn't stretch to a wrx sensibly these days ( house , wife , dogs , child on the way etc ) but I feel close to home in my Impreza non turbo. Yes it could be faster , but the sound is still good , the handling and feedback are great and there is just something special about it that some other hatches don't have.
I really think you should be back in your WRX , I think its want you want and nothing else will fit right.
Be very interested to know what you go for!
My money couldn't stretch to a wrx sensibly these days ( house , wife , dogs , child on the way etc ) but I feel close to home in my Impreza non turbo. Yes it could be faster , but the sound is still good , the handling and feedback are great and there is just something special about it that some other hatches don't have.
I really think you should be back in your WRX , I think its want you want and nothing else will fit right.
Be very interested to know what you go for!
nunpuncher said:
Don't get a 123d. If the 6 pot BMW derv didn't do anything for you then the 4 pot will make you want to kill yourself. For the last 18 months I had a new 125d. It was quick and ridiculously economical. However, its not entertaining and had no soul or character.
I know I literally just suggested the 123d but I second these comments 
For the love of god get something fast as hell and exciting!
It's a hell of a conundrum. It is a difficult price bracket really as it's borderline price for a lot of nice but leggy stuff and also, I need to know I've made the right decision.
The current WRX I have feels like 7 or 8 tenths of the Hawkeye STi I had. I did start to fancy a hatch WRX STi towards the end of my time with the Hawkeye, but couldn't justify the jump when I was so happy with what I had.
I think, and this is at total odds with some of what's been suggested, I will likely be looking at the hatch WRX STi, along with possibly the equivalent Evo as I've never tried one, and bizarrely I may give the 09 A4 3.0 TDI a go too, just for the hell of it. I may find luxury wins out, but so long as a car is reasonably comfortable I don't feel the need to be pampered. Decent seats and cruise control are all I really need.
I favour 4WD ideally as the MR2 serves my RWD affliction, and where I live is a bit out of the way and so when we do have a bad winter the 4WD comes in handy. There's also a lot of farmer's fields and mud left on the road by tractors here etc.
I do like the 1 Series but my only concern is that you don't get that much kit in them. If I bought a BMW or Audi, I'd want more than what the 1 Series gives I think.
The current WRX I have feels like 7 or 8 tenths of the Hawkeye STi I had. I did start to fancy a hatch WRX STi towards the end of my time with the Hawkeye, but couldn't justify the jump when I was so happy with what I had.
I think, and this is at total odds with some of what's been suggested, I will likely be looking at the hatch WRX STi, along with possibly the equivalent Evo as I've never tried one, and bizarrely I may give the 09 A4 3.0 TDI a go too, just for the hell of it. I may find luxury wins out, but so long as a car is reasonably comfortable I don't feel the need to be pampered. Decent seats and cruise control are all I really need.
I favour 4WD ideally as the MR2 serves my RWD affliction, and where I live is a bit out of the way and so when we do have a bad winter the 4WD comes in handy. There's also a lot of farmer's fields and mud left on the road by tractors here etc.
I do like the 1 Series but my only concern is that you don't get that much kit in them. If I bought a BMW or Audi, I'd want more than what the 1 Series gives I think.
A nice daily for the money , quite rare in the correct colour too! :-) This would probably be where my went I would think :-)
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/s...
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/s...
nickofh said:
A nice daily for the money , quite rare in the correct colour too! :-) This would probably be where my went I would think :-)
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/s...
Standard non STi WRX doesn't do anything for me. No wide arches, less toys, no upgraded brakes etc. http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/s...
nickofh said:
I get that , in your position. Would be a nice upgrade for me lol.
Still let us know what you do go for!
Fair enough! Still let us know what you do go for!
It will probably be November/December before I buy anything as there's other stuff that has to be sorted first. We definitely want to get a house bought etc. but money is allocated for the cars.
I have three lists now. A sensible list and a not as sensible list, then the stupid list which contains E46 M3's etc. and has had to be put to the back of my mind! Otherwise I would end up buying something daft.
Sensible list:
Merc C Class C350 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY Sport
Audi A4 3.0 TDI Quattro
Audi A5 3.0 TDI Quattro
BMW 335D LCI
Jaguar XF 3.0d
Not as sensible list:
Impreza WRX STi Hatch
BMW 335i LCI
Z4C 3.0 Si
Original BMW 135i
Stupid list:
E46 M3
Z4M
Some kind of AMG Merc, possibly a C Class estate type
Supra Twin Turbo
Audi S4 V8
Out of all that, half of them would mean pushing the budget up to about £12k but if I can avoid that I will. Those are the cars clogging up my mind though. Some of my stupid list is stuff I would love but can't really justify, so should probably avoid! That's more the sort of stuff I would run as a second car if I didn't have the MR2.
TroubledSoul said:
Stupid list:
E46 M3
Audi S4 V8
If you are looking for special and 25mpg, the S4 V8 will not do either in my opinion. The engine makes a great sound, but other than that, I found it pretty uninspiring to drive (especially if you've already spent time with a 300bhp AWD car, as the launches are probably the most interesting), looks great IMO thoughE46 M3
Audi S4 V8
Personally I find the E46 M3 more interesting than the B6 S4, and I can return a decent mpg in it without too much trouble, unlike the S4 which I never seemed to see more than about 17 lol!
ETA: Not in quite the same league as the 335d, but I bought an E90 330d as the sensible option and it bored me senseless and ended up going to the E46 M3 after, if you get bored, some of your sensible list will not take long for you to tire of
Edited by psymonr on Wednesday 20th August 09:37
Most stuff on the sensible list will have bored me within 6 months in complete honesty, but it may be worth it?
Miles..... Probably around 12k currently but could potentially change to nearer 30k if I moved to a job in the Manchester area. As it stands, I don't expect that to happen this year, but I do want to move roles and it is a real possibility.
Problem with that is I don't want to live on the what ifs.
Maybe I should stick an S3 on the list too, with a Haldex upgrade. That would probably give me around 35mpg for motorway use with cruise? Not the most thrilling car to drive though and as things stand currently, I have no problem with what I pay out to run the WRX.
Miles..... Probably around 12k currently but could potentially change to nearer 30k if I moved to a job in the Manchester area. As it stands, I don't expect that to happen this year, but I do want to move roles and it is a real possibility.
Problem with that is I don't want to live on the what ifs.
Maybe I should stick an S3 on the list too, with a Haldex upgrade. That would probably give me around 35mpg for motorway use with cruise? Not the most thrilling car to drive though and as things stand currently, I have no problem with what I pay out to run the WRX.
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