What car would YOU spend ~£10k on in my shoes?

[Wills2]

The 996 you mentioned, fantastic cars full of character and very quick, you'll just have to get a good one and probably up the budget.

The 996 C4S looks superb slower and heavier than the "boggo" C2 but the looks probably make up for that.

I also think an e46 M3 is a good shout or Z4MC if you can again stretch the budget.

How much are those RB320 imprezas these days? They look lovely as well.

[danp]

I'm biased but I think the e46 m3 takes a lot of beating - the (multi award winning) ;-) engine is also suprisingly efficient and rather more bulletproof than the Porsche 996 lumps.

[TroubledSoul]

Diesel is long gone from my mind now

Original £10k budget:

E46 M3 - but only half heartedly right now because of the lack of economy!
Impreza WRX STi hatch

I don't think there's anything else that truly appeals at that price to me the more I think about it. Can't justify a 17mpg Monaro They are gorgeous though. But not a great daily driver for me.

£15k budget:

This means financing £5-7.5k but that isn't the end of the world seeing as there won't be any other credit/debt to pay for.

MK6 Golf R + Haldex controller upgrade
58 onwards S3 + Haldex controller upgrade
3.0 S4
996 C4S manual
135i
Daft idea, 650ci V8 with the sports auto?
335i LCI
Newer WRX STi saloon (not checked prices on these yet)

So yeah, my mind keeps changing! I'm leaning to the Golf R seriously now as I think it will be relatively cheap to run and maintain, but there are some nice cars on that list that all have their own merits.

The two seater cars are out because I have the MR2 and I don't want to render it redundant!

[Disastrous]

If you're going to £15k, why on earth would you consider a Golf instead of a Porsche? No matter what engine it has in it, a Golf is just a hatchback. Porsche the only choice in that bracket IMO.

[GreatGranny]

A mate of mine had his S4 V8 converted to LPG.

Couldn't tell the difference and worked out approx. 30-40% cheaper on fuel.

Drawback was the lower range but he was doing more miles than you will be doing.

Think it cost him £2k in London.

[TroubledSoul]

Disastrous said:

If you're going to £15k, why on earth would you consider a Golf instead of a Porsche? No matter what engine it has in it, a Golf is just a hatchback. Porsche the only choice in that bracket IMO.

Because the car is much cheaper to run, maintain, I won't be as worried leaving it in car parks etc.

Completely understand what you're saying and would have said the same myself until buying became a real prospect.

What happens to that Porsche when I've racked up the miles on it? I don't know if the C4S has the documented issues of the other 996's but I'd also have to budget for fixing them if they do.

It's a lot to consider and like I said, each car has its merits. I might decide that a car that's good to drive better suits my situation than a car that's great to drive.

But that's the whole point of talking about it.

[nickofh]

Couple of grand change from £15k

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2008-SUBARU-IMPREZA-2-5-...

[gjf]

I'm thinking of selling my hawkeye Impreza Spec C with Ex-tech coilovers & AP Racing 6 pots 41K miles. Pm me if interested?

[ORD]

OP, you've written off a lot of decent cars at the £10k budget for being boring and are now considering spending £15k on an AWD 4 pot Golf!!

Sit still for a moment and let that sink in...

I cannot think of a much more boring fast car. The 1 series that you have written off (which I agree aren't very much fun) would still be less white goodish.

Buy another Japanese turbo or a BMW with a decent 6-cyl engine. The 335i from around 2005-2008 might be in budget and is a decent car with a great engine