Discussion
The MR2 has ceased to be.
This afternoon at about 1:30pm, it blew up (big thanks to whoever called out the Police and Fire Service, although they weren't needed, and an equally big thanks to all the people that stopped to offer their help and/or fire extinguishers)!
New car time...
This time around I'm going for something newer (close to 2000 would be nice), and most likely from a dealership .
What will 8k get me? Ideas? I need to move fast or I won't be able to get to work!!!
>> Edited by DanBoy on Monday 29th August 17:06
This afternoon at about 1:30pm, it blew up (big thanks to whoever called out the Police and Fire Service, although they weren't needed, and an equally big thanks to all the people that stopped to offer their help and/or fire extinguishers)!
New car time...
This time around I'm going for something newer (close to 2000 would be nice), and most likely from a dealership .
What will 8k get me? Ideas? I need to move fast or I won't be able to get to work!!!
>> Edited by DanBoy on Monday 29th August 17:06
Fish said:
MX5 Brillant car, RWD sensible boot cheap to maintain and above all fun
A good start!
GazBoy suggested a Saab 9-3 which I thought was another excellent idea.
I guess I'm after something that will be sensible (with some creature comforts, as the MR2 has next to nil) but not too sensible.
Afterall, at my age I'm supposed to be a tiny bit daft.
>> Edited by DanBoy on Monday 29th August 17:18
andy mac said:
Pah... Silly queation... MR2 Turbo could be got for that cash!
No thanks!
One imported MR2 was enough! Besides, they're all getting on a bit now, and whilst my G Limited was very reliable (until it went bang today at just over 100,000 miles), I have doubts about the tubby.
>> Edited by DanBoy on Monday 29th August 17:19
DanBoy said:
GazBoy suggested a Saab 9-3 which I thought was another excellent idea.
I guess I'm after something that will be sensible (with some creature comforts, as the MR2 has next to nil) but not too sensible.
Afterall, at my age I'm supposed to be a tiny bit daft.
>> Edited by DanBoy on Monday 29th August 17:18
I love my Saab 9-3 - but I'm not sure that even in a soft top version it is anything other than a sensible car! Mine's fab but it's not really a "toy"!
DanBoy said:
Und where might I find one of these for 8k?
Autotrader
99 T Plate In Black
3 Doors, Manual, Coupe, Petrol, 65,000 miles, Black. Demo + 1 owner vehicle. 12 months 5 star warranty included.Full service history.Usual high Viggen spec,full heated sports leather seats,climate control,all electrics etc plus extras including Saab 6 disc cd multi changer and cruise control. Stunning performance.Cost over 30,000 pounds new-fantasic value!! For more info please call Adrian on 07961 443897. £6,750.
8K will get you a minter in Viggen blue.
Matt
www.pistonheads.com/sales/49581.htm
or maybe
www.pistonheads.com/sales/49356.htm
www.pistonheads.com/sales/47755.htm
if you want something newer
Job done
>> Edited by mustard on Monday 29th August 19:18
or maybe
www.pistonheads.com/sales/49356.htm
www.pistonheads.com/sales/47755.htm
if you want something newer
Job done
>> Edited by mustard on Monday 29th August 19:18
I'm gonna step in here like a broken record.
£5k will buy you a well looked after 1999 Fiat Coupé 20v Turbo, and you can spend the extra £3k on the performance and handing, making it a 350bhp torque-steerless beast that will stick like glue to a well-driven MkII 996 GT3 around Bedford (I've seen it done!).
Other pluses are all the mod-cons like leather recaros and air-con, stonking four-pot Brembos, an LSD, and a genuinely practical car. They are also rare, which to me adds somewhat to the appeal.
The only thing they won't do is power oversteer, but then neither will the Saab (cracking car too!).
And oh, contrary to popular belief, they are actually very reliable cars. They probably rattle a bit more than the Saab though.
£5k will buy you a well looked after 1999 Fiat Coupé 20v Turbo, and you can spend the extra £3k on the performance and handing, making it a 350bhp torque-steerless beast that will stick like glue to a well-driven MkII 996 GT3 around Bedford (I've seen it done!).
Other pluses are all the mod-cons like leather recaros and air-con, stonking four-pot Brembos, an LSD, and a genuinely practical car. They are also rare, which to me adds somewhat to the appeal.
The only thing they won't do is power oversteer, but then neither will the Saab (cracking car too!).
And oh, contrary to popular belief, they are actually very reliable cars. They probably rattle a bit more than the Saab though.
944 is a great car, but make sure you drive one before you even half make up your mind.
The big problem is that it is simply a bit antiquated. The driving position and the feel is of a big 'ol heay brute (which it is). You may like this sort of thing, but I very much prefer something a bit more modern and easier to handle.
The big problem is that it is simply a bit antiquated. The driving position and the feel is of a big 'ol heay brute (which it is). You may like this sort of thing, but I very much prefer something a bit more modern and easier to handle.
mustard said:
www.pistonheads.com/sales/49581.htm
>> Edited by mustard on Monday 29th August 19:18
I would love a 944T (or an S2) but I couldn't afford for it to go wrong. Also, I've had some pretty shocking insurance quotes on 944s for some reason.
-DeaDLocK- said:
I'm gonna step in here like a broken record.
£5k will buy you a well looked after 1999 Fiat Coupé 20v Turbo, and you can spend the extra £3k on the performance and handing, making it a 350bhp torque-steerless beast that will stick like glue to a well-driven MkII 996 GT3 around Bedford (I've seen it done!).
Somehow I don't see the chipped Fiat having the relaibility of a Gt3.
I did over 200 trackday miles at bedford a couple of weeks ago......I really wonder if the Fiat would cope without giving you a much larger bill.
clubsport said:Oh most certainly. With the Fiat in the state of tune I'm referring to you're using a reasonably-sized blower to extract 350bhp from a 2 litre engine. The GT3 is a midly tuned boggo Porker flat 6.
Somehow I don't see the chipped Fiat having the relaibility of a Gt3.
I did over 200 trackday miles at bedford a couple of weeks ago......I really wonder if the Fiat would cope without giving you a much larger bill.
But the engine internals of the Fiat are strong - many people on the Coupé forums run 300-350bhp cars as daily runners, and take it on track regularly and to Santa Pod with no trouble. They are no less reliable than any modern turbocharged car taken a bit further than standard - which these days is still pretty reliable if you ask me.
Mine, with about 280bhp-300bhp, did 30k in a year before I wrote it off. Not a single mechanical hiccup, and all this driving was HARD on A-roads. It really is a reliable car, or as reliable as any Japanese rally-bred car taken to those sort of outputs. Which is still pretty good. A 350bhp Fiat Coupé is NOTHING like a mega-tuned Supra or Skyline, which may have been the assumption you were getting.
Of course aside from all this, we're forgetting that the GT3 costs a lot more than a Coupé. And not just in terms of outright cost - I bet parts and servicing for the Fiat costs less than half what it does on the Porker. Even if the engine goes bang on the Fiat a ground up rebuild from a specialist with uprated cams, pistons and headwork will cost you around £2k. And that WILL be reliable.
My point was that for £8k you can have something that will scare people with preconceptions about the car. It will never drive away from a GT3, but by golly it will certainly keep up with one.
Heck, even a driver of an M12 raised an eyebrow when he found that he simply couldn't shake the front bumper of a bright blue Coupé owned by one of the forum members from his rear-view mirror. I am NOT exaggerating. I would scarcely have believed it myself had I not been there...
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