What car???

[hills666]

I'm desperate to start doing track days and will have a budget of around 3500 to buy car and use. I was thinking of getting something like a little hot hatch jst to get started but i'm not sure.

Any one got any opinions on best car i can get within budget. Insurance also needs to be reasonable. Any help would be great thanx.

[oldtimer]

Does that budget include the trackday fees , fuel , tyres , tuition etc ???
Will the car be trailered or driven to the track ie MOT'd and insured ?

[hills666]

budget doesn't include fees etc, jst car and parts to upgrade etc. Will be driven too and hopefully from track days.

[oldtimer]

Its worth posing the same question on easytrack and bookatrack forums to get more responses. The cars that stand up well to track day (ab)use are small peugeots ( strong engines) and 3 series BMWs ( 1980's to 1990 vintage) . You would be best off finding one that's already been sorted for brakes and suspension , just on cost basis , unless the fun of DIY is major part of the deal.
Sharing a car can make sense too - you'd need to advertise your interest.
PS Set up a budget for driver training as well as trackdays.

[iguana]

For fwd the best fun per £ for me is a Golf, Mk2 16v the cheapest base, but Mk1 with 16v being lots lighter is a lot quicker.

Lots of cheap power & handling & stopping mods, & genuinly rapid even on a small budget if you chose the right bits & make it lighter.

Lots cheaper to go for a car already track modded tho a decent car sold recently, would cost about £6k+ min to replicate the spec & got sold for £2k


You might be able to get some newer stuff for that budget, like clio 172 or 306 Rallye, but don't think you will have much left in the budget for track mods & the breakage fund.

For RWD I'd consider-

-Mk1 MR2
-E30 325i
-944
-ex race 924

[clubsport]

I have heard from a relable source that those mk2 16V Golfs can cost a small fortune to run as a track car

[anonymous-user]

rwd - for that budget a decent e30 or a ropey 944t

[anonymous-user]

iguana said:

For fwd the best fun per £ for me is a Golf, Mk2 16v the cheapest base, but Mk1 with 16v being lots lighter is a lot quicker.

i heard they spin really easily

[iguana]

clubsport said:

I have heard from a relable source that those mk2 16V Golfs can cost a small fortune to run as a track car

Hence I said cheaper to buy one that some other mug has spent his fortune on & is already sorted

francisb said:

i heard they spin really easily

Only with halfwits at the helm!

But I'd also heard those mega budget 350bhp scooby lightweights were properly fast.....

[iguana]

francisb said:

rwd - for that budget a ropey 944t

Nah Ive had cheap 944ts & realisticlly you want a larger budget than that, you can buy the car but wont have dosh left for proper suspenion & the inevitable high running costs, id be sticking to an old 8v lux bought for say £1500 to be in at that budget.

[cdp]

You should be able to get a good 325 but what about a MKI Toyota MR2 for a little over a grand? I believe brake discs are only around ten quid a shot and it's a much simpler car than the MK2 which can run up bills.

Alternatively you may well be able to get a kit car for that kind of money that will run rings around most production stuff, just budget for a trailer.

[jitsukadave]

I would also suggest an MR2 MkI - they are fairly solid and cheap to keep and fix. I'm looking at getting one for about a grand to tied me over for the summer.

Good luck

[cdp]

We had a lot of fun with a rubber bumper MGB GT. One of the worst handling cars I can think of. And literally drove the tyres off it. Classic insurance and about 1500 will buy a usable if slightly tatty example.

How about a TR7, Capri or a seventies American car?

Jaguar XJS? On top gear they reckoned a car built by communists was the best you could get.

MX5s and MGFs are also available in your budget as are Nissan 200SXs, Supras and Mazda pickups (only kidding).

[mckin]

i'd go Golf all the way.. good old reliable!

[aceparts_com]

maybe a little out of your budget but i've this for sale - superb track sideways fun!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4555343299&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&rd=1

[topwelshman]

E30 325 definitely, Peugeots & Golf's are great but you CANNOT beat RWD for the track & the 325 for your budget you could find one & get a cage fitted & then you have a serious car for sure

[combover]

Might I suggest an old MX5 as they are ripe for further tuning....

[shoestring7]

I'd consider a nice Porsche 944, probably a 2.7 8V. Find a good one and its bullet-proof, cheap to run and a nicely balanced little track-day car.

SS7

[rustybin]

Just for variety and not being German, how about an Alfa 75? 2.0 to 3.0 litre, RWD a little bit unusual. Sabine was chucking one at Spa on the RMA trackday this week. Seemed to go OK. They use them for driver training at the Nurburgring so I would assume reasonably rugged. £3.5k would get you a very very good one or you could go cheaper and have some money for mods.

[bad_roo]

Alfa 75 - interesting choice.

I'd probably plump for an E30 318iS. Very sweet handling 16v car with less weight in the nose than a six-cylinder model. The Bosch power-up chip gives you another 20bhp from it very cheaply and you can find the cars for very reasonable money. Alternatively you could get a bit brave and go for a lhd 320iS. This uses a sleeved down 192bhp version of the E30 M3 engine and was offered in Italy. Plenty for sale on www.mobile.de and make a great track car.