Another thread requiring a car for £2,000

[Vincenzo2010]

Good evening ph'ers,

A few weeks ago I posted a thread about financing a Astra VXR, which was a fantastic car. But at 15k it is a bit pricey. Today I have just got rid of my Citroen C2 VTS of which was a fantastic car. It handled very nicely, the engine was quite frugal however it did lack low down torque and it rode very well indeed. Now I have to use my first car for a while, which is another Citroen (a saxo to be precise). Already this car has (mind the pun) driven me crazy today. It is quite gutless and due to me stripping it out and using it for track days, it is rather annoying too.

So I have managed to source £2,000 today and I intend to buy a new car as soon as possible. Now my requirements -

1) Not french (unless it is a Rallye or GTI-6)
2) A good amount of torque would be fantastic (Possibly an Omega v6 for some fun??)
3) Not something which would be classed as "chav"
4) It needs that fun factor
5) Not a MX5, as I am not a secretary of a hairdresser
6) Rear wheel drive would be great, but if not then typical FWD is still perfectly fine

Most importantly I am 22 in a few months and have a totally clean licence. Plus I don't mind paying a bit more on insurance if I will have fun driving the car, oh and mpg isn't a massive factor. As long as 20mph + is achievable then that will be sufficient.

Thank you very much in advance pistonsheds

[OnePaintedMan]

BMW E30 325i Sport (Preferably in Dolphin Grey)
MR2 T-Bar Mk1 (Had a mint one of these bought for £3k 10 years ago!!!!)
Toyota Celica GT
VW Corrado
VW Golf VR6

[Vincenzo2010]

OnePaintedMan said:

BMW E30 325i Sport (Preferably in Dolphin Grey)
MR2 T-Bar Mk1 (Had a mint one of these bought for £3k 10 years ago!!!!)
Toyota Celica GT
VW Corrado
VW Golf VR6

I didn't think of an MR2, so off to the classifieds I go. As for the Corrado and the Golf VR6, they both seem to have very high miles for my budget. Is this a problem on the v6?

[LS6wetdream]

I didn't think of an MR2, so off to the classifieds I go. As for the Corrado and the Golf VR6, they both seem to have very high miles for my budget. Is this a problem on the v6?
[/quote]

corrado would be better, be wary of the supercharged ones, the poor VW design of the supercharger needs rebuilding evry 45k or so, but if your after a VR6 model you wont have this problem

[OnePaintedMan]

Vincenzo2010 said:

OnePaintedMan said:

BMW E30 325i Sport (Preferably in Dolphin Grey)
MR2 T-Bar Mk1 (Had a mint one of these bought for £3k 10 years ago!!!!)
Toyota Celica GT
VW Corrado
VW Golf VR6

I didn't think of an MR2, so off to the classifieds I go. As for the Corrado and the Golf VR6, they both seem to have very high miles for my budget. Is this a problem on the v6?

Not sure of effects of mileage on the V6. . .VW tend to build their engines strong though. I had a Mk2 Golf that I ran from 80k miles to 142k miles and its engine never missed a beat. In fact it seemed to loosen up the more miles I did!

[Vincenzo2010]

LS6wetdream said:

I didn't think of an MR2, so off to the classifieds I go. As for the Corrado and the Golf VR6, they both seem to have very high miles for my budget. Is this a problem on the v6?

corrado would be better, be wary of the supercharged ones, the poor VW design of the supercharger needs rebuilding evry 45k or so, but if your after a VR6 model you wont have this problem

Oh is that the G60? As much as I would love one of these, I doubt my budget will be able to get a rather well maintained one. The VR6 would cut the mustard nicely though. I have always fancied a V6, but the MR2 looks like it could be quite fun and those flip up head lights are a good touch. See'ing that the MR2 is mid engined, if work is required would the engine have to be dropped from it's subframe or anything? Are they expensive to repair etc?

[clarkey318is]

Could get you a decent 323 or 328 E36 for that price.
106 Gti? Don't know if budget would stretch, and not sure about the low down torque you want.

I found you an X Type too http://pistonheads.com/sales/1599099.htm

[Vincenzo2010]

Ok I have a problem. The Citroen Saxo which I was going to use for a while needs to be sold and I need a new car for tomorrow. Otherwise I cannot get to work on Saturday or even next week.

I have found a Citroen Saxo VTS on a 2000 plate with 56,000 miles which is up for £1,780 on ebay, but the same car is for sale on autotrader for more from the same garrage. Obviously I would want to pay the 1700 instead of the £1890 from autotrader, but would the garrage allow me to do so? Also as the car seems to be in fairly good nick for it's age, where would I stand on knocking some money off for paying by cash?

I really didn't want another Saxo as they are quite chav (Crew clothes and chav don't mix well), but I don't know any other options. Plus I know these cars quite well

[Pilgrim20vt]

You'd get a decent Fiat Coupe 20vt for £2k. Get a well cared for one and it will certainly give you some entertainment! Look at the owners forum (http://www.fccuk.org/forum) for some examples and buying guide.

BTW they've all done some miles by now so buy on condition. Mine is as healthy as a healthy thing at 135,000! (Touch wood)

Edited by Pilgrim20vt on Thursday 1st April 21:02

[Vincenzo2010]

Pilgrim20vt said:

You'd get a decent Fiat Coupe 20vt for £2k. Get a well cared for one and it will certainly give you some entertainment! Look at the owners forum (http://www.fccuk.org/forum) for some examples and buying guide.

I absolutely love these cars, but after my friend at school dad had one and it broke down 3 times over a weekend, I wouldn't go near one. They are seriously nice though

[Pilgrim20vt]

Mine has lost the clutch slave cylinder and that's it in 3 years (£75). Get a club owned looked after one and you'll be OK.


perhaps.

[Vincenzo2010]

Pilgrim20vt said:

Mine has lost the clutch slave cylinder and that's it in 3 years (£75). Get a club owned looked after one and you'll be OK.


perhaps.

You have thrown a spanner into the works here. What sort of running costs would I expect from a coupe? Servicing etc

[Pilgrim20vt]

There you go:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1607259.htm

it's the right colour as well

[Pilgrim20vt]

OK. Mine does about 26 mpg (except when it doesn't - but that would be my fault). Insurance is group 19. Parts are now all available through the club and some truly excellent specialists. Some body parts are difficult - don't do a serious number on your bonnet for instance (although new ones seem to be coming out of the woodwork at the moment).

If you get a good one you shouldn't HAVE to spend that much. However all the people who care will spend stuff on preventative maintenance. I have spent about £1 - £1.5 k a year (but have replaced just about everything that might go).

This all goes away when you floor it in third gear.

There is an old saying that a coupe test drive goes:

"1st gear, 2nd gear 3rd gear sold to the guy with the silly grin"