I want a cool £500 banger
Discussion
Here's the problem. I want to get a car but I want to get something cool - all for about £500.
Thanks to the scrappage scheme and rising used car prices there doesn't seem to be anything cool for the price anymore. Anything that is remotely retro has seemed to rocket in price. It's so frustrating.
My first car as a 17 year old in 2001 was a Mk1 Golf which I bought with an MOT for £80 - you just don't seem to see that sort of thing anymore.
Anyone got any ideas of what I should look for?
Thanks to the scrappage scheme and rising used car prices there doesn't seem to be anything cool for the price anymore. Anything that is remotely retro has seemed to rocket in price. It's so frustrating.
My first car as a 17 year old in 2001 was a Mk1 Golf which I bought with an MOT for £80 - you just don't seem to see that sort of thing anymore.
Anyone got any ideas of what I should look for?
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2010...
+ Set of locks from a scrapyard
Or:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2010...
+ Set of locks from a scrapyard
Or:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2010...
Edited by Petrolhead_Rich on Friday 17th September 11:17
My friend just bought and old P reg passat 1.9tdi for £600. Dam cool for a 19 year old! + 50Mpg and 90hp 
Just buy something really different, other friend has a Skoda Octavia :S aged 19 too. Sounds stupid but because of the circumstance of a 19 year old in that car it ends up being cool
In my opinion anyway!
Just buy something really different, other friend has a Skoda Octavia :S aged 19 too. Sounds stupid but because of the circumstance of a 19 year old in that car it ends up being cool
In my opinion anyway!camshafted said:
Here's the problem. I want to get a car but I want to get something cool - all for about £500.
Thanks to the scrappage scheme and rising used car prices there doesn't seem to be anything cool for the price anymore. Anything that is remotely retro has seemed to rocket in price. It's so frustrating.
My first car as a 17 year old in 2001 was a Mk1 Golf which I bought with an MOT for £80 - you just don't seem to see that sort of thing anymore.
Anyone got any ideas of what I should look for?
Reckon the Jag isn't a bad idea.Thanks to the scrappage scheme and rising used car prices there doesn't seem to be anything cool for the price anymore. Anything that is remotely retro has seemed to rocket in price. It's so frustrating.
My first car as a 17 year old in 2001 was a Mk1 Golf which I bought with an MOT for £80 - you just don't seem to see that sort of thing anymore.
Anyone got any ideas of what I should look for?
But it depends how and why you define cool though.
£500 is pretty low these days, but you might find something like a 100NX Nissan, which I think is cooler than a Fiesta or Corsa. Morris Minor or maybe if you don't mind some TLC.
Metro/Rover 100.
MG Meastro if you can find one.
V6 Omega.
e36 BMW
Series III Land Rover
Just over your budget, but cool:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1997978.htm
Check the sills for rot though...
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1997978.htm
Check the sills for rot though...
I'm not sure about the E36 - it's the shape when the 3 Series starts to lose its style in my opinion. I had an E21 316 once and it's so much cooler than the E36. Just wish I had locked away these cars instead of selling them for nothing - could have made a few quid now!
Maybe an early 90's 5 Series. They've got a bit about them.
I'll start having a look at Jags too.
Maybe an early 90's 5 Series. They've got a bit about them.
I'll start having a look at Jags too.
Go on Auto Trader, choose a radius you're willing to travel within, select £500 maximum and see what pops up.
I did this recently for a laugh, set at 30 miles, and amongst the dross it turned up an Audi 90 Quattro Sport, several Saab 9000s (including a couple of turbos), some warm hatches (including Peugeots from when they were good-looking and handled), more E36 BMWs than you could shake an un-used indicator stalk at, and various long-forgotten BTCC specials like Mondeo ISIs, loads of Primera SRIs (forget the looks, they're fantastic to drive), Carina E GTIs and Laguna Sports.
If you're after luxury, try a Rover 600TI (Jags will be danger-zones awaiting with huge bills at this price), Merc W124-series saloon or a Citroen Xantia Activa. If you want a coupe you could find a Ford Probe, Megane Coupe or a Mazda MX-3. If you fancy a convertible, look hard enough and you could find an Astra Bertone cabriolet, Rover 214i Cabriolet, or if you have no shame, an Escort drop-top.
The absolute peach was a '99 Mitsubishi Galant 4WD with 85k on the clock for £495. No turbocharger but one hell of a lot of car for the money, and hardly with a reputation for unreliability.
I've often said that looking through used classifieds with an arbitrary low amount yields far, far more choice and diversity than trawling around showrooms hell-bent on buying a brand-new car with six grand in your pocket. If you're not a badge snob you can have most things short of convertible luxury GTs and supercars. Restrict yourself to new cars and you just get a choice of thoroughly uninspiring base-model economy hatchbacks, followed by years of 'car negative equity'.
I did this recently for a laugh, set at 30 miles, and amongst the dross it turned up an Audi 90 Quattro Sport, several Saab 9000s (including a couple of turbos), some warm hatches (including Peugeots from when they were good-looking and handled), more E36 BMWs than you could shake an un-used indicator stalk at, and various long-forgotten BTCC specials like Mondeo ISIs, loads of Primera SRIs (forget the looks, they're fantastic to drive), Carina E GTIs and Laguna Sports.
If you're after luxury, try a Rover 600TI (Jags will be danger-zones awaiting with huge bills at this price), Merc W124-series saloon or a Citroen Xantia Activa. If you want a coupe you could find a Ford Probe, Megane Coupe or a Mazda MX-3. If you fancy a convertible, look hard enough and you could find an Astra Bertone cabriolet, Rover 214i Cabriolet, or if you have no shame, an Escort drop-top.
The absolute peach was a '99 Mitsubishi Galant 4WD with 85k on the clock for £495. No turbocharger but one hell of a lot of car for the money, and hardly with a reputation for unreliability.
I've often said that looking through used classifieds with an arbitrary low amount yields far, far more choice and diversity than trawling around showrooms hell-bent on buying a brand-new car with six grand in your pocket. If you're not a badge snob you can have most things short of convertible luxury GTs and supercars. Restrict yourself to new cars and you just get a choice of thoroughly uninspiring base-model economy hatchbacks, followed by years of 'car negative equity'.
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