Reliable, fun to drive, 4cylinders, RWD, £2k ish, possible?
Discussion
Edited to add for some reason the ">" got missed out of the title of the thread 
As the title said really, I'm kind of mulling over whether to have a change of car.
I'd only have about £2k to spend maybe slightly more, and would really like something ideally fun to drive, fast, more than 4 cylinders, preferably rear wheel drive, and hopefully something that wouldn't ruin my financially which really means relatively reliable and not too expensive to fix.
But I feel I am asking for too much. I had considered a Vauxhall Carlton GSI 3000 but they are as rare as rocking horse poo seemingly. I know theres one on PH classifieds, and it looks OK, but is at the other end of the country and talk of "lots of welding for MOT" puts me off slightly.
Are there any other ideas?
If not I'll probably just hang on to the '5 for a bit longer.
As the title said really, I'm kind of mulling over whether to have a change of car.
I'd only have about £2k to spend maybe slightly more, and would really like something ideally fun to drive, fast, more than 4 cylinders, preferably rear wheel drive, and hopefully something that wouldn't ruin my financially which really means relatively reliable and not too expensive to fix.
But I feel I am asking for too much. I had considered a Vauxhall Carlton GSI 3000 but they are as rare as rocking horse poo seemingly. I know theres one on PH classifieds, and it looks OK, but is at the other end of the country and talk of "lots of welding for MOT" puts me off slightly.
Are there any other ideas?
If not I'll probably just hang on to the '5 for a bit longer.
Edited by pbirkett on Saturday 6th November 16:33
Hell27 said:
Merc C Class 230K, Nissan 200SX, Subaru Impreza Classic
Blue Meanie said:
MR2, MX5
WelshBoyo said:
BMW 318ti
All of which are 4 cylinder, which the OP does not want, if one reads more than the thread title. 
E36 323i of some sort, much less likely to have been bought and ragged senseless than a '28 by this point in their age and mileages. Early, miley E46 323i and 328i manual saloons can be had around £2k and are far less potential grief at the budget than a '36 IMO.
Surely Lexus IS200s must be about there too, not very quick though.
RobM77 said:
The E36 is a fantastic car. A word of warning though: I bought one as a project to return it to "as new" condition handling wise, so check the costs of that on my profile before you commit 
Yes, I remember you saying. Also my mate has one, it runs fine now, but it has cost him a fortune as well... this kind of put me off...I've got to admit though, I would probably consider a 4 pot if it was a fast car, I still have a soft spot for the MR2 Turbo, but I dont think I could get one for my budget, well not a good one anyway.
I'm somewhat curious to know how that and the 200SX would measure up for running costs.
pbirkett said:
RobM77 said:
The E36 is a fantastic car. A word of warning though: I bought one as a project to return it to "as new" condition handling wise, so check the costs of that on my profile before you commit
Yes, I remember you saying. Also my mate has one, it runs fine now, but it has cost him a fortune as well... this kind of put me off...I've got to admit though, I would probably consider a 4 pot if it was a fast car, I still have a soft spot for the MR2 Turbo, but I dont think I could get one for my budget, well not a good one anyway.
I'm somewhat curious to know how that and the 200SX would measure up for running costs.
OP, buy this.
RWD, six cylinders, no major reliability worries from the M50 six (unlike the later M52 engines), a traditionally "conservative" 210bhp IIRC and rarity (subject to verification via the Alpina Register/Sytner Nottingham of course). reasonable mileage and claimed history for the age make it pretty good value for me at just under £2k.
RWD, six cylinders, no major reliability worries from the M50 six (unlike the later M52 engines), a traditionally "conservative" 210bhp IIRC and rarity (subject to verification via the Alpina Register/Sytner Nottingham of course). reasonable mileage and claimed history for the age make it pretty good value for me at just under £2k.
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