What car do I actually want?

[Jaska]

Hi there PH,

Recent grad/driver, epic long time lurker, 22 and 1 years ncb. no points/claims, and a low risk postcode

Currently driving a Seat Leon ('03, 1.6, 80k miles) 15k miles a year commute
I like it, it provides enough speed for me and in a year, my repairs have only cost me £200.

I'm basically looking to upgrade, but can't be sure what I'm looking for, does the Leon only feel fast enough because I don't know any better? do I want a 2 seater sports car while I am young/no family to cart around?

All my friends have extreme new car-ism, and drive financed Fiats and Fiesta's, while I prefer to scour the second hand market! What's a logical step up in the car world?

Highlights:

Want a better/faster car than a mk1 Leon '03
15k mile a year commute, but within 6 months will be slashed in half. MPG sub 30 probably a little too low.
Budget £4k
Classic cars probably not viable - no access to a garage/storage.
Insurance not massively an issue, but might have a problem looking at S2000's/M3's will provide quotes on suggestions
Hit me with suggestions :-)

[TameRacingDriver]

E36 M3

Ford Racing Puma

Clio Trophy

Integra Type-R

Eunos RS Mk2 6-speed

MR2 Rev 5 BEAMS

All modern classics. All pretty reliable. All great fun. Job done.

Edited by TameRacingDriver on Wednesday 6th June 22:03

[Vulgar LS2]

The obvious choice is pick something you like, regardless of what it is.

[billywhizzzzzz]

BMW E46 330i

[HustleRussell]

I'm guessing you want a Reliant Rialto.

[gaz1234]

TameRacingDriver said:

E36 M3

Ford Racing Puma

Clio Trophy

Integra Type-R

Eunos RS-Limited

MR2 Rev 5 BEAMS

All modern classics. All pretty reliable. All great fun. Job done.

ITR

[fatboy69]

Mazda MX5 I think!

Seems to be the standard PH answer so why not?

[Welshbeef]

I'd say

Bread van Civic type r
Granada 2.9 Cosworth
944 Turbo
Fiat Coupe 20 v turbo
S2000
E55 Amg not the Kompressor
C32 Amg
A tired Bentley Turbo R
C4 Corvette
Buick
Lincon Continental
Studabaker
530i sport e39
E36 M3 Evo
Ford Falcon
Holden HSR

Or if you like Leon how about a Leon Cupra R 225?? Way more than double the power drastically better looks much better kit and it's size fits you plus very reliable.

Don't get a diesel enjoy hammering a petrol for now as you will soon enough have a diesel and boy will you yearn for that aural pleasure but cannot justify the huge extra costs

[Jaska]

TameRacingDriver said:

E36 M3

Ford Racing Puma

Clio Trophy

Integra Type-R

Eunos RS Mk2 6-speed

MR2 Rev 5 BEAMS

All modern classics. All pretty reliable. All great fun. Job done.

Edited by TameRacingDriver on Wednesday 6th June 22:03

Unfortunately M3's come up with £2k insurance quotes on popular comparison sites, do other young drivers insure their M3's through different methods...? would you suggest a 330i or similar?

a Clio 182 would probably be within budget, the ITR also epic and I do love the look of the MR2...

Thanks for giving me a benchmark to work from, I sense this is going to be a tough choice!

And to the person suggesting a Rialto - without a garage I worry it would disappear overnight, carried off by some rugby lads

[Jaska]

Welshbeef said:

I'd say

Bread van Civic type r
Granada 2.9 Cosworth
944 Turbo
Fiat Coupe 20 v turbo
S2000
E55 Amg not the Kompressor
C32 Amg
A tired Bentley Turbo R
C4 Corvette
Buick
Lincon Continental
Studabaker
530i sport e39
E36 M3 Evo
Ford Falcon
Holden HSR

Or if you like Leon how about a Leon Cupra R 225?? Way more than double the power drastically better looks much better kit and it's size fits you plus very reliable.

Don't get a diesel enjoy hammering a petrol for now as you will soon enough have a diesel and boy will you yearn for that aural pleasure but cannot justify the huge extra costs

S2000's are my all time favourite car, but regardless of how I tweak my insurance, I can't get a sub £1800 quote... Believe me if I could, I would. Same probably applies for the AMG/Bentley too

I did like the look of the Fiat Coupe since it was listed on SOTW, but can't imagine driving one as a main car, anyone have experience in one as a daily driver?

The Cupra R's come up with much better £1k quotes, so could easily be tempted, are most of the mk1 R's knackered/abused by goons by now though?

[anonymous-user]

A lot of depends on your taste and your needs

For 4k if it were me I would be looking at

MX5's
MR2 Mk3

E46 Coupe 325/330
E46 Vert

S3
Civic Type R
Racing Puma

[2thumbs]

Jaska said:

Unfortunately M3's come up with £2k insurance quotes on popular comparison sites, do other young drivers insure their M3's through different methods...? would you suggest a 330i or similar?

Try a specialist for M3 insurance, they can be MUCH cheaper. I insure mine with footman james, they halved my lowest comparison sight quote.

[Ki3r]

Have a look at E39's. Mine is only £570 a year fully comp (although 22 and 4 years ncb).

[vit4]

Jaska said:

S2000's are my all time favourite car, but regardless of how I tweak my insurance, I can't get a sub £1800 quote... Believe me if I could, I would. Same probably applies for the AMG/Bentley too

I did like the look of the Fiat Coupe since it was listed on SOTW, but can't imagine driving one as a main car, anyone have experience in one as a daily driver?

The Cupra R's come up with much better £1k quotes, so could easily be tempted, are most of the mk1 R's knackered/abused by goons by now though?

I'm paying over £1800 on an ancient pov-spec Astra with 2 years NCB... if I could get the same on an S2000 I'd be a very happy boy

[MR2_SC]

Jaska said:

Unfortunately M3's come up with £2k insurance quotes on popular comparison sites, do other young drivers insure their M3's through different methods...? would you suggest a 330i or similar?

a Clio 182 would probably be within budget, the ITR also epic and I do love the look of the MR2...

Thanks for giving me a benchmark to work from, I sense this is going to be a tough choice!

And to the person suggesting a Rialto - without a garage I worry it would disappear overnight, carried off by some rugby lads

For performance cars I always get much better quotes from the specialist insurance companies. Give them a call, mention you're a member of a car club (i.e. pistonheads) and see what you can get. I can usually save hundreds this way on my performance cars but for some reason can't manage the same on the family wagon (which costs more to insure as a result...)

BTW the cars listed, while all being good at what they do, can feel totally different. i.e. an E36 M3 and an E46 330i are completely different cars. Decide what you're looking for to help narrow the search more and then get a drive in your favourites.

Personaly I'd reccomend getting a 2 seater now while you can. The Mk3 Mr2 is vastly under rated as a drivers car that is also useable on a day 2 day basis, cheap to insure and economical (as long as you can live with no boot). If you go down this route, look for a post 2003 facelift model which had a revised engine design.

[Jaska]

vit4 said:

I'm paying over £1800 on an ancient pov-spec Astra with 2 years NCB... if I could get the same on an S2000 I'd be a very happy boy

Ouch, I live in a quiet corner of the UK, so I'm pretty lucky for insurance, you must really love that astra :-)

Point taken from post above about different models, basically I've only ever driven 3 cars, two of which were low power diesel, so just canvassing a few options, which I could then test drive.

At the moment I'm thinking an M3 might be a bit too prestige for my budget, so mainly considering 3 series/Mr2/S2000 (specialist insurers can help with insuring these?) Or upgrading to a cupra R...

[StottyZr]

If you want cheap insurance look towards Audi 1.8T quattro, should be a smidge over £1000. If you want performance, get a Cupra R, you can pick a good one up for about £4000 now.

[anonymous-user]

I had a Fiat Coupe Turbo for five problem free years (97-2002) and wish that I had never sold the car. My father, a car engineer by trade, thought it the best engineered FWD car that he had ever driven.

Many of the survivors have been ruined by Barry Boys, but there are still some straight ones around. There are four used as daily drivers in my neighbourhood. Look also at the V6 Alfa GTV, now around 3 to 4K for a good one, and likely to hold value or appreciate if cared for.

Also, have a look on Craig's List and Gumtree for garage or off road car storage rentals. Not as expensive as you might think.

[300bhp/ton]

Jaska said:

Hi there PH,

Recent grad/driver, epic long time lurker, 22 and 1 years ncb. no points/claims, and a low risk postcode

Currently driving a Seat Leon ('03, 1.6, 80k miles) 15k miles a year commute
I like it, it provides enough speed for me and in a year, my repairs have only cost me £200.

I'm basically looking to upgrade, but can't be sure what I'm looking for, does the Leon only feel fast enough because I don't know any better? do I want a 2 seater sports car while I am young/no family to cart around?

All my friends have extreme new car-ism, and drive financed Fiats and Fiesta's, while I prefer to scour the second hand market! What's a logical step up in the car world?

Highlights:

Want a better/faster car than a mk1 Leon '03
15k mile a year commute, but within 6 months will be slashed in half. MPG sub 30 probably a little too low.
Budget £4k
Classic cars probably not viable - no access to a garage/storage.
Insurance not massively an issue, but might have a problem looking at S2000's/M3's will provide quotes on suggestions
Hit me with suggestions :-)

Personally I'd say don't go for anything too boring or ordinary. 15,000 miles a year is a lot, although if you think this will be dropping, then it's not such an issue.

But if you have no need for a family hatchback, then you might as well buy something silly and enjoy it.

[DanDC5]

DC2 Integra Type R, or if you want something newer then go for the EP3 Civic Type R