What Car: Fun drivers car for £5-6K

[AllyBee]

I'm fairly new to the site and am looking for a £5-6k fun driver’s car to replace my motorbike for fun Sunday morning drives, as I find I've been not enjoying 2 wheels since my daughter was born.

Not too concerned with MPG, but don't really want high maintenance costs if possible also I'm aiming to do some maintenance myself.

My short list is:
Honda Integra type R (with the balance of the budget used to tidy it up)
Porsche 944. Wanted one of these for ages (Again with the balance of the budget used to tidy it up)
BMW E36 M3.
Bug eye Impreza STI
Vaux VX220. (might have to save a bit more for this one)

Any other suggestions? I've already had an MX5 btw.

[Ved]

MR2 turbo, GTFour, Clio 182, Panda 100HP (seriously!), Supra?

[Dalto123]

AllyBee said:

I'm fairly new to the site and am looking for a £5-6k fun driver’s car to replace my motorbike for fun Sunday morning drives, as I find I've been not enjoying 2 wheels since my daughter was born.

Not too concerned with MPG, but don't really want high maintenance costs if possible also I'm aiming to do some maintenance myself.

My short list is:
Honda Integra type R (with the balance of the budget used to tidy it up)
Porsche 944. Wanted one of these for ages (Again with the balance of the budget used to tidy it up)
BMW E36 M3.
Bug eye Impreza STI
Vaux VX220. (might have to save a bit more for this one)

Any other suggestions? I've already had an MX5 btw.

Hello!

Well I can vouch for the 944 (Dad had a S2 Cabriolet for 5 years) . One thing I can tell you, I think you're underestimating the cost to 'tidy up' one of these The previous owner of the 944, a friend, expected to tidy our car up. It turned into a £20k restoration

But for £6k you'll find yourself a very nice 944 S2 anyway. They're very reliable, good amount of useable power, and generally a very well built car - The motors in these things just go on and on (our car had 151,000 miles on the clock - felt like it had less than half!) Highly recommended.

heres a couple for you to have a look at - Personally prefer the look of the oucpe in this case, but the Cabriolet is still nice

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3952254.htm - Coupe

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/4169757.htm - Cabriolet

Alternatively, have you considered something like a bike powered car? You may enjoy the performance of a car similar looking to a Westfield or Caterham, but with a bike engine. For instance this car has a a claimed 0-60 in less than 4 seconds!

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/4186468.htm

[kambites]

I'd probably be going for a mk3 MR2 in that budget.

[AllyBee]

Ved said:

MR2 turbo, GTFour, Clio 182, Panda 100HP (seriously!), Supra?

I like the idea of the GTFour (one for the list). Not a big fan of the MR2 TBH and my budget is not enough for a manual turbo Supra.

[Wigeon Incognito]

Aside from the VX220 the cars on your list seem more like fun everyday cars rather than Sunday morning blast cars. In your position I'd be looking at the more raw end of the spectrum so anything from the VX220 to a Westfield with something like the GTM Libra sitting between the two.

I had a standard 944 S2 and it was a great everyday car but I never considered it the ultimate Sunday morning hooning machine. I did try a fellow PHers S2 with KW V3 suspension and a few other choice mods and that was a different matter but mods aren't cheap.

[Alex]

You should be able to get a decent DC2 for £5k, no tidying up required.

[AllyBee]

Dalto123 said:

Alternatively, have you considered something like a bike powered car? You may enjoy the performance of a car similar looking to a Westfield or Caterham, but with a bike engine. For instance this car has a a claimed 0-60 in less than 4 seconds!

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/4186468.htm

I like the look of that. However I don't have a garage. I would quite like a Westy type car, but would be worried about it not being in the garage. Also I'd like my Daughter to be able to come along if possible (can't see the good lady wife being to chuffed about strapping her into the above for instance)

[Captain Muppet]

I'd be tempted to get an FD RX7.

But then I'm always tempted to get an FD RX7 but never quite enough to put my own money on one.

[AllyBee]

Captain Muppet said:

I'd be tempted to get an FD RX7.

But then I'm always tempted to get an FD RX7 but never quite enough to put my own money on one.

Hmm. Not considered one of those. One for a bit of lunch-time research.

[MadKipper]

OP: the GT4 is a nice car, especially from the view of the drivers seat, but from a drivers perspective, the MR2 is way better (lighter, RWD, chuckable) except the ABS triggers too early. The best drivers car is the M3, AND it has a soulful grin-inducing voice above 4000rpm! But do yourself a favour and lighten it.

I would look at getting an E30 325i with a LSD, fit some LEDA coilovers with EIBACH springs, tuneful exhaust and just lighten it. You'll get to around 1100kg easily and have a wonderful time in it

[billzeebub]

944 S2

[Chris71]

If you've always wanted a 944 then go for it. They're great cars and £5k should get you a nice S2 or even a half decent Turbo.

However, they are basically GTs. If you want something to replace a big bike for a Sunday afternoon thrash you might find most of the cars on that list a bit tame.

That sort of budget will get you a decent Westfield with a car or bike engine:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3923651.htm
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3854776.htm

Or even a suitably mental V8:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/4164903.htm

Some people find Seven-type cars a bit limiting due to their (lack of) practicality, but if you're coming from a bike it'd seem positively luxurious I suspect.

[AllyBee]

MadKipper said:

I would look at getting an E30 325i with a LSD, fit some LEDA coilovers with EIBACH springs, tuneful exhaust and just lighten it. You'll get to around 1100kg easily and have a wonderful time in it

Quite like the sound of that. Another one for a bit of lunch-time research.