What car - £4K max, 30+mpg
Discussion
Doing this for my best mate who's having to sell his 350z to finance a wedding. Prerequisites are £4k max budget (less would be better), reasonable mpg and running costs and something that won't make him feel too much like he's losing his manhood!
I've suggested some Jap classics - Integra Type R, Civic Type R, 200SX. What else (not mx5)? Cheers
I've suggested some Jap classics - Integra Type R, Civic Type R, 200SX. What else (not mx5)? Cheers
dry664 said:
Doing this for my best mate who's having to sell his 350z to finance a wedding. Prerequisites are £4k max budget (less would be better), reasonable mpg and running costs and something that won't make him feel too much like he's losing his manhood!
I've suggested some Jap classics - Integra Type R, Civic Type R, 200SX. What else (not mx5)? Cheers
Not trying to be funny or difficult. But £4k will buy you most things to a certain degree, including a 350z....I've suggested some Jap classics - Integra Type R, Civic Type R, 200SX. What else (not mx5)? Cheers
With nothing to say what they are after or what it'll be used for I might as well just post a link to the PH classifieds for all the good it'll do.
300bhp/ton said:
Not trying to be funny or difficult. But £4k will buy you most things to a certain degree, including a 350z....
Needs to have reasonable (30+mpg) fuel consumption so another 350z is out. Car doesnt need to be practical, should be fairly reliable and will just be used to transport mainly him around 10K miles a year. He loves his 350z but only reason for selling is to free up cash for a wedding.dry664 said:
Needs to have reasonable (30+mpg) fuel consumption so another 350z is out. Car doesnt need to be practical, should be fairly reliable and will just be used to transport mainly him around 10K miles a year. He loves his 350z but only reason for selling is to free up cash for a wedding.
His priorities are wrong, he should be freeing up cash from the wedding for a car. As someone mentioned above, an E36 M3 tends to do all of that, especially if the rod bolts and VANOS have been done.I prefer all of the cars you've mentioned, but for a relaxed cruiser with reasonable MPG and clean image... a tidy manual 330ci M-sport coupe preferably in red would do the job. Mine was a great car that could return 36mpg if you were careful on the motorway, it just didn't last very long as I didn't need a nice commuter and wanted something more raw.
The only problem I could see your mate having with the cars you've suggested is that after a newish torquey 350z, 90's jap cars might feel a bit flimsy/cheap/low rent interiors etc (Doesn't bother me personally). For pure thrills with medium sensibility, has to be Integra or 200sx.
Oh, and here's my old 330ci, just to show what £3000 can get you these days.

The only problem I could see your mate having with the cars you've suggested is that after a newish torquey 350z, 90's jap cars might feel a bit flimsy/cheap/low rent interiors etc (Doesn't bother me personally). For pure thrills with medium sensibility, has to be Integra or 200sx.
Oh, and here's my old 330ci, just to show what £3000 can get you these days.

A Mk2 MR2 maybe isn't a bad shout, though you won't normally see 30mpg out of a turbo unless you drive it in a very relaxed manner on open roads.
How about a late Celica with the 190bhp VVTL-I engine?
Alfa GTV, or maybe a late 156? Would need to be the 2.0L Twin Spark to meet mpg requirements, sadly (or the 5 pot diseasal in the 156, which is a pretty nice sounding lump for an oil burner).
How about a late Celica with the 190bhp VVTL-I engine?
Alfa GTV, or maybe a late 156? Would need to be the 2.0L Twin Spark to meet mpg requirements, sadly (or the 5 pot diseasal in the 156, which is a pretty nice sounding lump for an oil burner).
dry664 said:
Needs to have reasonable (30+mpg) fuel consumption so another 350z is out. Car doesnt need to be practical, should be fairly reliable and will just be used to transport mainly him around 10K miles a year. He loves his 350z but only reason for selling is to free up cash for a wedding.
Still a bit vague. How much is their 350z worth? Also are they paying cash or looking for finance?30mpg doing what? Cruise mpg or daily mpg?
This still leaves potentially hundreds of different cars though.
If they want to cash in, buy a £1k MR2 MK2 2.0 GT or something.
I've completely ignored the 30+ mpg requirement so apologies but could probably get this for £3500. If I had £4K to spend on a car right now I don't think I could see past it.....
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/s...
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/s...
Mr2Mike said:
A Mk2 MR2 maybe isn't a bad shout, though you won't normally see 30mpg out of a turbo unless you drive it in a very relaxed manner on open roads.
How about a late Celica with the 190bhp VVTL-I engine?
Alfa GTV, or maybe a late 156? Would need to be the 2.0L Twin Spark to meet mpg requirements, sadly (or the 5 pot diseasal in the 156, which is a pretty nice sounding lump for an oil burner).
Celica 190 is a good shout.How about a late Celica with the 190bhp VVTL-I engine?
Alfa GTV, or maybe a late 156? Would need to be the 2.0L Twin Spark to meet mpg requirements, sadly (or the 5 pot diseasal in the 156, which is a pretty nice sounding lump for an oil burner).
300bhp/ton said:
Not trying to be funny or difficult...
With nothing to say what they are after or what it'll be used for I might as well just post a link to the PH classifieds for all the good it'll do.
The OP's friend currently has a 350Z, but is looking to free up some cash. So it's safe to assume he doesn't need rear seats, and wants another coupe like a 350Z, but cheaper.With nothing to say what they are after or what it'll be used for I might as well just post a link to the PH classifieds for all the good it'll do.
I'm surprised you haven't suggested a 4th gen Camaro, to be honest. In this instance, it doesn't sound too far off what the OP's friend wants.
excel monkey said:
The OP's friend currently has a 350Z, but is looking to free up some cash. So it's safe to assume he doesn't need rear seats, and wants another coupe like a 350Z, but cheaper.
I'm surprised you haven't suggested a 4th gen Camaro, to be honest. In this instance, it doesn't sound too far off what the OP's friend wants.
Gotta be a first time for everything at some point. I'm surprised you haven't suggested a 4th gen Camaro, to be honest. In this instance, it doesn't sound too far off what the OP's friend wants.
excel monkey said:
The OP's friend currently has a 350Z, but is looking to free up some cash. So it's safe to assume he doesn't need rear seats
That's quite an assumption to make.excel monkey said:
and wants another coupe like a 350Z, but cheaper.
Again the op doesn't give anything to indicate this. Come on you've seen what car threads before, where someone says "I want interesting, fun something different" and what they mean is they are considering a 1.9TDi Audi.Or people who claim mpg is no issue, but as the thread progresses it turns out they want 35mpg ave minimum.
Basically I rarely believe the whole picture is revealed unless stated

excel monkey said:
I'm surprised you haven't suggested a 4th gen Camaro, to be honest. In this instance, it doesn't sound too far off what the OP's friend wants.
Show me one for £4k and I'll buy it. 
PS
Following your logic this would appear ideal: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
And it'll do 30mpg (on a run)

300bhp/ton said:
Following your logic this would appear ideal: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
And it'll do 30mpg (on a run)

You beat me to it!And it'll do 30mpg (on a run)

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