What Car - £2500 Budget

[Greengecko]

Hello,

My younger brother has decided to sell his classic mini, which he has used since passing his test. Think he is fed up of the extreme cold he faces when he has to drive to work at 5am in the winter!

- 20 years old, as long as insurance isn't excessive then he is happy
- Reliable
- Not excessively old (i.e. over 10 years)
- Petrol as doesn't do anymore than 6,000 miles a year
- Sporty looking (ideally, think it's his age and work colleagues that influence this!)
- Isn't going to cost a fortune to repair, or source parts.

Other than the above he doesn't really mind, so any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a lot guys

[wemorgan]

Honda Civic 1400cc 3dr
Ford Puma 1400cc
Hyundai Coupe 1600cc

[Olly86]

Clio 172?

[McSam]

Ooh. Mine.



Well, he can't have mine, I like it too much - but an E46 six-cylinder of some sort would be lovely, 328i is probably the best bet at this money because you could take your pick, but some 330i or 330ci metal might be in reach. I bought mine when I was 20, and just renewed my insurance at 21 for £600.

More photos here

I picked that up for under £2k, people seem to think it's worth twice as much as it has all the toys you could ask for and is a lovely car to ride in. It can also go from a nice relaxed motorway cruiser (at 36mpg, no less) to a proper howling lightly-sideways B-road blaster. Awesome fun

I have a 31mpg overall average, which for a big straight six is awesome, and the smiles per mile are through the roof. As a bonus, it's just fine for taking the grandparents to lunch in and has kerb appeal too!

Issues so far - none, actually. I think I have a slight exhaust manifold leak, but at 143,000 miles I can't complain. Been very well looked after and I'm 7000 miles in and still loving it. Parts are pretty good, availability everywhere and decent prices too. Plus no cam belt.

[vit4]

MG ZR - either a 1.4 for cheap insurance and lively performance, or the VVC for something a bit 'hotter'. Either way he'd be able to get a well-sorted one and still have well over a grand left over.

[HustleRussell]

I did think E46 but consumables prices might be a bit of a shock compared to the Mini, and at this end of the market they're likely to want for something- suspension bushes, shock absorbers, water pump/thermostat etc...

[Mr Viking]

Might be just about able to get a Panda 100hp if he's lucky. They have very good heaters and are sporty

[McSam]

HustleRussell said:

I did think E46 but consumables prices might be a bit of a shock compared to the Mini, and at this end of the market they're likely to want for something- suspension bushes, shock absorbers, water pump/thermostat etc...

I just edited to add that consumables aren't bad at all. Stuff I've done includes a full service - oil, air and cabin filters no more than anything else, it does need 6.5 litres of oil which is a pain but if you're keeping it a few years buying two 5Ls pays off. It doesn't burn any either, which is nice. Spark plugs, again buying two packs of four for the first service is fine because next time I only need get one, and they're only £15 a pack. I also did rear brakes, Bosch pads and discs with a wear sensor came to £75, nigh-on the same as my mum's Mondeo.

The suspension generally seems to hold up well, a damn sight better than any Audis of similar vintage, I can say from bitter experience no issues on mine, but I do agree the cooling system can be a weak point.

You've got the end of the market backwards, mind - £2500 gets you the absolute pick of anything but 330s.

[ajb85]

vit4 said:

MG ZR - either a 1.4 for cheap insurance and lively performance, or the VVC for something a bit 'hotter'. Either way he'd be able to get a well-sorted one and still have well over a grand left over.

Probably a good shout. £2,500 will buy him a decent late plate example.

[Greengecko]

Thanks for the suggestions, will pass them on.

Also quick question, does anyone know anything about the MG ZS 2.5 V6, he for some reason was looking at these but I vaguely remembered hearing some sort of issue with them?

Thanks for your help

[Mr Viking]

Greengecko said:

Thanks for the suggestions, will pass them on.

Also quick question, does anyone know anything about the MG ZS 2.5 V6, he for some reason was looking at these but I vaguely remembered hearing some sort of issue with them?

Thanks for your help

There's something wrong with the throttle bodies I believe. There is a plastic valve in the airbox that changes the airflow to modify the power curve. The plastic breaks and they rattle about and no longer work.

[billzeebub]

Coming from the Mini maybe a Clio 172/182.

[danp]

facelift mk3 mr2

[vit4]

Greengecko said:

Thanks for the suggestions, will pass them on.

Also quick question, does anyone know anything about the MG ZS 2.5 V6, he for some reason was looking at these but I vaguely remembered hearing some sort of issue with them?

Thanks for your help

I was actually going to suggest this instead of the ZR, but thought if the Mini was his thing he might prefer the smaller of the two.

The only 'issue' I know of with the ZS180 is that if it needs its cambelt doing, it is a fairly labour-intensive job (IIRC £4-500+?). They're meant to be very underrated little cars - when the whole MG Z-range came out, the ZS was widely acclaimed to be the best transformation of the three. Were it not for insurance I would be after one myself, £1500 will get a very nice example, £2500 a mint late example.

[Greengecko]

vit4 said:

I was actually going to suggest this instead of the ZR, but thought if the Mini was his thing he might prefer the smaller of the two.

The only 'issue' I know of with the ZS180 is that if it needs its cambelt doing, it is a fairly labour-intensive job (IIRC £4-500+?). They're meant to be very underrated little cars - when the whole MG Z-range came out, the ZS was widely acclaimed to be the best transformation of the three. Were it not for insurance I would be after one myself, £1500 will get a very nice example, £2500 a mint late example.

Thanks for the info, is much appreciated. He is a carpenter by trade, and drives transit vans regularly for work so size isn't really and issue, plus he'll be able to actually fit some tools in the boot when I ask for his help .

Looks like a BMW or some sort of MG, thanks for the help guys.

[littlened]

I bought an MG ZS 180 for £450 from a scrap yard and fitted a new engine to it as the current one was knackered.

Once working, it was a cracking car. The sound of the engine was great, and the power was very good. 0-60 in 7.3 seconds.

The main issue as already mentioned is the inlet manifold. It has a balance and a power valve, which at certain RPM's open/close to shorten or lengthen the path the air takes to get to the cylinders, this improves the torque curve. It's a 10 minute job to replace, but you're looking at £500 for a new one or £150-£250 for a used one. When taking one of these for a test drive, listen to see if there's any rattling coming from manifold, it'll sound like a bag of screws have been dropped in there. On the test drive, there should be a noticeable increase in torque around 2500 & 4000rpm (I think), if that doesn't happen, then the power valves could be bust.

Again, as mentioned, the timing belts are costly to replace because it such a big task. I've replaced the main timing belt myself, and it took about 4 hours. Even then I really should have changed the two rear belts.

Not so long ago I was going to buy a Mk2 180, but instead I opted for the ZT 1.8 turbo, only has 160bhp but it's the standard K series engine which is much easier to work on yourself. Plus, it can be tuned to around 200bhp for about £230.

Love the Mk2 though



I'd also give the thumbs up to a ZR, the 1.4 would be cheap to insure. and again the K series is fairly easy to maintain, but it does need some looking after, but once you know how to look after the engine it'll be fairly solid.

Edited by littlened on Wednesday 13th March 16:53

[SuperVM]

I'm guessing EP3 CTRs are killers on the insurance front, is that the case for 20 year olds these days?

[Loplop]

SuperVM said:

I'm guessing EP3 CTRs are killers on the insurance front, is that the case for 20 year olds these days?

Most Honda's are expensive compared to their competitors.

[Idontdrinkrsmoke]

wemorgan said:

Honda Civic 1400cc 3dr
Ford Puma 1400cc
Hyundai Coupe 1600cc

+1 for Hyundai Coupe