Job change - New car options?

[jkb89]

Hi folks,

Just got a new job working close to home (now <2 mile commute, which I'm going to bike unless it's hammering it down) and need some suggestions on what to do car-wise.

I currently drive a diesel Golf (yawn) which I'm getting a bit bored of, 60mpg is lovely but I don't need it anymore as I'm not commuting. I'm 24 and want something a bit more fun. Would like to pay under £1k insurance if possible, budget it about 5k all in, would get about 2-2.5k for my car IMO.

I want it to be fun, reliable, not too terrible on fuel (30ish mpg) and quite comfy for the odd occasion I have to travel long distances.

Current thoughts are:

- E46 330; Would be my first RWD car, straight 6 engine, good noise. Would meet mpg reqs I guess? Would they be expensive to maintain for <£5k? Possible big bills on the horizon?

- Facelift (06 on) Fiesta ST; Fun, chuckable, good mpg, cheap to run/repair should they go wrong. Possibly a bit taxing on long journeys? Do they do a 5 door?

- Civic type R EP3; As above, a better choice than the ST? No 5 door option, which is a shame but I don't *need* it at the moment.


They may be obvious choices, but I do need something I can rely on and have a bit of fun in. Suggestions please!

Apologies in advance for the 'what car' thread...

Cheers.

[Johnny 89]

Hi,

I'm the same age as you and if in you're position would probably opt for a Honda S2000. Would insurance be manageable? You may be able to look at a limited mileage policy as your commute is so short and therefore it would be similar to a weekend car.

[Matt UK]

The e46 330i is very competent - to the point I'm not sure you'll find it 'fun'. Its actually a very nice medium distance commuter car. But it will be more fun that a diesel Golf which is about as fun as stubbing your toe on the bedpost first thing in the morning..

But if we are looking at fun, do you really need back seats / a fixed roof?

[jkb89]

Hi guys, sorry forgot to mention 4 seats is a must. I do occasionally have people to ferry about at weekends and won't be running two cars.

Cheers.

[Fastdruid]

Why worry about MPG if you're only going to use it occasionally for pleasure?

Anything with poor MPG can be picked up for buttons as everyone wants a Diesel that does 5000mpg, so anything else sells for virtually nothing yet most will still do semi-reasonable MPG on a run.

I'm not suggesting it for you but as an example I got a 2.5T Mondeo Est, it's a bit rare (only about 150 sold in the country) and 3.5k cheaper than the (slower) top end diesel version. While it gets as low as 15mpg with a heavy foot round town it's still do mid-30's on a run (40 if I drive like a saint), has a great sounding (if a touch quiet) turbocharged inline-5 (same engine as the Focus ST).

Hell even an RX-8 will do 30mpg on a run (just).

[Matt UK]

Smoke around in a grands worth of yesteryear V8 barge?

[JimmyConwayNW]

I think type r or Clio 182 but a decent one.

Golf gti mk5 would be on my hit list but you may struggle getting into one for that money.

[jkb89]

Fastdruid said:

Why worry about MPG if you're only going to use it occasionally for pleasure?

Anything with poor MPG can be picked up for buttons as everyone wants a Diesel that does 5000mpg, so anything else sells for virtually nothing yet most will still do semi-reasonable MPG on a run.

I'm not suggesting it for you but as an example I got a 2.5T Mondeo Est, it's a bit rare (only about 150 sold in the country) and 3.5k cheaper than the (slower) top end diesel version. While it gets as low as 15mpg with a heavy foot round town it's still do mid-30's on a run (40 if I drive like a saint), has a great sounding (if a touch quiet) turbocharged inline-5 (same engine as the Focus ST).

Hell even an RX-8 will do 30mpg on a run (just).

Mpg isn't that important I suppose, I just don't want to be crippled by fuel costs if I do have to actually travel somewhere - I have also considered older Imprezas aswell, but insurance is kind of putting me off...

Yesteryear barge wouldn't be as fun/reliable as I'd want to be honest, unless there's any specific suggestions? Would I have to worry about it going pop every time I got in to it? And yes, I think Mk5 Golf GTi might be out of the budget - Octavia VRS mk2 may be a good shout though - off to classifieds...

[BE57 TOY]

Mazda 3 MPS

Astra VXR

130i

[Dr G]

JimmyConwayNW said:

Clio 182

Not a lot about these not to like if you can put up with the French interior.

With reasonable pads/tyres its happy to do track days pretty much out of the box.

[jkb89]

BE57 TOY said:

Mazda 3 MPS

Astra VXR

130i

If you can find me a 130 for under 5k I'll take it...

182 isn't a bad shout, but not sure about the interior for longer journeys - Trophy in budget? Sort of put off them as a friend had one that went pop, should be OK if looked after though? I guess history is a must.

[BE57 TOY]

jkb89 said:

If you can find me a 130 for under 5k I'll take it...

182 isn't a bad shout, but not sure about the interior for longer journeys - Trophy in budget? Sort of put off them as a friend had one that went pop, should be OK if looked after though? I guess history is a must.

There's one for £5950, they might take less?

[lewisf182]

BE57 TOY said:

jkb89 said:

If you can find me a 130 for under 5k I'll take it...

182 isn't a bad shout, but not sure about the interior for longer journeys - Trophy in budget? Sort of put off them as a friend had one that went pop, should be OK if looked after though? I guess history is a must.

There's one for £5950, they might take less?

Any 130i under £6k is going to be crashed or have very poor spec & high mileage, but hey it's still a 130i.

If you can stretch budget to £6k a Honda Type R FN2 may be in budget?

[BE57 TOY]

lewisf182 said:

Any 130i under £6k is going to be crashed or have very poor spec & high mileage, but hey it's still a 130i.

If you can stretch budget to £6k a Honda Type R FN2 may be in budget?

It's on V car but the pre repair photo is advertised and they have all the receipts from the bodyshop who repaired it.

They would probably take £5k

[jkb89]

BE57 TOY said:

It's on V car but the pre repair photo is advertised and they have all the receipts from the bodyshop who repaired it.

They would probably take £5k

Do you have a link best? Is a 130 worth the extra of the 330? Hmm...

[Ozzie Osmond]

My 50p says you'll buy a BMW.

[BE57 TOY]

jkb89 said:

Do you have a link best? Is a 130 worth the extra of the 330? Hmm...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...

[Jonjo91]

Fastdruid said:

Hell even an RX-8 will do 30mpg on a run (just).

It won't. trust me.
When I had one I averaged 17mpg, most I saw on a run was 25.

[Fastdruid]

Jonjo91 said:

Fastdruid said:

Hell even an RX-8 will do 30mpg on a run (just).

It won't. trust me.
When I had one I averaged 17mpg, most I saw on a run was 25.

You're driving it wrong. Nah not really! I do admit though that it's painful to do, not worth it and needs you to be a total saint everywhere, one indiscretion and you've blown the pooch, I managed it the once but it was on a long run doing a max of 60mph and as little throttle (and revs) as possible. We mostly averaged 15mpg out of it.

In the same way I've got over 40mpg out of my 2.5T (reset mpg at fuel station just off the motorway with car already warm, gentle acceleration up to 60 etc) which then dropped to high 30's after only a few miles of 30's. Doing it back and watching the avg made me realise that just one single full throttle spell (for example out of a roundabout) would totally kill the average even over a significant (~100 miles) distance.

[andy-xr]

Matt UK said:

Smoke around in a grands worth of yesteryear V8 barge?

S'what I did, got rid of my diesel Pug for a V8 S Type