What can 6k buy you these days (fun 2nd car)

[Jcwjosh]

Good Afternon,

I was looking to purchase a weekend/fun car today that sadly sold before i had the chance to get a deposit over. It was a relatively rare spec car to come up and i took too long to decide if i was going to take the plunge. It was a Lupo Gti and had i bought it , i intended to keep it for a long time having had one previously.

Its got me thinking about what is available at the moment for around £6-7k that feels 'sort of special', that are good fun, cheapish to run (consumables not fuel), and modify with potential for some subtle performance modifications.

I intially looked at VAG stable

Mk5 Golf R32's i thought were similar money but i imagine they are heavy things
Mk1 TT's i guess are similar to above in V6 guise

Is there any i am missing here ?

Also thought about ek9 type r's but they are few and far between and out of price range i beleive.

[DoubleD]

What about a 6 series with a 4.8 litre engine?

[ZX10R NIN]

The R32 is a very good choice & it does feel special:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

CLK55 AMG These are in my bias opinion a special car that won't break the bank in terms of maintenance:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

S5

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

[Jcwjosh]

Some nice choices there.

I usually hire a CLK 220 when i go to cyprus most years and must admit it is a fun car albeit pretty nackered.. Can imagine the AMG is nice to waft about in.

[scoey1001]

Golf Gti edition 30? Very tuneable and hold their value well.

[Gareth1974]

A Mk1 TT Sport might be worth a look. Lighter than the 3.2 and some potential to become collectible. https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

[Xcore]

I’d take an ed30 over any of the vr6 engined cars

[ZX10R NIN]

Xcore said:

I’d take an ed30 over any of the vr6 engined cars

When it comes to hot hatches then it'd be the RS250 with the Cup Chassis all day everyday the Golf doesn't come close but I'd have the R32 because of that engine they do feel a bit special & no they're not as good as the Edition 30 dynamically at the limit but they feel more special.

As you can see I can't explain what it is but they work, whereas the Edition30 is just a better GTI whilst not being an outright drivers hot hatch at which point I'd rather be in the R32.

[Mr Tidy]

I might have suggested a BMW Z4 Coupe, then I read about performance modifications!

There isn't much scope for that with a naturally-aspirated engine, but then that's what a V6TT has so I suppose it might be worth considering.

[Zero7]

You have probably heard it said many times on here but for £6 my money goes on a nice 2.0 MX-5 (Mk3), I got one earlier this year and a set of coilovers fitted, a proper alignment at WIM and some Stick Yokohama rubber. It puts a massive smile on my face and feels proper sorted now.

Very go kart like and a total blast around country lanes without licence losing speeds.

[Jcwjosh]

Gareth1974 said:

A Mk1 TT Sport might be worth a look. Lighter than the 3.2 and some potential to become collectible. https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

I have always liked these. Good shout

[ZX10R NIN]

Jcwjosh said:

Some nice choices there.

I usually hire a CLK 220 when i go to cyprus most years and must admit it is a fun car albeit pretty nackered.. Can imagine the AMG is nice to waft about in.

Yea it is but when you want to get a hustle on then it's a fun capable set of wheels.

[samoht]

£6k and 'fun' is pretty wide open, anything from a hot hatch to a roadster to a coupe to a saloon could fit the bill.

Plenty of 350Zs available for £6k, torquey nat-asp engine and rwd, pretty reliable in general too. MX-5 is probably more 'fun' though to most ppl, depends what you like.

[heisthegaffer]

Abarth 500?

[cerb4.5lee]

I would also be very tempted by the 350Z at that budget for sure.

[samoht]

Porsche Boxster is the other really obvious candidate, still 50+ around sub 6k on AT. Needs some research and careful buying, but not necessarily ruinous to run.