Fun car- up to £5000 - Page 1 - Car Buying

jamesbilluk

Original Poster

4,142 posts

210 months

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Sunday 9th April 2023

Hi all.

Since getting the iPace, I've been looking for something for the weekend. I also have a driving trip coming up in May.
Just wondering what folks would recommend? It can be anything, up to £5000, not sure what could be had for that though! I do like the FN2 Type R, Mk1TT, and Mk3 MR2, also the supercharged Mini Cooper S, I a always liked that shape, and the sound of them

Edited by jamesbilluk on Sunday 9th April 16:31

ingenieur

4,643 posts

208 months

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Sunday 9th April 2023

The most fun driving car I've had out of all recent purchases was my BMW 325i

That's a 3.0 with just over 200hp and a manual gearbox. The straight-6 engine would rev to 7000

With that power and setup it could do 0-60 in 6 seconds.

Can only imagine more power would be even more fun... up to a point where all you get is traction problems.

You could easily find a good 2008-2010~ish BMW for £5k. Consider buying one for less and spending the leftover on tyres and that sort of thing.

That engine / box / driven wheels combination is available on 3, 5 and Z models of the era so just pick whichever platform suits your requirements best. I have small kids so 3-series 4-door saloon was perfect!

biggbn

31,899 posts

247 months

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Sunday 9th April 2023

Panda 100hp, Swift Sport or SportKa, much more fun than they have any right to be and well within budget.

jamesbilluk

Original Poster

4,142 posts

210 months

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Sunday 9th April 2023

ingenieur said:

The most fun driving car I've had out of all recent purchases was my BMW 325i

That's a 3.0 with just over 200hp and a manual gearbox. The straight-6 engine would rev to 7000

With that power and setup it could do 0-60 in 6 seconds.

Can only imagine more power would be even more fun... up to a point where all you get is traction problems.

You could easily find a good 2008-2010~ish BMW for £5k. Consider buying one for less and spending the leftover on tyres and that sort of thing.

That engine / box / driven wheels combination is available on 3, 5 and Z models of the era so just pick whichever platform suits your requirements best. I have small kids so 3-series 4-door saloon was perfect!

Thank you

Very good shout that, great sounding engine too! We have a 3 year old and 10 month old too, so that would be ideal. I shall have a research this evening.

jamesbilluk

Original Poster

4,142 posts

210 months

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Sunday 9th April 2023

biggbn said:

Panda 100hp, Swift Sport or SportKa, much more fun than they have any right to be and well within budget.

Great suggestions there smile

I've always liked those. And have read very good things about them.

Xcore

1,487 posts

117 months

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Sunday 9th April 2023

Mk3 mx5. Obvious choice but the correct one

White-Noise

5,500 posts

275 months

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Sunday 9th April 2023

I really like the civic option you put down, lots of engine character which you can thrash without going silly fast. My girlfriend had a tt mk1 which was surprisingly quick but a little boring. My sister had a mk3 mr2 but the engine was really asthmatic, I don't know if there was something wrong with it or not.

I've a clio myself but it might be a bit of a srretch at 5k maybe an ST could be a shout? Mx5 perhaps as well. If you find something with decent brakes and not too heavy then you can track it too.

ZX10R NIN

30,399 posts

152 months

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Sunday 9th April 2023

jamesbilluk

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4,142 posts

210 months

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Sunday 9th April 2023

Xcore said:

Mk3 mx5. Obvious choice but the correct one

I was looking at those too, they look great. Did they have any problems with rust? I did look at the Mk2, but read alot about rust on them

jamesbilluk

Original Poster

4,142 posts

210 months

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Sunday 9th April 2023

White-Noise said:

I really like the civic option you put down, lots of engine character which you can thrash without going silly fast. My girlfriend had a tt mk1 which was surprisingly quick but a little boring. My sister had a mk3 mr2 but the engine was really asthmatic, I don't know if there was something wrong with it or not.

I've a clio myself but it might be a bit of a srretch at 5k maybe an ST could be a shout? Mx5 perhaps as well. If you find something with decent brakes and not too heavy then you can track it too.

Ive always liked that generation of Civic too, they seem alot of car for the money at the moment.

That's my concern with the TT, quick, but not very exciting. looks good though! I had read that about the MR2, I would love to do the conversion with the Celica engine.

I was looking at the Clios, I had read very good things about them, so may stretch the budget for one. ST is a good shout too, and the MX5, I was looking at Mk2s, but read lots of stories about rust, I do like the Mk3 as well.

White-Noise

5,500 posts

275 months

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Sunday 9th April 2023

jamesbilluk said:

Ive always liked that generation of Civic too, they seem alot of car for the money at the moment.

That's my concern with the TT, quick, but not very exciting. looks good though! I had read that about the MR2, I would love to do the conversion with the Celica engine.

I was looking at the Clios, I had read very good things about them, so may stretch the budget for one. ST is a good shout too, and the MX5, I was looking at Mk2s, but read lots of stories about rust, I do like the Mk3 as well.

I just had a look at your car history you've had some really great stuff and a lot of high power. I guess this will be a bit different? Stating the obvious ha

Niguy

179 posts

53 months

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Sunday 9th April 2023

You could do a lot worse than getting into a Golf Anniversary

AMV93

949 posts

119 months

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Sunday 9th April 2023

Clio 182! You could get a really nice one for less then £5k and consumables for them are cheap as chips. I've had mine for a couple of years now, two of my best mates also have them and we use them for trackdays and all sorts. The Clio gives me just as much fun as some of my other cars that are far more expensive and it's properly quick on track.

jamesbilluk

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210 months

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Sunday 9th April 2023

ZX10R NIN said:

Great selection there, thank you!

I do like the ST 3 as well, even for the 5 cylinder engine.

jamesbilluk

Original Poster

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210 months

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Sunday 9th April 2023

White-Noise said:

I just had a look at your car history you've had some really great stuff and a lot of high power. I guess this will be a bit different? Stating the obvious ha

Thank you

I do seem to have been through some! I wish I hadn't sold most of them too. It's made my choice tricky now though.

For this, it's mainly the handling I think. Also. Something that shouldn't cost too much to run as a second car.

Edited by jamesbilluk on Sunday 9th April 16:29

jamesbilluk

Original Poster

4,142 posts

210 months

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Sunday 9th April 2023

Niguy said:

You could do a lot worse than getting into a Golf Anniversary

I do really like those. I shall have a look.

jamesbilluk

Original Poster

4,142 posts

210 months

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Sunday 9th April 2023

AMV93 said:

Clio 182! You could get a really nice one for less then £5k and consumables for them are cheap as chips. I've had mine for a couple of years now, two of my best mates also have them and we use them for trackdays and all sorts. The Clio gives me just as much fun as some of my other cars that are far more expensive and it's properly quick on track.

They do look great, and I've read alot of good things about them too. Will pop that on my list to have a research tonight smile

soad

34,507 posts

203 months

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Sunday 9th April 2023

EP3 Civic Type R? Since Integra Type R and S2000 are long out of that price range…should get you a half decent one.

jamesbilluk

Original Poster

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210 months

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Sunday 9th April 2023

soad said:

EP3 Civic Type R? Since Integra Type R and S2000 are long out of that price range…should get you a half decent one.

I did start looking at S2000s, but didn't realise they had gone up that much! And the Intagras. I do like the EP3 as well.

Jiebo

1,086 posts

123 months

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Sunday 9th April 2023

Xcore said:

Mk3 mx5. Obvious choice but the correct one

This is the answer.

I’ve had fast BMWs, audit TTS, swift sports. They are are numb to drive in comparison. Fun isn’t about power output, it’s about being able to use the full power band at normal speeds, steering feel, diving position, gear change feel.