Advice - cheap comfortable daily ~250bhp
Discussion
I'm looking at the following cars and would be very grateful for advice. I'm pretty much done with overpriced German metal at the moment.
In the last 9-10 years I have had the following:
Audi C5 S6 Avant (2001) gearbox failure
Audi B7 S4 Avant (2007) engine death
Audi C7 BiTDI (2014) - disaster - HPFP failure
Want to spend around 3k and have around 250ish bhp at my disposal
I have the following list:
S-Type 3.0 V6 (04-06)/2.7 diesel possibly
Saab Vector/Aero 2.3T
Mercedes CLK 320/320 CDI, would love a 500, but unsure of availability
I would love to know if anybody can give me any advice on these as a comparison?
Much appreciated.
Don't mind spending over time, on various things
In the last 9-10 years I have had the following:
Audi C5 S6 Avant (2001) gearbox failure
Audi B7 S4 Avant (2007) engine death
Audi C7 BiTDI (2014) - disaster - HPFP failure
Want to spend around 3k and have around 250ish bhp at my disposal
I have the following list:
S-Type 3.0 V6 (04-06)/2.7 diesel possibly
Saab Vector/Aero 2.3T
Mercedes CLK 320/320 CDI, would love a 500, but unsure of availability
I would love to know if anybody can give me any advice on these as a comparison?
Much appreciated.
Don't mind spending over time, on various things
I can't speak for the Jag or Merc, but until last year I did have a Saab 9-5 Aero. Nice wafty car, great place for sitting in my opinion with the old school dash and comfy seats, and a lot of car for the money. £3k would buy a minter surely, but personally i'd spend a bit less and keep some for any niggles or an easy plug and play noobtune ecu (£100 for a remap by post or £90 in person - 275bhp/420NM stage 1 is probably all you need).
With age comes the risk of rust in the arches, but quite solid underneath. Easy to work on as well if you do your own work. Some issues off the top of my head would be DI cassette is a known issue, and watch for cars which have had suspension replaced with non-Aero spec - the Aero was I think 10mm lower and has stiffer suspension, but not uncommon for any tired components to be replaced with standard spec ones.
As for which variant - go for 2003 to 2005 (before the Dame Edna). This has the shark tooth front bumper and revised some sort of sludge issue which were a potential issue on earlier cars. Also will have xenons rather than halogen, which really helps at night. If you do go for 2006 onwards, watch for VED as it is high for the auto.
I've had both the manual and auto. Manual was ok, and you get the overboost with that, but I preferred the auto. The manual gearchange wasn't the best in my opinion, and didn't like to be rushed. The auto is faster in the real world, and you can go into manual mode if you want. MPG for my auto, which had a stage 3+ remap at about 300bhp/450NM, was 25mpg with normal driving if that's of interest.
To be honest I regret selling mine. That mid range was addictive.
With age comes the risk of rust in the arches, but quite solid underneath. Easy to work on as well if you do your own work. Some issues off the top of my head would be DI cassette is a known issue, and watch for cars which have had suspension replaced with non-Aero spec - the Aero was I think 10mm lower and has stiffer suspension, but not uncommon for any tired components to be replaced with standard spec ones.
As for which variant - go for 2003 to 2005 (before the Dame Edna). This has the shark tooth front bumper and revised some sort of sludge issue which were a potential issue on earlier cars. Also will have xenons rather than halogen, which really helps at night. If you do go for 2006 onwards, watch for VED as it is high for the auto.
I've had both the manual and auto. Manual was ok, and you get the overboost with that, but I preferred the auto. The manual gearchange wasn't the best in my opinion, and didn't like to be rushed. The auto is faster in the real world, and you can go into manual mode if you want. MPG for my auto, which had a stage 3+ remap at about 300bhp/450NM, was 25mpg with normal driving if that's of interest.
To be honest I regret selling mine. That mid range was addictive.
Edited by alanshuff on Tuesday 4th July 12:55
alanshuff said:
I can't speak for the Jag or Merc, but until last year I did have a Saab 9-5 Aero. Nice wafty car, great place for sitting in my opinion with the old school dash and comfy seats, and a lot of car for the money. £3k would buy a minter surely, but personally i'd spend a bit less and keep some for any niggles or an easy plug and play noobtune ecu (£100 for a remap by post or £90 in person - 275bhp/420NM stage 1 is probably all you need).
With age comes the risk of rust in the arches, but quite solid underneath. Easy to work on as well if you do your own work. Some issues off the top of my head would be DI cassette is a known issue, and watch for cars which have had suspension replaced with non-Aero spec - the Aero was I think 10mm lower and has stiffer suspension, but not uncommon for any tired components to be replaced with standard spec ones.
As for which variant - go for 2003 to 2005 (before the Dame Edna). This has the shark tooth front bumper and revised some sort of sludge issue which were a potential issue on earlier cars. Also will have xenons rather than halogen, which really helps at night. If you do go for 2006 onwards, watch for VED as it is high for the auto.
I've had both the manual and auto. Manual was ok, and you get the overboost with that, but I preferred the auto. The manual gearchange wasn't the best in my opinion, and didn't like to be rushed. The auto is faster in the real world, and you can go into manual mode if you want. MPG for my auto, which had a stage 3+ remap at about 300bhp/450NM, was 25mpg with normal driving if that's of interest.
To be honest I regret selling mine. That mid range was addictive.
Yeah I have you right about spending about 2kish and then spending a bit of cash over time. That's the exact era! There are a few around at that price at the moment too. VED is high for the auto for 2006? Thats interesting. Thanks for this, I'm going to see a couple cars this weekend!With age comes the risk of rust in the arches, but quite solid underneath. Easy to work on as well if you do your own work. Some issues off the top of my head would be DI cassette is a known issue, and watch for cars which have had suspension replaced with non-Aero spec - the Aero was I think 10mm lower and has stiffer suspension, but not uncommon for any tired components to be replaced with standard spec ones.
As for which variant - go for 2003 to 2005 (before the Dame Edna). This has the shark tooth front bumper and revised some sort of sludge issue which were a potential issue on earlier cars. Also will have xenons rather than halogen, which really helps at night. If you do go for 2006 onwards, watch for VED as it is high for the auto.
I've had both the manual and auto. Manual was ok, and you get the overboost with that, but I preferred the auto. The manual gearchange wasn't the best in my opinion, and didn't like to be rushed. The auto is faster in the real world, and you can go into manual mode if you want. MPG for my auto, which had a stage 3+ remap at about 300bhp/450NM, was 25mpg with normal driving if that's of interest.
To be honest I regret selling mine. That mid range was addictive.
Edited by alanshuff on Tuesday 4th July 12:55
£3k is throwaway money for >200BHP cars.
Many of those on offer at that price will be dumped on the market because of big bills imminent or owner lost faith after a few issues.
How many miles has the OP done in 10 years to mechanically knacker 3 cars?
How much driving where he was able to use a reasonable amount of that power?
Buying something powerful for £3k is a great thing to do, but don't expect us to look surprised or too sympathetic if it goes bang or fails to make any noise at all.
The best way to enjoy £3k cars is to have £5k in the building soc for when it goes bad.
In the current market, my first line could just read:
£3k is throwaway money for cars.
I'm not seeing very much at this level which I'd be confident in for the next 4 or 5 years.
A lot of the cars coming into this value bracket won't be easy to keep on the road for another 50k miles.
Many of those on offer at that price will be dumped on the market because of big bills imminent or owner lost faith after a few issues.
How many miles has the OP done in 10 years to mechanically knacker 3 cars?
How much driving where he was able to use a reasonable amount of that power?
Buying something powerful for £3k is a great thing to do, but don't expect us to look surprised or too sympathetic if it goes bang or fails to make any noise at all.
The best way to enjoy £3k cars is to have £5k in the building soc for when it goes bad.
In the current market, my first line could just read:
£3k is throwaway money for cars.
I'm not seeing very much at this level which I'd be confident in for the next 4 or 5 years.
A lot of the cars coming into this value bracket won't be easy to keep on the road for another 50k miles.
Atmospheric said:
I'm looking at the following cars and would be very grateful for advice. I'm pretty much done with overpriced German metal at the moment.
In the last 9-10 years I have had the following:
Audi C5 S6 Avant (2001) gearbox failure
Audi B7 S4 Avant (2007) engine death
Audi C7 BiTDI (2014) - disaster - HPFP failure
Want to spend around 3k and have around 250ish bhp at my disposal
I have the following list:
S-Type 3.0 V6 (04-06)/2.7 diesel possibly
Saab Vector/Aero 2.3T
Mercedes CLK 320/320 CDI, would love a 500, but unsure of availability
I would love to know if anybody can give me any advice on these as a comparison?
Much appreciated.
Don't mind spending over time, on various things
Go for the CLK500 they're pretty much bulletproof & easy to maintain:In the last 9-10 years I have had the following:
Audi C5 S6 Avant (2001) gearbox failure
Audi B7 S4 Avant (2007) engine death
Audi C7 BiTDI (2014) - disaster - HPFP failure
Want to spend around 3k and have around 250ish bhp at my disposal
I have the following list:
S-Type 3.0 V6 (04-06)/2.7 diesel possibly
Saab Vector/Aero 2.3T
Mercedes CLK 320/320 CDI, would love a 500, but unsure of availability
I would love to know if anybody can give me any advice on these as a comparison?
Much appreciated.
Don't mind spending over time, on various things
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202307199...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306088...
A change of headunit will add all the connectivity you may require.
Honda Legend:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301193...
330i:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306058...
If going for an S Type, I recommend driving one first. They're a lovely thing, very smooth, but not even slightly inclined to being a "racer" if you're inclined to pushing on a bit. They use the 240bhp to make every drive effortless not to excite you. The 2.7 is the quicker of the two by virtue of the turbo, but is much more sensitive to poor service history. Lots of owners skip the cambelt change at 100k miles, and generally ruin a good car by thinking just because they bought it for peanuts, they can spend the same on maintenance.
The V8 is possibly also in your reach, and this is the same engine as found in its stablemates of the time (XJ X308 and XK8 X100).
Of the two engines, I'd suggest the 3.0 petrol is the cheaper option. Alternatively try and find the face-lift car with the 2.5 v6, as the build quality is slightly higher and the engine is almost identical on feel and delivery.
The V8 is possibly also in your reach, and this is the same engine as found in its stablemates of the time (XJ X308 and XK8 X100).
Of the two engines, I'd suggest the 3.0 petrol is the cheaper option. Alternatively try and find the face-lift car with the 2.5 v6, as the build quality is slightly higher and the engine is almost identical on feel and delivery.
Edited by Vsix and Vtec on Saturday 22 July 08:59
Google [bot] said:
The Honda Legend as ZX10 suggests are so overlooked, that’s where my money would (and probably will if I decide I need a new car) be going. 300bhp (close enough), 4WD, VTEC, luxury and reliability. Looking totally unremarkably is the only negative, if that’s a consideration.
If OP can find a good example, I totally agree. The Legend is a superb car, very well built with that classic Honda reliably. The only down side is the same which affects all Honda, no underseal from the factory and therefore often suffer with corrosion. Having had an FN2 myself, I'm a huge fan of Honda in general, so totally support this option in addition to the Jag.OutInTheShed said:
£3k is throwaway money for >200BHP cars.
Many of those on offer at that price will be dumped on the market because of big bills imminent or owner lost faith after a few issues.
How many miles has the OP done in 10 years to mechanically knacker 3 cars?
How much driving where he was able to use a reasonable amount of that power?
Buying something powerful for £3k is a great thing to do, but don't expect us to look surprised or too sympathetic if it goes bang or fails to make any noise at all.
The best way to enjoy £3k cars is to have £5k in the building soc for when it goes bad.
In the current market, my first line could just read:
£3k is throwaway money for cars.
I'm not seeing very much at this level which I'd be confident in for the next 4 or 5 years.
A lot of the cars coming into this value bracket won't be easy to keep on the road for another 50k miles.
Both Audis I had for 5-6 years a piece, the S6 was the usual gearbox, but didn't want to repair it so traded for the S4. I had the S4 for 6 years, was meticulous with oil changes, but it suffered with the chain . I did about 100k between them.Many of those on offer at that price will be dumped on the market because of big bills imminent or owner lost faith after a few issues.
How many miles has the OP done in 10 years to mechanically knacker 3 cars?
How much driving where he was able to use a reasonable amount of that power?
Buying something powerful for £3k is a great thing to do, but don't expect us to look surprised or too sympathetic if it goes bang or fails to make any noise at all.
The best way to enjoy £3k cars is to have £5k in the building soc for when it goes bad.
In the current market, my first line could just read:
£3k is throwaway money for cars.
I'm not seeing very much at this level which I'd be confident in for the next 4 or 5 years.
A lot of the cars coming into this value bracket won't be easy to keep on the road for another 50k miles.
The A6 was a lemon
Point taken - willing to spend along the way, thats not a problem, as I have done on all cars previously (aside the A6), which I had for 11 months. I fully understand performance car motoring. the B7 S4 was ultra reliable, however, things that went wrong with that weren't S4 specific, aux belt etc, only in the end I couldn't stomach highish four figures at that time (as new child), it was sold for 1000, so a friend of mine is restoring it. at least it wasn't scrapped!
Edited by Atmospheric on Friday 28th July 14:46
Edited by Atmospheric on Friday 28th July 19:48
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