spend my money ( or not)

[bigals]

I sold my lovely but expensive in terms of depreciation and servicing, Merc C class coupe, as it was loosing to much, and it was also just a bit too nice, a bit too big for the 15 miles each way of twisty open B roads that 90% of my miles are on , some of which resemble a cart track or a raging stream in winter, but this leaves me with no idea of what to buy, the plan was petrol 40mpg and easy to spanner on and buy it with the intention of doing all the basic servicing myself and as a long term keeper, budgets between 5 and 15 k, ideally closer to the lower end and keep some money to start saving up for a new kit car in the future or perhaps a classic
Insurance and tax are not a issue as am now the wrong side of 50 ,
the short list,
mini coopers s 2.0 petrol around 2017/8 under 50k, budget 11 to12k
Suzuki swift sport booster jet 1.4 as above price and mileage range
Abarth 595 similar age and milage, budget 9 or 10 K to allow for more suspension replacement when the pot holes take their tole
Left field choice Suzuki ignis at around 7k , yes its got postman pat vibes but I am strangely attracted to its boxy shape and cheap no frills motoring , or do I just get a 4k run around anything Korean or German and then have the cash for something next year ?
Anything else fun and not totally ruinous at around 10 k that’s not going to give me a headache, or do I just give up and buy a run around and hope that I can live with a boring box on wheels
so far the Abarth is winning as i think it will be more of a event to drive i am just not to sure how it will hold up in winter on water soaked roads

[zippy3x]

If I were you, I'd spend a couple of quid on some full stops

[Tarby]

Loosing to much

[bigals]

zippy3x said:

If I were you, I'd spend a couple of quid on some full stops

..............................

[bigals]

Tarby said:

Loosing to much

.depreciation combined with service costs

[ZX10R NIN]

Peugeot Sport 208 GTI:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202604171...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202604171...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202604121...

Softer GTI Prestige:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202602240...

Clio RS Nav Trophy, very good cars often overlooked because they're not manual:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202604081...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202512108...

[bigals]

ZX10R NIN said:

Peugeot Sport 208 GTI:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202604171...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202604171...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202604121...

Softer GTI Prestige:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202602240...

Clio RS Nav Trophy, very good cars often overlooked because they're not manual:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202604081...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202512108...

clios not a bad shout and about the correct size, not sure about the autobox, Peugeot i thought those engines were not the strongest ?

[Matt_T]

Honda Jazz Sport?
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/20166301

[AB]

Sounds like a Cooper S could be a laugh on those sorts of roads

[ZX10R NIN]

bigals said:

clios not a bad shout and about the correct size, not sure about the autobox, Peugeot i thought those engines were not the strongest ?

The box is actually decent no better or worse than a dsg in terms of usage/reliability, it never scored well just because it wasn't a manual but the chassis is very good.

The earlier iterations of the Prince engine but these are fully upgraded from it's base origins, the PS model will depreciate slower than everything listed & be the most fun to drive.

[macron]

Was it post 2016 those 208's had that?

[ZX10R NIN]

I think it was 2015/late 14, basically when they introduced the 250 308 GTI.

[bigals]

Matt_T said:

Honda Jazz Sport?
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/20166301

good shout, my wife has the Hrv

Edited by bigals on Wednesday 22 April 06:07

[biggbn]

Matt_T said:

Honda Jazz Sport?
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/20166301

Love these. Unfairly overlooked for the money. 130hp, superb build quality, snicky 6 speed manual, super practical.

[trevalvole]

It depends how much narrower you want your new car to be. The bodies (exc. door mirrors) of the Clio, 208 and Mini are at most about 3 inches narrower than that of your C class. The Swift is a bit more, but it looks like the Abarth, if it is the same width as a normal 500, is getting on for 6 inches narrower.

[bigals]

so ended up with a 2018 coopers s , petrol with a few nice extras, XL entertainment pack, JCW body pack , 40k on the clock and full history , one owner

[bigals]

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202604231...

[AB]

Exactly what I'd have done!

[ABMA]

bigals said:

so ended up with a 2018 coopers s , petrol with a few nice extras, XL entertainment pack, JCW body pack , 40k on the clock and full history , one owner

That’s a good choice 👍

[CrippsCorner]

A lot of car for the money, enjoy!