Warm Saloon ~£1-2k
Discussion
twazzock said:
Warm saloon ... 4-pot E46.
LOL
Can you get an Octavia VRS (I know it's a hatch...) for under £2k these days?
Oops! I was just thinking about what would be best with his insurance. What engine/spec would you suggest as I don't know much about them?LOL
Can you get an Octavia VRS (I know it's a hatch...) for under £2k these days?
Octavia VRS is a good shout.
Don't get an Audi 80.
They are about as Sporty as Miss Piggy. Great cars, no doubt, I like mine, but very, very much not Sporty. E30 BMW far more 'fun'.
That goes for all the 'cooking' Saloon models, I know there's the fast variants but bar the really quick Quattro Turbo's and Coupes I still can;t see any 80 being a good drivers car.
Get a quote on an Accord Type R - I've been quoted way less on those than any Civic/Integra. Not so many of them been owned by 'yoofs' I guess.
And they are Brilliant.
Others I'd suggest -
318/320 E36 BMW
Alfa 156, 1.8, 2.0 or V6 to suit insurance
MG ZS, engine to suit insurance quote as above
They are about as Sporty as Miss Piggy. Great cars, no doubt, I like mine, but very, very much not Sporty. E30 BMW far more 'fun'.
That goes for all the 'cooking' Saloon models, I know there's the fast variants but bar the really quick Quattro Turbo's and Coupes I still can;t see any 80 being a good drivers car.
Get a quote on an Accord Type R - I've been quoted way less on those than any Civic/Integra. Not so many of them been owned by 'yoofs' I guess.
And they are Brilliant.
Others I'd suggest -
318/320 E36 BMW
Alfa 156, 1.8, 2.0 or V6 to suit insurance
MG ZS, engine to suit insurance quote as above
Somnophore said:
Nah t5s are pricey to insure and 15-20mpg, least the S60 2.0 turbo is brisk enough 8.5 0-60 but will do 30-34 mpg.
Yes, the T5 badge does sting the insurer, and they are seriously quick cars too so I can see why insurers charge a premium! The S60 2.0L Turbo feels quite slow to 60 because it has quite a short first gear and a long second gear, and needs to bed down right for traction since it's FWD. Once it's rolling though it is surprisingly quick, and it can lay on the speed quite quickly. I also loved the long second gear, it was very useable. I'd often shift down to it for tight bends on the B roads, and the punch it had was tremendous. You could do a lot with that second gear, the car felt very natural in that range.
ciaranthemurph said:
Interesting, I've never heard of these! Mind you, as soon as this lad's insurers see 'VR6' they are going to run a mile. The Golf and Corrado VR6 are by no means hot compared to many things, but they still attract a premium whenever I look at them! I suppose they are suffering the same 1990's TWOC'ers hangover that Ford Cosworths are...insurers look at their books from over the years and see the hundreds that were nicked back in the day!
Baryonyx said:
Interesting, I've never heard of these! Mind you, as soon as this lad's insurers see 'VR6' they are going to run a mile. The Golf and Corrado VR6 are by no means hot compared to many things, but they still attract a premium whenever I look at them!
I suppose they are suffering the same 1990's TWOC'ers hangover that Ford Cosworths are...insurers look at their books from over the years and see the hundreds that were nicked back in the day!
I think that because it's the sensible humdrum 4 door vento the insurance wouldn't be too bad. When I was in the market for one a couple of years ago, the insurance was less than the 306 GTI6 that I ended up buying.I suppose they are suffering the same 1990's TWOC'ers hangover that Ford Cosworths are...insurers look at their books from over the years and see the hundreds that were nicked back in the day!
ciaranthemurph said:
I think that because it's the sensible humdrum 4 door vento the insurance wouldn't be too bad. When I was in the market for one a couple of years ago, the insurance was less than the 306 GTI6 that I ended up buying.
Hmm, I've always found the 106 and 306 GTI models quite cheap to insure. Maybe my insurer has just had bad experiences with VR6 cars! Mind you, I don't think they're wildly fast but they sound great, and I always loved the active aero pop-up spoiler on the Corrado VR6!If you can live with the Rover-esque looks, these are little stormers for the money.I had one for a while.Just shy of 170 bhp and rev to the point they sound more like a bike.Not as hot as the Accord type R, but certainly warm!
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3658392.htm
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3658392.htm
The Mondeo ST24 is a good idea - I bought one when I turned 19 as it was very cheap to buy, and insurance was considerably less than everything else.
Watch for the "kick" at 3500 rpm - if that is absent then the IMRC (inlet manifold runner control, basically opens the secondaries so you run on 24 valves) is borked. Not a big deal, either a) the transistor is cooked, solder a new one in, b) the wiring to the IMRC is cooked c) the secondaries are gummed up with carbon deposits.
Besides that, watch that the water pump is changed for one with a metal impeller as the plastic one can brake and cook the head gasket.
They are brilliant cars and you will get a lot of fun out of it. Brilliant seats, lovely noise, and drives really well when you are throwing it down back roads
Watch for the "kick" at 3500 rpm - if that is absent then the IMRC (inlet manifold runner control, basically opens the secondaries so you run on 24 valves) is borked. Not a big deal, either a) the transistor is cooked, solder a new one in, b) the wiring to the IMRC is cooked c) the secondaries are gummed up with carbon deposits.
Besides that, watch that the water pump is changed for one with a metal impeller as the plastic one can brake and cook the head gasket.
They are brilliant cars and you will get a lot of fun out of it. Brilliant seats, lovely noise, and drives really well when you are throwing it down back roads
JayTee94 said:
Most of those choices must be way to new for you. 
What age are you looking for? Have you considered a BMW (E46) 318i.
Thanks for the replies folks! I'll reply suggestion by suggestion - Given me some cars I didn't even think about!What age are you looking for? Have you considered a BMW (E46) 318i.
Anything proper classic at £1-2k will be a rust bucket, plus i'm after a bit more speed!
Eighteeteewhy- I've looked at the Audi Coupe, can't get insurance on it! Same with this week's SOTW
Yiliterate- Yep was looking at the newer version. Insurance likes them a lot.
NadiR- Not too keen on the MGs, just dislike the looks of them. Plus a mate has one so want something different!!
mike9009- I looked at 156s and I sadly cant afford to insure one. That goes for any alfa seemingly, and for BMWs.
oj121- I like that! It's £1800 to insure but they can be had for about £700 So I like! Am going to keep these in mind. Cheers
Digby- Whilst the Type R is a great shout, as others have said, insurance means it's a no go.
FreeLitres- Even the 2.0 is 2k to insure so it's out, shame as they're stunning cars.
hardcorehobbit - Toledo and Vectra are no goes, due to... you know what. They want roughly the same as the X-Type.
Digby- £100 more than the St24 to insure. And a further £300ish to buy. Not worth the extra money in my eyes but cheers for the suggestion!
It's between the St24 and the Primera at the moment. Only 6months to wait!!
Thank you all
43034 said:
Well, I decided to go through this thread again, testing all cars for insurance and a Vectra SRi has become insurable. 147bhp, 8.5 to 60. Seems good enough for me!
Anyone owned one? What're they like?
Drove one when buying my new car, the ST24 is the better car in almost every way. Anyone owned one? What're they like?
Lovely cars, I will miss mine
I found myself in this exact situation and I ended up with the '96 A4 2.6 you can read about in my profile. Feel free to quote M700 SDM (and P958 AWL is a 2.8 30v one).
I picked it up for £950 and there are plenty around at that money, £2,000 will get you the absolute pick of the crop in B5 A4s so you can be as picky as you like! I would avoid the 1.8T because they tend to attract higher premiums and, well.. they're just not as creamy as the V6s
While I'm at it, though, don't buy a 2.6: it's an old engine that was being phased out, and its power/economy balance - or lack thereof - shows this. All 2.4s are 30v engines making 165bhp, very nice, and most 2.8s from 1997 onwards are also 30vs with 192bhp, though these are a little more to insure. The 30-valvers can get 35mpg if you're gentle, and are very torque-heavy so fantastically good cruisers. Like being revved a bit too.
The car as a whole is nice to sit in, doesn't feel dated inside and rides well too, provided you don't lower the damn thing. Definitely worth a look, if you ask me - and at 18, saying you drive a V6 Audi isn't bad going
I picked it up for £950 and there are plenty around at that money, £2,000 will get you the absolute pick of the crop in B5 A4s so you can be as picky as you like! I would avoid the 1.8T because they tend to attract higher premiums and, well.. they're just not as creamy as the V6s
While I'm at it, though, don't buy a 2.6: it's an old engine that was being phased out, and its power/economy balance - or lack thereof - shows this. All 2.4s are 30v engines making 165bhp, very nice, and most 2.8s from 1997 onwards are also 30vs with 192bhp, though these are a little more to insure. The 30-valvers can get 35mpg if you're gentle, and are very torque-heavy so fantastically good cruisers. Like being revved a bit too.
The car as a whole is nice to sit in, doesn't feel dated inside and rides well too, provided you don't lower the damn thing. Definitely worth a look, if you ask me - and at 18, saying you drive a V6 Audi isn't bad going
Ouch, I wonder what's weighting your quotes so heavily? I paid £1200, although it has to be said postcodes don't come much cheaper than mine. I had a twelve grand claim against me, though! As regards general insurance help, having two named drivers between 40 and 65 with clean licences will help no end (they don't have to be related to you!), garage or driveway parking are not necessarily cheaper, and your estimated mileage will obviously affect it a lot. An interesting one is also what year you bought the car, which makes a huge difference but strikes me as rather untraceable.. Not that I said any such thing, of course!
And BorkFactor (not used to seeing that name!), thank you very much, I'm prone to an occasional look at yours too! Lovely
And BorkFactor (not used to seeing that name!), thank you very much, I'm prone to an occasional look at yours too! Lovely
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff