I can't afford an Elise...

[Biccaroo]

RobM77 said:

All are good choices. By the way, if you buy a mk3 MR2 get ready to have the piss taken out of you by your mates. They don't know what they're talking about of course (they're great cars), but any open top car that's not an Elise/Caterham or that doesn't have a burbling V8 gets an awful lot of 'hairdresser' and 'gay' comments. Sad, but true.

Too true. I had enough of that when I owned the Mk2 MR2. It doesn't bother me TBH. Afterall, not all of us can afford a Ferrari 430 Spider or DB9 Volante! All I'm concerned about is enjoying driving without breaking the bank.

[irodger]

Slightly biased Mk3 MR2 owner here. As a cheap, everyday, reliable, fun car it's brilliant. I bought one because I was not long after buying my first house and needed something affordable but fun and didn't need much in the way of space or ability to carry a family around.

I hadn't really thought about the MR2 'til I saw one in a garage for sale for £4k. I found out that they get 40mpg on a run (30ish on a blast), T1-R tyres are c£60/corner, brakes, consumables etc are all dirt cheap and they are generally reliable. Only issues to look out for are pre-cat failure and power steering pump failure. The pre-cat thing can be an issue, but £100 removes them (either gut them out or fit an ebay special stainless manifold that works a treat) and the P/S issue is obvious... don't buy one that doesn't have functioning P/S!!! New Toyota pumps are c£800 though if they do go.

I paid £4.5k for a '01 44k mile example and I love it. The power steering pump stopped working on mine recently @ 60k, but I just tapped it with a hammer and it's been fine for the last 1k

Comfort is fine on my 60 mile commute, 40mpg is great for this sort of car, servicing is cheap, parts are mostly cheap, roof goes down in 5secs and is great when it's up regarding rain etc. It's obviously not Merc or Jag levels of comfort, 5th gear is a bit short and there's the obvious lack of luggage space. I manage to get 2nights of clothes/stuff for 2 people (although my ex...she used to take a suitcase if she was going out to lunch!) behind the seats in soft bags, so it's not unusable as many non-owners claim.

The drive is brilliant. It's not as good as an Elise, but then not much is. Theyr'e not slow, but then not fast either. Like the MX5 that so many people on here love, it's more about the fun in piloting one along a great road, roof down, giving it 7/8-10ths but still having a total hoot. A VX220 would be a good option too obviously, but then they're more expensive in almost every way.

I'd spend £5k on a good <50k miler then spend the rest on a Blueflame or H&S exhaust and some Tein springs. You'll have a brilliant day-day car.

Good luck whatever you choose

[Lefty]

doogz said:

Are Elise brakes non-assisted?

No servo and amazing feel. The VX220 did have servoed brakes (and ABS) which is great for the road in iffy conditions but can be limiting on a wet track...

[Biccaroo]

irodger said:

Slightly biased Mk3 MR2 owner here. As a cheap, everyday, reliable, fun car it's brilliant. I bought one because I was not long after buying my first house and needed something affordable but fun and didn't need much in the way of space or ability to carry a family around.

I hadn't really thought about the MR2 'til I saw one in a garage for sale for £4k. I found out that they get 40mpg on a run (30ish on a blast), T1-R tyres are c£60/corner, brakes, consumables etc are all dirt cheap and they are generally reliable. Only issues to look out for are pre-cat failure and power steering pump failure. The pre-cat thing can be an issue, but £100 removes them (either gut them out or fit an ebay special stainless manifold that works a treat) and the P/S issue is obvious... don't buy one that doesn't have functioning P/S!!! New Toyota pumps are c£800 though if they do go.

I paid £4.5k for a '01 44k mile example and I love it. The power steering pump stopped working on mine recently @ 60k, but I just tapped it with a hammer and it's been fine for the last 1k

Comfort is fine on my 60 mile commute, 40mpg is great for this sort of car, servicing is cheap, parts are mostly cheap, roof goes down in 5secs and is great when it's up regarding rain etc. It's obviously not Merc or Jag levels of comfort, 5th gear is a bit short and there's the obvious lack of luggage space. I manage to get 2nights of clothes/stuff for 2 people (although my ex...she used to take a suitcase if she was going out to lunch!) behind the seats in soft bags, so it's not unusable as many non-owners claim.

The drive is brilliant. It's not as good as an Elise, but then not much is. Theyr'e not slow, but then not fast either. Like the MX5 that so many people on here love, it's more about the fun in piloting one along a great road, roof down, giving it 7/8-10ths but still having a total hoot. A VX220 would be a good option too obviously, but then they're more expensive in almost every way.

I'd spend £5k on a good <50k miler then spend the rest on a Blueflame or H&S exhaust and some Tein springs. You'll have a brilliant day-day car.

Good luck whatever you choose

It sounds like you were in exactly the same situation as I find myself now and I believe it may conclude in the same way. I'm very much tempted by the MR2 for a number of reasons. If I could stretch to an Elise I really would but it's just too expensive for a 'good' version and I'm still slightly sceptical about their reliability. Obviously no car is 100% bulletproof, but I think I'd have fewer issues with an MR2 against a focused sports car like the Elise.

[Chris71]

madbadger said:

This:



£5000 - http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/2694592.htm

or this:



£3500 - http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/2678999.htm

Both leave plenty from your budget towards running costs. Both pretty much depreciation proof so if you would like to 'downgrade' in a few years you will get your money back.

Both greater road presence than the Lotus.

Awesome suggestions - particularly the S - but not really a Lotus driving experience.

OP, is it a daily driver? If not then I'd seriously consider going down the kit car route. You'll get waaaay more mph/£ that way if you don't mind skimping on a few mod cons. A GTM Libra should offer a fairly similar experience to an Elise but with a more realistic chance of getting a decent example for the money. As an alternative, one of the more stripped down Seven-type cars will offer you, without doubt, the purest driving experience for £6k. Something like a Sylva Striker will be very no thrills, but you could have a fairly rapid example for £6k with a bit of haggling and they're thought to be one of the best handling cars on the planet.

If you want something more mainstream I'd consider a mk3 MR2. Quite a different experience to the mk2, possibly slower, but good fun, nice looking, bit more comfortable than an Elise...

I would be a little wary of a £6k Elise. There's a good chance of it having had a prang, which becomes more of an issue with an aluminium monocoque than it is with a separate chassis on something like a TVR.

So I'd say a different flavour of MR2 (mk1 or 3), a GTM Libra (as mentioned before) or one of these:



A good one will chase Caterhams and Elises costing more than twice as much.

[Devil2575]

You have 6k to spend on a car but you do a decent milage.

You don't mention running costs but i'm guessing if your budget is 6k you can't afford to run an old Porsche, especially if you do a few miles.

If you're after fun and relaible then a Mazda MX5, A Civic/Integra Type-R. Running costs won't break the bank.

A lot of people forget about how much a car is going to cost to run and simply go on what they can afford to buy. As someone who bought an E36 328 for £6k a few years back can testify, a bit of £6k flash costs a lot more to run than a £6k Ford/Mazda etc.

[RobM77]

Biccaroo said:

Too true. I had enough of that when I owned the Mk2 MR2. It doesn't bother me TBH. Afterall, not all of us can afford a Ferrari 430 Spider or DB9 Volante!

I get it with my 3 series, but the truth is that it's a bloody good car and is utterly perfect for what I want it for (carrying kayaks, bikes, long motorway trips, general use etc).

Biccaroo said:

All I'm concerned about is enjoying driving without breaking the bank.

A Toyota is a superb choice then; they're amongst the most reliable cars on the road. I've owned two (a mk1 MR2 and a Celica Carlos Sainz), and neither suffered even the slightest niggle, despite the MR2 going to 90k miles and the Celica to 143k, and all the while being driven very hard by a 23 year old loon.