Another what car thread (sorry)

[mr2turbogts]

Looking for a new car for the Mrs, she's currently driving a rav4 that I have recently spent a fortune on and it's still not right so have drawn a line and said I am not spending any more money on it.

Previously I was looking at mk2 focus st's and mk5 golf gti's.

However we have just come back from holiday, and don't have the 5-6k laying around to purchase without getting a loan out. Which had made me look at cheaper cars, on the list is (around £1500-2000)

Mk6 Fiesta st (cheap to buy, cheap to run and look good fun)
Mk1 focus st170 (was looking at getting one of these as a track car (eventually) but for the Mrs daily I'm not sure on this)
E39 528 (only on the list as there is a clean looking one local, I also really like the look of these, but age and running costs could be against me?)
E46 330 (good solid cars, but these are getting thin on the ground without a massive asking price)
Civic type r ep3 (not sure I like these but they fall in the budget)

Anyone recommend any other cars/advise on the cars above?

I have then also got to work out what to do with her RAV4.

[JamesRR]

Everything you've listed is a quick, powerful version of the car model. I might be being presumptious here, but if your missus is driving a RAV4 at present, does she actually need or want a fast car? I know on here the natural inclination is towards the quick models, but I'm not convinced they represent the best value or most sensible options if they're not actually needed over a slower version. Maybe a normal MK2 Focus, would be a safer bet than an aging ST170 and would be quite practical?

[mr2turbogts]

100% agree with you here
No she doesn't want/need a fast car, she personally could not care less for cars, and you are right a mk2 Focus would fit the bill for her perfectly.
However with my interest/obsession with cars, buying a run of the mill car really doesn't excite me (and let's be honest we all get a kick out of buying a new car, so it needs to be something I can get really excited about)

[AlwynMike]

A cheaper and possibly less hammered version of the Civic EP3 is the EP2 Civic Sport.
Bespoilered and extensioned like the R, with Sports seats and twin "big bore" exhaust.
Sadly it is encumbered by the cooking 1.6 engine which is pretty arthritic but is far less complex than the R type and even with its neck wrung regularly will still return over 40mpg. Cheap to insure too (or they were when my 18 year old son had two of them).
Slightly sensible option that looks better than it goes, but it is for your Good Lady isn't it.........

[Mr Oblong]

mr2turbogts said:

100% agree with you here
No she doesn't want/need a fast car, she personally could not care less for cars, and you are right a mk2 Focus would fit the bill for her perfectly.
However with my interest/obsession with cars, buying a run of the mill car really doesn't excite me (and let's be honest we all get a kick out of buying a new car, so it needs to be something I can get really excited about)

Why does her car need to excite you? What information are we missing?

As it stands, your plan seems like a really good way of spending two or three times as much as required (and she might even prefer a cooking model in terms of ride etc.).

[mr2turbogts]

Mr Oblong said:

mr2turbogts said:

100% agree with you here
No she doesn't want/need a fast car, she personally could not care less for cars, and you are right a mk2 Focus would fit the bill for her perfectly.
However with my interest/obsession with cars, buying a run of the mill car really doesn't excite me (and let's be honest we all get a kick out of buying a new car, so it needs to be something I can get really excited about)

Why does her car need to excite you? What information are we missing?

As it stands, your plan seems like a really good way of spending two or three times as much as required (and she might even prefer a cooking model in terms of ride etc.).

Not sure how spending £1500-2000 on a car lends its hand to spending two or three times as much as required 🤔.

All I am asking is advise on the cars noted above, yes I could go out and buy a shopping cart, (like we all could) but being pistonheads our interests sway to more interesting cars

[ZX10R NIN]

Get the ST170 you can get a very nice one for your budget or another alternative is the Toyota Celica T Sport, I understand why you need to want the car too (because you might need to use it once in awhile) but if she doesn't care as long as it's reliable then go for it.

2005 ST170 76k

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

2003 170 79k

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

2002 Celica T Sport 55k 190bhp model

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

2004 Corolla T Sport 76k (in case you need a hatch, the chassis isn't as good as the above)

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

2006 Astra 2.0T SRI 73k 170bhp

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

2005 Megane RS225 78k 225bhp

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

2004 Civic Type S (a good alternative to the Type R) 73k 160bhp

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

All the above are good cars but I'd probably go:

Focus ST
Astra
Celica

[mr2turbogts]

ZX10R NIN said:

Get the ST170 you can get a very nice one for your budget or another alternative is the Toyota Celica T Sport, I understand why you need to want the car too (because you might need to use it once in awhile) but if she doesn't care as long as it's reliable then go for it.

2005 ST170 76k

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

2003 170 79k

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

2002 Celica T Sport 55k 190bhp model

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

2004 Corolla T Sport 76k (in case you need a hatch, the chassis isn't as good as the above)

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

2006 Astra 2.0T SRI 73k 170bhp

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

2005 Megane RS225 78k 225bhp

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

2004 Civic Type S (a good alternative to the Type R) 73k 160bhp

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

All the above are good cars but I'd probably go:

Focus ST
Astra
Celica

Brilliant, thanks for taking the time to write this post.

Some good alternatives there, didn't realise the megane 225 are this cheap now, although shady on the reliability front (or so I have read)

Astra and celica's are good shouts, had a 140 celica before and good solid reliable cars beside burning oil.

Can't say I know much about the astra's I am swaying to the st170 though