Rear wheel drive coupe that's insurable at 19?? 10k budget

[imahuman118]

I recently took my e90 318i on a road trip to the peak district (btw snakes pass is <3 <3 <3 when its empty)
The car is great I enjoyed it so much but it became clear that it's too heavy and there are way too many body motions. I did switch to my friends modified cooper s with lowered and firmed suspension, it became clear that the 240bhp was far too much on these roads, I found myself constantly braking.

I later got insurance quotes on the gt86, nc mx-5, porsche boxter and just for bantz a caterham 7.
My e90 318i-£1600
The gt86-£8000, yes that's in thousand
nc mx-5-£6000
boxter-£3000
caterham-£1200, yes that's cheaper than an mx-5

I don't want the boxter because porsche parts are expensive and i don't want the caterham because it rains 364 days a year here.

Can you think of any 140 ish bhp rear wheel drive cars that are cheap to insure for a budget of £10k

[cologne2792]

2.8i Capri is still an absolute hoot and should be insurable due to its age.
However, it'll probably take most of your budget to find a good one.

[caelite]

cologne2792 said:

2.8i Capri is still an absolute hoot and should be insurable due to its age.
However, it'll probably take most of your budget to find a good one.

I had the opposite problem when I was 17 about 6 years ago. This was JUST before Capris got hit by the 'bubble' when you could grab one for £900-1500, insurance Co wanted close to £4k.

[imahuman118]

cologne2792 said:

2.8i Capri is still an absolute hoot and should be insurable due to its age.
However, it'll probably take most of your budget to find a good one.

4k to insure, insurance companies hate fun cars

[User33678888]

2 cars. One caterfield, one sensible car.

[cologne2792]

imahuman118 said:

4k to insure, insurance companies hate fun cars

That's terrifying ! I pay about £90 for mine !

[Codswallop]

Since you're looking at a Caterham, Boxster and mx5, I'm guessing a coupe isn't a must (as per your thread title), in which case I'd recommend checking out the mk3 MR2.

Can be had for well under your budget to help pay for insurance, petrol etc.

Under a ton in weight, sorted chassis, reliable. 80% of the fun of an Elise but buttons to buy and run in comparison.

[imahuman118]

Codswallop said:

Since you're looking at a Caterham, Boxster and mx5, I'm guessing a coupe isn't a must (as per your thread title), in which case I'd recommend checking out the mk3 MR2.

Can be had for well under your budget to help pay for insurance, petrol etc.

Under a ton in weight, sorted chassis, reliable. 80% of the fun of an Elise but buttons to buy and run in comparison.

£2.9k we're doing better and isn't a roadster a type of coupe?

[Nickp82]

Mazda RX8 R3?

[ZX10R NIN]

Now I would approach this in a different manner why not improve the handling of your 318i? Especially if it's done a few miles it'll make a big difference

Polybushes:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/POWERFLEX-SUSPENSION-BUS...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/POWERFLEX-BUSHES-REAR-SU...

Uprated bushes don't seem to make a difference insurance wise the big one is when you fit better brakes it normally whacks up your premium.

Springs/coilovers: Budget dependent

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EIBACH-E10-20-014-02-22-...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Koni-STR-T-Lowering-Susp...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-3-SERIES-E90-E91-1-6...

Get the right spacers & you can fit most calipers:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Brembo-E38-7-Series-...

Or you can buy a complete OEM set up:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-2-Series-2014-On-M-S...

Obviously the above might mean you'll need some bigger wheels:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/19-ALLOY-WHEELS-VERTINI-...

Wrapped in some good rubber & you'll have yourself a very sweet car with good handling.

[e21Mark]

E30 BMW 318is

You could probably fit an LSD and Bilsteins.

[imahuman118]

Nickp82 said:

Mazda RX8 R3?

love the car but an £8.8k insurance cost...

[imahuman118]

ZX10R NIN said:

Now I would approach this in a different manner why not improve the handling of your 318i? Especially if it's done a few miles it'll make a big difference

Polybushes:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/POWERFLEX-SUSPENSION-BUS...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/POWERFLEX-BUSHES-REAR-SU...

Uprated bushes don't seem to make a difference insurance wise the big one is when you fit better brakes it normally whacks up your premium.

Springs/coilovers: Budget dependent

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EIBACH-E10-20-014-02-22-...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Koni-STR-T-Lowering-Susp...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-3-SERIES-E90-E91-1-6...

Get the right spacers & you can fit most calipers:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Brembo-E38-7-Series-...

Or you can buy a complete OEM set up:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-2-Series-2014-On-M-S...

Obviously the above might mean you'll need some bigger wheels:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/19-ALLOY-WHEELS-VERTINI-...

Wrapped in some good rubber & you'll have yourself a very sweet car with good handling.

Thanks for looking into a complete suspension and brake rework for me, you clearly know your stuff.
But here in the uk you have to declare mods on your insurance, so I got a quote on my car with these mods: £7.8k
Insurance companies hate young drivers with mods.

[imahuman118]

e21Mark said:

E30 BMW 318is

You could probably fit an LSD and Bilsteins.

I wanted an e46 before i bought my car, but the insurance is significantly higher. Just got a quote for an e30 318i for £4.4k before mods installed.
Insurance companies don't really like old cars.

[imahuman118]

It's hard being 19, you have to deal with so many first world problems .
S'ok I'll find a fun front wheel drive hatchback instead.

[MiggyA]

Maybe look at a 325ti, people go on about them and they aren't as attractive to 'enthusiasts' shall we say as the bigger cars so might come up cheaper on insurance.

[Glasgowrob]

some non caterham 7 esque car

Dutton phaeton or similar?


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dutton-phaeton-kit-car-/...

needs a bit of work but would be fun

Edited by Glasgowrob on Saturday 22 April 21:40

[ZX10R NIN]

imahuman118 said:

ZX10R NIN said:

Now I would approach this in a different manner why not improve the handling of your 318i? Especially if it's done a few miles it'll make a big difference

Polybushes:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/POWERFLEX-SUSPENSION-BUS...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/POWERFLEX-BUSHES-REAR-SU...

Uprated bushes don't seem to make a difference insurance wise the big one is when you fit better brakes it normally whacks up your premium.

Springs/coilovers: Budget dependent

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EIBACH-E10-20-014-02-22-...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Koni-STR-T-Lowering-Susp...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-3-SERIES-E90-E91-1-6...

Get the right spacers & you can fit most calipers:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Brembo-E38-7-Series-...

Or you can buy a complete OEM set up:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-2-Series-2014-On-M-S...

Obviously the above might mean you'll need some bigger wheels:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/19-ALLOY-WHEELS-VERTINI-...

Wrapped in some good rubber & you'll have yourself a very sweet car with good handling.

Thanks for looking into a complete suspension and brake rework for me, you clearly know your stuff.
But here in the uk you have to declare mods on your insurance, so I got a quote on my car with these mods: £7.8k
Insurance companies hate young drivers with mods.

Play around with the quote to see what costs the most (it's probably the brakes) also if you buy bushes for a 335i for an example then there are no extra costs insurance wise but if you lower it then yes you have to pay more also buying Bilstein replacements for your shocks you don't have to declare those, also buying M Sport springs (if yours is an SE) means your car can be OEM whilst still being upgraded.

[imahuman118]

PetrolJosh said:

8.8K? I'm 20 and got quoted £900 for one iirc, might've been as low as £700 but can't exactly remember off the top of my head, but definitely <£1k.

How'd you manage that, I've got a 1 year ncb and got the quote on the 230bhp 2.6, I do live in the middle of a city though.

[e21Mark]

imahuman118 said:

e21Mark said:

E30 BMW 318is

You could probably fit an LSD and Bilsteins.

I wanted an e46 before i bought my car, but the insurance is significantly higher. Just got a quote for an e30 318i for £4.4k before mods installed.
Insurance companies don't really like old cars.

Who are you getting quotes from? My step son was quoted significantly less than that. It's a tedious task but you'll need to get quotes from as many companies as possible. Have you considered a 'black box'?