Looking for something fun, 4 seats - around £4000

[craiginuk]

Hi,

Very new to forum - this is my first post. Have always been into bikes and currently have a Honda Fireblade that just seems to sit in the garage.

Young family so am battling to get decent weather and free time to coincide Did all of 700 miles between M.O.T.s

Have been thinking lately of selling the bike and buying a slightly sporty toy car. Looked at the Mazda RX 8 but am slightly worried about mech issues at my £4000 price point. Also, I might use it for the odd work trip (about 250 miles round trip normally so the RX8 seems a bit thirsty)

Can anyone suggest anything? Preferably something with a small back seat so the children (age 2 and 5) can go in the back on the odd occasion. (This will basically be a toy so could also consider a 2 seater but would be gould if at least 1 booster seat could be fitted)

Was considering trying an MX 5 for a while but wondering if there are any other options.

Thanks in advance,

Craig

[kambites]

Well the Integra and Corrado are both very good cars and available for your budget, but are rather sensible for toys. Similar for an Alfa GTV and Fiat Coupe I guess.

A 200SX might make better "toy" material, I suppose.

Or there are some classics that would fit the bill. An MGB GT, maybe?

Edited by kambites on Tuesday 19th July 11:11

[TameRacingDriver]

kambites said:

Well the Integra and Corrado are both very good cars and available for your budget, but are rather sensible for toys. Similar for an Alfa GTV and Fiat Coupe I guess.

A 200SX might make better "toy" material, I suppose.

Curious as to why a 200SX makes a better "toy" than an Integra Type-R... the latter is probably more raw and focused?

[300bhp/ton]

craiginuk said:

Hi,

Very new to forum - this is my first post. Have always been into bikes and currently have a Honda Fireblade that just seems to sit in the garage.

Young family so am battling to get decent weather and free time to coincide Did all of 700 miles between M.O.T.s

Have been thinking lately of selling the bike and buying a slightly sporty toy car. Looked at the Mazda RX 8 but am slightly worried about mech issues at my £4000 price point. Also, I might use it for the odd work trip (about 250 miles round trip normally so the RX8 seems a bit thirsty)

Can anyone suggest anything? Preferably something with a small back seat so the children (age 2 and 5) can go in the back on the odd occasion. (This will basically be a toy so could also consider a 2 seater but would be gould if at least 1 booster seat could be fitted)

Was considering trying an MX 5 for a while but wondering if there are any other options.

Thanks in advance,

Craig

This is what I posted in a similar thread for a 4 seater/2+2 for £3.5k, poster had already had a 200SX.


To the list below I'd also add a Toyota/Lexus Soarer.



Honda Integra Type R (2000)
135,000 miles £3,500
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2986174.htm


FORD CAPRI 2.8i SPECIAL,LONG MOT AND TAX,FULL HISTORY,VERY CLEAN CAR (1984)
98,577 miles £4,000
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3006917.htm


Pontiac Firebird Formula (1988)
£2,500
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1846465.htm


1994 PONTIAC TRANS AM 5.7L V8 (1994)
35,500 miles £4,995
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2847000.htm


ROVER 220 COUPE TURBO (1996)
58,000 miles £1,400
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2542996.htm


JDM STI, Version 3, 300bhp (1997)
84,000 miles £2,750
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2986002.htm


Celica GT4 ST205 **UK Car** (1994)
104,000 miles £3,200
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2978406.htm


Skyline R32 GTS-T with 2 way, bigger turbo etc (1993)
£3,000
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2883839.htm


R33 NISSAN SKYLINE GT-S,TURBO , BLACK, LOW MILES 58,000 MANUEL BOX (1995)
58,000 miles £2,750
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3022103.htm


MG ZS 180 2.5 V6 MANUAL (2004)
71,614 miles £2,495
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2853066.htm


LOTUS EXCEL (1987) 2.2 HC ESSEX BLUE (1987)
96,000 miles £3,800
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3041444.htm


JEEP WRANGLER 4.0L SPORT MANUAL SOFT TOP (1997)
83,000 miles £4,250
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2861717.htm


JAGUAR X-TYPE 3.0 V6 SPORT
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2976352.htm


Accord Type R (1999)
120,000 miles £2,400
Accord Type R Accord Type R Accord Type R
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3040093.htm


Chevrolet Camaro American Muscle! (1984)
98,000 miles £3,495
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3037893.htm


325i Convertible, 1991, superb original condition (1991)
81,000 miles £3,995
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2945281.htm
http://cdn.images.pistonheads.com/aimg/2945/294528...

1998 BMW 3 SERIES 328I MTECH SPORT - LEATHER - STEEL SUNROOF +++ (1998/S)
80,405 miles £2,550
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2808774.htm


mustang gt for sale (1996)
136,534 miles £4,500
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2995275.htm

[zcacogp]

944 S2 or (tricker to get a good one for £4k, but not impossible) turbo.


Oli.

[thinfourth2]

MX5 * 2

[300bhp/ton]

TameRacingDriver said:

kambites said:

Well the Integra and Corrado are both very good cars and available for your budget, but are rather sensible for toys. Similar for an Alfa GTV and Fiat Coupe I guess.

A 200SX might make better "toy" material, I suppose.

Curious as to why a 200SX makes a better "toy" than an Integra Type-R... the latter is probably more raw and focused?

I think it has to depend what thrills you are after.

Personally I think the ITR DC2 is a highly focused and fun machine and does actually make a good toy/weekend car. But on the flip side it is fwd, which for some will never offer the balance and thrills of rwd. And despite the ITR being a sole coupe model in the UK it does hail from a range of far more mundane 3 and 5 door hatches.

To this end you tell it in the fact that a DC2 makes a very good daily driver and is actually rather practical.

The 200SX in stock trim, esp the S14 is more GT than sports car. I wouldn't say it's particularly a better toy, but they are fairly tunable and can be made rather lairy. Which suddenly changes the whole persona of them. Also rwd with a LSD can make them somewhat a hooligans car too.

[pimping]

300bhp/ton that is a most comprehensive and well put together list. The skyline looks well worth it.

[LawrenceOfArabia]

You could probably get an e46 330 coupe for less than 4k.

2001 330 M-sport



2001 330 Sport

Edited by LawrenceOfArabia on Tuesday 19th July 11:52

[snorkel sucker]

Clio 172 Cup

[300bhp/ton]

LawrenceOfArabia said:

That ZS180 posted by 300 looks quite nice....

They aren't bad at all. My brother had one and it was very good and very reliable.

An ITR is a better car, faster and more fun. But the ZS180 isn't a million miles away and not only is cheaper, but offers greater practicality with 4 and 5 door options.

[craiginuk]

Wow - thanks for all the quick replies. Thanks Oli - like the look of the 944. I was confusing that with the 924 so had not really considered it.

Does a 944 have seats in the back?

Craig

[kambites]

TameRacingDriver said:

Curious as to why a 200SX makes a better "toy" than an Integra Type-R... the latter is probably more raw and focused?

Mostly I was just thinking of the tunability aspect, I suppose.

[MKnight702]

craiginuk said:

Looked at the Mazda RX 8 but am slightly worried about mech issues at my £4000 price point. Also, I might use it for the odd work trip (about 250 miles round trip normally so the RX8 seems a bit thirsty)

Your budget ought to get you a decent RX8. My wife's 55 plate car has done 36k miles, full service history etc etc, we were offered £2.5k trade in at the stealer. So allowing for mark up etc £4k should be plenty.

You are right to be worried about the thirst! My wife only does round the town journeys with the odd longer trip at the weekend to clear the cobwebs and she averages ~18mpg, on longer trips we can see 25mpg. As for oil, we don't use that much but we have just had to replace the coil packs as they fail (DIY ~£200).

Kate loves the car and it takes the kids no problem, luggage space isn't too bad either.

[300bhp/ton]

craiginuk said:

Wow - thanks for all the quick replies. Thanks Oli - like the look of the 944. I was confusing that with the 924 so had not really considered it.

Does a 944 have seats in the back?

Craig

The 924 and 944 are largely similar cars in many ways. 944 is generally equipped with more powerful engines.

I really like these. Yep 2 rear seats and a hatch. Not hugely bad on running costs, although some items are more pricey. Despite being galvanized I believe they suffer rust in the arches, so make sure you know what you are buying.

But I think they are a classy, good looking sports coupe.

[CampDavid]

944? Man the fk up

[nickythesaint]

LawrenceOfArabia said:

You could probably get an e46 330 coupe for less than 4k.

2001 330 M-sport



2001 330 Sport

Edited by LawrenceOfArabia on Tuesday 19th July 11:52

That is a lot of car for the money.

Do a search for chipping 330D's too ;-)

[Karyn]

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3026677.htm

[craiginuk]

CampDavid said:

944? Man the fk up

Here we go again - I suppose you'll be saying the 944 is a hairdresser's car.

If money was no object, I would "man up" but 944 looks a possibility to me at the moment. Thanks for the input though..

[CampDavid]

craiginuk said:

CampDavid said:

944? Man the fk up

Here we go again - I suppose you'll be saying the 944 is a hairdresser's car.

If money was no object, I would "man up" but 944 looks a possibility to me at the moment. Thanks for the input though..

It was said in a mildly tounge in cheek way.

I'm undecided between a 928 and a 944 myself. The 928 is glorious. The engine is stunning and unlike some modern Porsche it's as good as Porsche could have made it. No corners cut and no trying to nobble it, Cayman style, to make sure the 911's still better.

The 944 though is still an awesome car and certainly the one I'd want to pay the bills for, especially on track.

Both complement each other quite nicely and would sit together well in a budget stable