Primera GT LE for £800, worth it? Or something else?
Discussion
I need a cheap shed to smoke about in for a couple of years, but I still want something a little fun in the bargain.
I've found a Primera GT LE near me, which on the face of it, looks pretty tidy, for under £800 with that chromaflip paint. I've been reading that these are very reliable, and very good handling, fairly economical and with semi-reasonable pace as long as you rev the titties off them, so would this be a good buy?
I've considered a few other cars, but there are problems.
Saxo VTS / 106 GTI - Surprisingly high insurance - i.e. 25 - 30 % more than the GT, and they cost more to buy, and probably with worse reliability.
MX5 - Good choice - really good insurance, but I've had one, I do like the drive, but I have to say, never that keen on the image... still a fairly strong possibility - but can I get a decent one for under £1k? I'd prefer the 1.6 BTW. Pretty thirsty though for what they are.
Puma - I like this idea, don't like the image, but fun - but, they're all rotten.
106 Rallye - I would have liked this idea, cheapish insurance, road tax etc, great back to basics motoring, very light, love it. Unfortunately, HOW expensive?!
AX GT / 205 XS - As rare as hens teeth.
Saxo VTR / 106 XSI - If I'm going to pay higher road tax I may as well go for the VTS / GTI.
Clio Sport 172 - A good one for a grand? A pontential money pit.
MR2 N/A - I'm getting rid of a turbo so I'd rather not. Mk1s are rust buckets at this price.
Anything else I've missed?
My preference is for a small, light, economical car in the vein of a rallye, but it just strikes me that bigger cars are cheaper to buy and insure which kind of negates the running costs... Whatever it is, it can't ruin me.
I've found a Primera GT LE near me, which on the face of it, looks pretty tidy, for under £800 with that chromaflip paint. I've been reading that these are very reliable, and very good handling, fairly economical and with semi-reasonable pace as long as you rev the titties off them, so would this be a good buy?
I've considered a few other cars, but there are problems.
Saxo VTS / 106 GTI - Surprisingly high insurance - i.e. 25 - 30 % more than the GT, and they cost more to buy, and probably with worse reliability.
MX5 - Good choice - really good insurance, but I've had one, I do like the drive, but I have to say, never that keen on the image... still a fairly strong possibility - but can I get a decent one for under £1k? I'd prefer the 1.6 BTW. Pretty thirsty though for what they are.
Puma - I like this idea, don't like the image, but fun - but, they're all rotten.
106 Rallye - I would have liked this idea, cheapish insurance, road tax etc, great back to basics motoring, very light, love it. Unfortunately, HOW expensive?!
AX GT / 205 XS - As rare as hens teeth.
Saxo VTR / 106 XSI - If I'm going to pay higher road tax I may as well go for the VTS / GTI.
Clio Sport 172 - A good one for a grand? A pontential money pit.
MR2 N/A - I'm getting rid of a turbo so I'd rather not. Mk1s are rust buckets at this price.
Anything else I've missed?
My preference is for a small, light, economical car in the vein of a rallye, but it just strikes me that bigger cars are cheaper to buy and insure which kind of negates the running costs... Whatever it is, it can't ruin me.
Good luck fella..!!
A cracking car..I'm on my 2nd Gt and love it to bits..
Likes to be revved and sticks to the road like glue..
Good fun and cheap to own too..[Gquote=TameRacingDriver]Cheers for the replies, it seems like a good option then!
I have considered the 306 GTI but poor fuel economy, and rather higher maintenance than the Prim... and higher insurance and purchase costs. Rallye even more so.
Going to go down and see it on Tuesday.
[/quote]
A cracking car..I'm on my 2nd Gt and love it to bits..
Likes to be revved and sticks to the road like glue..
Good fun and cheap to own too..[Gquote=TameRacingDriver]Cheers for the replies, it seems like a good option then!
I have considered the 306 GTI but poor fuel economy, and rather higher maintenance than the Prim... and higher insurance and purchase costs. Rallye even more so.
Going to go down and see it on Tuesday.
[/quote]
s m said:
Knowing you had a 328i and liked it, will be interested to see what you think of the Primera - ran both together for a while
What did you think ? I'm really interested in your opinion...I liked the 328, I swapped for the MR2 T which is fun, more fun in many respects but the BMW was a better all rounder.
Being pedantic. The model you are looking at with the chromoflair paint is a GTSE , not a GTLE.
Buy it. You will love it. I owned a red GTLE saloon and a Mystic green GTSE hatch.
Hatchbacks were limited to 200 and saloons were limited to 100 in Mystic green chromoflair.
Not the fastest car , but not the slowest either. The SR20DE engines are pretty much bulletproof aslong as you keep upon with your oil changes.
Just a few points of advice. Driveshaft and CV joint failures are common due to a design flaw in them. Check for rust in the door sills. If it has any bad rust there. Walk away.
Very good cars for the cash otherwise.
Buy it. You will love it. I owned a red GTLE saloon and a Mystic green GTSE hatch.
Hatchbacks were limited to 200 and saloons were limited to 100 in Mystic green chromoflair.
Not the fastest car , but not the slowest either. The SR20DE engines are pretty much bulletproof aslong as you keep upon with your oil changes.
Just a few points of advice. Driveshaft and CV joint failures are common due to a design flaw in them. Check for rust in the door sills. If it has any bad rust there. Walk away.
Very good cars for the cash otherwise.
Considered a VW?
Mk3 Golf GTi 16v? Can be total rust buckets but decent engine and some slightly firmer/lower springs and dampers sorts the slightly wallowy handling. That ABF engine is bombproof though
Or a Corrado 16v? I picked a late spec one up with leather and all the toys for £1300 a few years ago, a properly special car to drive, loved every drive in it and really regret selling it. Probably the best handling FWD car I've driven, little bit asthmatic in 16v form but much cheaper running costs than the VR6. Although my Golf VR6 was ultra reliable to be fair (bar service items i spent about £250 on replacement engine bits and labour in 2 years) just a tad thirsty round town!
Mk3 Golf GTi 16v? Can be total rust buckets but decent engine and some slightly firmer/lower springs and dampers sorts the slightly wallowy handling. That ABF engine is bombproof though
Or a Corrado 16v? I picked a late spec one up with leather and all the toys for £1300 a few years ago, a properly special car to drive, loved every drive in it and really regret selling it. Probably the best handling FWD car I've driven, little bit asthmatic in 16v form but much cheaper running costs than the VR6. Although my Golf VR6 was ultra reliable to be fair (bar service items i spent about £250 on replacement engine bits and labour in 2 years) just a tad thirsty round town!
TameRacingDriver said:
Cheers for the advice... how would CV joints or drive shaft failure mainfest itself?
CV joints = Nasty clicking sound on full lock.Driveshafts = Nasty snapping sound followed by some unhealthy crunching.
When you look at the car , get underneath if you can. Look for bad warping on the driveshaft arms from the CV joint back. You will find a rubber anti-vibration ring. Just look for corosion around it. Any wear will be obvious when you see it.
TameRacingDriver said:
Cheers for the advice... how would CV joints or drive shaft failure mainfest itself?
If found this out the hard way driving my one back the day I bought it last year, thought it would be fun to do a racing start off the lights, dropped the clutch nicely at 4,000 revs expecting a nice start and the drive shaft snapped!Put 2 new drive shafts in and it's been fine since copes with all sorts of punishment.
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