What car - Presentable but fun and £5-6k?
Discussion
Hoping people can come up with a few ideas for me to consider, I'm in need of a new car as my Dad's 12 year old, 150k mile, Primera Estate with numerous war wounds isn't suitable for my needs any more.
I need something that's fun, but presentable, 2005 or later, up to 60,000 miles, room for two bikes in the back/boot, reliable and cheapish to run. Budget up to £6k, but preferably closer to the 5k mark.
Currently short listed is the Lexus IS200, BMW 3 Series Coupe, Audi TT, but will consider anything.
Ideas?
I need something that's fun, but presentable, 2005 or later, up to 60,000 miles, room for two bikes in the back/boot, reliable and cheapish to run. Budget up to £6k, but preferably closer to the 5k mark.
Currently short listed is the Lexus IS200, BMW 3 Series Coupe, Audi TT, but will consider anything.
Ideas?
E46 330i Touring (Preferably a Sport for looks and better seats) would do nicely, you should be able to easily get a nice late one for £5-6k and fit 2 bikes in the boot.
Mine (a coupe) averages 28-32mpg in mixed town/country driving and 38mpg on the motorway at a steady 70mph which is nice - A great compromise between comfort, performance and space. Just watch for a little rust, M54B30 oil consumption and the usual E46 things.
A great all rounder, perhaps a little souless in certain ways but very capable.
Mine (a coupe) averages 28-32mpg in mixed town/country driving and 38mpg on the motorway at a steady 70mph which is nice - A great compromise between comfort, performance and space. Just watch for a little rust, M54B30 oil consumption and the usual E46 things.
A great all rounder, perhaps a little souless in certain ways but very capable.
Those are nice! I don't need that much space, so looking at non estates I think. Problem I can see is that all the ones on eBay are 10 years old and more miles than I'm after. This:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2002-BMW-330i-M-SPORT-TO...
looks cool.
'Problem' I have is that I'm a little bit more restricted in latitude on mileage and age as my girlfriend is buying the car for me.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2002-BMW-330i-M-SPORT-TO...
looks cool.
'Problem' I have is that I'm a little bit more restricted in latitude on mileage and age as my girlfriend is buying the car for me.
paulrockliffe said:
Hoping people can come up with a few ideas for me to consider, I'm in need of a new car as my Dad's 12 year old, 150k mile, Primera Estate with numerous war wounds isn't suitable for my needs any more.
I need something that's fun, but presentable, 2005 or later, up to 60,000 miles, room for two bikes in the back/boot, reliable and cheapish to run. Budget up to £6k, but preferably closer to the 5k mark.
Currently short listed is the Lexus IS200, BMW 3 Series Coupe, Audi TT, but will consider anything.
Ideas?
What does "presentable" mean to you? (usually means boring to me for instance). And would a bike rack be a compromise?I need something that's fun, but presentable, 2005 or later, up to 60,000 miles, room for two bikes in the back/boot, reliable and cheapish to run. Budget up to £6k, but preferably closer to the 5k mark.
Currently short listed is the Lexus IS200, BMW 3 Series Coupe, Audi TT, but will consider anything.
Ideas?
Major Fallout said:
paulrockliffe said:
'Problem' I have is that I'm a little bit more restricted in latitude on mileage and age as my girlfriend is buying the car for me.
HOW? Teach me.
300bhp/ton said:
What does "presentable" mean to you? (usually means boring to me for instance). And would a bike rack be a compromise?
No scruffy, not rusty, not garish, not ostentatious. So yeah, a bit boring, but there's plenty of good looking cars out there that aren't boring or overly obvious. BMWs with the M Sport kit or S-line Audi's seem to be about as obvious as I'd want to go I think. Possibly a Focus ST, but not an RS.I'm unlikely to compromise on racks, but happy to squeeze bikes in rather than have loads of space. I live in an area that is really bad for bike thefts and a lot of them are targeted after being followed with bikes visible on the car. I also have to do long journeys with the bikes and prefer them inside for economy and because it's a pain to stop mid journey if the bikes aren't really safe.
paulrockliffe said:
No scruffy, not rusty, not garish, not ostentatious. So yeah, a bit boring, but there's plenty of good looking cars out there that aren't boring or overly obvious. BMWs with the M Sport kit or S-line Audi's seem to be about as obvious as I'd want to go I think. Possibly a Focus ST, but not an RS.
I'm unlikely to compromise on racks, but happy to squeeze bikes in rather than have loads of space. I live in an area that is really bad for bike thefts and a lot of them are targeted after being followed with bikes visible on the car. I also have to do long journeys with the bikes and prefer them inside for economy and because it's a pain to stop mid journey if the bikes aren't really safe.
Mazda 3 MPS, Brabus ForFour, Audi S4 or S4 Avant (B5 2.7TT version).I'm unlikely to compromise on racks, but happy to squeeze bikes in rather than have loads of space. I live in an area that is really bad for bike thefts and a lot of them are targeted after being followed with bikes visible on the car. I also have to do long journeys with the bikes and prefer them inside for economy and because it's a pain to stop mid journey if the bikes aren't really safe.
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