Hate to do this.... But What Car?!

[TAHodgson]

My mum's after something new, and she's given me the task of finding her something. Currently driving a Mk3 Golf GTI colour concept that's falling to bits and i'm fed up of repairing!
Doesn't do high mileage. Must be manual, diesel or petrol.
Pref '05 or newer.
£3k, could push to £3.5
2 seaters are allowed, she's not ruled out an MX5!

Previously owned (might help a bit), these are in chronological order from 2000 onwards:
E36 325i
E36 320
E36 M3
MK4 Golf GTI - The horrible N/A 2.0
Old M reg Mitsubishi Pajero
Triumph Stag - No idea why she bought that.... went a bit mental I think
R53 Mini Cooper S
The current Golf, MK3 GTI Colour Concept, 2nd owner, full history. But a proper nail.

[300bhp/ton]

TAHodgson said:

My mum's after something new, and she's given me the task of finding her something. Currently driving a Mk3 Golf GTI colour concept that's falling to bits and i'm fed up of repairing!
Doesn't do high mileage. Must be manual, diesel or petrol.
Pref '05 or newer.
£3k, could push to £3.5
2 seaters are allowed, she's not ruled out an MX5!

Previously owned (might help a bit), these are in chronological order from 2000 onwards:
E36 325i
E36 320
E36 M3
MK4 Golf GTI - The horrible N/A 2.0
Old M reg Mitsubishi Pajero
Triumph Stag - No idea why she bought that.... went a bit mental I think
R53 Mini Cooper S
The current Golf, MK3 GTI Colour Concept, 2nd owner, full history. But a proper nail.

What sort of car are you really looking for? Some parameters would be helpful, so far you've said manual, £3.5k and 05 or newer.

On PH alone there are around 700 cars meeting this criteria.

[LuS1fer]

I replaced my Mk 3 Golf GTI with a Fiesta ST. Love it. Small, chunky, quick. My Mrs loves it.

Suzuki swift Sport was another candidate but that might be out of budget though they do a 1.5 GLX with over 100hp. Again, might be out of budget.

[TAHodgson]

This is my problem, she's really not ruling out anything. This is why i've included a list of previously owned vehicles, thinking it'd give an idea of what to look at?

[big_boz]

This was the biggest engine i could find in budget in a 3 min Autotrader search, Seemed like as good a criteria as any to apply!

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...

[300bhp/ton]

TAHodgson said:

This is my problem, she's really not ruling out anything. This is why i've included a list of previously owned vehicles, thinking it'd give an idea of what to look at?

Well ok, but there must be some idea of use and what it needs to do, e.g.


-you've said maybe a 2 seater, does this mean she never needs to carry 3+ people?

-does she need a boot? Or more specifically does it need to be able to haul anything in particular?

-Does she enjoy driving? A MK3 Golf would seem to be quite a come down from a Cooper S or M3?

-What sort of roads will it be used on mostly?

-What sort of journey length?

-Is age really an important factors?

-Does colour, spec, features or options have any bearing?

-How will it be maintained? And will maintenance costs be an issue?

-How many miles a month on how much fuel budget? This equals required mpg.

-Are residuals an issue?

-Is car availability an issue, as in do you have time to find the right one (maybe travel to get it), or do you want a large local choice of vehicles to look at and choose from?

[TAHodgson]

300bhp/ton said:

TAHodgson said:

This is my problem, she's really not ruling out anything. This is why i've included a list of previously owned vehicles, thinking it'd give an idea of what to look at?

Well ok, but there must be some idea of use and what it needs to do, e.g.


-you've said maybe a 2 seater, does this mean she never needs to carry 3+ people?

-does she need a boot? Or more specifically does it need to be able to haul anything in particular?

-Does she enjoy driving? A MK3 Golf would seem to be quite a come down from a Cooper S or M3?

-What sort of roads will it be used on mostly?

-What sort of journey length?

-Is age really an important factors?

-Does colour, spec, features or options have any bearing?

-How will it be maintained? And will maintenance costs be an issue?

-How many miles a month on how much fuel budget? This equals required mpg.

-Are residuals an issue?

-Is car availability an issue, as in do you have time to find the right one (maybe travel to get it), or do you want a large local choice of vehicles to look at and choose from?

As usual, being very comprehensive haha.
- A half decent boot would be a bonus. That being said, she had use of my old MK1 MX5 for 2 weeks and had no issues.
- Does enjoy driving very much, but is by no means an 'enthusiast', she just liked the golf when she saw it.
- Mostly A roads, little to no motorways.
- Avg. mileage is probably about 6k per year
- I personally don't believe age matters, but it's something she said, I could get away with something older I reckon.
- Leather is nice but not essential, air con almost essential. And she has a thing for Black cars if that helps?
- I look after the whole family when it comes to cars, not a mechanic, just quite an experienced amateur. Not scared of trying anything.
- MPG is unimportant.

[300bhp/ton]

If newer is important then this is an 07. Ok it's an auto, but they look good and are underatted in the UK. Quite nice inside and well specced. It's also something a bit different.

Dodge Avenger 2.4 SXT 4DR AUTO (2007)
http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...




Slightly older, but maybe a nicer place for her to be than an MX-5.

BMW Z SERIES Z3 ROADSTER 2001 (2001)
http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...



CHRYSLER CROSSFIRE V6 2004 (2004)
http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...



JEEP WRANGLER 2.5 (1997)
http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...