Will a sub-£4000 put a smile on my face?
Discussion
Hi all,
I am currently without a car and need to purchase something pretty damn quick. However, I'm at a lost as to what to buy. I currently have a budget of £4000, but I want quite a lot of bang for my buck, if you will. In the past I've owned cars which have been pretty good fun-to-drive, including an '89 Austin Mini, '96 Mazda MX-5, Mk2 and Mk3 MR2's, '01 Audi TT Coupe and - dare I say it - an '01 Ford Puma, but they've ended up either being too basic or problematic.
I'm therefore looking for something that meets the following criteria:
a) Fun to drive - You know what I mean; nippy, grippy and sure to put a smile on your face!
b) Sub-£4000
c) Relatively cheap to run and maintain
d) Reliable
e) 2 to 3-door maximum - I've only got to worry about myself at the moment!
f) 30+ mpg
g) Decent equipment, inc. airbags, air-con, leather or Alcantara seats, electric windows, remote central locking
h) 0-62mph in less than 8 seconds
i) Capable both driving around a city (which is what I mainly do) or blasting up a motorway
I think that should do for now!
It's a tough ask, but is there anything outstanding that comes to mind?
Many thanks,
Gareth
I am currently without a car and need to purchase something pretty damn quick. However, I'm at a lost as to what to buy. I currently have a budget of £4000, but I want quite a lot of bang for my buck, if you will. In the past I've owned cars which have been pretty good fun-to-drive, including an '89 Austin Mini, '96 Mazda MX-5, Mk2 and Mk3 MR2's, '01 Audi TT Coupe and - dare I say it - an '01 Ford Puma, but they've ended up either being too basic or problematic.
I'm therefore looking for something that meets the following criteria:
a) Fun to drive - You know what I mean; nippy, grippy and sure to put a smile on your face!
b) Sub-£4000
c) Relatively cheap to run and maintain
d) Reliable
e) 2 to 3-door maximum - I've only got to worry about myself at the moment!
f) 30+ mpg
g) Decent equipment, inc. airbags, air-con, leather or Alcantara seats, electric windows, remote central locking
h) 0-62mph in less than 8 seconds
i) Capable both driving around a city (which is what I mainly do) or blasting up a motorway
I think that should do for now!
It's a tough ask, but is there anything outstanding that comes to mind?
Many thanks,
Gareth
gtwilliams said:
ManOpener said:
Clio 182, job jobbed. Save the rest for fixing it!
Good shout! I have considered these, but they're really unreliable are they not?You should be able to get a decent EP3 Civic Type R for £4k. I personally don't rate them but others do.
Edited by ManOpener on Tuesday 15th July 13:31
+1 for the Clio 1*2 (a 172 will do just as good a job as the 182 and probably cost you less).
The only problem I had with mine was the immobilizer doing its job too well. Occasionally needed the battery disconnecting to fix, but I think this could have been resolved with a key map. Long story short though great car, fun to drive and 30+ mpg easy peasy.
I had one for a year, wish I hadn't sold it but a 90 mile daily commute and the offer of an ancient focus diesel forced my hand really.
The only problem I had with mine was the immobilizer doing its job too well. Occasionally needed the battery disconnecting to fix, but I think this could have been resolved with a key map. Long story short though great car, fun to drive and 30+ mpg easy peasy.
I had one for a year, wish I hadn't sold it but a 90 mile daily commute and the offer of an ancient focus diesel forced my hand really.
I'm very biased but what about a 200sx? Going up in value but should still get a good one. 14a comes standard with leather + air con, solid engines, great chassis but watch out for rust.
Also, mine was a bit less than 4k and has just touching 300bhp/310lb ft. Great bang for your buck.
Also, mine was a bit less than 4k and has just touching 300bhp/310lb ft. Great bang for your buck.
I'd probably buy a few grand of Focus TDCi, there's little that goes really really wrong with them, they're cheap to service and maintain, and there's always a few in any scrapyard.
If you've had reliability problems with past cars then something that's easy to work on, either by yourself or from a garage will give lower bills, there's nothing that jumps out on a Focus as being a 10 hour job to complete
Or buy an M100 Elan and see what happens
If you've had reliability problems with past cars then something that's easy to work on, either by yourself or from a garage will give lower bills, there's nothing that jumps out on a Focus as being a 10 hour job to complete
Or buy an M100 Elan and see what happens
andy-xr said:
I'd probably buy a few grand of Focus TDCi, there's little that goes really really wrong with them, they're cheap to service and maintain, and there's always a few in any scrapyard.
If you've had reliability problems with past cars then something that's easy to work on, either by yourself or from a garage will give lower bills, there's nothing that jumps out on a Focus as being a 10 hour job to complete
Or buy an M100 Elan and see what happens
Yeah but he said he wanted something fun! There's no fun whatsoever in a Focus TDCi!If you've had reliability problems with past cars then something that's easy to work on, either by yourself or from a garage will give lower bills, there's nothing that jumps out on a Focus as being a 10 hour job to complete
Or buy an M100 Elan and see what happens
Bug-eye or earlier Subaru Impreza. Budget £2800 for the car and £1200 for an LPG conversion.
Bought my 2005 'Blobeye' WRX for £3300 last April, and had it LPG converted for £1270 the same month; the conversion paid for itself afer 12,000 miles. 20,000 miles later I'm still smiling! 225bhp, 4wd fun; diesel golf running costs.
Bought my 2005 'Blobeye' WRX for £3300 last April, and had it LPG converted for £1270 the same month; the conversion paid for itself afer 12,000 miles. 20,000 miles later I'm still smiling! 225bhp, 4wd fun; diesel golf running costs.
Left field choice - Toyota Levin. 1.6 20v is a gem. You'll get a very good one for half your budget and they are rare in the UK.
There are countless other Japanese coupes too but the levin will easily reach the desired 30 mpg where others might struggle.
There are countless other Japanese coupes too but the levin will easily reach the desired 30 mpg where others might struggle.
Edited by Johnny 89 on Tuesday 15th July 13:51
Edited by Johnny 89 on Tuesday 15th July 13:51
Craikeybaby said:
My normal suggestions for those requirements would be MX-5 or mk3 MR2, but you seem to have had those in the past. What didn't you like about them?
The MX-5 Mk1 was a lovely car, but a little too basic for my liking. After two years of driving it around and dealing with all the creaking and rattling (don't worry, there weren't parts that were hanging off or poorly attached). I need something a little more refined now that I'm starting to become a little more sensible (aka old)! I couldn't fault it other than that I just have different needs now.Mk 1 (1M) Leon Cupra R might be a good shout too. The 1.8T is pretty reliable as an engine and aside from being somewhat costly in the brakes department and almost all of them having had problems with door seals at one point or another I can't think of a great deal else that goes wrong with them.
Mr Taxpayer said:
Bug-eye or earlier Subaru Impreza. Budget £2800 for the car and £1200 for performance bits .
Bought my 2005 'Blobeye' WRX for £3300 last April, and had it LPG converted for £1270 the same month; the conversion paid for itself afer 12,000 miles. 20,000 miles later I'm still smiling! 225bhp, 4wd fun; diesel golf running costs.
Fixored that for you Bought my 2005 'Blobeye' WRX for £3300 last April, and had it LPG converted for £1270 the same month; the conversion paid for itself afer 12,000 miles. 20,000 miles later I'm still smiling! 225bhp, 4wd fun; diesel golf running costs.
Simon.
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