What car £5k - what was the Focus ST170 of 2007 ?

[L555BAT]

Looking to replace my 03 Astra SRi in the new year.

Quite demanding requirements I think, may need compromise:

• £5k, maybe £5.5k
• max 7 years old
• max 60k miles
• not slower than current car (150bhp, 200Nm, 0-60 7.9s)
• not French at this age (reliability)
• reasonably practical (no MX5)
• bearable for 500 mile motorway round trip for long weekends, bi-monthly
• to do 8k a year
• trade seller

A few years ago, the last of the Focus ST170s would probably have suited well.

But what is there now? What did people who would have bought new ST170s in 2004, have bought if they wanted the same type of new car in 2007? Did the trend towards smaller engines kill the quick car for the common man?

The Fiesta ST is there, but from what I read they're a bit frantic on the motorway (4k revs at 80 in 5th). Also generally a bit dated and unrefined, and starting to fall into the hands of chavs as my current car has.

Corsa 1.6T SRi fits too, doesn't have the drawbacks of the Fiesta ST but is ugly, and I'd prefer not to have a Vauxhall again (on my 3rd already!).

So, any other suggestions?

[The Ors]

Octavia RS?

[L555BAT]

The Ors said:

Octavia RS?

I do like them, would need to be with 80k on the clock for £5k though. £7k for one with 60k.

[McSam]

Are you forced into the 7-year limit by an employer's terms? If not, bin that entirely and buy yourself something proper like a 330i.

[iwantagta]

9-3 aero:
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/s...

[Buggerlugz]

mazda 6 mps will tick all your boxes apart from the 7 years

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/m...

theres a private one advertised also for £5.5k with 45k on the clock that looks immaculate

[L555BAT]

McSam said:

Are you forced into the 7-year limit by an employer's terms? If not, bin that entirely and buy yourself something proper like a 330i.

No, my own preference (and the mileage). Driven by want of reliability. I live and work away a lot, so want it to be dependable for when I'm off (daily is not an issue, as I commute by train). Also a pain to pay garages down here to fix what I could fix myself or with a friend at home.

Turning 7 years into 9-10 years however brings in a small number of:

• Mondeo ST220
• Audi A3 3.2 quattro
• 130i/330i at £6k

iwantagta said:

9-3 aero:
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/s...

Saab ok, old-style auto not good.

[glazbagun]

I'm sure you'd get a MK V Golf GTI on ~70K post cambelt change for under 5.5K, but probably not less than years old.

[L555BAT]

Buggerlugz said:

mazda 6 mps will tick all your boxes apart from the 7 years

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/m...

theres a private one advertised also for £5.5k with 45k on the clock that looks immaculate

Good, one of those with dealer backup would do. Pre-23 Mar 2006 too so no £485 road tax.

[Buggerlugz]

ive had mine 4 years and love but i know what you mean about the road tax, although for the amount of car you get for the money i feel the high road tax is offset to a certain extent.

[Gareth1974]

Seat Leon FR petrol?

[JimmyConwayNW]

Astra VXR or a mk5 golf Gti sound the right kind of thing.

[Greengecko]

A newer Focus ST?


Does 80 at 3k revs, and about 34mpg on a motorway run.
But if you do decide to give it a little bit then it's a lot of fun:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHsKZ_eW7a4

Edited by Greengecko on Tuesday 16th December 23:59

[McSam]

L555BAT said:

McSam said:

Are you forced into the 7-year limit by an employer's terms? If not, bin that entirely and buy yourself something proper like a 330i.

No, my own preference (and the mileage). Driven by want of reliability. I live and work away a lot, so want it to be dependable for when I'm off (daily is not an issue, as I commute by train). Also a pain to pay garages down here to fix what I could fix myself or with a friend at home.

Turning 7 years into 9-10 years however brings in a small number of:

• Mondeo ST220
• Audi A3 3.2 quattro
• 130i/330i at £6k

OK, I understand that, but my experience shows me - very strongly - that you get better reliability buying a car that's slightly older but was engineered with a proper budget first time round. Age and mileage doesn't bother my 177k E36 track car! Certainly at your budget, I would expect a 130i or 330i to be utterly dependable, and more so than a slightly newer hatch. An eight-year-old BMW really isn't at the point where it starts to fall apart.

Obviously lower mileage is usually a bonus, but don't rate it above condition and history. If a clearly loved car with loads of history turns up at 100k or more, I'd have that over any generic 60k example.

Buy whatever the hell you want, but keep an open mind!

[skene]

Honda Civic type r? EP3 model but here will be some FN2 models beginning to drop into this bracket.

The fn2 is more refined but you'd get a corker of an EP for that.

(Yes I'm biased )

[L555BAT]

The usual choices - Astras, Focuses, Civics and Golfs are over budget for the requirements, a Leon under £6k is unusual - can only find one atm.

Greengecko said:

A newer Focus ST?

...

Had this as my computer desktop background in 2007 £7k to put an 07 one in that colour on my driveway though.

McSam said:

OK, I understand that, but my experience shows me - very strongly - that you get better reliability buying a car that's slightly older but was engineered with a proper budget first time round. Age and mileage doesn't bother my 177k E36 track car! Certainly at your budget, I would expect a 130i or 330i to be utterly dependable, and more so than a slightly newer hatch. An eight-year-old BMW really isn't at the point where it starts to fall apart.

Obviously lower mileage is usually a bonus, but don't rate it above condition and history. If a clearly loved car with loads of history turns up at 100k or more, I'd have that over any generic 60k example.

Buy whatever the hell you want, but keep an open mind!

I'm considering upping the age limit now, it brings a lot more options (including the usual choices) into range.