Decent car for around 5k

[lost_boy]

Sorry if this is one of them threads everyone is sick of but after owning a 306 sh!tbox two Nova's and a fiesta that VOSA would have thrown me in prison for (possibly) AND I now drive for a living I was curious what people would recomend from personal experience.

Fuel type preferably petrol as it will only really be used on weekends

Engine size the bigger the better

Drive type pref 4WD or RWD

No 80's or 90's hot hatches

I've been drooling over Supra's for a loooong time (not the old ugly ones or NA versions) and recently discovered the Audi S4 B6 4.2 V8 which I quite fancy, if that helps people build an idea of what I'm considering.

Thanks in advance.

[TTwiggy]

I had a B6 S4 (avant). Great car, but not cheap to run. Also, not really as quick as the headline figures suggest.

What about a Jag XJR?

[Atmospheric]

You need a V8 then? There's a thread for that.

[lost_boy]

Anything will feel quicker than my previous cars and the 313 Sprinter I drive for work, I like the Avants especially with the Nappa leather! When you say not cheap to run I'm aware they do 21~ mpg but what else was a big cost?

Jag, good shout but a bit of a barge for my liking.

It doesn't HAVE to be V8 could be 2.0/2.5 turbo.

[TTwiggy]

lost_boy said:

Anything will feel quicker than my previous cars and the 313 Sprinter I drive for work, I like the Avants especially with the Nappa leather! When you say not cheap to run I'm aware they do 21~ mpg but what else was a big cost?

Jag, good shout but a bit of a barge for my liking.

It doesn't HAVE to be V8 could be 2.0/2.5 turbo.

Fuel is the least of your worries (though as the tank is small, you will find trips to petrol stations become annoyingly frequent). They tend to eat their way through ancillary radiators, and some of them really drink oil. They are heavy too, so tyres and suspension parts will wear out. Quite susceptible to DMF failure too. Fun cars though, and good sleepers as they look just like the 1.9TDi

[lost_boy]

TTwiggy said:

Fuel is the least of your worries (though as the tank is small, you will find trips to petrol stations become annoyingly frequent). They tend to eat their way through ancillary radiators, and some of them really drink oil. They are heavy too, so tyres and suspension parts will wear out. Quite susceptible to DMF failure too. Fun cars though, and good sleepers as they look just like the 1.9TDi

How many litres is the tank? No one on an audi forum I joined has mentioned any of this! How much are ancillary radiators? I heard about the oil issue and they take 8 litres tyres are apparently £130 a corner for a half decent brand, if suspension parts need replacing how much are we talking? Is there a solid flywheel conversion available?

You're starting to put me off them! I imagine Audi parts prices will leave me feeling like I've been flogged by their whole team of mechanics?

[schmalex]

Merc CLK500. The engine is pretty bombproof. c. 24 / 25mpg combined. Servicing isn't too bad (make sure you have got one which has had the plugs done relatively recently, as there are 16 of them). They are astonishingly quick for such an understated car. They only went out of production over the last year or so, with a minor facelift around 2005, so pick yourself up an Avantgarde spec, put a dateless plate on it and no-one will know that you are driving an 11 / 12 year old car.

ETA. If go for an S4, get the auto with paddleshift. The manual box in shocking and absolutely ruins the car (I've had both and the auto was way, way better in every respect)

[lost_boy]

schmalex said:

Merc CLK500. The engine is pretty bombproof. c. 24 / 25mpg combined. Servicing isn't too bad (make sure you have got one which has had the plugs done relatively recently, as there are 16 of them). They are astonishingly quick for such an understated car. They only went out of production over the last year or so, with a minor facelift around 2005, so pick yourself up an Avantgarde spec, put a dateless plate on it and no-one will know that you are driving an 11 / 12 year old car.

ETA. If go for an S4, get the auto with paddleshift. The manual box in shocking and absolutely ruins the car (I've had both and the auto was way, way better in every respect)

Thanks for the input, I would never have thought of the Merc CLK range, I'd have to do an insurance quote to get an idea of what that would cost for me but that's a nice looking car!

Thought I'd add: been driving 7 years but only have 3 NCB due to cars breaking on me and being scrapped, 0 points and 1 non fault crash last september which is still in the process of being settled

[Jasandjules]

A weekend toy? Wonder what a TVR S or TVR 350i can be had for.....

[loskie]

Forester STi

[lost_boy]

Sort of a weekend toy but it would be the only car I had so say I had a week off work a TVR wouldn't be practical although I do seriously love TVR's ESPECIALLY the Sagaris (wouldn't even buy a set of wheels £5K though lol) if anyone local to Durham has a Sagaris and fancies taking me for a blast ...

Come to think of it I've seen a couple around Durham lol

Forester sti, wouldn't have crossed my mind what's good about them?

[v8250]

loskie said:

Forester STi

It will be hard to get a good low mileage fsh STi for £5k. You will be able to find a very well looked after XT/XTn for this price. You can not go wrong with an FXT.

Other option...if you're after a real fun two seater with wonderful character why not a TVR S2 or S3? They're a lot of fun car for the money, simple mechanics with their Ford Cologne V6 engines and Ford off-the-shelf components. And of course, that great TVR exhaust noise.

[lost_boy]

Hmmmm second time them TVR's have been mentioned lol