Alternative to MK3 Focus RS around £20k
Discussion
Hi all,
Well about a year ago I bought my first 'good' car, a two year old Fiesta ST-2 which is great. I thought at the time I'd be happy with it for about 10 years and therefore depreciation, hankering after other cars etc. wouldn't matter so much but now I keep looking at the Focus RS and thinking hmmmm.... however, £30 - 35k for a car is just more than I can really justify. So with my car being worth maybe £8-10k now and me being happy to take on another £10k towards a car, can anyone recommend anything else in the £20k price range available now that has as much fun/power to tide me over until the new RS depreciates. Ideally another somewhat practical hot hatch but a two seater that wouldn't have really high ownership costs would also be interesting.
Do all roads lead to either a Golf R or a MK2 RS?
Well about a year ago I bought my first 'good' car, a two year old Fiesta ST-2 which is great. I thought at the time I'd be happy with it for about 10 years and therefore depreciation, hankering after other cars etc. wouldn't matter so much but now I keep looking at the Focus RS and thinking hmmmm.... however, £30 - 35k for a car is just more than I can really justify. So with my car being worth maybe £8-10k now and me being happy to take on another £10k towards a car, can anyone recommend anything else in the £20k price range available now that has as much fun/power to tide me over until the new RS depreciates. Ideally another somewhat practical hot hatch but a two seater that wouldn't have really high ownership costs would also be interesting.
Do all roads lead to either a Golf R or a MK2 RS?
HumanDoing said:
Hi all,
Well about a year ago I bought my first 'good' car, a two year old Fiesta ST-2 which is great. I thought at the time I'd be happy with it for about 10 years and therefore depreciation, hankering after other cars etc. wouldn't matter so much but now I keep looking at the Focus RS and thinking hmmmm.... however, £30 - 35k for a car is just more than I can really justify. So with my car being worth maybe £8-10k now and me being happy to take on another £10k towards a car, can anyone recommend anything else in the £20k price range available now that has as much fun/power to tide me over until the new RS depreciates. Ideally another somewhat practical hot hatch but a two seater that wouldn't have really high ownership costs would also be interesting.
Do all roads lead to either a Golf R or a MK2 RS?
How old are you? I'd guess early twenties? Enjoy the Fiesta, or jump out and put 5k in savings and the other 5k into something enjoyable that's on the back end of its depreciation curve. Do Not Spunk A Load of Cash On A Fast Depreciating £20k Asset. Money saved (or ideally invested!) in your youth is exponentially useful!Well about a year ago I bought my first 'good' car, a two year old Fiesta ST-2 which is great. I thought at the time I'd be happy with it for about 10 years and therefore depreciation, hankering after other cars etc. wouldn't matter so much but now I keep looking at the Focus RS and thinking hmmmm.... however, £30 - 35k for a car is just more than I can really justify. So with my car being worth maybe £8-10k now and me being happy to take on another £10k towards a car, can anyone recommend anything else in the £20k price range available now that has as much fun/power to tide me over until the new RS depreciates. Ideally another somewhat practical hot hatch but a two seater that wouldn't have really high ownership costs would also be interesting.
Do all roads lead to either a Golf R or a MK2 RS?
JWH said:
How old are you? I'd guess early twenties? Enjoy the Fiesta, or jump out and put 5k in savings and the other 5k into something enjoyable that's on the back end of its depreciation curve. Do Not Spunk A Load of Cash On A Fast Depreciating £20k Asset. Money saved (or ideally invested!) in your youth is exponentially useful!
Thanks - I'm 32 and yes I do save and invest quite a lot - which is part of the reason I only got my first decent car at 31 haha, as I insisted on saving up for it. But I think I went a bit over the top with that as for relatively little interest I could've had it much earlier, hence the thought. But yeah there's nothing 'wrong' with the ST at all, it's fantastic, totally trouble free in a year of ownership and only done 20,000 miles so far. I just have ... an itch? Replies so far have given me a lot to think about, although presumably £5k on anything even more fun than a decent hot hatch could equal quite a lot of headaches as well? HumanDoing said:
Thanks - I'm 32 and yes I do save and invest quite a lot - which is part of the reason I only got my first decent car at 31 haha, as I insisted on saving up for it. But I think I went a bit over the top with that as for relatively little interest I could've had it much earlier, hence the thought. But yeah there's nothing 'wrong' with the ST at all, it's fantastic, totally trouble free in a year of ownership and only done 20,000 miles so far. I just have ... an itch? Replies so far have given me a lot to think about, although presumably £5k on anything even more fun than a decent hot hatch could equal quite a lot of headaches as well?
It depends what make you are buying. You can get a lemon or you can get something equally fun and reliable like a Corolla T-sport or some other Japanese, like Lexus IS 200 and the best part is that you will still have possibly 3.5 grand to spend on maintenance (if any).Have you considered any of the following, E46 M3, FD2 Civic Type R, Z4M, Jaguar XKR, Cayman S, Boxster S, S2000, E92 M3. I wouldn't personally pick a fwd hot hatch with your budget if you don't require the practicality of one, if it's got to be one then a Mk2 RS as suggested above or FD2 CTR are probably the safest bets in terms of fun and depreciation, might even make a bob or two.
It's difficult to look past a mk2 RS given how well they have retained their value, this factor would , I imagine, also be helpful in getting you in to a position where you feel you can go for the mk3 as a Golf R or similar will of course be likely to lose value quicker than the mk2.
For less than 20k you could buy very comparable hatches to the RS, better drivers cars in fact. A nearly new 275 RS Megane remains THE best drivers hot hatch you could buy , nothing better in that class. And that includes 135i , Golf R and the Civic, good as they are (and definitely better than the mk2 RS )
Much more modern than E46M3 for example, still under warranty for years yet.
To minimise depreciation you need to look at older 265 and 250s though which are just ridiculous bargains at 13-15k
Much more modern than E46M3 for example, still under warranty for years yet.
To minimise depreciation you need to look at older 265 and 250s though which are just ridiculous bargains at 13-15k
I would look at one of these, this one is supercharged - or the OEM turbocharged model is also recommended.
Cheap running costs, quicker than quick, headturner..... save £8k and shouldn't depreciate much - may even appreciate? Only downside is the Focus RS may feel a bit slow......
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
Mike
Cheap running costs, quicker than quick, headturner..... save £8k and shouldn't depreciate much - may even appreciate? Only downside is the Focus RS may feel a bit slow......
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
Mike
JWH said:
Do Not Spunk A Load of Cash On A Fast Depreciating £20k Asset. Money saved (or ideally invested!) in your youth is exponentially useful!
Depends what you call fast - Megane RSs or M135is have shown very reasonably low levels of depreciation both from new if bought well and from 1-2 years old. Spend a little, save a little.
GrumpyTwig said:
Legacywr said:
The Megane RS is a bit trash!
A eloquent and well thought out commentary, you should start a career in review editorials.Anyway, I don't need to be good at English, to know a piece of s
t when I'm driving it! 
The Mk3 Focus RS, isn't that nice a car when you're not exploiting it either!
The Mk2 though, has something endearing about it.
Legacywr said:
GrumpyTwig said:
Legacywr said:
The Megane RS is a bit trash!
A eloquent and well thought out commentary, you should start a career in review editorials.Anyway, I don't need to be good at English, to know a piece of s
t when I'm driving it! The Mk3 Focus RS, isn't that nice a car when you're not exploiting it either!
The Mk2 though, has something endearing about it.
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