£40,000 budget - what car?

[Petrolhead95]

Hey guys, I find myself in the very fortunate position to be able to buy myself a nice new car. I'm 22 so insurance plays a big part in this so no silly cars. I'm yet to test drive them all but the S3 which I've fallen in love with. These are all brand new cars, haven't really explored the used market yet.

So far I've got a list of these few but I'm in need of some more options.

- Audi S3 - currently got a deposit down, unsure whether to do it or not. Depreciation looks depressing

- Focus RS - silly money, will hold value but leaves me a bit cold with the Ford badge

- Golf R - don't really know much about them, seem like another mundane Golf

- A45 AMG - more expensive than the others, massively more after options

- M135i - went out in one, fast but not for me

Any suggestions will be appreciated!

[russy01]

Do you have to buy new? They all are fairly nice cars, but not worth spending £30-40k cash on...

[Integroo]

Tbh, there's a lot of very good hot hatches (and other cars for that matter) for considerably less than 40k at 22...

[Petrolhead95]

I don't HAVE to, but I've never had a brand new car before. Secondhand S3s with low mileage are about £15,000 less but I'm yet to find my perfect spec.

[wst]

"No silly cars, insurance!", looking at 300-400bhp hot hatches.

That budget would get a new Mustang 5.0.

[Petrolhead95]

wst said:

"No silly cars, insurance!", looking at 300-400bhp hot hatches.

That budget would get a new Mustang 5.0.

Silly to an extent, I'm not after a 1.4 Golf. No insurance company would touch me with a Mustang.

[RATATTAK]

Simple - 911

[Petrolhead95]

ash73 said:

Get a Caterham 7 and keep your ST for rainy days?

Or put it down on a house.

The ST is a stripped out track car, hence the need for a new car

[Petrolhead95]

RATATTAK said:

Simple - 911

Running costs scare me to death - I've heard horror stories. Insurance again is an issue, I've tried already.

[GregK2]

Petrolhead95 said:

I don't HAVE to, but I've never had a brand new car before. Secondhand S3s with low mileage are about £15,000 less but I'm yet to find my perfect spec.

I would take this option and bank £15k if it just meant compromising on spec a little.

[Hackney]

Petrolhead95 said:

Hey guys, I find myself in the very fortunate position to be able to buy myself a nice new car. I'm 22 so insurance plays a big part in this so no silly cars. I'm yet to test drive them all but the S3 which I've fallen in love with. These are all brand new cars, haven't really explored the used market yet.

So far I've got a list of these few but I'm in need of some more options.

- Audi S3 - currently got a deposit down, unsure whether to do it or not. Depreciation looks depressing

- Focus RS - silly money, will hold value but leaves me a bit cold with the Ford badge

- Golf R - don't really know much about them, seem like another mundane Golf

- A45 AMG - more expensive than the others, massively more after options

- M135i - went out in one, fast but not for me

Any suggestions will be appreciated!

Golf R and M135i (it's M140i now) are both £30k cars leaving you £10k for insurance.

[PK0001]

These are all £25-£30k cars new.

If you really want to burn £40k then you need to aim a little higher.

Might I also suggest that at this level you look at sports cars that are built and designed from the ground up, and not just variations on mainstream cooking models.

You seem to be in to cars but your choice of an S3 is confusing, it's a dull hot hatch.

[DocJock]

Wrong forum... https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/forum.asp?h=0&...

[CaptainMorgan]

M3 if you wanna spank all of it, otherwise a decent used S3 is a nice option. I'm not a ford fan, the Golf is more or less the S3, so if you dont like the look of it, stick with the Audi over the VW A45 is expensive and seemed to have a fair few gearbox issues on low mile cars, put my mate off somewhat. M140i is a nice car but if it doesnt do it for you it doesnt do it.

[Integroo]

Civic Type R - would be all over it at 22.

[anonymous-user]

RATATTAK said:

Simple - 911

With a 40k budget, the budget for a 911 in reality is higher 20k upto 30k max as the rest will be needed in case anything major goes wrong.

30k is 997.1 territory with several well known weaknesses but do go and try one.

[Mike335i]

If the Golf R is just a mundane Golf, then surely it follows that the S3, which is after all the same car as the Golf R, is just a mundane A3?

All of those cars are very capable, but for £40k you could find something much more interesting I'm sure. Besides, I can't imagine a car that would frighten an insurer much more than an Audi S3 in the hands of a 22year old.

I would look at a BMW 340i or a Jaguar XE 3.0 V6 Supercharged. If looking at used cars the options increase massively and Porsche Cayman, BMW M3 /M4, proper AMG (the V8 ones), Jaguar Supercharged V8s in either the XKR or XFR, the aforementioned Mustang 5.0 and Audi RS models become options. All of these would be much nicer to drive and own than a Golf in an Audi dress.

Insurance can't be much more for any of those cars and they are not typically bought by younger, inexperienced drivers. Besides, weren't Golf Rs and Audi S3s being regularly stolen to order?

[thepeoplespal]

Rs3s and Rs4s are the car key burglars car of choice at the moment, Audi & Insurance companies should be supplying bait cars to catch the scrotes.

So I wouldn't bank on keeping your house intact if you get one of these.

[Meridius]

40k id probably try and scrape for an M2 or one of those C43 AMGs, just dont end up like that Scottish lad in the thread a couple weeks back...

Realistically though, id save 20k and buy an earlier S3, Golf R, M135i

[Ultrafunkula]

A one or two year old S3 still feels like a new car, more of a laid back driving experience than a Focus RS for instance though so be sure of what you want from the car before you choose. For less than £40k you can get a second hand Jag F type v6...