Volkswagen Scirocco OR BMW 1 series

[GeorgeCCole]

I have a £7000 budget

I need some sort of tech in the car and it must be enjoyable to drive in and outside the city.

[MiataMini]

Does it have to be either of those trash cars?

[Blanchimont]

Seeing as they both do 100hp versions, as well as 260hp+ versions. Care to be more specific on engines and models?

[GreatGranny]

MiataMini said:

Does it have to be either of those trash cars?

That's positive!

Nothing wrong with either of those for a daily IMO.

I'd go for the Scirocco purely on the looks.

[culpz]

You could get a decent 2.0 TSI GT Scirocco for that, either DSG or manual. I'm maybe a bit biased but i really love mine.

I've never been keen on the 1-Series. You could get a 130i for about that though. They're rare but both a cracking and reliable engine.

[GeorgeCCole]

Why the hate on them? (Geniune question)

It doesn’t have to be either of them, feel free to suggest any other.

I only have 1 year of driving experience on insurance (im 21 though) so insurace pricess might be roasty if I want to get something more powerful

[MiataMini]

GeorgeCCole said:

Why the hate on them? (Geniune question)

It doesn’t have to be either of them, feel free to suggest any other.

I only have 1 year of driving experience on insurance (im 21 though) so insurace pricess might be roasty if I want to get something more powerful

I've never thought either of them particularly fun imo. I love the looks of the Scirocco and they are fast but not an exciting scare ya tits off round a bend fast. Like the difference between an AMG GTR and a Lambo, the GTR is lovely and very very fast but not as exciting as a Lambo of the same cost

[GeorgeCCole]

MiataMini said:

I've never thought either of them particularly fun imo. I love the looks of the Scirocco and they are fast but not an exciting scare ya tits off round a bend fast. Like the difference between an AMG GTR and a Lambo, the GTR is lovely and very very fast but not as exciting as a Lambo of the same cost

I see your point but I'm not looking for a track car - I'm more interested in reliability for now . Maybe later on, I'll get some mods done to it.

[MiataMini]

GeorgeCCole said:

I see your point but I'm not looking for a track car - I'm more interested in reliability for now . Maybe later on, I'll get some mods done to it.

Why not an Mx5 or similar. Much more fun, moreso reliable and even cheaper to run. Or do you need a boot? xD In that case gt86 etc.

[bennettse2025]

I had a 2.0 gt scirocco. Gorgeous looking thing. Reasonably comfortable. Ride was fine. Quick enough Just a bit meh

[DoubleD]

MiataMini said:

GeorgeCCole said:

I see your point but I'm not looking for a track car - I'm more interested in reliability for now . Maybe later on, I'll get some mods done to it.

Why not an Mx5 or similar. Much more fun, moreso reliable and even cheaper to run. Or do you need a boot? xD In that case gt86 etc.

A gt86 for £7k?

[Toed64]

For your budget, six cylinder BMWs are great (130i &125i), 4 cylinder BMWs (particularly the diseasels) are generally to be avoided, either because they are bland (petrol) or because they have serious mechanical short-comings (diesel).

If you don't want to pay the BMW 6 pot insurance premiums and you've decided on your short-list, buy the VAG.

If you can be steered away from the VAG, you might consider dividing your budget by 3 and buying an MX5, as suggested above.

The Toybaru is a nice idea - but £7000 is not quite enough.

[GeorgeCCole]

Toed64 said:

For your budget, six cylinder BMWs are great (130i &125i), 4 cylinder BMWs (particularly the diseasels) are generally to be avoided, either because they are bland (petrol) or because they have serious mechanical short-comings (diesel).

If you don't want to pay the BMW 6 pot insurance premiums and you've decided on your short-list, buy the VAG.

If you can be steered away from the VAG, you might consider dividing your budget by 3 and buying an MX5, as suggested above.

The Toybaru is a nice idea - but £7000 is not quite enough.

I just tried to find some insurance on the 130i and not even one came up. I genuinely cannot get insured on that car with 1 year experience, unfortunately

[ZX10R NIN]

I think you'll have to come down on the CC's in terms of getting sensible insurance numbers, if you have to change cars then go for a warm hatch & continue to build your NCB.

Astra GTC

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[ReaperCushions]

1 Series for me, if you can get one with a decent output engine, the chassis is great and RWD is a lot of fun.

Having driven a lot of VAG in this category before, I'd go for the 1 series all day long.

[MiataMini]

Seen a couple of 86 go for 7-8k but they are far and few between. If this is one of your first years driving anything over a 120i will be a rip off and 120is are pretty slow...

[Shiv_P]

Iirc both the 4 pot petrol and diesel 1 series of this era have timing chain problems and are to be avoided

[AngryChimp241]

It's personal preference really. I'd go with the Scirocco personally; it's smexy :3

[mattman]

Scirocco is only 4 seats, bmw has the option of 5 - just! Rear leg room in the 1 series isn’t great, scirocco not too bad.

Scirocco for me based on looks, 1 series can be a bit of a vanilla shopping car in the wrong colour/spec.

Both should,be pretty reliable at that price, but would expect newer/lower mileage vw over bmw

[cuprabob]

Shiv_P said:

Iirc both the 4 pot petrol and diesel 1 series of this era have timing chain problems and are to be avoided

Early 2.0 TSI EA888 Sciroccos have issues with the timing chain tensioner.

Early 1.4 TSI (160bhp) twincharger Sciroccos have more serious issues around cracking pistons and oil consumption.