£3k Reliable, fun, car for a twenty something family member

[MackemPete]

So far on the list I have:
mk7 Fiesta zetec -s
Auris 2.2 sr180
mk3 mx5.

any suggestions, thoughts on the above.

Edited by MackemPete on Friday 19th June 13:47

[mdw]

Mr2 Mk3 . £3k would get you a nice one and a hard top. Plus enough money left to post on any luggage they wished they could have taken with them.

[ChrisH72]

My thoughts are you won’t get near a mk7 fiesta st for £3k. It’d be the old mk6 2.0. Not a bad car though. Auris diesel is not a car for a young lad. They do suffer some horrendous problems as well.

I would also look at the gen7 Celica 1.8 as well as the mr2.

Mk1 swift sport worth a look too.

And you will be getting plenty of recommendations for the clio 182

[rowan_cars]

I managed to pick up a 2006 Focus ST3 for just over 3k. Great car for what I need, plenty space in the back, fun to drive and insurance isn't too bad £1600 at 19 years old. compared to a 1.4 03 fiesta which was £800 to insure

[handbraketurn]

I just bought a civic type R fn2 for £4.4k, plenty around in that budget. Solid as a rock if FSH.

[MackemPete]

ChrisH72 said:

My thoughts are you won’t get near a mk7 fiesta st for £3k. It’d be the old mk6 2.0. Not a bad car though. Auris diesel is not a car for a young lad. They do suffer some horrendous problems as well.

I would also look at the gen7 Celica 1.8 as well as the mr2.

Mk1 swift sport worth a look too.

And you will be getting plenty of recommendations for the clio 182

Sorry i meant the Zetec-s for the fez.

I didnt realise that much went wrong with the Auris.

I'd not included the Swift due to rust and the 182 due to gearbox sh!tting the bed. Not sure how bad the later swifts are, but the first ones around 2004 seemed to get it quite bad.

Celica is a good shout. My mate had the corrolla with the same engine and it sounded and went well.

[MackemPete]

handbraketurn said:

I just bought a civic type R fn2 for £4.4k, plenty around in that budget. Solid as a rock if FSH.

I really like these but he's got a hard 3k budget and the ones at that money are leggy, ropey or both.

[ZX10R NIN]

2.2d Civic Type S GT

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

2.0T Megane Coupe Dynamique

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Hatchback

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Giulietta Veloce 2.0d

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Astra 1.6T SRI

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C30 SE Lux

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SE

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Sport

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R Design

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Edited by ZX10R NIN on Friday 19th June 18:53

[handbraketurn]

MackemPete said:

handbraketurn said:

I just bought a civic type R fn2 for £4.4k, plenty around in that budget. Solid as a rock if FSH.

I really like these but he's got a hard 3k budget and the ones at that money are leggy, ropey or both.

You're probably right. Mine was £4.4k with 94k, bodywork is fairly good but a few issues in places, most of them seem to have it, but with full service history, the engine pulls like a new one. So solid.

I did look at various ones at the c£3k mark, and they were a little bit scruffier, but even with higher miles, as long as there is good history should be ok.

The S and CDI still very good.

[handbraketurn]

Also, if practicality is not an issue, you can get a Mk3 MX-5 Sport with LSD for £3k. Or a good quality Mk2 1.8.

Excellent chassis and strong reliability also.

[Jag_NE]

Buy on condition and history at that price point. I wouldn’t fixate on a specific model. Ideally be open to travelling for the right car as it will create so many more options for you than staying relatively local. Sorry if that’s stating the obvious.

[Dewi-asl8m]

Volvo C30, quite a cool little car