What to buy for £1200 ish?

[themuppeteer]

Morning all,

Looking for a different car but not sure what to get so thought i would see what others recommend.

Basically i have £1200ish to spend on something ideally a bit quick but with practicality.

I have been thinking golf gti/civic vti (if i can get one within budget) Almera Gti, etc etc, but I am open to suggestions as i havent really seen anything that has grabbed my imaination. I know its not the greatest of budgets but was hoping to get something i sort of wanted as opposed to just any old thing!

Cheers
Dan

[chrisispringles]

What about a fast estate like a Volvo 850 T5 or a Ford Mondeo ST24?

[Sam1990]

How about a Honda Prelude? 180+BHP, 4 wheel steering, plenty of goodies and in your budget.

[Cooky]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1979-LAND-ROVER-SERIES-3-2-2...

there. forget speed, and go for political incorrectness, much more fun annoying the hiking types when green laning, terrorising the masses in sainsbury's car park and the ideal toy for pulling infront of gheylord's audi/bmw/other eurosh!tbox....plus you get to retrofit with optional extras like mattress/off road bike/kayak etc etc.

positively the way forward

[Sf_Manta]

E36 Touring

Could get an E34 5 series touring for that money
For example
http://pistonheads.com/sales/2064519.htm

[Tea Bag]

You could get 306 GTI6 for £1200. They are fairly practical and great fun to drive, or did you need 4 doors?

[anonymous-user]

Primera GT

[h4muf]

My mint ST24?

[bernies]

Ford Puma?

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2349371.htm

[anonymous-user]

An early Clio 172 fits the bill, just.

This is a bit of a risk as it's cat D, however it is rare, quick, practical and £1200.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2222678.htm

Or wait for another like this to pop up and haggle them down...

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2239129.htm

Or find out if this one isn't dodgy and spend the extra £200 on getting the proper back box and badges back on it.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2277629.htm

[philoldsmobile]

you didn't mention what type of car, so here are a few corkers for £1200...


Volvo 850 T5
Alfa Romeo 166 V6 (might be ropey at that money)
Alfa Romeo 156 V6 (might be a bit ropey again, or a nicer 2.0 ts)
Mitsubishi FTO GPX MIVEC (a mate bought a good one for this money - don't bother with the auto or 4 pot)
Fiat 20vt or 16vt coupe
Mondeo ST24
Saab 9000 turbo
saab 900 16v (mk1)

on any of these cars its worth checking belts tensioners and idlers are up to date, as all of them, especially the mitsi can be very expensive to change.

[themuppeteer]

thanks for responses, had thought of some of these but not all so please do keep em coming. Anyone here got a T5 or t5r, been keen to know what there like

[Efbe]

themuppeteer said:

thanks for responses, had thought of some of these but not all so please do keep em coming. Anyone here got a T5 or t5r, been keen to know what there like

i'll second the Mitsubishi FTO GPX, very nice cars, very fun to drive, 200bhp.

i'd also second the e36 touring route. i've got an e36 328i, again 200bhp. great fun, very driftable, and big and practical.

[sk7ine man]

Vectra GSI 2.5V6??

[philoldsmobile]

themuppeteer said:

thanks for responses, had thought of some of these but not all so please do keep em coming. Anyone here got a T5 or t5r, been keen to know what there like

not owned one, but know someone who has. good reliability, quick and still nice when you're not in a hurry. I believe they respond well to super unleaded and a bit of extra boost, and given your budget there should be a bit of cash left over to fiddle.

it largely comes down to how much you like bigger cars. as an alternative, If (and thats a big if) you can find a well serviced V6 166, they are rapid cars if fitted with a manual box, especially the 3.0. with a good service history, and a bit of care they are very reliable too.

Edited by philoldsmobile on Wednesday 29th December 13:20

[Efbe]

themuppeteer said:

thanks for responses, had thought of some of these but not all so please do keep em coming. Anyone here got a T5 or t5r, been keen to know what there like

you haven't mentioned insurance at all.

if you are limited to a car of £1200, then what is your insurance limited to (group)?

[chrisispringles]

themuppeteer said:

thanks for responses, had thought of some of these but not all so please do keep em coming. Anyone here got a T5 or t5r, been keen to know what there like

My dad had a T5 and it was fantastic. They're very quick, very comfortable, refined, practical and reliable. My dad bought his at 100k and it still ran beautifully at 200k when he had to let it go, even at 200k the thrust in third was incredible when the turbo came on boost.

Things to watch out for are the turbo, because they tend to go pop after about 80k, the boost bias pipe can split and the clutch release bearing can wear out at around 100k. Don't expect more than 10k out of a set of front tires either, T5s chew through front tires very quickly, and expect to average 27-30 mpg, less if you hoof it. That said, apart from normal wear and tear, my dad's T5 never really cost him anything and never let him down.

[philoldsmobile]

Efbe said:

themuppeteer said:

thanks for responses, had thought of some of these but not all so please do keep em coming. Anyone here got a T5 or t5r, been keen to know what there like

you haven't mentioned insurance at all.

if you are limited to a car of £1200, then what is your insurance limited to (group)?

some of the older bigger cars like the volvo, saab, and alfa are much cheaper to insure than things like the clio and puma mentioned earlier......

[themuppeteer]

insurance isnt a massive issue, im quite old now (apparently - you can rely n family to tell you how it is ) and have full no claims

[mrtwisty]

For me it would depend on what sort of driving I was doing.
Mostly m/way, d/c and big a-roads = T5/saab turbo.
Mostly b-roads/local driving = 172/puma