I hate cars right now..
Discussion
I have been planning and saving for my next car for about 6 months now. I have changed my mind numerous times on what it is I want and i'm now left with nothing but an empty space in my mind where the car I desire should be sat, waiting to be unleashed.
I've been looking for something fast yet reasonably economical on fuel and quite torquey with the potential for a remap if needs be in the 10-11k price range.
First it was a 225 TT. Then I realised its a pretty old car, the engine is exactly the same one as I have now and its not very economical, so I f
ked that one off pretty sharpish.
next it was a 3.0 Z4, until one day when I took my dog for a walk and put her in the boot of my current car, I realised I couldn't do that in a Z4 and i'm not putting her on the passenger seat. fksocks I thought, so onto the next one it was.
Next I decided I liked Corsa VXR's, shock horror, you've all just thrown up. I love them though, then I started looking into them and found they have a serious problem with the 4th piston losing compression especially if you tune it which I of course would want to. Its ok though, you can get round this by not driving the car hard for the first 20 minutes of your journey, my daily commute is only 15 minutes..
Cross that one off the list then, so next I thought, R56 Mini Cooper S. Ideal car, fast, tuneable and most importantly very economical for the power they have. Then I started reading more and more about the timing chain issues which seem to plague nearly every car, stories of people having it "fixed" 3 times+ and some people who had had it snap and take the engine with it.
so that ones now gone too.
MK5 Golf GTI's, they are so expensive for what they are, 10-11k gets you a 55-06 plate one on 40-50k miles.
The Seat equivalent (FR or cupra) weigh an extra 200kg ontop of the golf somehow.
I think I might just buy a fking awesome pushbike instead.
I've been looking for something fast yet reasonably economical on fuel and quite torquey with the potential for a remap if needs be in the 10-11k price range.
First it was a 225 TT. Then I realised its a pretty old car, the engine is exactly the same one as I have now and its not very economical, so I f
ked that one off pretty sharpish.next it was a 3.0 Z4, until one day when I took my dog for a walk and put her in the boot of my current car, I realised I couldn't do that in a Z4 and i'm not putting her on the passenger seat. f
ksocks I thought, so onto the next one it was.Next I decided I liked Corsa VXR's, shock horror, you've all just thrown up. I love them though, then I started looking into them and found they have a serious problem with the 4th piston losing compression especially if you tune it which I of course would want to. Its ok though, you can get round this by not driving the car hard for the first 20 minutes of your journey, my daily commute is only 15 minutes..
Cross that one off the list then, so next I thought, R56 Mini Cooper S. Ideal car, fast, tuneable and most importantly very economical for the power they have. Then I started reading more and more about the timing chain issues which seem to plague nearly every car, stories of people having it "fixed" 3 times+ and some people who had had it snap and take the engine with it.
so that ones now gone too.
MK5 Golf GTI's, they are so expensive for what they are, 10-11k gets you a 55-06 plate one on 40-50k miles.
The Seat equivalent (FR or cupra) weigh an extra 200kg ontop of the golf somehow.
I think I might just buy a f
king awesome pushbike instead.Edited by tyranical on Saturday 19th March 09:43
tyranical said:
None of those are economical and 2 of them are in the killer tax band.
I know economical and performance don't normally go together, but they compromise quite well in some cars particularly the cooper S, in others like the ones you have shown they do not.
Is a MAzda 3 MPS really much (any?) worse on fuel than a 3.0 Z4? Also consider that with the Mazda and ST220, you can get nice examples well under your budget, thus freeing up some funds for any additional running costs.I know economical and performance don't normally go together, but they compromise quite well in some cars particularly the cooper S, in others like the ones you have shown they do not.
If fuel economy is really an issue:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2621543.htm
"I want it to be fastbut really economical"
"I want it to be totally reliable but I need to tune it"
"I take some complaints on the Internet as gospel of the cars overall failings"
"I want a two seater sports car that fits a dog in it"
How about you actually assess your needs objectively and then draw up a shortlist, rather than naming random cars from thin air and then upsetting yourself when they're not all you want them to be?
IMO you can meet your needs for under a grand, and £2k for something better, and then yove got money left over if it goes wrong or, if as it seems will happen, you decide it's not for you and you want something else.
"I want it to be totally reliable but I need to tune it"
"I take some complaints on the Internet as gospel of the cars overall failings"
"I want a two seater sports car that fits a dog in it"
How about you actually assess your needs objectively and then draw up a shortlist, rather than naming random cars from thin air and then upsetting yourself when they're not all you want them to be?
IMO you can meet your needs for under a grand, and £2k for something better, and then yove got money left over if it goes wrong or, if as it seems will happen, you decide it's not for you and you want something else.
As has already been said - internet scaremongery shouldn't really influence your decision too much. I know a couple of people who have had VXRs and have not experienced the 4th piston issue. Equally, now I have an R56 and frequent MINI forums; although the timing chain issue does exist, there are many more owners who have no issues. I can vouch for its performance and economy being pretty decent.
A Civic Type-R seems right up your street, especially with its reputation for reliability. Just a note though - I had more issues with mine than any other car I've owned.
A Civic Type-R seems right up your street, especially with its reputation for reliability. Just a note though - I had more issues with mine than any other car I've owned.
Like any situation - you are more likely to find people ready to criticise than to praise, especially on the Internet. So take what is posted with a pinch of salt. If the cars you have mentioned are as critically awful as "the internet" suggests, then they would not sell them! I know of quite a few people who have R56 Cooper S's and not had a single problem. I know plenty of people who have R53 Cooper S's too, and guess what, no problems there either.
Buy on condition, get the best you can afford for your budget and cross your fingers like everyone else. Maybe get a warranty if you like. Only real way is to take the plunge.
Oh, and not the Lexus IS - not quick and only slightly sporty. Nice car, but the older one is slow and the newer one quite big and not great. CTR is a cracker, but the high-rev'ing engine isnt to everyones taste. Drive one before ruling in or out.
Buy on condition, get the best you can afford for your budget and cross your fingers like everyone else. Maybe get a warranty if you like. Only real way is to take the plunge.
Oh, and not the Lexus IS - not quick and only slightly sporty. Nice car, but the older one is slow and the newer one quite big and not great. CTR is a cracker, but the high-rev'ing engine isnt to everyones taste. Drive one before ruling in or out.
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