Most fun car under £1,500

[treeroy]

I am buying a car in a few months and do not have much money, £1500 maybe stretch to £2000, what's the most fun car you think?

Clio 182s seem to have shot up in value recently sadly.

[treeroy]

To the MX-5 comments - I am aware of the MX-5, I have had one already but it rusted to its death within a year of ownership and I'm not awfully keen to get another one.

MR2 I do like... quite impractical though (this my only car) but they are tempting. I do have some use of my parents Toyota rav4 so a 2-seat is not completely out of the question.

Olas said:

A Jimny can be lots of fun in the mud.
A mk5 golf gti has bottomed out in price and can be a disposable means of entertainment.

Hadn't thought of a 4x4 but yes Jimnys are extremely cool and would be fun. Don't imagine they are great on fuel though.

Golfs I think of as boring plus don't think GTIs are low enough to be in this price bracket. I know they review well though.

[treeroy]

designforlife said:

A £1500 MR2 will be as rusty as an MX5 I would wager

The rust in itself does not completely put me off (it does mostly, just not entirely...)
I just don't want to buy a car i've already had, would like to try something new.

But point acknowledged.

Now I'm not familiar with MR2s that much but i have not heard of them being known for rust; whereas MX-5s are infamous for being rust wagons.
My local garage reckons all japanese cars rust badly but i'm not sure.

[treeroy]

Interesting to hear the rally cries for MR2s. How have you guys managed with them as an only car? I've had an MX-5 before as my only car but MR2 doesn't even have a boot so it just seems a bit un-manageable..?

Also think they look quite ugly, maybe thats just me being a snob, but they look a bit girly. I will try to get in the drivers seat of one some time soon. Local garage has one on the forecourt so i might try that.

ChrisH72 said:

Another vote for a ford puma here.

They are huge fun and easy to run as a daily. I had mine for a year and it was brilliant.

It will certainly be a bit rusty but most of the bad ones are long gone and 1500 will get you a very tidy, well looked after example.

I do think Pumas look nice. Also think Sport Ka are cool, i assume both drive similarly as they are based on each other right?

OldGermanHeaps said:

what kind of fun? power, speed, handling? for me a convertible is the most fun you can have in a shed.

I'm open to all ideas.

I was initially thinking of just getting a cheap £500 scrap barge but given that you don't have to spend much more to find some genuinely fun / decent cars, I'm just seeing what people think are worth getting at this price point

Whatever I get, it will be a downgrade from my current car, in terms of power and also in terms of reliability too. I would like somthing that is not boring.

Mr Tidy said:

There was a BMW E46 325ti Compact on Auto Trader within budget recently, if you fancied a straight 6 and RWD.

In fact I loved the one I had for over 3 years, and sold it just within the budget 2 years ago.

I love E46 coupes, not as keen on the hatchbacks, but either way I would think BMW 3 series is quite expensive to run? or are the compacts maybe a bit less.