Last month you left me leaning towards a decision to
sell the MR2
off, cut my losses and move on. Well, if you followed the forum thread through to its conclusion you’ll have seen that the decision was eventually taken to do just that. As I write this, it’s sold and awaiting collection by its new owner. The price ... well, I won’t be too detailed here as the new owner might not wish it (not to mention, to spare some of my blushes) but suffice to say it was sub-£500. Quite considerably sub-£500. Bugger.
Like for like (sort of)? Maybe...
What’s done is done, though. So I’m adopting the attitude of moving swiftly onward without casting a backward glance. The next step is what I’m filling my thoughts with – and what should replace the worst car I’ve ever bought.
There are a number of options. Funnily enough, a drive in a Mk3 Toyota MR2 last week – and subsequent drives since, which only strengthened my opinion that it’s an enormously entertaining little car – have put one firmly in the frame. Well, to be honest, they’ve been in the frame for some time – I’ve had a hankering for one for many a year, and the experience has only served to confirm.
However, if I was going to have one, I’d want a facelift – the one with the limited-slip diff, six-speed box, and engine that doesn’t eat itself quite so readily. They tend to go for at least £3,000 or thereabouts; as my current budget is around £1,000 or so, that’s going to need some saving. Which might be the best course of action, irrespective of my choice of model, as for £3,000 I’m far more likely to get something newer and more reliable.
Cheap & French sounds like a way to go
Of course, for £1,000, or a little more – say £1,500 if I was to scrape together as much as I could right now – I’ve plenty of choice among the French chaff I adore. I could find myself an old ZX Volcane – the
16v we posted
the other week was tempting, but ultimately too rich for my blood at the moment – or even a
306 GTi-6
BX GTI
16v
would be ideal, if I could find a good’un – I’ve owned two diesels in my time, loved them and always wanted a faster one. Something smaller – a
106 GTI
, perhaps? Nah, I'd rather something that wasn't quite so flimsy, despite the unarguably huge fun it'd offer. What about a
Renault 21 Turbo
, so beloved of Mr Harris? If I found a good'un within my budget, I'd be all over it like a rash.
That said, for this money I could always return to the MR2 theme with a Mk2. Problem is, as much as I think they’re good-looking cars, they’re my least favourite of the MR2 triumvirate. Still, I might try one nevertheless, just to see whether I’m barking up the wrong tree.
S2000 ideal but sadly out of reach
Of course, being this short of cash at the moment, there is one other option which had been suggested, and that’s to get some sort of credit and buy something better. A
Honda S2000
such as the one I was lucky enough to drive last week springs to mind – I was really taken by it, I have to say. Even more so the
Subaru BRZ
I drove for the first time last night – but finance on such a thing would probably leave me locked into penury and, after a short while, homeless too, so I’ll have to make do with road testing this one and giving it back. Boo. In any case, I don’t particularly fancy lumbering myself with a loan of any sort, so that idea’s probably best consigned to the bookshelf
At the moment, it really is anyone’s guess what I’ll go for. The idea of saving up a bit of cash for something at a higher price level sounds favourite at the moment, though. Besides the obvious advantages, it means that if something really good does catch my eye in the meantime, I’ll be in that pleasurable position of actually being able to buy it, rather than just wishing I had the cash to. And frankly, I can’t guarantee that that won’t happen.