adam.pah

As the title says, I'm considering buying another car that will mainly be used for track days but it also needs to be usable as a daily run about too.
I had a clio 182 that was stripped and caged that I just sold a few months back as it was too impractical. It was fun on the track but just lacked a bit of power and I got bored.
I don't want to run the black impreza on track due to the running costs, which is a big consideration for me and may see me selling this car shortly. I also just don't feel comfortable putting the RA on track at the moment.

Some of the cars I've currently considered:
- JDM impreza with basic exhaust and map to make 350ish (newage or hatch)
- Fiesta ST (newer shape. Lots of potential)
- Megane RS cup 250 (would this bore me though..)
- M3 (running cost again)
- Caterham style car (only 2 seats so not very practical)
- Clio 182 turbo (I liked my clio it just lacked punch)
- something classic like a mini, etc..

So it needs to be semi-practical, not cost a fortune to run/maintain and ideally be both fun and fast on the track. I'm not asking for too much am I??

So what suggestions do you have for the budget of no more than £10k?

Go.....

Rusti

iTrader: (4)

Supercharged MX5, Fun, cheap to maintain and has a boot.

adam.pah

That's a good shout Rusti.
I've considered the MX5 but put it on the back burner due to only having the 2 seats.
The values are also rocketing at the moment so you can't get nearly as much for money as you could 2 years ago!

An0n0m0us

Having owned an ST with just a Mountune 215 I can say they are amazing fun. You could pick one up for about £8k and spend 2k and get stupid power out of it for it's size/weight. 300bhp is easily got in these (although you'd be looking about £3.5k for a stage 3 I think). I still miss mine now for the fun factor - what I drive now is hugely faster but it doesn't have the fun factor that the ST had.

adam.pah

This is kind of what I was thinking. Relatively cheap to tune so easy to keep interested moving forward. Also shouldn't lose too much money on it in the long run as mileage should stay low. I've heard they are similar to the Clio on track, just faster...

adam.pah

could buy one ready done like this:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Fies...0AAOSwVgtgP66K

coupe_20vt

iTrader: (2)

Check out Spark Plug Steve on YouTube. He runs a Fiesta ST as a track car and it's also his daily. He's got some great mods on it and it looks a hoot to drive.

An0n0m0us

Yep too right as long as it has the paperwork to show who did all the mods - it needs to be from one of the reputable ST tuners or I wouldn't touch it personally. I'd still rather buy an untouched ST and then mod it so i knew it was all done properly but that's a lot more expensive way to go.

Just seen it been done by Devils who are regarded the tuner to go to for ST tuning! I would want to know why he is selling so cheap as that's still a low mileage ST with a £3.5k stage 3 spent on it plus extras. I actually like it in white, yes it's an utter boy racer car but they appeal to me i'm clearly never going to grow up...

Moley

iTrader: (9)

I’ve recently bought a Megane RS250 Cup and i’m amazed how good it is.

adam.pah

this would be a good option as a daily too. I just wonder if I’d be bored of it after 6 months...

NOSSY_89

What about an Abarth like a 595 or 695 or a 335i

adam.pah

Hey Nossy.
Yeah, I have thought about the Abarth (I think we spoke about that before), but I do feel like it has a bit of an image issue (think 20 year old hair dresser!), no offence intended of course.
They look like fun cars though and I actually had one keep up with the scooby on the dual carriageway once!
If I was going for a BWM, I'd definitely be happy to get another M3. Great cars and very capable but also cost a fortune to run and maintain.

NOSSY_89

None taken lol

Most people don't know the difference and think its a Fiat 500. Has surprised a few people lol. There is a certain stereo type with the Fiat 500 that gets applied to the Abarth because people don't know what it is and that is a timid female driver is behind the wheel. So many people have tried to cut in or bully their way through. I was in a car park and admittedly I was in this guys way, I was sat in the car and it was on I was just about to move to give him enough space to get out of his parking space. But no he decides to squeeze through and then his positioning meant it was now harder for him to manoeuvre around the car park bend (I was blocking him a matter of seconds all he had to do was wait). I pull up next to them and the passenger is giving it the big one amd so was he until they both see me looooooooooooooooooooooooool.

If I had to choose an e92 M3 or a 335i then I would get the 335i based on running costs, tune ability etc. Have you seen the memes about them, in the sates they love them.

jpmilling

I'd have to agree with what others have said about the Fiesta ST. I bought a MK7 last July to use as my daily drive and have been really impressed with it, great little car though im now wanting more power from it to keep me keen. however as you know and others have said the tuning potential is really good even on the standard internals.

I paid 7.5k for a 2014, 2 owner car. full service history ST2 version on 52k miles. £150 a year tax and get about 35mpg

I avoided the 5+ owner modified ones and probably paid more than I should of but sometimes you just know when it's the right one.

make a great track car for your budget.

not had any problems with the car but suspension is pretty bumpy on pre 2015 models, think it was revised after that and rear calipers are know to seize up. (easy fix though)

An0n0m0us

I sold my 2014 ST-3 with 21k on the clock 2 owner car with Mountune 215 last July for £9.5k and I thought that was underpriced so I think you did well with the ST-2 for £7.5k. Sometimes I wish i'd kept it and not got my amg!

adam.pah

Sounds like you got it for a good price! I've been looking and it's tough to get anything decent below £8.5k at the moment. I think car prices in general just seem to have gone a bit mad tbh!

adam.pah

That's a big change tbf!
If I'm honest, I'd really like to try to get another scooby; preferably a spec c but prices have really rocketed recently.
My heart is with subaru but if I can't find one then I'll definitely be considering one of these options.

Moley

iTrader: (9)

I’ve been working from home and not really been out much since I’ve bought the Megane to really see exactly how good it is.
However, on the handful of times I’ve been out for a drive I’ve always chosen the Meg over my Evo.... and continue to do so.

An0n0m0us

I often look for a decent classic scoob online as nothing has ever put a smile on my face like the 2 I had. Do i miss the running costs though? Nope! Even the Merc is cheaper to run than a classic scoob. The sound though I will never forget and just for that reason i'd have another but prices are absolutely stupid now. My last one only had 50k on the clock with factory leather interior and factory special edition wheels I wish I still had that now! I've looked it up through tax/MOT and it doesn't even exist any more unless it had a private plate stuck on it.

adam.pah

That's an impressive endorsement!
Maybe you should sell the Evo to me then...

adam.pah

I know that the running costs of a Scooby aren't cheap but I've only ever started running in to high costs when I've started to push the power.
My idea would be to have a twin scroll setup running fairly standard power. I can do most of the servicing myself and basic jobs like brakes, so it shouldn't be too bad.
The problem with a lot of the modern cars is they are not easy to work on. I remember my BMWs always needed special tools for example, so a simple job was never simple...

I think my biggest issue will be finding a newage car in reasonable condition that's within budget now. I could probably get a JDM hatch easy enough but would prefer a blob or hawk. They should also retain most of their value too.

Shane

iTrader: (6)

What about an EP3 Civic Type R, easy and cheap to modify and relatively bullet proof, may struggle to find a good one now though and the EP3 appears to be more expensive than the later FN2 models.

adam.pah

Good shout! I nearly bought one of these last time around but opted for the Clio instead. The prices of these have really shot up, they were around £3-4K when I was looking just over a year ago and now it’s £5k+ for anything half decent. Add in that these have serious rust issues, it makes finding one in the UK tough. Getting a fresh import is seriously expensive, prices of Honda’s are sky high, they are more expensive than Impreza’s now.

the FN cars have a great engine but other than that they are not considered a great car.