gregjd

Apologies for yet another thread in this vein but as my "railway station runaround" (a MY01 Clio) has decided to play up on me again I've decided to get rid! Lousy misfiring French f*rtbox! I also have a big family car so the Clio replacement doesn't need to be practical..just fairly reliable day to day and up to the occasional 2 hour drive. Would also like something that's fun, preferably under 5 years old and with less than 60K on the clock.. Ideas I've had so far as follows:

Alfa GTV
Alfa 156 V6
Seat Leon Cupra
Skoda Octavia VRS (bit high mileage for this kind of money!)
Fiat Coupe (bit too old?)
Fiat Stilo Abarth (oddball choice)
Fiat Barchetta
VW Polo GTi
VW Golf GTi / V5
VW Beetle (yes, I know, horrid, horrid, horrid)
VW Bora V5 (stealthy..or an old duffers car!?)
Audi S8 (old and high mileage, obviously! Has to be a money pit I guess..)
Mazda MX5 (and a set of scissors / hairbrushes! )
Volvo C70 (with the split rim BBS wheels in silver these look nice IMHO)
Honda Prelude
Honda Accord Type R (only 70K milers plus in this budget)
Subaru Forester Turbo

Any comments on the above / alternative suggestions most welcome!

GTV is my current favourite..but I'm a bit concerned about reliability and the dealers.. 3.0 V6 models are pushing my budget too. Not sure how good the 2 litre is..

The_Teg_Man

From what I've heard on here about Alfa reliability I wouldn't buy one.....What about a low mileage Civic VTi ? Honda Reliabability, reasonable running costs, banshee VTEC scream..............

Recaro

The bloke at work has just bought a volvo C70 for £7K and for the money you get a lot of car.

Its the T5 GT version, has loads of extras. Original receipt was £38K. Very quick too. I Thought it was quick when he first got it, he wanted it remapped, took it to a specialist and he was told it was only running at 60% throttle. Now its scary.

Big car though, more room in the back then the front I reckon.

If your after a reliable car, I wouldnt touch a Fiat coupe. Best stick with BMW, Audi, Honda (maybe an integra type R), VW, Seat or Volvo.

gregjd

Not thought about the Civic.. Did consider an Integra but I'm guessing for this money I'd only get a high miler..

Can't see any Beemers or Audis that float my boat for this little cash..

cookwibble

could try the following:

peugeot 406 coupe
nissan skyline r33 gts
bmw 7 series (old shape)
hyundai coupe

RS Grant

I know of a low mileage 99 Civic VTi for sale......

Seriously though, I would be looking at Honda/VW Group (Audi, Seat, Skoda, VW)/BMW's if its a reliable car that you are after.

You could get an early Integra Type-R for the top end of your budget, doubt it would have astronomical miles TBH... Most I have seen are running average miles for the year.

Cheers,
Grant

RS Grant

Forgot to say...

The Octavia Turbo 5dr/Estate can be re-mapped to give the same performance as a re-mapped vRS. Wont attract the same attention from 'undesireables' and shouldnt cost as much to buy in the first place as it doesnt have 'the badge'....... lol, never thought I'd talk about Skoda -> Skoda badge snobbery!!

Cheers,
Grant

Dream Weaver

Mk2 MR2, amazing cars

Senior_AP

Pug 306 GTi-6 are nice motors.

Ali Scott

Would have to go for a Honda Accord type R - these are the nuts, possibly my next choice of Motor.. For 7k you'd have to look about and possibly get one with higher mileage! Very nice motors though!!

currymonster

pug 306Gti 6 as said above, probably my best all round car, 5 - 6K gets you a 99 - 2000 car with about 50k on the clock.

Cal

Vec

A few that I could think of the top of my brain.

Good luck in your search mate.

Golf VR6
Vectra Gsi
Honda Civic VTi
Mondeo ST24
Audi Coupe V6
Audi A4 2.6 4x4
Corrado VR6
Nissan 300 ZX
Nissan Pulsar
Volvo T5
BMW 325 SE
MG ZS 180

gregjd

Cheers Chaps. Also considering BMX Z3 2.8.. Bit girly but surprisingly cheap these days.

richardg

had one of these before my wrx. good fun and reasonably easy to sell on as so many people love them. cam belt snapped on mine after about a month of owning it, but £1,300 and 2 weeks later i was back on the road and was still pleased with it when i sold it to buy the wrx

7 Foot

My girlfriend is soon to be trading her current jallopy in for something a little more sporty. No. 1 on her list at the moment is the Ford Puma. I've not driven one yet but have only ever heard and read good things.

cheddar bob

200SX are fantastic value for money, you'd easily get a '98-00 model with under 50k miles for your budget.
ITR would be a better bet than an ATR, you'd pick up a good '98 R-reg with upto 70k miles and don't let the mileage put you off as the engines are bullit proof .

Andy Tang

iTrader: (3)

If your mileage requirement is a little more flexible, you could get an Integra Type R for your budget! [Probably 1997-1998 with 60-70k on the clock for about £6.5-7.5k]

Something less descrete would be a Honda Civic Jordan, despite being yellow, you still get air con, leather, power steering and VTEC giving you 160bhp! [1999/2000 with 50-60k seem to be selling for £5.5-6.5k]

I would have thought that some of the cars in your list would be very difficult to get unless you start looking at high milers! Just being realistic I guess!

Andy Tang

iTrader: (3)

Alfa GTV, Alfa 156 V6, Fiat Stilo Abarth, Fiat Barchetta, VW Polo GTi, VW Golf GTi/V5, VW Beetle, VW Bora V5, Volvo C70, Honda Prelude - Should meet all your requirements!

Seat Leon Cupra, Skoda Octavia VRS, Honda Accord Type R, Subaru Forester Turbo - Realistically tough to find in your price range, unless you break your mileage requirements!

Mazda MX5, Audi S8 - Too old to meet your age requirements (?)

Fiat Coupe (bit too old?) - Made up until 2000! And easily in your budget and mileage requirements!

Out of your list and with your requirements, I would personally go for either:

Fiat Coupe 20v Turbo
Alfa GTV

shelleymarie

Don't know if you've found what you're after yet but I know if a Mazda MX-5 for sale - slightly older than your age requirement but well within mileage and price.

Great reliable cars! And loads of fun.

john banks

If you would consider driving a "kitten car" :

http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/showthread.php?t=385566

Dunk

iTrader: (1)

Another shameless plug:
http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/showthread.php?t=381931

D

what would scooby do

you can get a low mileage Saab 93 turbo (185bhp) full leather and all the goodies (1999) etc for cheap money.. park anywhere, no problems etc + suspension and chip upgrade are easy options

wakeboardar

did you say bmx my sons got one of those

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Dont buy a Fiat Coupe, I had one, good car, lovely looking but a nightmare to fix, when it goes wrong, and it will at that age.

scoobyjimbo

i would not bother i drove my brother in laws z3 2.8 and although it was quite quick, it handled like a wet fish.. not that great.. plus you will get labeled witht he hair dressor tag...
My choices would be

Westfield - if you can handle the cold..
bmw 5 series (old shape) i have seen a m5 on ebay for your budget
forester
jag xl6 - pick up a nice later example for that money..
Cossy..

J

www.GT4oc.com

Celica GT-Four ST205 (ok im biased)

Prices about 5k for a clean import these days, cheapish insurance, 250bhp out the box and easily tuneable. 310bhp + 300lb/ft torque easily achieved for about a £1,000 of toys.