orbix

I’m looking at changing my car end of next month. I don’t want another Subaru just yet, I fancy something else. I plan on spending up to 8k possible 9k, if I find my ideal car. I want to start reading up on the cars I want so I don’t buy a nail and I don’t buy a car only to find out I should have bought a different version.

However I’m finding it hard to find cars I like that are within budget. There’s loads if my budget was 15k.
The only constraint I have is it needs to return 30+ mpg.

Cars I like are;

Audi TT (mk1 Avus silver with red leather is ideal)
BMW 330d Sport (remapped)

Cars I’m not sure about;

Mini Cooper S / Works (it’s a bit small isn’t it?)
1995 SL320 Mille Miglia edition (servicing costs)

Cars I’ve looked at and think no;

Civic Type R
Clio 182
Ford Puma Racing (yes a puma)
Audi A3 S3
Boxster 3.2S
SLK 230K (two tone interior a must)
Lotus Elsie
BMW 325i Sport (old shape)
Golf GT TDI 150
Smart Forfour Brabus


Is there any other cars I can look at?

At the moment I’m really only looking at 2, the TT or the BMW.
I haven’t driven any of the above cars on the road so I’m I over looking any models?

Which car would you have? and why?

Andy M3

If you can get a warranty on a 330d Sport I would go for that, if you can't budget £200 a month in a pot 'just in case'.

My college had a 330d [184hp] remapped/exhaust/filter it was pretty brisk and handled very well indeed, circa 33mpg average over 80k miles. A decent replacement for a scooby IMO.

hatchs don't quite feel the same after a saloon IMO.

Civic Type R hmm
Clio 182 Good choice if you get on with a hatch & driving position
Ford Puma Racing (yes a puma) Good choice will hold it's money well, needs a LSD and 50bhp more
Audi A3 S3 yawn - all weather grip, nice midrange poke
Boxster 3.2S topless fun, dodgy engines?!!?
SLK 230K (two tone interior a must) don't really know them, rust issues?
Lotus Elsie lots of fun, but not the most practical
BMW 325i Sport (old shape) Not a bad choice, no turbo worries unlike the 330d, good combination of performance and economy
Golf GT TDI 150 eat their own cams, bit bland?
Smart Forfour Brabus hmmm

mr_D

iTrader: (12)

focus rs, remapped cupra. on motor way i got 50+mpg and i was running around 230bhp.

orbix

Do they have issue's then?

I was looking into 204 hp engine being remapped to 265 hp

McFartenplop

The auto 'box in the BMW is prone to failure. A rebuild costs £1500 excluding the remove/refit labour.
Get a manual 330D sport if possible.

orbix

BMW all the way so far

Jamescsti

Head says BMW 330d
Heart says Cooper S Works

orbix

My head says BMW 330d
My heart says Audi TT
My credit card says Mini Cooper S

Andy M3

The 330d suffers from some plastic component failure in the inlet manifold IIRC. This can result in a few different things, worse case scenario is the engine lets go as it swallows said component. Or it can go through the exhaust as it did on the one we had and took out the cat and turbo I think. It also had a clutch and flywheel at 65k ish. Wishbones and ball joints were pretty shocking, rear tyre wear is high and discs and pads are every other 10k service.

If it was my £££ I would look for a 325i sport. Less nose weight, no engine issues, no clutch eating with only modest torque, dare I say as quick as a 184hp 330d

325i sport, 63k 2003 £6750 31.4mpg [based on 12k] £1784.71 / annum in fuel.
http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk...leRegLetter=52

330d sport, 41k 2003 £9995 42.8mpg [based on 12k] £1317.76 / annum in fuel.
http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk...leRegLetter=53

LOAN
£6750 = £212.68 [x36 month] + £148.73 [fuel] = £361.41 [325i]
£9995 = £311.49 [x36 month] + £109.81 [fuel] = £421.30 [330d]

£60 saving / month on 325i ownership, I would expect the saving to go up another £20 on other running costs. Not a massive difference though.

gallois

my kid brother has a 225 TT. very nicely built, does not feel anything like 225bhp, no room in the back as front seats touch the back seats, But a very pretty looking car. My mate Kev has a 330d sport manual, he loves it, had no issues at all apart from his missus kerbing the M-Sport wheels all the time.

orbix

I meant 325i sport old skool

BMW : E30 325i Sport Dolphin grey '89' Mtec 2

austinwrx

you get a lot of car with a subaru legacy.

at least its different and lets face it, everyone has a BMW.