What's fun & cheap to insure & under £3k
 

Hi All

I'm working in the Netherlands and need to bring a car over for a while to commute and hopefully for some 'ring trips :) It would be helpful if it had a bit of room in it to bring some clobber over from the UK but it's not a huge concern. I fancy having something smaller than my Impreza for ease of parking etc.

I want something that's involving to drive, because my Impreza non-turbo (which I'm keeping in the UK) is so grippy it's very capable but not very exciting at a sensible pace, so I'd like something that gives a different experience. The Impreza was/is my first car and I don't feel it's taught me to really drive as it gets itself out of trouble without the need for much skill behind the wheel. I'd like to improve my skills but maybe jumping into a powerful RWD would be a recipe for disaster given that I'm used to AWD and little power.

Because of my odd circumstances with working abroad and being quite young, insurance is a big issue and not many companies are interested, so I've got to keep things sensible from that point of view. Fuel economy isn't a huge issue although diseasel is quite cheap here and LPG very cheap so maybe it would be nice to take advantage of that. Usually I wouldn't shy away from something older and maybe a classic, but as I'm away from home with no tools or garage, reliability is something I want.

Budget is £3k although moderately flexible if I could get something that won't depreciate much in a year (as then I'll probably either get a Dutch car or leave). Cheaper would be nice though.

My ideas, none particularly insurance friendly, are: Mazda 323 (MY00ish) GT or 1.8 Sport (bit too similar to the Impreza? + too big?), MR2 MKII (insurance), 200SX (insurance), Charade GTti (reliable?), Hyundai Coupe.

I'm a bit picky about certain marques and would take a lot of convincing to consider something French or VWs.

What do you reckon?

Ben

106 Rallye:)

106 GTI?
306 GTI?
205 Mi16 GTI?
VW Golf VR6?

205 GTi - get a nice one for about 1200 quid. Drop the 306 GTI-6 engine in it. Insurance for mine is less than 150 quid for the year and parts are dirt cheap. Considering my usual track car is worth the thick end of 25 grand and is designed for the track I am quite impressed how good the little 205 is, it handles very well, reliable, takes abuse and cheap to maintain.:thumb:

Nobody noticed the last bit of the post then, about nothing VW or French!! :D

Unfortunately for you, in the sub £3k class, French cars rule for outright fun and drivability. They ARE reliable if done right as well.

Mercedes 190E Cosworth 2.3-16. 3 grand will get you a tidy one and what class...

Or an E30 series Bimmer. How about a 325i Sport. Or a 318is? IIRC both have an LSD. Don't think 3 grand will stretch to much more unless it was a really tatty M3.

Personally I was the same as you about "French" cars, untill this week when driving the 306 xsi my misses has just bought. The car is great fun to drive, a real surprise, not a scoob by any stretch but fun.

True to form though the electrics are winding me up.

The xsi is also super cheap to insure!

I bet the GTI 6 is worth a look.

Mate, any performance car at that price is going to be pot luck. Buy French and you may get a good one, but chances are you'll end up with a heap. Buy Japanese or German and it'll probably be more reliable, but will be very expensive to repair if it isn't.

Just do the sensible things like get one with service history and get it checked by a mechanic. Then choose the one you like the look of the most. And brace yourself for lots of stupid suggestions up to and maybe even including buying a 10million mile Impreza classic for 10p and spending 3 grand on mods. Just you see.

GTi6 - :cool:

Wifey's got one and it's a hoot! :D Much more responsive than both of my Scoobs were (mind you that's about it though! :D)

It's a tough call between driving this and the Audi each day (and the Audi's brilliant!) - the 306 is that much of a hoot!

Those who question the 306's handling have obviously never driven one in anger.


My only concern would be that like any other hot hatch, the fuel economy isn't amazing, and if you're using it for a long regular haul, it may be worth looking at a diesel (and the handling/fun bit of the the DTurbo ain't as good!)

Dan :)

Thanks for the replies but I need to emphasise the insurance issue. I'm 22 and using my 3 NCB on the Impreza (although hopefully a new co will mirror this) and need a special year-round use abroad policy. All of that doesn't go well with cars in high insurance groups, so I need to find something that's a bit special but has slipped under the insurers' radar. I can't consider modifying for the same reasons (plus I'm sick of dealing with insurers re mods) plus the lack of tools etc in NL.

I did say no French but do quite like the 106 and 306 ideas except when I drove a 106 (just a 1.1) I had to use my the side of my right foot (12) so as not to press both pedals. I'm told you get used to it but I don't want to put up with a car with crap design features like that. Is the 306 the same? And the 309?

I think my current (practical) favourite is the Hyundai Coupe F2 but it all depends on insurance. I've wasted enough money insuring my Impreza over the years so don't really want to go much above 500GBP if I can help it. Also considering Toyota Starlet SR for this reason, but it's just a standard Starlet with nice wheels so far as I can tell.

Budget could stretch to 5k if it would buy me the perfect car (fun, very insurable & very reliable). Quite fancy the late shape Celicas, but insurance...

I would honestly try the last shape Ford Focus, up to 2002.

They handle brilliantly, are reliable, cheap to run and insure and you can pick one up for £3-4k. We sold our 2 lady owner W plate 3 door 1.8 Zetec with 44k miles for £3500 last year. Grp 10 insurance, servicing is £99 a year, and they never go wrong. Buy the 2.0 with ESP for a bit more power.

They are close enough to hot hatch territory, not blindingly quick but very chuckable and handle very well. They are modern enough, look good and have lots of potential for basic tuning.

If I did another trackday car it would be a Focus, stripped down and with throttle bodies, thats how much I rated it.

Honda CRX (1989-1992)

My though too, this shape as either a 16V or VTEC are cheap to insure, also consider the hatchback Civic of the same era, available with the same engines as the CRX & very discrete - historically an older persons car, therefore good chance of an unabused example.

Avoid the 306 GTI 6 I had one and it understeered worse than an unfettled UK scoob.

What about an early celica GTfour? Fabulous engines and a semi decent 4wd system??

Food for thought.

daz

My 205 gti will be up for sale once my new WRX wagon has arrived.
PM me if you are interested :)

A mate of mine just bought a 205 GTi and we're currently rebuilding it. But what a car to drive! Almost as fun as my old Clio 16v.

205 Gti
Experience it while you are young.
Its a fab driving experience.
The main bits are very reliable.Engine etc if serviced regularly.
Some minor things can be irritating but are cheap and easily fixed.
e.g. starter motors need replacing every few years.

309 Gti underrated but not so desirable.

If regular trips to The Ring a German car could be good in case you need stuff doing out there if you break down or worse!

£3000 would get a well sorted Golf.

But me 205 every time!!!:luvlove:

Has to be an MX5 mate! There are a few of them about for that money, especially early Eunos imports.

I think They meet most of your criteria:

Cheap to run (inc. insurance)
Hugely reliable
Small and easy to park
Totally involving - you won't believe just how good they are
Very different experience to a scoob - great fun at a sensible pace
A good, unintimidating RWD starter car
Fun on the track
Some Mk1s are seen as modern classics - mine's appreciating in value
And suprisingly practical.

If you can live with the image its ideal.:thumb:

renault clio williams would be yor best bet i reckon:)

Like the MX5 idea a lot but our lass reckons I'm having an early midlife crisis considering it. She thinks an MGF would be better though so I'm disregarding her opinion anyway ;)

Early UK 1.6 would be cheaper to insure than a Starlet SR so I think we could have a winner... :) Will do a quote on a CRX but Hondas are expensive to insure for younguns in my experience.

Don't think I'll be buying until late March - April so will MX5 prices be increasing by then due to spring/summer demand do you reckon?

Prices will probably increase slightly, but I find thats always exaggerated. Even if they do increase a bit you'll still get one within budget.

I've just done a quick search on autotrader from £1000 to £3000 - plently to choose from.

MX5 Search

The only difficult thing is trying to part with it when its time to change. I just can't bring myself to do it!

MX5! Good call, I never thought of that. There's a lovely tidy one near me up for £1900. TBH I don't think they're thought of as hairdressers' cars any more - there are too few of them about, and too few rwd cars on the roads anymore.

well there was obviously a problem then... as the 306 is one of the best handling fwd cars around...

I've had both the GTi-6 and Rallye models, superb cars

was thinking the same - but couldn't be ar$ed to respond!! :D Had some redbull now ;)

Dan :D

I see that the throttle bodies myth is being perpetuated here already..... It doesnt matter how much air your inlet tract can flow if the engine isnt pumping it! Youll only see a gain when the revolutions and cam timing (lift is a factor too) mean that the engine can pump more fuelled air than can pass through the standard plenum. 'Throttle bodies' on a standard or mildly altered engine will make about as much difference as twin 48DCOEs on an escort 1300 Sport! I know that conventional tuning wisdom is frowned upon on a 'turbo' forum, but you simply cant add fuel to air that you arent pumping.

xsara vtr .
quicker and cheaper than a 306 , but the same underneath - howerever bigger inside.
grp 10 and with safety kit you wont find on a <2000 306

the ugly sister :freak3:

The VTR only has the same 112bhp engine as my work Xantia; youd be better with a VTS and they can be found from about £1000-£1200. Are you sure that the Xsara is the same as the 306? The 306 shared the same platform as the Citroen ZX which was superceded by the Xsara.....

Simon

VTS is a rip-off , grp 16 against grp 9 for the VTR

another 15 mph - who needs it ?

honda civic vti-s 170 bhp, good stelth car sure you would be able to pick a good one up for around 3k mark 1.8 v-tec