c. £5k to spend on a car
- Thread starter Rumble
- Start date
You don't mention children or a need for more than two seats. Is it just for you and the strife?
If so, go for a Mazda MX5.
Great little cars. Good fun to drive, easy to maintain, reliable, frugal, hold their value well etc. Plenty of them about and you'll get a good one for your budget. They are a brilliant take on the classic British sportscar. Just look out for rust in the rear arches, rear lower sill and front chassis legs behind the struts. Everything else is pretty much bombproof.
I've never owned one but we get loads coming into our workshops for rustproofing and every single owner rates them highly. One guy I know prefers his wife's MX5 to his Porker 993!
If so, go for a Mazda MX5.
Great little cars. Good fun to drive, easy to maintain, reliable, frugal, hold their value well etc. Plenty of them about and you'll get a good one for your budget. They are a brilliant take on the classic British sportscar. Just look out for rust in the rear arches, rear lower sill and front chassis legs behind the struts. Everything else is pretty much bombproof.
I've never owned one but we get loads coming into our workshops for rustproofing and every single owner rates them highly. One guy I know prefers his wife's MX5 to his Porker 993!
grahame
Senior Retro Guru
Ooh, yes. Good thinking Dr S.
Scrap the Alfa thought. Get an MX5. A good Mk1 will be less than £2k, leaving £3k for petrol. Insurance (on a classics policy) will be buttons.
Almost certainly not anything VW/Audi Group at that budget, and certainly not a VAG diesel (or any other make) with a Dual Mass Flywheel financial timebomb just waiting to go off. Replacing a DMF will instantly wipe out any financial savings in fuel for a deisel car vs petrol equivalent.
Scrap the Alfa thought. Get an MX5. A good Mk1 will be less than £2k, leaving £3k for petrol. Insurance (on a classics policy) will be buttons.
Almost certainly not anything VW/Audi Group at that budget, and certainly not a VAG diesel (or any other make) with a Dual Mass Flywheel financial timebomb just waiting to go off. Replacing a DMF will instantly wipe out any financial savings in fuel for a deisel car vs petrol equivalent.
- Fiesta (although does look a tad boring unless you go for the new shape - but possibly out of budget)
- Audi A2 (Diesel are good economy and dont actually sound like a diesel much), can pick these up at surprisingly low prices.
- Yaris - the 3 door not the 5 door. still have a reliable reputation a lowish service costs
- Mercedes A-Class :?
- Peugeot 306 (meridian) although getting fairly old now, but still one of the best handling hatchbacks out there - i miss mine
- Corsa [unfortunately] these are a good low cost all rounder. i hate the look though. super chavvy-diamante-style-bling-rubbish. but thats just my opinion.... :roll:
- Nissan Micra (k11 - not the newest shape). i have an automatic and i love it. i have no shame.
or, get an Argocat.
- Audi A2 (Diesel are good economy and dont actually sound like a diesel much), can pick these up at surprisingly low prices.
- Yaris - the 3 door not the 5 door. still have a reliable reputation a lowish service costs
- Mercedes A-Class :?
- Peugeot 306 (meridian) although getting fairly old now, but still one of the best handling hatchbacks out there - i miss mine
- Corsa [unfortunately] these are a good low cost all rounder. i hate the look though. super chavvy-diamante-style-bling-rubbish. but thats just my opinion.... :roll:
- Nissan Micra (k11 - not the newest shape). i have an automatic and i love it. i have no shame.
or, get an Argocat.
Don't really need 4 seats but strong preference for something at least fairly practical. I would love an alfa but the ones in the price range are a bit old and/or high mileage for what we're after. Also used to have a 306 and would have another but they're getting a bit long in the tooth now. It's that kind of fun/sensible/practical mix i'm really after.
MX5 is an outside bet, although we're purposed to be buying as new as possible to balance our the 20 year old pajero.
I'm intrigued by the lupo, anyone know how the newer fox compares? I'm realising that the yaris and corsa will have to be considered. I'll try and leave my preconceptions at the door!
MX5 is an outside bet, although we're purposed to be buying as new as possible to balance our the 20 year old pajero.
I'm intrigued by the lupo, anyone know how the newer fox compares? I'm realising that the yaris and corsa will have to be considered. I'll try and leave my preconceptions at the door!
Don't make the mistake of small engine is better on motorway miles, my 2.0 golf GTi is better on the juice than my 1.4 punto.
Little cars are great around town but the lack of a 6th gear or more pull from the engine comes into its own on long motorway drives.
Revving at over 3000rpm at 70mph soon gets irritating.
I'd get a fun little car, light, bigger but engine........
Little cars are great around town but the lack of a 6th gear or more pull from the engine comes into its own on long motorway drives.
Revving at over 3000rpm at 70mph soon gets irritating.
I'd get a fun little car, light, bigger but engine........
It's years since I've driven a Lupo. My only real memories, are that it didn't seem an awful lot different to a then contemporary Polo to drive - but they did tend to be a bit wallow-y and less direct, from a driving experience, than, say, Ford's smaller cars.Rumble":2h93g89t said:
The one thing I do have a lasting memory of, is that the boot seemed truly tiny and pointless. I suppose with the seats down, and having a hatch, there's probably some usable load space, but with the back seats upright, the boot was tiny.
As to the Fox, it seems to be similarly sized to older Polos - and it's probably not unconnected - Fox used to be a trim level thing for them, once.
have had a Fox as a hire car a couple of times, and they are pretty good really.... they dont go down too well in VW circles, as it replaced the Lupo (bit iconic), but I liked it overall
LOADS of space, massive head room, decent, torquey little motor that pulled well up lake district hills in third, got over somewhere near 50 to the gallon, and pretty comfy too. Bit basic in terms of trim materials, but had air con, wheel controls for the stereo etc - was considerably bigger than the Polo I used to have as well
The Lupo... yes its small, and yes its a bit floppy, but its not that sort of car that impels you to launch it about at all. We can get a 2 weeks shop in the back with room to spare, and 2 bikes with the seats down
If you want some sparkle, go for the Gti
G
LOADS of space, massive head room, decent, torquey little motor that pulled well up lake district hills in third, got over somewhere near 50 to the gallon, and pretty comfy too. Bit basic in terms of trim materials, but had air con, wheel controls for the stereo etc - was considerably bigger than the Polo I used to have as well
The Lupo... yes its small, and yes its a bit floppy, but its not that sort of car that impels you to launch it about at all. We can get a 2 weeks shop in the back with room to spare, and 2 bikes with the seats down
If you want some sparkle, go for the Gti
G
Rumble":3jvwif2t said:
thats the biggest gripe i have with my Micra (sorry to go on about it) but i can sit at 70 on the motorway and watch the fuel gauge literally drop (i'm reminded of a story about my dad's old Capri)
55-60 and its as stiff as a codpiece
i looked at Ibizas and Leons to replace my 306 but never found one for the price i wanted, i would have gone for one of those otherwise.
the Foxs are a tidy car, but the ride is a little unrefined and does get noisy at high speeds.
if i were in your position, i'd be looking at the new Fiesta, Toyota Yaris, Hyundai i30 or Kia C'eed (used Kia's can be found with a decent chunk of the warranty they have too)......i'm more of a function over form guy though, looks don't really bother me...
As for Alfa's, nice to look at and [i imagine] to drive, but steep depreciation and high service costs keeps my barge pole in full time employment
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