£5-6k budget, what do I buy?

Tasocahtfu · 21 Sep 2008 at 23:40

Had my little 106 GTi for 4.5 years now and have had enough. Fun little car it has been, but am now 26 and need to move up a bit! Was looking at a 05/55 Golf GTi until recently but have had to slash my budget considerably after doing the sensible thing and prioritising

Plus everyone keeps telling me how overpriced they are!

So what should I buy? I want something that will be a lot more comfortable than the Peugeot, but still good fun to drive. I don't do huge amounts of motorway driving but I do some, and the noise from the 106 really gets annoying after a while! My pockets aren't especially deep either, so anything that is horrendous on fuel is a bit of a no no, would estimate I do ~10-12,000 miles per year.

Insurance wise I have 5 years NCB, and it would be a bonus if it was something that wasn't too expensive to maintain/repair if things go wrong!

I don't really keep up to speed with cars much, couple of friends have mentioned Mondeos and going by a few of the threads I have read on here they seem quite a popular choice. Would this be a good bet?

Cheers for any suggestions

OpenToSuggestions · 22 Sep 2008 at 00:39

10-12k miles and 5-6k budget, not too bad on fuel......there are so many cars you could get for this! I wouldn't bother with a diesel though.

If you liked the 106 then a clio 172/182 might be worth a look, I have been told they arent too bad on fuel. Pistonheads has loads on there
IF you are interested in the golf then check out a leon or a octavia they are pretty much the same thing but way cheaper. Also check out the focus, mk1 and mk2.
What size car you after?

Shimmy · 22 Sep 2008 at 01:17

Mondeo ST220.

s0ck · 22 Sep 2008 at 01:51

Leon Cupra R

Cupra · 22 Sep 2008 at 02:10

s0ck said:
Leon Cupra R

ibiza cupra for more fun tbh

gareth.e · 22 Sep 2008 at 02:16

Don't get a boring mondeo...

The world is your Oyster at 6k.. fuel and servicing may be an issue on some though

Personally you only live once and you might as well really enjoy the car your buying!!

in no particular order look at: GT4, RX7, MX5, 172, XJ8, S2, 147, DC2, Skylines, Imprezas, Supras.... Yada Yada Yada!

Some examples:

147
156 GTA
S2 modified
An even more modified S2 that I should make a thread about :O(a little over budget
random r32 skyline although it could do with a little TLC
Quick example of Japanese DC2
XJ8 - Someone has stolen all the slightly older supercharged 4.0 v8's

Gaygle · 22 Sep 2008 at 03:37

To the OP - ignore EVERY example given below. All are ridiculous and as far as i can tell, not suited to you at all.

gareth.e said:
Don't get a boring mondeo...

Ok, let's see what's below....

in no particular order look at:

gareth.e said:
GT4

Are

gareth.e said:
RX7

You

gareth.e said:
S2

******

gareth.e said:
172

joking

gareth.e said:
XJ8

Me.
Some examples:

gareth.e said:
147

An alfa, whilst fairly nice looking, won't prove to be reliable.

gareth.e said:
[S2 modified

Awesome! A 15 year old 370bhp Audi with 170,000miles on the clock!

gareth.e said:
[An even more modified S2 that I should make a thread about :O

Again, great job! You've managed to recommend a 16 yr old Audi S2 which is £21,000! Perhaps the OP should start considering Ferrari's as well?

gareth.e said:
[random r32 skyline although it could do with a little TLC

A Skyline?! A hardcore japanese car *obviously* sounds awesome for the OP, based on the fact he's told us he's been looking at a 55 Golf GTi. And also based on the fact that he didn't want to spend a lot if it went wrong, yet the guy who has written the ad for the skyline clearly states he spent £3400 in one go having to recon the engine.

gareth.e said:
[Quick example of Japanese DC2

OP - the most hardcore FWD car ever made is DEFINATELY what you need.

gareth.e said:
[XJ8 - Someone has stolen all the slightly older supercharged 4.0 v8's

Yeah....shouldn't cost much to fix anything on that. I think it's only about £17 billion to get a new oil filter for it.

Honestly, did you even read the OP? Or did you just recommend cars that you are interested in (which have no relevance to the OP whatsoever) for some odd reason?

OP, my suggestion would be a Bugatti Veyron. Ticks every box tbh.

gareth.e · 22 Sep 2008 at 04:15

Gaygle said:
To the OP - ignore EVERY example given below. All are ridiculous and as far as i can tell, not suited to you at all.

oh noes!

gareth.e said:
The world is your Oyster at 6k.. fuel and servicing may be an issue on some though

Personally you only live once and you might as well really enjoy the car your buying!!

There's nothing wrong with a 172 nor a DC2... They are both very serious replies

And *someone* must be stupid if they thought I was being serious about the 21k s2

The rest were directed at the OP however I took a different approach rather than suggestion the most suitable and boring options around..

Yes GT4s, rx7's, skylines, S2's are far far from sensible and will require you to bend over with your trousers down every so often.. but he may come to a realisation after test driving that something fun is worth a sore *** every so often..

The cars I chose to link were after only very brief searches on pistonheads..

gareth.e · 22 Sep 2008 at 04:16

Gaygle said:
OP, my suggestion would be a Bugatti Veyron. Ticks every box tbh.

I see what you did there... Very funny

Tasocahtfu · 22 Sep 2008 at 14:10

Thanks for the replies, Gaygle your post raised a good grin!

mglover070588 said:
If you liked the 106 then a clio 172/182 might be worth a look, I have been told they arent too bad on fuel. Pistonheads has loads on there
IF you are interested in the golf then check out a leon or a octavia they are pretty much the same thing but way cheaper. Also check out the focus, mk1 and mk2.
What size car you after?

I think I'd quite like something a little bigger than I'm used to, bought the 106 to have something to chuck about a bit as I live out in the sticks somewhat so have some good fun roads around me, but I'm actually fairly tall and something a little bit more spacious would be nice.

Was keen on the Golf GTi as I thought it would be a good blend of comfortable and still really good fun to drive, but as I said I'm not the most clued up about cars and there are probably loads that fit that description! Particularly liked the DSG box on a couple of the Golfs I tried out, but think that will have to wait until I can afford something a bit newer!

I am keen to get something with a decent interior - leather, heated seats and all that malarkey. Feel like I'm getting old saying all this, but as I've got a bit older my appreciation of these things has increased!

A friend suggested a Leon Cupra R as they are similar to the Golf, but I'm not sure I like the look of them enough. To be honest I'm struggling a bit because I was quite set on the Golf, and now I have decided against it I'm not sure what to go for

If I could afford it I'd maybe look at an Audi of some kind, but probably wouldn't get as much for the money at this level I suppose.

Are Mondeo's quite quick and good to drive? I've only ever had hatches before, so anything bigger will be a new experience for me!

EDIT: Just realised some joker will probably quote that last bit as a sig

Morba · 22 Sep 2008 at 14:15

gareth.e said:
Don't get a boring mondeo...

The world is your Oyster at 6k.. fuel and servicing may be an issue on some though

Personally you only live once and you might as well really enjoy the car your buying!!

in no particular order look at: GT4, RX7, MX5, 172, XJ8, S2, 147, DC2, Skylines, Imprezas, Supras.... Yada Yada Yada!

Some examples:

147
156 GTA
S2 modified
An even more modified S2 that I should make a thread about :O(a little over budget
random r32 skyline although it could do with a little TLC
Quick example of Japanese DC2
XJ8 - Someone has stolen all the slightly older supercharged 4.0 v8's

The world is his oyster but some of the suggestions might have some problems with running costs.... duhh. :/

[TW]Fox · 22 Sep 2008 at 14:16

The Mondeo ST220 is as quick as a Golf GTI and frankly it's not exactly miles behind it in terms of handling ability either, IMHO.

Morba · 22 Sep 2008 at 14:18

[TW]Fox;12552067 said:
The Mondeo ST220 is as quick as a Golf GTI and frankly it's not exactly miles behind it in terms of handling ability either, IMHO.

They look bloody good for what they are aswell imo. especially for the price

DB_SamX · 22 Sep 2008 at 14:34

Mazda MX5 1.8 or Toyota Celica vvti 140/190. You'd be looking these dating around 2002.

Pug · 22 Sep 2008 at 15:47

i'll go down my usual route and reccomend an underdog:

Toyota Celica VVTL-i TSport. high-revs, 190Bhp, good spec, pretty and very reliable (and not too thirsty either...)

Not too many about, plenty of poke when you fancy it, otherwise very civilised (when below 6k rpm)

Full leather, climate control, and pretty uncommon - hence a uniqueness about it.

Handling/chassis is superb, and assuming you dont mind revving, once "on-cam" go like they're tied to a missile - very fun and engaging, and bang on budget.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/681847.htm as an example

Note, the TSport and VVTL-i is important, the VVT-i (140BHP) is a good car, but lacks the cam change that gives the performance.

jackoh · 22 Sep 2008 at 15:51

something like this..?

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/614654.htm

RoboCod · 22 Sep 2008 at 17:27

Integra DC2.

Booner! · 22 Sep 2008 at 17:34

DB_SamX said:
Toyota Celica vvti 140/190. You'd be looking these dating around 2002.

No point in the VVTI, aim for the VVLTI for a better buy. Should be able to pick one up for £6k...

merc190 · 22 Sep 2008 at 17:42

My mothers was just the 140 - more warm hatch performance at 8.2secs to 60 but very economical, chassis was definately the best front driver I've tried...

190/Tsport gets stung with more VED I think, and you really do need to thrash it's nuts off to get the extra power, if you do lots of cruising the 140 might be all you need. BHP is really the only difference, suspension set up is identical. Leather and climate control standard in Tsport.