What car for £9k?

Izi

Izi

Izi

Soldato
Joined
9 Dec 2007
Posts
2,718
I am looking to buy a new car and want some peoples opinions. The cars I have been looking at so far have been:

BMW 3 series: http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-u...cleYearOfManufacture=2003&vehicleRegLetter=03

Jag X-Type 2.2D: http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-u...cleYearOfManufacture=2005&vehicleRegLetter=55

I have also seen the 2.0D jags - apart from the engine size difference what else is different between the models?

Audi A4 1.9 TDI sport: http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-u...cleYearOfManufacture=2003&vehicleRegLetter=03

Honda Civic type R: http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-u...cleYearOfManufacture=2005&vehicleRegLetter=05 (bit worried about insurance on this)

Also looked at HONDA Civic 1.8 i-VTEC SE .


As you can see from the wide range of cars I have looked at, I am really not to fussed what I get. It must be comfortable to drive, yet still fun when it needs to be.

Any other suggestions would be great, along with any "dont buy X, its pap" comments.
 
If you're not really sure what you should get, why spend £9k on a car? You can get perfectly good cars for £5k.

Just a thought :)
 
You dont really seem to know what you want so its difficult to advice you. A Diesel X-Type and a 3 litre petrol 3 Series are both very different cars and will have different running costs. What do you want from a car?

A 330i Sport is also a very different car to drive than a Honda Civic Type-R, they are getting close to being two ends of the reasonable performance motoring spectrum...
 
I really dont know what I want. The cars that I have posted all appeal to me in someway. I am 25, so the more mature side is saying Jag / BMW / Audi, but the younger side is saying Type R!

Does anyone have any views on the 2.2d Jag?
 
I'de go for the Audi if i had 9k.

Although as Fox said theres different types of cars in your selection.

Just depends what your after really ?
 
Why are you considernig a reasonably quick, 3 litre, 230bhp BMW alongside a reasonably slow, 2 litre diesel Jaguar? What exactly do you need from a car? They are two cars which should not be on anyones shortlist - surely you fancy a 320d or X-Type 2.2d or you fancy a 330i or an X-Type 3.0 V6?

To give you an idea of just how random your selection of cars is, one of the cars on your list is almost everything I personally would want from a car yet another is almost everything I personally would hate from a car..

Also if you are worried about the insurance on a Honda Civic why are you considering a BMW 330i Sport? The insurance on the 330i will be more expensive than the Honda, and the general running costs will make insurance worries seem like an irrelevance? A set of tyres for a 330i is about £550...
 
Last edited:
[TW]Fox;13363352 said:
Why are you considernig a reasonably quick, 3 litre, 230bhp BMW alongside a reasonably slow, 2 litre diesel Jaguar? What exactly do you need from a car? They are two cars which should not be on anyones shortlist - surely you fancy a 320d or X-Type 2.2d or you fancy a 330i or an X-Type 3.0 V6?

To give you an idea of just how random your selection of cars is, one of the cars on your list is almost everything I personally would want from a car yet another is almost everything I personally would hate from a car..
Click to expand...

Twentymac said:
I'de go for the Audi if i had 9k.

Although as Fox said theres different types of cars in your selection.

Just depends what your after really ?
Click to expand...

OK, ignore the 3 Litre BMW. To be honest I had been looking at a lot of 3 series and that was one I had just booked marked with out looking in to it much.

I suppose the two options i have are:

1) A smaller car like the civic which is fairly rapid.
2) A bigger diesel car like the Jag, BMW 320d etc, which are slower.

It will be used for meetings- some long drives like 500 mile round trips (not that often once a month) and some more occasional 20-30 mile round trips.
 
Last edited:
I had a 2.2D X-Type as a courtesy car, you need the top of the range one otherwise they are very bland.
The engine was mated to a six speed box and first gear was pathetically short. You couldn't use 6th at about 40mph either as it would struggle.
I had it for about 10 days and in that time, I found 2 tiny screws around the gearstick area that were not there when I picked it up. I couldn't find out where they came from:confused:
The ride was too harsh for my liking as well.

I already have an A4 (B6 model) and the only real issues I have with it are that there is hardly any rear leg room if the driver / passenger are over 6' and that the drive sometimes feels slightly "detached" if that makes any sense. You don't get too much feedback from the steering if you push the car slightly.
 
I've been looking at spending around the same amount of money on a diesel saloon car and you can pick up some very nice examples of an Audi A6 for that money.
 
Re the 2.0d Xtype -

We have a 2.0d SE X-Type owned for about 10 months,

You will be able to get a very nice 2-3 year old example for the money, be careful though as used diesel x-types can differ massively in terms of feel and performance, this can be down to carbon build up in the EGR valve or injector issues but if you drive 4 or 5 you will get a feel for what makes a good one. For your budget I would be compelled to pour over Jaguar Approved used stock, ours is and we have had a very good experience with the local dealer (stratstone Plymouth) any faults have been fixed with no quibbles.

Ours gets about 45 mpg combined and is actually a great drive, I am used to an E46 328i/Lexus GS300 and the X compares favourably in many areas, however the main disappointments are-

I have driven the 2.2d and appreciated the extra performance, however does not feel much faster than the 2.0, the sixth gear is beneficial although the notchy, positive box of the 2.0d is sacrificed for a clicky and nasty feeling gear box.

-Some poor quality areas of interior trim, notably armrest and ridiculously cheap feeling indicator stalks - also watch out for the notoriously poor quality windscreen vents, they often pop out!

-2.0d engine is quite punchy in general, however lack of 6th gear is annoying and refinement on the motorway suffers as a result (in comparison to other cars in the class). The suspension on the Sport model can also sometimes feel quite harsh and unforgiving, whereas the 'touring' suspension standard on the SE rides well, similarly to E46 SE and although I dont tend to push ours hard the handling is good and steering feedback is fairly positive.

In conclusion if you can put up with the chrome trims etc of the SE or Sovereign models try and go for one as the extra kit and additional touches (like wood trim on the door panels and computer) adds to the ambience of the interior.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom