how much do i need to pay to get what i want?

danlightbulb

danlightbulb

danlightbulb

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Joined
14 Jul 2005
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Birmingham
Hi all,

Been eyeing up various cars for some time now. In my mind I have gone from £10k bank loans to £1k sheds, not knowing which is best. I've got no decision, so instead I want to turn things round the other way and ask what I need to pay to meet my list of requirements.

They are:

1. Good performance. Ideally >200bhp or <8 seconds to 60.
2. Handles well, nice chassis to drive, but comfortable.
3. Sporty looking - aggressive styling preferred.
4. If petrol, minimum 30mpg average.
5. If diesel, good reliability record and not likely to cost me thousands in parts failures like DMF, DPF, injectors etc.
6. A good sized family car. Hatchback or estate (not saloon).
7. I don't mind if its an older car if it meets the above criteria.

I've browsed through so many cars but keep coming back to the same bunch. Cars like:
* BMW 3 or 5 series tourers.
* Audi A4 avants
* Volvo V50's
* Saab 9-3 or 9-5 estates.

Considering cars like the BMW and Audis, I don't mind an older car but don't want to risk buying a nail. What would be a good age/price boundary to aim for? I'm keen on a higher spec car too. What do I need to pay to upgrade my trim levels to 'sport' 'r' 's-line' type trims. I can't afford an M5 or RS4!

Thanks
 
I don't think the above quite meets '3. Sporty looking - aggressive styling preferred.'. Although with the exception of the 3 series im not sure i could say that about the others either :P

There are quite a few cars i could suggest but i get the impression that you are a quite lost with the decision and i wouldn't want to confuse things too much.

I would say if you are considering taking out a bank loan, i would try and stick to the lower end of your budget as you'll be better off not financing a depreciating asset. You'll meet those requirements just as well in a £1500 330i as you will in a 9k m3.
 
"Minimum 30 mpg average" might rule out the 330i. Depends on the driving you do, but I have never beat 30 mpg average with a 6 cylinder petrol. And I don't really commute, or do a lot of town driving. But then, I have been driving a 6 cylinder petrol, so it's being driven.

I would be tempted to say a Golf GTI would probably hit all your requirements. Anything from mk5 onwards with a 2.0T will have your 200 BHP. Or Octavia VRS.
 
Thanks guys. To address the points you raise:

Yes I have been admiring the 330i's for some time. In the older models I won't get 30mpg. Same with the ST220 as well. The newer cars do seem to be able to beat 30mpg, but more cost. And of course I could go diesel. How about a 3.5l, 4litre or 5 litre diesel version?

A golf is too small. I currently have a Mondeo mk3 hatchback diesel. I could go for a medium sized estate (hence the V50/9-3 or 3 series being in my list, but not smaller).

The 200bhp mondeo - It does fit almost all the criteria, and with a decent exhaust and some new suspension and wheels it would look pretty decent too, but to sort that would likely be another £1500 on top. I already own a mondeo. It was a car i wanted at the time and Ive owned it for 9 years now, so I kinda feel like a change. I always feel the wheels on them need to be bigger, they look so small on the side profile of the car. But for the money its an impressive value car.
 
Helios1234 said:
One in Titanium X Sport trim would tick that box.
Click to expand...

It looks pretty nice to be fair.

If only it filled those wheel arches a bit better. Those are 18" rims!

http://pictures2.autotrader.co.uk/imgser-uk/servlet/media?id=cf39cc6312564b13987ebdb1013f3c91

Same model (titanium x sport), but how come this one looks different in the wheels? According to ad they are 18's also.

http://pictures2.autotrader.co.uk/imgser-uk/servlet/media?id=909e011036ce40473c0342fe937cba81

No hotlinking, if you want to post an image please rehost on your own webspace. Thank you.
 
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danlightbulb said:
Thanks guys. To address the points you raise:

Yes I have been admiring the 330i's for some time. In the older models I won't get 30mpg. Same with the ST220 as well. The newer cars do seem to be able to beat 30mpg, but more cost. And of course I could go diesel. How about a 3.5l, 4litre or 5 litre diesel version?

A golf is too small. I currently have a Mondeo mk3 hatchback diesel. I could go for a medium sized estate (hence the V50/9-3 or 3 series being in my list, but not smaller).

The 200bhp mondeo - It does fit almost all the criteria, and with a decent exhaust and some new suspension and wheels it would look pretty decent too, but to sort that would likely be another £1500 on top. I already own a mondeo. It was a car i wanted at the time and Ive owned it for 9 years now, so I kinda feel like a change. I always feel the wheels on them need to be bigger, they look so small on the side profile of the car. But for the money its an impressive value car.
Click to expand...

I've had an e90 330i too, and never managed to break 30 mpg average on it. But you may.

There is no 3.5, 4.0 or 5.0 diesels from BMW. The x35 and x40 diesels are both 3.0 liters with 2 turbos, and the 50d is a 3.0 liter with 3 turbos. I got around 38 mpg in my 335d (when I said around, I mean averaged over 16k), and get around 40 mpg in my 530d (averaged over 36k).

If you need a car bigger than a golf, then a 3 series doesn't give you too much. I wouldn't go for a E61 5 series either, so you'd be looking at F11, so starting around the £20k mark I would imagine, for an AUC car which you can negotiate a couple years warranty on.

A4 will be a little bigger than a 3 series though. 2.0T should get you pretty close to your requirements. But the older ones, like any car really (barring VAG diesels, where the 1.9 TDI's are way better than the 2.0 TDI's), aren't as efficient, so you'd need to spend around £10k+ to get a nice efficient one really.

As for your pics, is the bottom one lowered? Or running a larger profile tyre? Lowered cars always look better. But then suffer with clearance issues.
 
The bottom one looks to be running a bigger tyre yes, which fills the arches better. But I don't know which of the two is the standard tyre. If the bottom one works without fouling the body, then it would seem 19" or even 20" rims would also fit?

£10k would be my absolute max. If that gets me a moderate audi or a top of the range mondeo then I should really get the better value better equipped car which seems to be the mondeo.
 
Yup was gonna link that one. My only complaint would be lack of specs such as Sat Nav but they are rare cars and that one is at a good price.

Nice colour also and more power than the pre-facelift.
 
Your requirements are pretty much what mine were when I bought my car last year (in addition I wanted a decent amount of standard kit). I ruled out the 'premium' brands because I couldn't get what I wanted for my budget (around £10k) and so I ended up with my Ford heap ;)

I am quite fond of how it looks :p

KJoKOAQ.jpg


ASNRWPb.jpg
 
danlightbulb said:
How does it drive? Can you tell its got 200+ bhp?
Click to expand...

Yeah even before I remapped mine (to 240bhp) it was punchy because of the broad spread of torque. It's deceptive due to the the car's size and insulation - it doesn't feel like a 200bhp hot hatch for example but the acceleration is very good. It's a very good engine and it even makes a not-too-unpleasant-for-a-4-cylinder noise when you're accelerating hard.

Have a read through my thread (link in my sig) for more detailed info :).
 
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