Best bang for buck - £3000

Mondeo ST220 all day long for 3k budget. Cheap to run, reliable, still look good, comfiest leather Recaro's ever and a great sound from the 3.0 V6
 
~Divine~Wind~ said:
Mazda 6 mps?

I'd suggest a 3 but they're a bit more than the budget tbh.

Are you bothered about tax/mpg?
Think I'd happily have a play around in a wrx.
But I'd need to read up first as there's specific engines and stuff to pay attention to.

My mate says a mk4 golf
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Doing my reading on Impreza's at the moment.

Mazda 6 isn't a bad suggestion but not for me as a matter of taste, same with the Golf.
 
TacticalFish said:
Thanks for all the input people, the not so shortlist as it stands:

Impreza WRX
Mondeo ST220
Saab 9-5 ( 2.3L = 0-60 in 6.5 apparently)
Mx-5
Cooper S
330ci
X-type 3.0 V6
Click to expand...

Interesting variety of a shortlist :p But also the exact same dilemma I'm going through. Every time a new suggestion comes up I think it's what I want, newest one is an ST220 but insurance pretty much rules that out for me I think (£1,500 cheapest without a black box unless with 1st central who are renowned for being useless).

I'm thinking for £3-4k a Jag/Scoob/BMW etc has too much scope for eating into my savings to I'm currently leaning Fiesta ST or similar
 
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Don't the Mazda 6 MPSs have a few nasty/expensive issues related to the turbo?

In fact, if your going cheap I'd go with something non-turbo. They are always a liability :/
 
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agw_01 said:
I just sold my 02 WRX for £2500 on 96k, in just as good condition and running order as when I bought it on 71.

I'd rate it better in every way than my girlfriend's 04 Cooper S, which incidentally is for sale :p
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How does it compare?

Only ask as I use a non S cooper as my daily and it really could do with the charger. You can feel it's quite a lardy car.
 
Performance wise the WRX is a lot better, especially with them being 4wd. In fact they drive better than a lot of far more expensive cars. Only down side is the amount of maintenance they need and you really do need to keep on top of it, or they WILL break!
 
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Skillmister said:
Interesting variety of a shortlist :p But also the exact same dilemma I'm going through. Every time a new suggestion comes up I think it's what I want, newest one is an ST220 but insurance pretty much rules that out for me I think (£1,500 cheapest without a black box unless with 1st central who are renowned for being useless).

I'm thinking for £3-4k a Jag/Scoob/BMW etc has too much scope for eating into my savings to I'm currently leaning Fiesta ST or similar
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Yeah they all quite different! Mines coming out around £1k for the ST220, with 1st Central who I'm already with, I would actually rate them as a company, but that's just personal experience.

I'd be tempted by a Fiesta ST, just difficult to find a good one that hasn't been ragged.
 
TacticalFish said:
Yeah they all quite different! Mines coming out around £1k for the ST220, with 1st Central who I'm already with, I would actually rate them as a company, but that's just personal experience.

I'd be tempted by a Fiesta ST, just difficult to find a good one that hasn't been ragged.
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Mine would be £740 with 1st Central for an ST220 (once I get my 1 near NCD in Sept anyway). But having read this it's put me off a bit.. There has to be a reason they are less than half the price of the competition! They don't do 3rd party cover on other vehicles either which would be pretty important for me using my gf's diesel fiesta if we do longer trips and I buy something less suited to 500 miles on a motorway :p

Agree about the ST, they are likely to have been ragged but there are a few examples I've seen that sound well cared for. Not sure how to spot if it's been ragged in the past!
 
If insurance is a concern, stop using comparison sites.
Try calling the likes of Sky and Greenlight

I'd also suggest that once you've decided which car you want that you join one of the owners club forums. They tend to have goo relations with retailers and insurance companies and sometimes have club specific discounts too.
 
TacticalFish said:
Thanks for all the input people, the not so shortlist as it stands:

Impreza WRX
Mondeo ST220
Saab 9-5 ( 2.3L = 0-60 in 6.5 apparently)
Mx-5
Cooper S
330ci
X-type 3.0 V6
Click to expand...

An EP3 CTR would run rings round most of they cars on a B road and they're NA.
 
Skillmister said:
Mine would be £740 with 1st Central for an ST220 (once I get my 1 near NCD in Sept anyway). But having read this it's put me off a bit.. There has to be a reason they are less than half the price of the competition! They don't do 3rd party cover on other vehicles either which would be pretty important for me using my gf's diesel fiesta if we do longer trips and I buy something less suited to 500 miles on a motorway :p

Agree about the ST, they are likely to have been ragged but there are a few examples I've seen that sound well cared for. Not sure how to spot if it's been ragged in the past!
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I'd call them to confirm that, when I called them earlier this year they said they do if you're over 26. Those forum posts are from 2009, they might well have cleaned up their act a bit by now. As I say, they've been good by me.

On finding out whether one has been ragged, # of owners, lots of receipts for tyres and suspension parts :D...
 
5 owners in 11 years is fine, and as long as the important bits of the service history are there it shouldn't matter.

Looks in good nick. £3195 doesn't seem bad really, from memory they used to be a fair whack more than that for a good condition one. I don't personally think an EP3 is worth £3195 though, but that might just be me...
 
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