Son wants car advice 9000 to spend on fun! He wants 10 year old car. HELP :)

Dis86 said:
It's stating 220bhp which will be the 217.
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211 on the ad - but several details in the ad don't seem to match up I'm wondering if they've got the model slightly wrong or something.

EDIT: Looking at the MOT history whoever previously owned it didn't seem to believe in having working brakes! Also some mistakes with the recorded mileage - hopefully just a mistake and not an indication of something more sinister.
 
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DereksDontRun said:
"fun car" and nobody has suggested a mx5?!?

If he doesn't need rear seats then really a 2 seater is most fun...
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This needs more attention, looking at his car history it will be in a different league for "fun" to anything he's had before. I ran mine for 6 years and still wish I had it back every day. Whilst there are faster, and more capable cars suggested in this list, I'd argue that for fun whilst keeping it legal, nothing beats an MX5. At the kind of speeds you need to be travelling to really push something like a BMW 130i / Megane 225 to it's limits you would be well and truly approaching licence losing territory. You can get something low powered and low grip like an MX5 much closer to the edge at much safer speeds, and thats ultimately where the fun comes from in my opinion.

You wouldn't need to spend your full budget and can get a nice top spec with the folding hard top with change left over for running costs.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201912245580747
 
Regarding that Scirocco - might be nothing but there are a few little discrepancies in terms of recorded mileage, age and specs depending on source for the data the MOT history doesn't exactly inspire me as to the kind of ownership it has had either though it looks pretty good in the pictures.
 
GhostWKD said:
£4,800 a year sounds like it is already draining money more than most 10 year old cars would if I'm honest... On most 10 year old cars the majority of depreciation will already be done so the only costs is servicing and the odd repair etc, you'd have to be seriously unlucky to be burning through almost £5k a year in running costs on a £10k car.

Edit: Should probably clarify, the 'newest' car I've owned was my 2009 Audi S3, drove that for about 5k miles, put 4 new tyres on it and sold it for what I paid for it.
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When you put it like that it makes a lot of cars seem cheap to run in comparison. I appreciate that doesn’t take into account the capital outlay for the car, but a lot of cars will suddenly seem very cheap to own if that’s the expected outlay.

I think we can all agree that a 2.0 scirocco is not a fun car!

You’d get into some seriously fun driving machines for £9,000. I’m very biased, but I’d be in a S2000 for this cash. They’re getting on a bit, and perhaps I got lucky with mine, but apart from routine maintenance and a snow related ding it didn’t cost me anything. I lost £1,000 in depreciation in 5 years and that was with a trader part exchange value (and double the mileage!).

How much practicality does he really need?
 
sideways14a said:
Yes but no bugger does that these days.

Dony buy some scrabbly ancient shed for god knows how much when you can have a lot newer and decent hardware on your driveway.
And nowt is more fun than an MX5 by the way.
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Loads of people still buy cars, we buy ours.

MX5 is good fun, but i've driven better / more fun.
 
sideways14a said:
Yes but no bugger does that these days.

Dony buy some scrabbly ancient shed for god knows how much when you can have a lot newer and decent hardware on your driveway.
And nowt is more fun than an MX5 by the way.
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Plenty of people still buy a car nowadays, the wife and I certainly do and I know plenty of others that still buy second hand cars. The cost of a loan for 9k (around 160 quid over 5 years for example) is considerably less than the £300 you're paying for a car that won't be yours at the end of your PCP. Not everyone has to have the latest and greatest car, besides which 9k will get you a half decent motor. I'd much rather be spending more money on a nicer house than a car that spends most of the time sitting on the drive.
 
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sideways14a said:
I doubt that unless your into exotica or impractical.
The gt86 and nd4 mx5 are todays top fun cars, and scrabble fwd can go do one.
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When talking new cars, perhaps.

The ND4 aint great vs the earlier MX5s, they got worse after the jelly shaped MK3.

As a year round prospect for someone who commutes in all weathers the MX5 can be a PITA, so i'd take some extra impracticality and buy an Elise, VX220 or caterham instead, all are more fun than an MX5 and to me would be preferential rather than throwing 300 down the drain each month, over 3 years you could own the above outright.
 
So i've owned and extensively modified a Mk2, had a lot of seat time in a Mk1 and Mk2.5 due to the clubs i was associated with, and taken extended test drives on multiple occasions of the Mk3 / Mk3.5 and Mk4.

The best driver focused MX5 is still the Mk1, as a prospect to live with the Mk3.5 would probably be my choice over the Mk4.

But everyone's opinion will be different, but that is mine without my opinion being tainted by money.
 
Only thing I'd be worried about is the timing chain on the Scirocco as I believe it shares the same engine as the MK6 GTI. I had mine replaced at under warranty at the time.

At this price surely R56 JCW is the go to? But I'm biased :D
 
Personally not a fan of the MX5 - I have much more fun even in a hatchback with a V6 and tons of torque - gimme a Golf VR6 or Clio V6, etc. any day.
 
coupe69 said:
Plenty of people still buy a car nowadays, the wife and I certainly do and I know plenty of others that still buy second hand cars. The cost of a loan for 9k (around 160 quid over 5 years for example) is considerably less than the £300 you're paying for a car that won't be yours at the end of your PCP. Not everyone has to have the latest and greatest car, besides which 9k will get you a half decent motor. I'd much rather be spending more money on a nicer house than a car that spends most of the time sitting on the drive.
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I think the majority pcp now, I think it's a colossall waste of money (but it keeps the secondhand carmarket going). I do find it funny that people seem to think pcp is cheaper than buying. If he's feeling brave, he could go for a 986 boxster:p.
 
theone8181 said:
I think the majority pcp now, I think it's a colossall waste of money
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It doesn't "have" to be, all cars depreciate, and the newer they are the more they tend to. I've been lucky in the past (through buying at the right time and selling at the right time, and watching for decent deals - think manufacturer incentives). I came out with over a £4k deposit (balloon was £4k less than value) when I traded my A4 (which was on PCP) in for the S3 (which is on HP). I know this doesn't always pan-out but to say in blanket statement that "it's a colossal waste of money" isn't really fair. Not everyone has (or wants to) spend the cash up-front for a £30k+ vehicle. FWIW unless I go electric, my next vehicle will be bought outright from whatever I can sell/trade the S3 for.

PCP on used vehicles though, that can downright sod off.
 
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