5k Hatchback

Not sure how decent an S3 you can get for £5k, haven't looked at them recently. They're a bit more economical than the 8P v6 as standard but a bit slower all round and have a bit more to go wrong too (though parts aren't bad). The A3 is a decent car, worth driving one if you like the looks.

Personally I'd get a cupra / R though I like all 3.
 
godinman said:
Bit of a bump for this thread, I'm still undecided!


The Mondeo is now out - it's too big unfortunately.

Focus - The only ones we like are the newer shape ST, but they're a couple of grand over budget, so are out.

Civic type S - She doesn't like them, and I'm not overly keen, so they're out.

Lean R Cupra - This is a possibility, what's the build quality like, aren't they basically a golf underneath? Would they be an uncomfortably hard ride?

A3 3.0 V6 - Are these any good? They're a little bit older for the budget, and the interiors seem incredible nasty on some of them...

S3 - With a stretch of budget, these are possible, how would these be in terms of reliability, and would the running costs be silly?


Which leaves me with the Astra 2.0T 04/05ish plate. I quite like the look of these, the engine sounds quick enough, and I like my brother-in-laws. Why does OCUK motors dislike Vauxhalls? Are there actual problems, or is it just a bit of lolvauxhall? Are they terribly built? Absolutely dire to drive?

I realise this is a lot of questions, but I'm confused, and after years of reading OCUK and thinking lolvauxhall whenever I see one, I'm now seriously considering getting one and can't actually think of a valid reason not to!

Thanks for any help.

edit - It seems to be a toss up between an Astra, A3 and Leon, with preference in that order.
Click to expand...

LCR - yes it's a golf 4 with a boot, no build quality issues. Good honest cars.
a3 3.2 V6 - different animal imo - all come with quattro and 250bhp. obviously fuel consumption will be different than a 1.8 Turbo. interiors are good imo.

Astra - well on the one side there is a lot of vauxhall hate. I had an astra G and at £1k they are good cars. However once you can spend a bit more, the 2.T you mention has a pretty sad interior quality wise and it is the only car in your list without independent rear suspension. Handling is... sad. It is also considerably slower than a A3 3.2/S3/LCR.
 
Oh the confusion! Been looking tonight, and if we s=up the budget slightly we can get a rather nice looking A3 3.2, something like this.

Mpg isn't a worry, glad to hear the parts aren't too bad, I think the S3 is a no go as it'll be expensive to fix I think, and more ropey for the money. I prefer the A3 to the leon, and the gf doesn't like them very much either.

The focus seems a little low on power, it's only just faster than the rover!

Hmmm, time to go visit an Astra and an A3 methinks!
 
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Not quite what we're after, thanks tho.:)

Just one final question for you guys, I'm off to see a couple this weekend/next week - there are a fairly equal amount of manual and DSG cars available in budget, am I right in thinking I should steer well clear of the DSG ones as they'll blow up and cost me 3k? Or is it not as bad as all that and they are infact now quite cheap to repair?
 
Discounting civic type s, mondeo V6, the cupra and an A3 and coming to the conclusion you want an astra?

PicardDoubleFacepalm-1.jpg


What about a beemer?
 
Thanks for the replies like, but you need to read the rest of the thread, importantly the parts where I say I'm going to by a 3.2 A3.

Actually, reading my last post, I forgot to mention precisely which car I was going to see!

For clarification, the astra is out of the window, the A3 is in.

(The clue was in the dsg)
 
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godinman said:
Thanks for the replies like, but you need to read the rest of the thread, importantly the parts where I say I'm going to by a 3.2 A3.

Actually, reading my last post, I forgot to mention precisely which car I was going to see!

For clarification, the astra is out of the window, the A3 is in.

(The clue was in the dsg)
Click to expand...

ah apologies, I only got about 2/3 of the posts when I started the reply but procrastinated for an hour or so and thus missed the rest.

Good luck with your car hunt!
 
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