After a sporty a car around £2k... what not to get? What to get :D

Just noticed that all for sale are with a garage or dealer & most dont have any tax.
I presume then I'll probably need to add a further £148 for at least 6months tax? That sux, why cant they have 1 or 2months left.

Hmm question: Its very likely i'll have to buy a car from a garage 50 miles away with no tax, do I need get it taxed before I can drive it home or will the garage tax it & add the cost of the tax. Is it the same with a dealer?
Obviously ill swap over my insurance at the time of purchase to drive it home.
Its just ive always bought cars from private sellers that are already taxed, but all these darn Cupra's are being sold by traders & im not getting a modded overpriced car from a private seller at pistonheads.

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Wow, using the DVLA site you can check if the car is taxed with just the registration, or worse if ifs not been SORN'd.
I'm sifting through Google & its still a bit muddled on whether I can drive it straight home with no tax disc then wait until the Insurance cert comes through the post, or if you have to book into a garage near home.
How interesting all this is.
 
I heard about the door seals Witor, also coil packs & glove door not staying shut lol. Minor things, phew & better than burning oil or something because there are not enough holes drilled in the pistons.
What the heck is an FR, oh dear theres even a FR+.
Anyway I presume the FR is the Facelift Revision? With bigger bumpers/alloys which is what im deffo looking for.
Ahh the FR has titanium door mirrors, so thats why I saw a black Cupra with silver door mirrors.
 
MissChief said:
I'm sure the garage will happily tax it for you if you ask them but if you haven't got any money off the price they have it for sale for I'd be asking for it to be taxed by them without cost to you.
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Yeah that sounds a good idea and if they wont tax it then walk away as there are plenty of cupras in the sea.
I hope to be able knock a bit off the asking price but im not very good at these things.
 
Useful stuff there, yeah a service history seams to be rare & add that to the fact that they're a rare car anyway makes it quite tough to find a gud-un. I've seen some pre facelift normals with good history but the post facelift look so much better & the R even more desirable.
I think im really pushing it for £2800 to find an R which is ok. Although luck plays a part even with a full history. Its a pity I dont have a mate to come along who knows what to listen for engine wise. I'm compiling a list of points to check over atm though.

Same brand tyres all round, christ I even put the same branded tyres all round on my shedmobile Mondeo. Guess it would highlight poor ownership though.
Also if from a private seller then ask them where the dip-stick is cus you want to check the oil & if they dont know then walk away. Plus ask to be taken for a ride & if they thrash it from cold then walk away. Stuff like that.

Cambelt seems to be a thorny issue as the book says 60k/4yrs but garages say 80k. Guess I have to see a receipt for a belt when looking at a car & if they dont have a receipt then knock however much it costs to replace a cambelt off the price?
 
Off topic...
Don't you just hate it when someone blocks your drive + even the neighbours. Looks like I need do some weeding too. Good job I have a 2nd driveway.

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Oh darn, I've been scouring the ads for the past week & the Cupra is so darn rare to find, especially with history/facelift & those that are for sale which are even well within my budget are usually 60 miles away.
Point being: approx £2700 is plenty for a 03 Cupra facelift with service history but they're all so far away. I've been around a few garages today & even the guy at the SEAT dealer said the the Cupra mk1 are very rare & when they get them in they're gone very quickly. I know this is a good thing as I suppose it proves people don't want part with them etc.

I'm now residing to the fact that I may not be able get a Cupra as driving to a garage 70 miles away is a bit extreme I think.

Ok, just to throw another car in the mix as a backup / something else to search for?
I've noticed there are a lot more BMW's for sale nearby & in particular the 325 has good 0-60/mpg (1.5secs faster than a Cupra but same urban mpg).
How about this 325 for example?
I dont know much about the BMW 3 series, is there a year/spec/engine/facelift to look out for? Is even £2700 enough?
As a reminder I ony do 4000 short urban/carriageway miles/year & Insurance is no issue, Although something thats not going to cost a fortune to run repair wise.
 
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Yer 70 miles ain't so bad.
Ok im doing a split search now up2 60miles away which should cover Manchester/Birmingham: around 03 plate in as stock conition as possible with servive history (belt done) £2700ish-
*Cupra 180 (facelift identified by bigger bumpers).
*BMW Compact 325ti

I'm trying learn about the BMW now to check theres no dodgy things to look out for like the oil burning issue wuth the Celica.
I think the 325ti is catching my interest because of its Cupra R performance & image (I think). Just getting frustrated by the lack of Cupra's & not being able afford an R.
I think someone even mentioned an E46 a while back.
Does a 325ti have a cambelt?
 
Wow thats mad from a light Starlet, reminds me of my VTS days... lots of fun :D

Oh, dear. Just noticed an Audi TT is within my grasp, so looking for a Cupra, BMW 325ti & Audi TT now so should find something a bit easier at least.
Hey wow the TT uses the same engine as the Cupra too, which ive learned so far is reliable. The repair costs of a 325ti scare me though.
At least ive expanded my search criteria anyway so it should be easier find something. Hmm anyone laying bets ha ha.
Obviously i'll post some pics when I get something which will give me an excuse apply my passion of photography as well. Hmm the TT looks the easiest model to work with, although from some angles it looks ugly?
 
Firestar_3x said:
Lower power, or a 225 with moon miles, 5k + is the right starting price point.

With reference to the op, what are you on to do when the LCR needs 4 tyres at £100+ each or the front pads / discs need changing?

Seems like trying to buy this sort of car is going to end in disaster, you simply don't have enough money to buy a good one in the first place.
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Dont mind a 180 TT. Only do 4000 miles/year so should not need tyres very often (im not a nutter driver who eats tyres: Had to have 2 tyres on the Mondeo in 5 years). The 180 engine is ok/reliable cheapish to fix as is used in the Cupra etc.
Obviously bills arrive, the worst ive ever had was a gasket/belts in a VTS costing £500.
Insurance is only £100 more than the grp8 Mondeo at £370/year, mpg is similar.

What im interested in knowing right now is other stuff about an older Audi, like the ESP button etc. Are 2001 plate TT's prone to really bad things happening?

Don't like the look of a Skoda VRS & could get by with a 2 seater.

Obviously im still looking for a Cupra but thought it better to make it easier find a car by looking at other cars too.
 
I thought the TT 180 engine is the same as the engine in the Cupra etc. & no one said don't get a Cupra as its engine is expensive to maintain.
Is the engine different in the TT? I didn't know it had vvt.
Obviously I was going get one with service history & there are more TT's with service history the Cupra's.

How come my sig is now invalid after making hundreds of posts over the past year with it.
 
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Ahh I see what you mean. Same money gets same engine but newer/less miles with a Cupra.
Great advice, keep it coming. Even though it disappoints me.
I thought of an mx5 ages ago but my price would get an old one too + they're a bit girly, apart from black I think.
 
Ooh deffo not an mg tf.
Its a shame as I like the radical look of the TT, if I take a chance at least it' sell-on value holds ok as you say.
A shame the mx5 is slow, although I bet great with the top down.
Still have not ruled out a 325ti, although again are the very expensive to maintain.
 
Maybe I've not been entirely honest with potential high running costs.
I have enough expendable income per month to get a new Audio TT but as my moma said: only a fool gets a car on tick they could not afford to save up for, or in my case unwilling to spend years saving lol.
 
Truth be told I could probably afford a new TT on tick, but I'm no fool to blow half my expendable income on a car. Its just I don't want to be dogged by expensive repair bills every month either.
 
I saw an mr2 roadster at a garage over weekend when I was searching in vein for a Cupra. The roadster looked nice but it's a bit slow like the mx5, but that's not the appeal I suppose. I was worried about the oil burning issues with the engine on a mr2 roadster.

Yeah if I buy something that ends up burning a litre of oil every week then could get rid if bought outright. That sounds good but makes it harder find something half descent with my funds.
 
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