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

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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You're about to spend nearly 3 grand but are bothered about what, £30-35 petrol to go see potential cars? Just do as much talking with the sellers as you can before going to check them out

The 325ti is a good car - don't buy a gold one if you ever want to sell it again though
 
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?
 
Dont know if its already been mentioned but i just bought a Toyota Starlet GT EP82 as a runaround and its an awesome fun little car.

Stick an exhaust, hybrid turbo, air filter and crank the boost up a tiny bit and you got around 200bhp in a car that weighs about 832kg!

Scary as hell but fun, and to top it off its a 1.3!!! So mega cheap tax and insurance aint to bad either :)
 
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?
 
juno_first said:
Wht, whats wrong with a TT under £5500?
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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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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.
 
juno_first said:
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.
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Not wanting to put a downer on the whole thing, but this is a classic, champagne taste but only beer money.

It's true that a fully working 1.8T TT will be cheap enough to run, however it's when things start going wrong that it costs, DMF / Clutch £900 fitted, new turbo 1k+ fitted, VVT tensioner £500 fitted, Coil packs £27 each fitted, cambelt change £350 - 450 etc etc etc.

The list goes on and on, the 1.8T can be an expensive engine to keep in good health and several things will go wrong with it after 100k which do cost to fix.

juno_first said:
Is going for this TT a bad idea?
It has a full main dealer service history.
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What a nail, feel sorry for the person who's purchased that.
 
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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