Civic Type R, Focus ST, Golf GTI

EddScott

EddScott

EddScott

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Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
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Pembrokeshire
I suspect a few may have noticed my random posts on various cars new and old.

If I'm completely honest, I haven't got time for a car thats going to need car and attention (JDM Skylines, Classic scoobs and Delta EVO1 ).

And, although its pretty much top of the list, a year 2000 Audi S4 is still at least 7 years old and knocking on in the mileage stakes and not too cheap to insure or repair.

So, what about something new, possibly under some kind of lease high/contract hire or whatever (I know nothing of these things).

I really do need 4 doors and not sure I'll get finance (or indeed finance I can afford on a £22K JDM Civic - I suspect insurance might be a bit stiff too) on a 4 door civic but willing to look at the 2 door. My MD had one while his old civic was being repaired and the interior was really cool and I do like the shape.

Golf GTI new shape - theres a white 2 door at my dentist and it really does look very cool.

Focus ST - Anyone know if you can get the orange colour in 4 doors? Its a bit in your face but I do like the colour.

Point is buying new or nearly new and on some sort of contract is that should I get a problem, fingers crossed it will be sorted.

My issue with buying a 7 year old Audi S4 is that if anything breaks i.e. turbos, I'm looking at £2K plus to put right. Plus I've never had anything newer than 3 years old. Quite fancy being the first to christen seats etc ;)

I promise I will calm down with the car questions and I promise I'll buy one before '08 :D
 
Either, but will be looking at some sort of contract/lease.

Don't want BMW. 330D sport sounds good, but again, I'm thinking of getting something that is unlikely to bite me. I'd rather the S4 over the 330d and both will stiff me big time if they break (turbos etc)
 
EddScott said:
I really do need 4 doors and not sure I'll get finance (or indeed finance I can afford on a £22K JDM Civic - I suspect insurance might be a bit stiff too) on a 4 door civic but willing to look at the 2 door. My MD had one while his old civic was being repaired and the interior was really cool and I do like the shape.

Golf GTI new shape - theres a white 2 door at my dentist and it really does look very cool.
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:confused:
 
Gilly said:
:confused:
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Whats the problem?

4 doors preferable, 2 doors cope able.

A white 2 door Golf I think looks good - I'm sure the 4 door will equally as good.

Cheers for the helpful contribution though :)

I want to know peoples feelings/experience on the cars mentioned and if anyone knows what finance arrangement can be had - over 3 years and then hand the car back for instance.
 
Get a megan 225 (5 door) 12/18 month old ones are pretty cheap as they go, or an Octavia VRS ex demo.

Other than that mondeo ST220, WRX, Leon Cupra R and so on.

Golf GTi 5 doors don't look that great.

but seriously, what is your realistic budget ie monthly or cash inc running costs, insurance, tax etc
 
EddScott said:
My issue with buying a 7 year old Audi S4 is that if anything breaks i.e. turbos, I'm looking at £2K plus to put right. Plus I've never had anything newer than 3 years old. Quite fancy being the first to christen seats etc ;)
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Ok, lets put you straight on the S4. If turbo failure is the worry, it will cost you more like 4k rather than 2k should it need doing, assuming that you go for K04 replacements and you would be mad not to IMO
I just posted this on RS246 regarding the same concerns not 5 minutes ago:
"I personally wouldn't worry about the "alarming" problem of turbos going. I don't think its an issue at all really.
You need to remember this is an internet forum, people do not come on to post and say "Hey guess what, my car just ran fine this morning. Nothing went wrong at all" so problems ALWAYS seem disproportionate to the amount of posts about how they are running fine.
You get wind of a possible issue, then go searching for it, you are going to find just that problem. "

Which I think sums it up really IMO.
Insurance can be had cheaply enough, certainly less than I think a JDM import Civic is going to cost you that is for sure. I pay a paltry £550 with quite a lot of modifications on mine (clutch, remap, wheels, brakes, exhaust, quickshift, suspension mods) , fully comp, protected NCB, two drivers etc...
My UKDM Integra Type R cost me more per year with no mods.

If the age/mileage is your concern DON'T look at an S4, you will be doing well to find one with lower than 100k miles for 8-9k price range

If you have up to 22k to buy the motor then an RS4 would be my personal preference there which will net you something a bit newer, few less miles and an awesome motor out of the box which also has the bonus of having the K04s already in place.
 
Well i extensively compared the Golf and the focus a year ago, in the end i felt the focus had the edge, fantastic engine,and build quality just as good as the golf.

However the Focus does eat tyres,and drinks fuel for fun.It also has a tiny boot and a PITA fuel tank,its tiny.

The Golf has better handling and is less chavvy, but its let down by the lack of steering feel,but its a tad better balanced than the Focus.

But that 5 pot in the Focus really is a peach.

They are both very accomplished hatches, but dont expect any 'rawness',they are very refined unlike the old CTR.

New CTR is a far cry from the older models,its heavier but has the same engine as the old.Plus it looks too odd imo.

Both the Golf and the Focus are available in 3 or 5 door guise, and the electric orange is available in both 3 and 5 door (its a £800 option).

I have had my Focus ST3 for 4 days short of a year, 30k miles and im well chuffed, it hasnt skipped a beat, and is very very comfortable (i did brum to frankfurt in one day no probs) but can be quite the hooligan when you want it to be.
 
mrk1@1 said:
Get a megan 225 (5 door) 12/18 month old ones are pretty cheap as they go, or an Octavia VRS ex demo.

Other than that mondeo ST220, WRX, Leon Cupra R and so on.

Golf GTi 5 doors don't look that great.

but seriously, what is your realistic budget ie monthly or cash inc running costs, insurance, tax etc
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I can afford £300 a month for the car itself plus running costs on the top. Be nice to include insurance in that but its not essential.

Been up to the Ford garage just now. They have a blue ST2 in there at the moment. Its OK, doesn't really turn me on that much. Felt very high in the seat. Build felt OK. Arm rest felt a bit fragile IMO. Not mega keen on the look of the seats either. Didn't have time for a drive so just waiting on what options they can come up with for me. Depedent on that I will go back for a drive.

VW garage isn't too far away. Honda is a bit of a trek so will call them first for what deals they have.

I do like the Skodas but don't like the local dealership very much. Work next door and some of the salemen are OK but the owner is a bit of a throbbing one.

Megan 225 - possibly.

Only Subaru I'd want is a Spec C so can't afford that and will be even more expensive than the JDM Civic. I won't even bother to waste Litchfields time with a phone call.

Leon Cupra R new shape - no idea.
 
Bobbler - thanks for the S4 info.

I still haven't ruled it out - I've emailed someone with a Nogaro Blue avant on pistonheads with some questions - £9K 100K miles.

Where do you get your insurance? Cheapest I had was £650+ which I felt was a bit steep (30, 5+ NCB, low crime) and more expensive than an RS4. Love RS4 but £20K still buys only quite high mileage cars.

I have cash too, but I'm not shoving it all back into another car. House needs a spruce, family needs new shoes etc etc. ;)
 
Id stump up the extra for a ST3 if you want a Focus, the seats in the lesser models are a bit too garish for me.

Leather in the ST3 is fantastic for a cheap car.
 
wohoo said:
Id stump up the extra for a ST3 if you want a Focus, the seats in the lesser models are a bit too garish for me.

Leather in the ST3 is fantastic for a cheap car.
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AH OK. Are the seats the same style? Although recaro, I wasn't overwhelmed by them - not like the seats in the old R32 Golf for instance.

I tend to shy away from leather because of the "sweat in the summer, freeze in the winter issues".

Cheers
 
EddScott said:
Bobbler - thanks for the S4 info.

I still haven't ruled it out - I've emailed someone with a Nogaro Blue avant on pistonheads with some questions - £9K 100K miles.

Where do you get your insurance? Cheapest I had was £650+ which I felt was a bit steep (30, 5+ NCB, low crime) and more expensive than an RS4. Love RS4 but £20K still buys only quite high mileage cars.

I have cash too, but I'm not shoving it all back into another car. House needs a spruce, family needs new shoes etc etc. ;)
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You should be able to get your insurance about 100 quid cheaper then mate, I am with Greenlight at the moment. 32, 5+NCB, good postcode. Give them a try or alternatives like Noel Dazely and A-Plan are also recommended and similar prices though watch A-Plans excess, it was 3x the cost of Greenlight on the same policy for me.

Nogaro Blue is the best colour IMO, but I would say that as mine is a Avant in that colour :)
Is it this one? http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/197420.htm If so it looks pretty decent and has had the bits you would expect done - MAF sensor, ABS controller (mine just packed in the other day), 710n replacements, new TBB.
Those are the main things can go wrong on the car and the 710n's and TBB all help with keeping the turbos in running order as they are prone to leaks/failure which when left unchecked can cause the turbos to work harder and fail.
Things to look for:
History! Specialist maintenance is considered to be better than main dealers by a lot of owners. Look for the likes of MRC, AWE, QST, Dialynx
Brakes - Front discs can warp pretty easily, its not unheard of to see a set of standard discs dead after a few laps on a track.

If you are going to look at one nearby give us a shout mate, I have full VAG-COM leaad from Ross-tech and a laptop so happy to run diags scan if required.
 
Theres a guy local to me who does Audis - I drove an S4 he had for sale but when it came to price he began to suggest the car wouldn't be looked after properly if the deal didn't satisfy him. Sadly after his comments, I don't trust him so won't take an S4 to him - whether he knows his onions or not. Only mention it because he had one of these VAG things to plug in as we drove it.

The advert says AWE DTS - whats that then? That is the colour I want and I do like the alcantara - I like the yellow but both my wife and daughter made puking sounds so I guess it won't be yellow. I would prefer one with the Recaro seats and the posh sat/nav gear but more for re-sale than anything else.

If I can't find something new or something I can afford using one of these finance fiddles, I will just get an S4 - or wait and see if I can save some dosh for an RS4 but unlikely.
 
AWE DTS = Drive Train Stabiliser. The engine has a tendency to move about under acceleration/loading conditions which you can feel through the gear stick mainly. Its a nice bit of kit so I hear but not really an issue unless you like doing hell-bore launches all the time or like stirring the gearbox constantly. http://www.awe-tuning.com/pages/sha...4_27t_drivetrain.cfm&PPT=Drivetrain&IL=AWEDTS

Personally its on my list of bits to buy as I do like to do a lot of B-roading etc and think it may be a benefit. But its behind my brakes, uprated hose set and better set of rubber (and now the ABS control unit :( ) which need doing more.
I have only had the motor a few months but have spent some pennies on it that is for sure. Its mostly just mods and servicing really and plan on spending another 2k on the above before the end of the year most likely.

Electric Recaros are worth the money and do help with the resale value some. They usually go for about £800 a set seperately and the standard leather goes to a lower spec'd A4 owner for 400-500 so its easily doable at a later date too.
The satnav I would take or leave personally as its quite an old system by todays standards. Prefer the option of taking it out the car (Tomtom, garmin etc..) especially when you could loose it through some *****.
 
Bobbler said:
AWE DTS = Drive Train Stabiliser. The engine has a tendency to move about under acceleration/loading conditions which you can feel through the gear stick mainly. Its a nice bit of kit so I hear but not really an issue unless you like doing hell-bore launches all the time or like stirring the gearbox constantly. http://www.awe-tuning.com/pages/sha...4_27t_drivetrain.cfm&PPT=Drivetrain&IL=AWEDTS

.
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engine moves about?! that means you need Prothane motor mounts to me to stop engine movement. stopping the tranny from moving whilst the engine still shows signs of movement cannot be good imo.

prothanes + shift link stabiliser would probably do the job and for cheaper!
 
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