Looking for an upgrade
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Soldato
With that driving pattern I'd get a taxi to the supermarket and hire a car on the odd occasion you do the longer trip. It barely seems worth owning a car for that!
Why are we talking about Fox when he hasn't even posted here?
I will not be buying the car on credit.
Sorry that was my fault, just trying to point out that your situation was very different to his.
DMFs do tend to be linked to diesels on the whole but some petrols do have them, the Octy vRS being one of them unfortunately.
It is quite a common mod to swap them out for a single mass when they are replaced however I wasn't too sure of the pros and cons of doing so and stuck with the dual mass. For the record my dual mass flywheel didn't fail, the clutch did but with the labour of taking the clutch off it seemed a false economy sticking an 87k DMF back on only for it to fail 10k later. Cost for clutch and DMF inc fitting was £718.97 or £605.12 including vat depending on if I wanted OEM or Sachs.
Of my other costs the only odd (and bloody expensive) one was the steering rack as these very rarely fail so I've been told. My replacement one also failed but thankfully was covered under warranty!
Associate
My advice is don't spend 8K on a car just yet. You simply don't need to. You can have a lot of fun with a sub 3K car.
The thing is an 8K car will depreciate a fair amount in a few years. It will be more reliable and need less money spent on repairs but it will depreciate. In 3 years time when you're looking at maybe getting a new car and someone values your what was 8K car for 4K you've lost over a grand a year.
The small amount of miles you do and the fact that you aren't dependant on your car for anything other than a bit of fun and a nice to have, means that high reliability and low repair costs are lower down on your list of priorities. As is practicality. The only requirement you actually have is fun and probably reasonable running costs. Why spend a shedload in depreciation as going from a Micra to any car especially with around or over 150bhp will put a smile on your face.
My recommendations are
MR2 Mk2 Rev3 4 or 5 (late 1994 onwards) You should fit in one of these.
Seat Leon Cupra/Cupra R
Clio 172/182 (I think the cup models have expensive suspension components so maybe avoid those?)
Civic Type R
Just look around for a hot hatch or quick 2 seater for 3K (4K absolute max) and enjoy.
The thing is an 8K car will depreciate a fair amount in a few years. It will be more reliable and need less money spent on repairs but it will depreciate. In 3 years time when you're looking at maybe getting a new car and someone values your what was 8K car for 4K you've lost over a grand a year.
The small amount of miles you do and the fact that you aren't dependant on your car for anything other than a bit of fun and a nice to have, means that high reliability and low repair costs are lower down on your list of priorities. As is practicality. The only requirement you actually have is fun and probably reasonable running costs. Why spend a shedload in depreciation as going from a Micra to any car especially with around or over 150bhp will put a smile on your face.
My recommendations are
MR2 Mk2 Rev3 4 or 5 (late 1994 onwards) You should fit in one of these.
Seat Leon Cupra/Cupra R
Clio 172/182 (I think the cup models have expensive suspension components so maybe avoid those?)
Civic Type R
Just look around for a hot hatch or quick 2 seater for 3K (4K absolute max) and enjoy.
MR2 Mk2 Rev3 4 or 5 (late 1994 onwards) You should fit in one of these.
Won't I be in a never-ending battle to keep an old car on the road including paintwork and rust issues?
Seat Leon Cupra/Cupra R
These are pretty much the same as the Skoda. The Cupra version of the Leon I would consider but surely it has the same issues as the Skoda and heard they leak like a sieve.
Clio 172/182 (I think the cup models have expensive suspension components so maybe avoid those?)
Heard they are crap for tall drivers and break a lot, yet are very good fun.
Civic Type R
I like the look of these and are known to be reliable, however the ones I look at (online) for £3000-£4000 are all 9 year old high-milers with peeling paint and/or dents.
I have commented on the above. I have no idea if I am being far too picky or if I can genuinely expect a fantastic condition CTR for £3000-£4000 with good bodywork, reasonable mileage and A/C.
(I have never bought a car before, the micra has owned by the parents for a short time before me).
Sounds like a good budget for an Octy vRS to me, might even get cruise and a few other goodies if you are lucky
Sounds like a good budget for an Octy vRS to me, might even get cruise and a few other goodies if you are lucky
Am I being unreasonable by being picky over the condition of the car or do I need to get a grip and realise an 8 year old car is going to have dents/scratches on. It seems few people properly care for their cars
.I have to attack the roof of my Micra with a buffer each year to get it to turn from pink to red again. Should I avoid red cars?
Associate
I can't comment on the Cupra, Clio or Civic as I've never owned them, they were just examples of fairly quick cars that are a massive step up from a Micra and will provide you with most of the things you want.
I can comment on the MR2 as I own an 1997 Revision 4. As far as I know rust isn't an issue on these unless you get a paint chip that goes through to the metal and don't treat it. This is a problem with all cars though.
The MR2 handles brilliantly, it's pretty quick, it sounds great, it's cheap to run (35mpg average etc), it looks brilliant (I'm obviously biased), it's very well made and reliable with no major issues to talk about, it's lost about all it will ever do in depreciation.
I don't think you are being too picky at all. Afterall you have 8 grand and that could buy you a car that wont need many repairs and will be in tip top condition. What I'm trying to do is challenge why you think that you need to spend that much to achieve what you actually want from a car.
It's as simple as Depreciation vs Repairs. The fact that you currently own a Micra and that's what you're used to, you aren't reliant on the car and you've never actually bought a car and sold one and therefore haven't experienced depreciation, this means that in my opinion spending 8K now is unnecessary and risking the odd repair is worth it over having a lot of guaranteed depreciation.
I can comment on the MR2 as I own an 1997 Revision 4. As far as I know rust isn't an issue on these unless you get a paint chip that goes through to the metal and don't treat it. This is a problem with all cars though.
The MR2 handles brilliantly, it's pretty quick, it sounds great, it's cheap to run (35mpg average etc), it looks brilliant (I'm obviously biased), it's very well made and reliable with no major issues to talk about, it's lost about all it will ever do in depreciation.
I don't think you are being too picky at all. Afterall you have 8 grand and that could buy you a car that wont need many repairs and will be in tip top condition. What I'm trying to do is challenge why you think that you need to spend that much to achieve what you actually want from a car.
It's as simple as Depreciation vs Repairs. The fact that you currently own a Micra and that's what you're used to, you aren't reliant on the car and you've never actually bought a car and sold one and therefore haven't experienced depreciation, this means that in my opinion spending 8K now is unnecessary and risking the odd repair is worth it over having a lot of guaranteed depreciation.
Associate
Just seen your last post. You're not being unreasonable just accept that a 3K car wont be in the same condition as a newer 8K car and just try and find the best condition one you can. Either way it will be better than the Micra.
Oh yeah, I've read (and seen in person) that red is a bad colour for fading.
Oh yeah, I've read (and seen in person) that red is a bad colour for fading.
Talking strictly about the Octavia as I know the market a little... Your budget allows you to be picky. My car is a late 2002 just the right side of 100k and in pretty good shape if I do say so myself and is worth less than £3k in a private sale. You won't get perfect but you shouldn't settle for anything that looks or feels tatty.Am I being unreasonable by being picky over the condition of the car or do I need to get a grip and realise an 8 year old car is going to have dents/scratches on. It seems few people properly care for their cars
I have to attack the roof of my Micra with a buffer each year to get it to turn from pink to red again. Should I avoid red cars?
Colour choice is somewhat limited, the vRS was only available in Yellow, Red, Black of Silver.
The red shouldn't fade really, the yellow can look a little dull, black demands a slight price premium and the silver is a bit "meh" but a safe bet.
Caporegime
Just to clarify, the Leon Cupra R is not anything like the skoda, or even the non "R" cupra. It's far more performance focussed, much larger brakes, much stiffer setup, noticeably more powerful.
I have been comparing the VRS to the regular Cupra. Am I right in saying there is no Octavia equivalent to the Cupra R?
Caporegime
There isn't, no. The Cupra R is essentially (mechanically) a MK1 Audi S3 without the haldex 4WD system, but the LCR has far better brakes.
Associate
Another vote for the Cupra R!
I had mine for 3 years and did 50,000 miles in it. Unfortunately it was stolen! Still miss it.
I had the coil packs changed when one went but other than that it was brilliant!
I had mine for 3 years and did 50,000 miles in it. Unfortunately it was stolen! Still miss it.
I had the coil packs changed when one went but other than that it was brilliant!
They just the thingys on top of the spark plugs that are super easy to change?
Those are the ones. Skoda are currently swapping them FOC to the latest version when they have cars in for any work or servicing. Not sure what the other VAG brands are doing.
Is there anything in particular I should be looking for in a sale?
I have only been looking at pistonheads at the moment really.
I have only been looking at pistonheads at the moment really.