Performance on a budget.

I think you'll find I said "will likely break" not "will definitely break"

Besides, I only read the opening post, from that alone your suggestions looked stupid, and mine seemed reasonable.

I see now that the OP said he is willing to live with 18MPG and doesn't care about anything apart from straight line performance..

Fine, maybe your suggestions make sense. Though you can't get an S4 for £2800. Add £1000 and you'll find a couple. Double it and you might find a good example. :)
 
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Just picked up a 2.0 MK3 Mx5 for 3k to replace the slk as a way of cutting costs and focusing on the mortgage. It's actually so much more fun than the merc. Not the fastest thing in the world don't get me wrong, but a cheap and reliable rwd car, that handles brilliantly, and being so low to the ground always feels like your doing double the speed your actually traveling at.
 
xs2man said:
I

Then offer up a blooming Corolla instead?

Fair enough. My idea of performance is clearly a million miles away from the general consensus on here. Ask for performance car, get offered Luke warm Toyota. OCUK Motors for you.
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When the criteria for performance is only that it manages 60 in under 8 seconds, an S500 isn't exactly top of the tree of sensible suggestions, especially at under £3000
 
Acme said:
I think you'll find I said "will likely break" not "will definitely break"

Besides, I only read the opening post, from that alone your suggestions looked stupid, and mine seemed reasonable.

I see now that the OP said he is willing to live with 18MPG and doesn't care about anything apart from straight line performance..

Fine, maybe your suggestions make sense. Though you can't get an S4 for £2800. Add £1000 and you'll find a couple. Double it and you might find a good example. :)
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That is not what you said. You actually went back and did a complete re-edit of your whole post after I posted (10 mins after). There was no "likely" in the original post. There was exactly that degree of certainty portrayed in your post that I suggested.

As for only reading the opening post. That's your bad, not mine. Who doesn't read the rest of the posts before committing a reply? Especially on a topic such as this, where further information is undoubtedly going to come. And even from the opening post alone, they are not stupidly crazy suggestions.

Seen a few S4's at around the £3k mark before. Some nicer than others admittedly. But still seen a few nice ones at that budget. But yeah, doesn't seem to be much at the moment. Maybe they have increased in value the last couple years?
 
I did edit (having gone back and read the rest of the thread), but actually, I did say "likely" in the original post... :)
 
Kenai said:
When the criteria for performance is only that it manages 60 in under 8 seconds, an S500 isn't exactly top of the tree of sensible suggestions, especially at under £3000
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Sure, out of the box a bit perhaps. But under £3k can get. A low mileage example, with full dealer history. So why especially?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...ja&sort=atcustom&make=mercedes-benz&logcode=p

Acme said:
I did edit (having gone back and read the rest of the thread), but actually, I did say "likely" in the original post... :)
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You didn't, but no way to prove now. Why else would I bring it up? Not like I'm looking for a fight or anything. You said it will break, and will cost a fortune to fix, neither of which are guaranteed (albeit the latter is probably more likely).
 
It seems I edited that post about 8 times... I thought I only did it once... Never mind, doesn't matter! :)
 
xs2man said:
I love the degree of certainty on this forum. Diesels WILL cost more than petrols, these old cars WILL break and cost a fortune. No guarantees on any of it, and the OP did specifically say he didn't mind extra maintenance costs.

Then offer up a blooming Corolla instead?

Fair enough. My idea of performance is clearly a million miles away from the general consensus on here. Ask for performance car, get offered Luke warm Toyota. OCUK Motors for you.
Click to expand...

I bought a Saab 9-5 Aero one year ago as a dog/daily commuter to leave my other car simply for social. I paid £1900 for it. Spent £100 on a full service and £3 on a new abs ring plus around £50 on vanity like new badges, gear knob etc. Now 10k miles later it passed its mot with the only advisory being a tyre with a slow puncture causing wear. This car will still crack 160 mph on the autobahn and 40mpg on a run. It also under no point felt like it was going to break down and is at 120k miles now. The car is also fully loaded, bi xenon, heated seats, auto dimming mirrors etc. Also has 270bhp under my right foot and can fit an entire bathroom in the back.
 
xs2man said:
Fair enough. My idea of performance is clearly a million miles away from the general consensus on here. Ask for performance car, get offered Luke warm Toyota. OCUK Motors for you.
Click to expand...

Maybe everyone else's idea of performance is, Oh I dunno, the criteria suggested by the OP? He tells us exactly what he means by performance and its clear that isn't a 2.7 litre BiTurbo A4 that will bankrupt him the second something goes wrong (the budget is so tight he says 2800 rather than 3k even).

Your suggestions are massively OTT and you know it.
 
ultralaser said:
Thanks for replies (interesting a z4 is in budget!). Clio's are too small for my liking though I do respect they are quick and cheap. I'm willing to work with 18+ MPG ish, insurance,service and tax I'm not bothered about.
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ultralaser said:
So twisty stuff I'm not overly bothered about (don't read that as I want a boat, but that twisty stuff is not my primary requirement). I'm only using 0-60 as a reference point as I believe its more useful than BHP. Mainly looking at A road / motorway performance. Something with a fair bit more power than a VW group 2.0 TDI is that helps?
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[TW]Fox;29149583 said:
Maybe everyone else's idea of performance is, Oh I dunno, the criteria suggested by the OP? He tells us exactly what he means by performance and its clear that isn't a 2.7 litre BiTurbo A4 that will bankrupt him the second something goes wrong (the budget is so tight he says 2800 rather than 3k even).

Your suggestions are massively OTT and you know it.
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The OP's requirements are more filled by my suggestions than others IMO. They are not, as you put it, massively OTT.

18+ MPG, significantly faster than VAG 2.0 TDI (which are reasonably nippy in 170bhp guise), insurance / tax / servicing not an issue, A road / motorway performance a priority.

All that reeks of the motors I suggested rather than many of the suggestions otherwise. My suggestions are only OTT when compared to the other suggestions, not what the OP asked for. His budget only goes as far as purchase price. Sure, the big merc might be a bit expensive to fix, but the Lexus will be pretty reliable, and the S4 isn't hugely expensive on parts and stuff.

But sure, why not, Mondeo ST220 or Octavia VRS. There you go. A clone of almost every other suggestion.
 
Mitsubishi Legnum VR-4?

2.5L V6 Twin Turbo AWD

Can't remember exact figure off the top of my head, but IIRC 0-60 is in the region of 6-7s

It's basically an Evo in estate form
 
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