Performance on a budget.

[Arthur Hucksake]

My age is showing now...

I asked myself a similar question awhile ago.

I ended up with a clean MK4 Golf - PD150. Spent £1800 on her in total. (Just had a full service and diagnostic. Found nothing wrong except a dodgy back windscreen wiper that will cost a few quid)

Does 0-60 in 8s. (Apparently) With a remap you can push 190bhp but with a good amount of torque but no idea how the intercooler will cope with that. May need switching.

Only £145 tax and gets 55-60mpg on longer runs.

 

[~Divine~Wind~]

Nice examples of reasonably quick cars can be hard to come by. Best bet is to do national searches, then decide, if you find something, if it's worth the travel.

I traveled over 1,000 miles round trip for my S4 in a day. A couple hundred quid, and a day of your time, could significantly reduce your search time. Or stop you from "settling" on the wrong motor because you can't find the right one. Heck, you can usually negotiate that couple hundred quid off the price anyway.

I travelled from Newcastle to Sheffield for my first Mazda.
I travelled from Newcastle to Exeter for my current one.

The two I Sold, one lad came from Ireland and the other from Essex.

Travel is nowt really, Im pretty sure it cost me more to drive back from Exeter than it did to get the plane down there!

 

[iaind]

Top tip when talking about travelling to see a car - buy a return. Especially on the train, returns are often only a fraction more than a single. That way, if you do need to walk away you're not having to fork out for a single on the day from the station. It also helps keep you in the right mindset - that walking away is an option and isn't the end of the world. Doesn't really work on flights as much, but if you are flying then it might be cheap enough to buy a ticket back too - if the return flight ends up fully booked then you could be pretty stuck - again making you feel pressured to buy the car

 

[xs2man]

Really?? Isn't that like 18 hours solid driving not accounting stops for fuel or whatever...in a day?

Drove from (North of) Dundee to Prestwick Airport, flew to Stansted, was picked up and taken into London by the seller. Bought the car and drove back.

Luckily, my brother in law was away to Ireland for a few days anyway, so just gave him my other car and he drove it back from Stansted.

Or a couple of hours by plane.

Exactly

I travelled from Newcastle to Sheffield for my first Mazda.
I travelled from Newcastle to Exeter for my current one.

The two I Sold, one lad came from Ireland and the other from Essex.

Travel is nowt really, Im pretty sure it cost me more to drive back from Exeter than it did to get the plane down there!

I was the same. I think it was about £35 or something for my plane. And I was almost 2 full tanks driving home.

It was still a long day for sure. But I certainly dont regret travelling for the right car.

 

[rodenal]

Travelling doesn't stop me either, as above just buy a return if travelling by train or if flying then at least think about how you'll get home if need be....even if that means a stinky bus or long train route home for a cheap ticket.