What Car for 7-9K?

James

James

James

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Joined
17 Oct 2002
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Bedford
Hi all,

Just been approved for a loan of 7K which is coming through shortly, I have about 1K saved in cash and will have proceeds from selling my escort GTi.

Criteria:

Modern Looks
3 door (coupé pref)
Fun to drive
Prestige is nice but not be all and end all
"fast" (circa 150-170bhp)
Insurable (Group 15 or under)

So far I've looked at

BMW 320 Ci - Can't seem to find any in price range with decent mileage
Lexus IS200 - Look good, well specced, but slooow (not driven one just from word of mouth)
Focus ST170 - Not impressed, for a car thats supposed to be 170bhp and 'sporty' it didn't really push my buttons

Suggestions appreciated

Cheers.
 
I'm going to ignore all the usual suggestions and throw in a wildcard that you might not have considered.

406 Coupe V6. Your money would get you a fantastic one, I doubt they're any higher than group 16 and should be cheap to insure as it's not exactly a sports car, gorgeous looks, all the kit. Perhaps a bit soft (can be sorted) and questionable reliability but other than that... baby Ferrari for < 10k. That V6 sounds fantastic too.

What's the betting by the time I've finished this post Fox will have suggested a 528i or an ST200*? Both very good suggestions of course. I'd also be tempted by an ATR.

* With rear doors welded shut :p.
 
Adz said:
I'm going to ignore all the usual suggestions and throw in a wildcard that you might not have considered.

406 Coupe V6. Your money would get you a fantastic one, I doubt they're any higher than group 16 and should be cheap to insure ....

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the V6 406 Coupe is group 18, others (2.0 2.2 and2.2Hdi) are all group 16. Whilst not exactly sports cars, they don't fall into the "cheap to insure" groupings.
 
Just turned 24 with 1y ncd and i can insure a 406 coupe 2.2HDI for 780 a year, thats class one business use doing 12k a year full comp etc. Just cause its group 16 don't mean its going to be mega bucks.
 
Firestar_3x said:
Just turned 24 with 1y ncd and i can insure a 406 coupe 2.2HDI for 780 a year, thats class one business use doing 12k a year full comp etc. Just cause its group 16 don't mean its going to be mega bucks.
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The OP is younger than you and a 3.0 V6 was sugested, there will be a considerable price difference there. If he wants to look at 406 coop though I think they are stunning cars (if you don't mind the Lions reputation for quality/reliability), and I'm fairly sure one type of 406 coop will be my next motor, I'm of an age where insurers have started not to dislike me as much as some of you.

As a matter of interest, when people quote these cheap prices on stuff like this, it would be nice if they could quote a source. I don't doubt your numbers, I just would like a heads up on a cheaper quote and I'm sure others would too.
 
New style Celica. Not stonkingly fast in a straightline, very "new" styling, awesomely reliable and great handling. You can get a yr 2000 model for under £7k.
 
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