What would you buy for £2k?

jackoh said:
I recently bought a 1998 BMW 520i for 2k.
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I would not advise anyone else do the same, you have to be very lucky to get anything other than a scabby E39 for £2k. If your budget for a car is £2k an E39 is too expensive.
 
[TW]Fox said:
I would not advise anyone else do the same, you have to be very lucky to get anything other than a scabby E39 for £2k. If your budget for a car is £2k an E39 is too expensive.
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Dunno tbh, P,R,S reg E39's are plentifull in the auctions now, and whilst they may have loads of miles and have crappy small engines, they still are reasonable enough.
 
I will be in similar territory soon when I graduate although I may stretch to £2.5-3K. I have been looking and comparing:

Puma 1.7 16v, astra sri, civic, accord sport, mondeo ghia (with bodykit of course otherwise it is about as dull as white paint), st24 2.5l (my fave but too big engine to my liking though + insurance issues). Further consideration: bora, toledo, impreza. All in 98-00 region.
 
wohoo said:
Dunno tbh, P,R,S reg E39's are plentifull in the auctions now, and whilst they may have loads of miles and have crappy small engines, they still are reasonable enough.
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You'll spend the purchase price again over a year of two keeping it on the road. How many people who only want to spend £2k on a car have that sort of income to keep running something which does 0-60 in 11 seconds?
 
[TW]Fox said:
You'll spend the purchase price again over a year of two keeping it on the road. How many people who only want to spend £2k on a car have that sort of income to keep running something which does 0-60 in 11 seconds?
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Not sure where the 0-60 time becomes relevant in the running cost to be honest, I'm not sure many people would expect an executive saloon with sub 10s performance for under 2 grand. :confused:

As for "spending the purchase price again" to keep it on the road this could be true of any car of this value, mine is showing no signs of failure, running smoothly at 115k. In 6 months I have replaced a brake light bulb.
 
jackoh said:
Not sure where the 0-60 time becomes relevant in the running cost to be honest, I'm not sure many people would expect an executive saloon with sub 10s performance for under 2 grand. :confused:
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It becomes relevant because generally, people expect quicker cars for high running costs.

As for "spending the purchase price again" to keep it on the road this could be true of any car of this value, mine is showing no signs of failure, running smoothly at 115k. In 6 months I have replaced a brake light bulb.
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Lucky you - but it only takes 2-3 faults to add up to a huge bill. Great cars but £2k ones are a nuisance waiting to happen. Plus given that even a good condition 520i is generally worth more than £2k unless you are very lucky its only the properly scabby ones that hit this price point.
 
I think the Primera GT looks brilliant with the bodykit and Limited Edition alloys. The normal GT alloys aren't as good as the LE or SE of the GT.
 
Gaygle said:
I think the Primera GT looks brilliant with the bodykit and Limited Edition alloys. The normal GT alloys aren't as good as the LE or SE of the GT.
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i know, but i may get rid of my Enkei's and pick up some team dynamics. still weighing it up as me LE's need a refurb.

jackoh said:
INot sure where the 0-60 time becomes relevant in the running cost to be honest, I'm not sure many people would expect an executive saloon with sub 10s performance for under 2 grand.
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i'll put it another way for you;

why would you want to spend 2k on an old high milage exec saloon with poor performance, which is likely to cost you an arm and a leg in pats IF it goes wrong - when you can get, newer, faster and more economical cars instead?
 
Nickg said:
why would you want to spend 2k on an old high milage exec saloon with poor performance, which is likely to cost you an arm and a leg in pats IF it goes wrong - when you can get, newer, faster and more economical cars instead?
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Exactly. The E39 is a fantastic, quick, great handling good looking executive saloon but it is none of these in base 1996-99 2.0 form with 15" wheels, cloth seats, and no kit beyond manual aircon and electric windows.

You pay the price of running a big 6 cylinder performance executive saloon and gain... none of the advantages. Good plan!
 
[TW]Fox said:
It becomes relevant because generally, people expect quicker cars for high running costs.



Lucky you - but it only takes 2-3 faults to add up to a huge bill. Great cars but £2k ones are a nuisance waiting to happen. Plus given that even a good condition 520i is generally worth more than £2k unless you are very lucky its only the properly scabby ones that hit this price point.
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I see where you are coming from with this point, the only reason I bought it in faith is that it has been owned by a friend of my dads for years, I've still not got round to posting photos but it is a tidy car especially for the money.

Given my first post was not an actual reccomendation just answering the OP's query of what others have bought within the price range.

You risk large repair premiums with high milage prestige cars, but people still buy them. To be honest I'm looking to change mine as I'm off to uni in september and want something a bit more fun for when I'm home out of term time :D
 
None of the above, i have a new ASTRA VXR. But i would pay off the Mortgage and have a quid spare for a bottle of bubbly !!! :p
 
Ak!ta said:
None of the above, i have a new ASTRA VXR. But i would pay off the Mortgage and have a quid spare for a bottle of bubbly !!! :p
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big tent eh? :) and a bottle for your barby?
 
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djbenjo said:
Rover 620ti - You will be able to get last of the line, low miler in fantastic condition and have plenty of change :)
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hmmm sure it was a good car but i need something i can flog on easily in 6 months time
 
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