I’ve never bought a silly car and with petrol prices hovering closer to £1 I figure if theres any time to have one then now is the time!

I’m looking at a 3.2 v6 a3 which I imagine will see a solid 20mpg from me driving which is less than half my current car (berlingo!)

Am I being a fool or should I enjoy it whilst I can?

Like this?

Go for it. I bought a 3.0l petrol six pot 18 months ago and every time I turn it over I know I made the right choice not getting an oil burner.. Loving current fuel prices!

You’re right. Now petrol’s so cheap I might start chucking it down the drain or using it to wash the dishes in without a care in the world. Whooopppeeeeee

Price rising slightly – I wonder if it’s now bottomed out?

What about when you come to sell it and the prices have gone back up?

Is an A3 a silly car now? Little commuter runabout for folk too posh for an Astra. Shirley for a silly car you can get the same engine in a TT at least? Convertible one for the summer, now’s the time to buy.

midlifecrashes – Member

Is an A3 a silly car now? Little commuter runabout for folk too posh for an Astra. Shirley for a silly car you can get the same engine in a TT at least? Convertible one for the summer, now’s the time to buy.

God I hope cars haven’t got so dull that A3s are now silly – even the TT is pushing it

depending on budget a little, but alfa V6 could be a laugh, GT or brera for my liking. or go nuts and get some old V12?

midlifecrashes – Member

Is an A3 a silly car now? Little commuter runabout for folk too posh for an Astra. Shirley for a silly car you can get the same engine in a TT at least? Convertible one for the summer, now’s the time to buy.

This.
If you’re gonna do it, you might as well do it properly.

Something like a Nissan 350Z?
Vauxhall Monaro?

I wouldn’t describe an A3 in any guise as silly. Alfa 147 GTA is possibly silly in a similar size package…

Silly = less practical (no hatchbacks) and no FWD.

Surely a silly car must have :
a – 2 seats only
b – a removable roof / no roof.

A3 ? ffs, please try harder

I’m coming from a 1.9 straight d berlingo guys – 60bhp to 250bhp… it’s silly enough no?!

I’ve got a spaniel and a bike to get on the back to reign in my madness but I have always had a soft spot for an integra!

3.2v6 A3 is not silly enough.

Get an e92 M3 instead.

Ex-housemate had succession of silly cars, Triumph Scimitar pickup with a modified engine that had been raced by a Scimitar enthusiast. Stupid quick, wheelspin in every gear. No heater though…

But he kept going back to Nissan Pulsars, freaking awesome cars and amazing how the fit everything into such a tiny engine bay.

He’s now driving round the alps in a (DIY) converted G4S Prisoner transport/camper. It’s brilliant.

My silly car ticks a lot of boxes:
– Italian: yep
– engine behind the driver: yep
– open top: yep
– red: yep

… I’ll post a picture later when I get home so you can bask in it’s awsumness.

Go for it! You will love it.

I really like the look of the Quattro A3 3.2s Ones on the shortlist for when I get bored of the beemer

My silly car would have to be a Jaguar XJR.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/jaguar/xjr/jaguar-xjr-supercharged-4-0-v8———-1998/2029370
Something like that.

Awsums, Legoman.

Everyone above is right. An Audi A3 is not silly. A quick glance on eBay suggests prices are £4-6k, so I’m going to assume your budget is £5k. A silly £5k car that will take a bike and a spaniel is this:

Just looking on Autotrader and 3.2 quattro’s are quite cheap for what they are. Big engined, high spec Audi. But not remotely silly imo. Quite a sensible purchase tbh.

If you’re thinking, petrol is cheap, I fancy something silly but it needs to have some room too then I’d be looking at something rwd with a v8. Like this.

Alternatively since it’s maybe only a short term deal think about getting a burgeoning classic. Something that won’t really lose money if you look after it. Better yet, it might make money under the right circumstances.

eg an RS Focus

Impreza P1

Yeah, go the hole hog get a V8 AMG Merc’, an old estate would even make a practical mtb car!

AMG e55/e63 aren’t homologated (i.e. tricky to insure) for towbars*

*I might have checked this out for my near future silly car purchase

6.8 Litre Rolls RoyceIf you log onto autotrader, select engine size over 5 litres and budget under £5k you get loads of choice.
My favourite is a Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit 6.8 4dr.
I am sure the spaniel would be very happy in that!!

C63 AMG estate gets me to Cannock in good time and has never been so ‘cheap’ to run!

Brilliant! Get something ‘silly’ if you can afford to, but after 5 years of ownership my Audi RS6 Estate, buying it was the ‘cheap’ part!

Go into it after doing some research so you know what you are getting into with maintenance etc. but I love mine!

Massively practical for bikes and family duties and still fun when you want it to be.

In terms of fuel costs, depends how much you drive it. Once you get down to 20mpg and below territory, you WILL feel it. Massively. If you want to go anywhere, that is. If you don’t do many miles, or it’s a weekend car, do it. Everyone needs a big motor at least once. If you buy an older or rarer car, it’ll help if you don’t mind getting your hands dirty too.

C63 AMG

I approve the willy waving – fantastic sounding car. (Quite nippy too apparently).

3.0 Audi engine does around 28mpg overall (can be coaxed up to 37mpg if careful – but why would you!) and does around 30mpg or a little over on a run. Not at 145mph though! Only got 26mpg overall that day – started well but got the chance to cane it later.

I’d imagine the 3.2 Quattro would be a couple of mpg less in each case. Autotrader’s figures are surprisingly accurate in this case.

Lovely engines.

MG ZT-T 260

4.6l Mustang V8 engine, RWD, loads of room.

I’ve owned half a dozen or so unnecessarily fast cars and really loved all( well maybe most) of them for a while, but after a year or so I couldn’t wait to rid and buyers are few and far between because opportunity use the cars properly are rare and running costs high.

Thats my experience, quite happy to concede I’m getting old but my god I would love to have all that money back and spend it on something less pointless.

Be aware that having fun in the A3 with that 3.2 litre if it’s Quattro will get you down around 5-10mpg…..with ease….mixed cycle sensible driving is 23mpg, semi pensioner 28mpg, long trips at legal motorway speeds and 50-60 on Aand B roads I can get as much as 35mpg!

Lots of chat about monetary cost but not a thought about the environmental cost. It should be part of the equation, especially for those of you who plan on/have procreated.

he kept going back to Nissan Pulsars, freaking awesome cars and amazing how the fit everything into such a tiny engine bay.

I bought one nearly 13 years ago and despite being tempted a few times by something newer like an Evo I’ve never been able to bring myself to sell it 😳

It’s got double the standard horsepower now and does about 4 mpg with a heavy right foot, much more fun to drive than a newer car with all the electronic aids etc 8)

Excellent point. Buy an M5 and plant a tree.

Or refuse to buy any food in packaging.

Or procreate over yourself.

or buy a new eco-wagon that’s laden with rare elements

Lots of chat about monetary cost but not a thought about the environmental cost. It should be part of the equation, especially for those of you who plan on/have procreated.

Is there one, really? I’m not sure what’s worse, driving a 10 year old V8, or buying a new Ford Focus, or even Nissan Leaf, every couple of years. The production of new cars must put a pretty big dent in the environment.

Waderider – Member
Lots of chat about monetary cost but not a thought about the environmental cost. It should be part of the equation, especially for those of you who plan on/have procreated.

Don’t you just love STW 🙄

Now this gets you in the silly zone, with a few simple mods 0-60 sub 6 secs, 50-70 sub 5 secs and 15 second quarters.
Handles like a go cart and the chances of seeing another one coming in the opposite direction 0.