tony can you get a bike in a gt86?

Yes – actually much easier than I expected; pop the wheels off and an XL hardtail will fit in through the boot opening without too much trouble. Boot space isn’t very tall, but with the rear seat back folded the carrying capacity is very good (in my opinion).

Exactly…the same step uncle see to have an RS4. It was ace…he let me have a spin in it and I was amazed by it. That noise should not be emitted from a saloon car! Moved too. The interior with the Recaro bucket seats still looks good today.

There are loads of cars in budget that are better / more interesting than a Golf or an S3, all of which will lose you less money over three or four years; M3, M5, M6, Cayman S, 911 etc.

Even looking at something a bit more sensible, a 330 or 335 will be as quick if not quicker, sound better and cost you a lot less.

FunkyDunc – nail on the head. The GTi and S3 will be quick on paper, but will both be fairly bland to drive including the noise etc.

I know I’ve listed some serious machinery, but cars are getting so fast it’s hard to enjoy them. Our 330 is pretty quick and is so happy at higher speeds it could easily get you into a lot of trouble. It sounds nice too. Evo always criticised the E9x M3 for this; it never came alive until much higher in the rev range which normally meant you were doing some fairly big speeds.

This is where things like the GT86 come in; great handling but with sensible power which means it’ll feel like your using all the power without having to drive at silly speeds.

As others have said above, if your willing to lay out £420/month or thereabouts then you can get some seriously rapid and immaculate 2nd hand cars – my mate sold this 2007 ABT RS4 last year for £30,000 as he never had the time to drive it, Full ABT engine tuning/suspension/brake package and factory de-cromed without additional ABT badges so it didn’t stand out or gather too much attention but absolutely nothing could touch it on the road or the few times we had it on the track, a lot of car for £30k considering it cost him £70k a few years ago and it only had 6000 miles/full service history on the clock. Hardly anyone can afford to run them as fuel is so expensive but for a four seater car it could certainly fly with the right driver.

Gaw’d i miss it, the engine noise, the howl of the V8, the way the seats inflated at speed to hold you in position, quite necessary at 180mph+ on the Nurburgring, driving my MK2 Golf afterwards was always a disappointment ……….but then again he should never have sold his short wheelbase Quattro Dialynx either.

If you feel you could afford it then a good 2nd hand car is the way to go as you’ll get so much more for your cash.

Hmmmm. That’s lovely.

That V8 is a gem of an engine. It sounds like a muscle car but revs freely to 8,000rpm. Expensive to run, but a none modified one for less than £30k buys a lot of super unleaded.

They still look good – chunky but quite subtle at the same time. I still like the original B5 RS4; old yes, but it still looks purposeful.

I remember when this forum used to read the question and answer it.

From what I can see titus doesnt want some old german barge that has to taken to a specialist every year to be mot’d etc…. .

Was going to say 370z or Guilietta Cloverleaf.
For something different whats a fast Evoque cost these days or order up a new Mini Paceman.

Christ man, buy an old Honda and spend the money on bikes and bike holidays. You only live once and can’t take it with you.

..and be able to take bikes and a young professional couple.

that’s cheered me up…

So you want fastish, premium badge, good image, bike carrying. Surely a BM or Audi tourer ?

Mine is a company car, so not my cash to buy, but I had a 3 and now a 5 tourer and it does the job well. The prices are silly and if it was my cash I’d have a Skoda, but on a lease plan they’d probably fit your budget.

skoda

I’ve just ordered an A6 Avant Black Edition 3L V6 TDi 4WD with auto – just shy of £400 a month over 4 years with £2400 down.

Have to confess I’m stunned £30k gets you “just” an Golf GTI or an A3, result of the £ taking a hammering these past 5 years.

GBP hasn’t taken a hammering, it’s just corrected to a much more sensible value for our economy to work in a more balanced way (export trade and not just financial services).

I’d probably get a GTI. Though having seen what you can get secondhand, in your position I’d probably take out a loan for say 15-20k and buy a secondhand one that someone’s kindly run in and had any manufacturing niggles sorted. That’s what I did last time I bought a car (though with a smaller budget) rather than joining the company car scheme like most of my colleagues – still have that car, years after I left that job, still good fun to drive, costs me very little.

I love cars, (and don’t begrudge the OP for wanting to spend that much while he can afford to, I would too) but would really struggle with spending that much each month and having nothing to show for it at the end. Why not pay that much on a loan and buy something 1 or 2 years old?…

…OR Buy THIS and keep £8k aside for fuel.

@DezB not sure why you think £30k on a car is daft when you can spend £4-5k on a bike pretty easily. It’s a bit off topic but mountain biking is as varied as car ownership, you can have cheap cheerful and effective or full bling with all variants in between.

@chiefguru – all my point was is that when I got my car 6 years ago € / £ was about 1.40 now it’s 1.15 plus VAT is another 2.5% – all translates into much higher sticker price. IIRC to replace my car with similar one was £30k then to nearly £50k now, that’s bonkers.

OP new Golf is very nice, I drove one. Audi very nice too, great quality but not quite as roomy especially back seats and boot.

Interesting thread. I’ve just spent this sort of money and I got a E350cdi estate, 6 months old and 5k on the clock. It cost (original invoice) £49k ( with lots of options). Lots of things to spend your money at this price point! I was looking at 530d’s/535ds and A6 3.0tdi’s. although I like Mercs.

Hang on…

I am an alfa nut at heart and would love to justify a giulietta cloverleaf but having been slightly let down by the current alfa mito I have im struggling to want to live with one.

DO IT

DO IT

DO IT

Had the hot(ish) diesel one as a hire car when I was back in the UK (interesting what “Golf or equivalent gets you, thanks AVIS!). I’d have one in a flash if I didn’t need a 4wd for the sorts of holidays we go on here in Oz.

You need a ford fiesta. Push the boat out and get the Ghia.

Meanwhile, in a parallel universe…

OP: I only have one hand. Anyone know somewhere I can buy just one glove. I quite fancy a nice plush velvet one. Any ideas?

STW1: Why spend all that money on a glove? You can buy 5 pairs for £10 at Lidl

OP: But I only have one hand. What use is a *pair* of gloves? Plus, I work hard for my cash, so why shouldn’t I have a posh glove?

STW1: OP, you’re not listening. 5 pairs of gloves. That’s, like, 10 gloves. For £10. Buy them, and spend the rest of your cash on guitar lessons.

OP: How would I play guitar with only one h…

STW2: Pfft. I wouldn’t waste my time with gloves. Trousers is where it’s at.

OP:

What about a nice Volvo v40r

Certainly no where near as common or mundane as a BMW,Vw,Audi.

A colleague just bought a BMW 335 M Sport, christ it’s a lovely car, and for less than £14k.

Meanwhile, in a parallel universe…

OP: I only have one hand. Anyone know somewhere I can buy just one glove. I quite fancy a nice plush velvet one. Any ideas?

STW1: Why spend all that money on a glove? You can buy 5 pairs for £10 at Lidl

OP: But I only have one hand. What use is a *pair* of gloves? Plus, I work hard for my cash, so why shouldn’t I have a posh glove?

STW1: OP, you’re not listening. 5 pairs of gloves. That’s, like, 10 gloves. For £10. Buy them, and spend the rest of your cash on guitar lessons.

OP: How would I play guitar with only one h…

STW2: Pfft. I wouldn’t waste my time with gloves. Trousers is where it’s at.

No, the analogy is wrong as he just wants to rent one ordinary glove, rather than buy a velvet glove for the same money.

Can never go wrong with an Audi rs3

and that doesn’t look ridiculous when I turn up at client sites in it.

Appreciate I’m not being helpful, but I do think some people in the marketing departments of mid-range car companies need to be paid a bigger bonus.

and that doesn’t look ridiculous when I turn up at client sites in it.

In my experience, if I turn up to lient sites in a flash motor they start to question our profit margins!!

cbmotorsport – Member

and that doesn’t look ridiculous when I turn up at client sites in it.

In my experience, if I turn up to lient sites in a flash motor they start to question our profit margins!!

I do agree with this – a close family friend does a lot of work with charities and the public sector and really wanted an E Class estate however decided that it was too flashy depsite being cheaper and more fuel efficient than the Audi he ended up with. The Audi just blends into the background.

If not upsetting clients is a major consideration, most of the cars I suggested would be best avoided! However if enjoyment / speed / noise are or more of a priority they’ll do.

I know a few have gone off at a tangent (myself included) but I’d struggle to drop £30k on a Golf or an S3. They’re just a bit bland and not all that quick. That sort of money opens up a lot of options that are genuinely quick and far more interesting.

Still think Hora has the right answer, Elise for giggles and something more practical for bikes/day to day. £30K for a Golf, no matter how good, just seems like bad value. FWIW, I wouldn’t pay 5K for a bike either, so it’s a personal call.

But then I do tend to think the answer to any car question is ‘Elise’ 🙂

and that doesn’t look ridiculous when I turn up at client sites in it.

Since I don’t own a car, I hire them if I have to visit a customer. Turned up for a meeting last week at O2 in a Fiat 500CC.

Just did my own research for the question I asked at the end of page 2. You can buy a 2yr old golf that would have been circa £28.5k new for £18.5k and expect to sell it in 3yrs for circa £12k i.e. £2k per year depreciation. £420pm for 3 yrs is >£15k. Plus the initial £3k. Jam today plus deflowering a virgin car rather than a ‘preloved’ one is costing you £2-3k a year. That’s quite a difference I’d struggle to justify. Waiting until you have £18k in the bank and then saving the depreciation value to replace every 3yrs (or hold on to it if you still liking it and its not causing you problems) definitely makes lots of sense.

I test drove the new Golf GTI at the weekend and it is a very nice car. Fast, quiet, cheap to run (£125 pa road tax, 40mpg), and with comparitvely good residuals. No it is not hugely thrilling but on todays roads how often do you get to really enjoy a car.

I would love to have an M3 CSL, 2nd hand 997, Cayman etc but i only do about 4000miles a year and the running costs are huge, i need the practicality of something like a hatchback/saloon etc so cant justify one of them or running two cars like a Honda Jazz + Caterham Supersport so the Golf GTI is the sort of car i would consider in a similar postion.

The other is the BMW 328i M Sport – RWD, bit more power, bit quicker, slightly more expensive to run. However given how few there are i think the residual value would be poop although if you are on PCP that is less of a concern.

M135i running costs are significantly more than the Golf and although you cant see it while driving it i think it is fugly.

but i only do about 4000miles a year and the running costs are huge,

Not if you only do 4k pa, it’s the depreciation/finance that is huge.

Problem with an RS4 etc is that yes, it’d be flippin awesome but things like £1000 for new pads and discs just for the front (and another ~£700 for the rears) is slightly eye watering.

I’m just about too order a new Golf GTD, I did want the GTI but the monthly cost is almost £200 less for the diesel, I guess mainly due to the forecast residuals being much much better..

Doing 20K miles a year, and doing it in a 9 year old BMW 330i currently, moving to a brand new golf will be almost parity on cost for me, plus it will bring certainty to the running costs!

The Flying Ox – Member
Meanwhile, in a parallel universe…

OP: I only have one hand. Anyone know somewhere I can buy just one glove…

Summed up just about every single “What should x I buy?” thread. Why people still bother with them I do not know! 😆

diglover- I feel for you, diesel being the fuel of Satan, im not even looking at the comparison. No diesel ive ever driven or been in has been fun, impressive yes, but not fun

Waiting until you have £18k in the bank and then saving the depreciation value to replace every 3yrs

That’s what I did – although I did take out a loan for some of it. Interest on loan is not massive, and I got a one-year-old car with 17,000 miles on it for £10,000 less than it would have cost new, and I will own all of it in a year or so’s time all being well. (I just own the boot and back wheels so far, with a bit of transmission gubbins.)

Anyone who doesn’t do that must have an awful lot more money going spare than I can ever hope to imagine —although I understand all too well that feeling of showroom fever after test driving a new car.

I actually went to look at a 2nd hand Mk6 Golf GTI (1 year old) before looking at a new mk7. But a low milage Mk6 was still about £22k, a new Mk7 starts at £25.5k my thinking is that in a years time when 1yr old mk7 are available that the Mk6 will have taken a big hit in depreciation.

I have not bought either but i am trying to decide if the 1yr depreciation on buying a new mk7 now is more or less than 2 tyres (£600) + front discs and pads (£500) + possibly a clutch (£???) on my current car.

EDIT: my local BMW dealer is currently doing 5yrs 0% which has given me food for thought as well

M135i running costs are significantly more than the Golf and although you cant see it while driving it i think it is fugly.

They are indeed but I have a feeling that the looks will grow on people. I thought the E60 was a pig when it first came out but it’s aged really well and I now really like them!

If the M135 is as good as the reviews say and the deals are as good as they are rumoured to be, I think I could get past the looks. In estoril blue its not too grim…certainly better than the poverty spec 116’s that are now quite common.

Don’t know if it’s been suggested because I couldn’t be bothered to read know it alls suggesting a focus and a caravan but what about a scirocco R or the new Golf R which is close to release?

be able to take a young professional couple

love this unit of measurement!

Here is a photo of us with our young professional friends!

Love it 🙂 (I could have chosen my words more carefully but was just trying to convey, no kids, not chavvy – I think everyone got the idea)

😀