[Closed] Fun for £5k - what car?

£5k to get a fun car and people are recommending Audis and Golfs?????

Get something gnarly like an M3/Impreza/200sx/Evo etc.

When I mentioned the RX8 above (to dubious aclaim!) I probably should have mentioned my own Clio 197. Older ones would come in budget but to be honest I'd only want one made post Nov 2007 with a higher top 2 gears that make it bearable on the motorway. Cup version a bit low rent but cup chasis on the plusher interior normal version is a nice enough place to sit though you have to embrace the accompanying rattle fest on rougher roads or like your music loud! It is French!

In hindsight a proper low tech classic you can work on yourself might be more fun.

£5k to get a fun car and people are recommending Audis and Golfs?????
Get something gnarly like an M3/Impreza/200sx/Evo etc.

Problem with any of those would be the running costs. But also none of them are cars that are likely to have had an easy life, and in particular with the case of the M3 (you'd be looking at E36's for under £5k, not E46's) they were prone to VANOS failure, which means a minimum £2k bill for a top end rebuild! And the car will be 13 years old or more meaning it'll need work doing no doubt to keep it on the road.

Scoobys and evo's drink fuel like it's going out of fashion, and neither are easy on their drivetrains, so things wear out quicker than on most other cars. The 200SX isn't such a bad idea, but other than being turbo charged and rear wheel drive, they're more than a touch bland! A lot of them came with automatic boxes FFS! 😕

Someone above suggested 306gti-6. Well I can vouch for them being fun, I had one for 3 years. Being French though, expect to repair all the usual things at the usual time. Solid engines mind, and the 6 speed box is superb! Oh, and they don't half lift off oversteer...

Renault Clio 182 not such a bad idea either, if it doesn't need to be practical.

Corrado VR6... Well the newest cars are 15 years old now, and they've got cult status. Means prices are silly high (though depreciation proof pretty much), and though a good car, you'd have more fun elsewhere I reckon.

DC2 Integra's just don't do it for me. I like an engine with some torque, and the ability to be able to do even 70mph on the motorway without going deaf!

I'm still sticking with my choice of the S3 though, given it's pace, involving (for an Audi at least) drive, relative economy and ease on the wallet, good looks and tunability. It's a car that you could drop £5k on without worrying too much about the next service bill, whereas I fear too many others mentioned so far you'd be having to spend way too much money to keep it on the road in a very short space of time...

Apparently with the RX8, once you have started the engine, you have to leave it running for about 5 minutes. Not always a problem, but if your circumstances dictate you need to move it (ie, shift it so someone else can move their car) you then have to sit there for 5 minutes or it floods the engine badly. And that is just another inconvenience on top of the oil and fuel consumption. A friend of my brother was selling one recently and my brother considered it until the guy said 'I wouldn't sell this to anyone I know as I know you will be disappointed with it'.

If it was me I reckon I might be considering a fast Clio.

I'm still sticking with my choice of the S3 though, given it's pace, involving (for an Audi at least) drive

Nope. As per my post a bit earlier, the S3 is totally uninvolving. Very quick, lots of grip, but dull like nearly every Audi.

A Golf GTi wouldn't be quite as quick, but would be much more fun. £5k wouldn't get you a MK5, and the MKIV GTi was rubbish unless you can find an Anniversary model which had more power, lowered suspension and a really nice interior. Great car.

A little ghey but a MX5?

I personally however would get a M3 or a Teg typeR

As per my post a bit earlier, the S3 is totally uninvolving. Very quick, lots of grip, but dull like nearly every Audi.

What do you mean by [i]uninvolving[/i] ? that the S3 provides little feedback that the car is moving quickly?

As much as I want to like the S3 (because on paper it sounds brilliant) last time I drove one (a low mileage car from an Audi main dealer) I left after the test drive feeling slightly disappointed.

Sure the S3 is very capable. It handles well, it grips well, it looks good, it's built well and it's fairly fast - but there was just something missing.

Maybe it was that the steering had not a lot of feel, maybe it was that the engine sounded harsh compared to the 5-6 cylinder engines I'm used to? Maybe it just didn't feel special in the way I had hoped it would be - there was no sense of occasion, nothing to make you smile, and apart from the S3 badge on the steering wheel and the leather sports seats I could have been sitting in any one of the VW group's 'jelly mould' products.

Shame as I really wanted to like this car and had plans to buy one at the time. Sure it's better to drive than the TT and better to drive than a lot of the more mundane Audi stuff, but if you like your driving to be engaging and rewarding rather than just point and shoot then maybe you should look elsewhere.

Mazda = rust, lots of, on all models, and some terrible alloy wheel corrosion. Otherwise they're extremely reliable, and the fast ones are great

A reputation mainly from imports that weren't undersealed on arrival. Not true generally in my experience. I'd avoid RX8s though they use more oil than petrol, though they look great and go fast.

I'd spend under 2K on the best popup headlight MX5 I could find, put on a decent exhaust and induction kit and new sticky tyres then book a track day. Take anyone who refers to it as a hairdresser car as a passenger, I nearly made one such individual vomit 🙂 To be fair a I'm a crap driver so it may have been fear..
Can't beat that for fun other than stretching the budget and getting an Elise.

Last time I checked (and I've owned 3), the MX5 isn't a 2+2 which is what the OP wanted.

and go fast

How about an Alpine GTA or A610? *awaits flaming*

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_Alpine_GTA/A610

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Nope. As per my post a bit earlier, the S3 is totally uninvolving. Very quick, lots of grip, but dull like nearly every Audi.

Fair enough you've owned one, I've only had a quick 20 minute back road blast in one, but I was ready to sign the dotted line and buy the car (finance approving) at the time. I was really impressed, it was a later 225bhp model with revised front anti roll bars that apparently transformed the front end handling though, not an earlier 210bhp model.

Just as well I didn't though, lost my job a few weeks later.

Have driven several mk4 Golfs and all were Dreadful. The Audi S3 may not be a Caterham, but mk4 Golfs had less steering feel than an ocean liner! They make the S3, and even the Audi TT, look like dynamic masterpieces! Odd considering they're all based on the same platform.

If you can find one, though I doubt you will cos 99% came with auto boxes, get yourself an old BMW 540i with a manual box. My old E34 touring (though an E39 would also be good) was ace. Boy racers used to look at it and laugh. Then I used to laugh unleashing almost 300bhp on their ass, doing 0 to 60 in 6 seconds dead! It did bloody well on an EVO magazine trackday too (even got into the background in one pic that made print!) when everybody else had pretty much turned up in some serious machinery. Ok, the R8's killed it on the straight, the Exige went round the outside on the corners, but a guy in a new V10 M5 couldn't lose me, nor could a 911 carerra 4 or an Audi RS4! Then small fry like mx5's, Z4's, hot hatches etc got minced on the straights! My mate was in the pits chatting to their staff photographer who apparently was shocked how fast the old Beemer was... The 4 litre V8 in them is one of the greatest engines ever created too, so smooth, and revs well for a bigun. Would have another tomorrow if petrol was half the price! That said, 24mpg average is way better than many less powerful cars already mentioned in this thread...

As per my post a bit earlier, the S3 is totally uninvolving. Very quick, lots of grip, but dull like nearly every Audi.

What do you mean by uninvolving ? that the S3 provides little feedback that the car is moving quickly?

Pretty much that and what Northern Star said. Somehow you just seem remote and disconnected and get no indication of what the car is doing. Common Audi trait. Huge speed and grip does not necessarily mean fun. Not owned one, but that's why MX5's have such a great reputation - not at all quick but just very sensitive to driver inputs.

How about an Alpine GTA or A610? *awaits flaming*

Great car at a good price but reliability even when new was abysmal IIRC. A French Alfa - charisma but with appalling build quality

Given that you'll be sitting in it for hours and hours in traffic jayms not going very fast at all, get something comfy.

A mate's got an S3, and it's not comfy on longer journeys, not as much as a nice 'executive' car. Those sporty tyres might be fast, but they don't provide much comfort.

Get a Jaaaag or something like that, innit?

Went on a long journey in one of these once, and when I go out at the other end, it felt like we'd just driven a few miles.

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Just cruise along with a bit of Mozart or something, and actually be able to hear the music, as there's proper soundproofing. Not like these hot hatch boy racer things, which are all about having fights really.

mboy - had my S3 for 2 years. I loved it when I test drove it, but got bored very quickly. If you read my post, I agree about the Golf GTi MKIV, with the exception of the Anniversary model, which is what the MKIV GTi should have been and you could get one for £5k.

Agree that fast BM's are fun, but as I said in the post, when getting old they will become very expensive to run.

clio 182 cup

Honda S2000? I had a vtec Prelude and that was the best car I ever owned, so assume an S2000 is similar but revs to 9000rpm 😈

I don't know anything else about them though, so sorry if I have recommended something less cool than an Audi S3 or a Renault Clio...

Honda S2000?

Out of budget I think...

Get a Jaaaag or something like that, innit?

Excellent left wing suggestion that... Where was it you and your mate Prescott went whilst listening to Mozart? 😉

mboy - had my S3 for 2 years. I loved it when I test drove it, but got bored very quickly. If you read my post, I agree about the Golf GTi MKIV, with the exception of the Anniversary model, which is what the MKIV GTi should have been and you could get one for £5k.
Agree that fast BM's are fun, but as I said in the post, when getting old they will become very expensive to run.

Was it not just a remapped engine and bigger brakes? No dynamic changes on the 25th anniversary that I can remember.

Yeah, my old BM was fun, but could've cost a fortune at any point. Thankfully it only cost 1500 quid so never owed me much, and being an E34 parts were readily available on eBay or from a scrappy if needed. Fortunately mine had suffered no Nikasil issues either.

Jag is a good call actually, but MrsJ may not approve

Honda S2000 would be nice, but over budget I think 🙁

How about something a little bit different - if you want enjoyment then you can't go far wrong with any of these:

Ford Racing Puma - fantastic handling, Race tuned by Tickford) not many around (500 built), depreciation proof.

Fiat Coupe 20V Turbo - 5 pot engine, Italian looks, approaching classic status, until the very recent Focus RS came along the fastest ever FWD production car (0-100mph in 14.5sec and 155mph top), much more reliable than people think (it was built by Pininfarina - not Fiat).

306 GTi or Rallye - One of the best handling and most entertaining hot hatches ever, a minter can be yours for 3k leaving 2k free for a new bike.

Volvo 850 T5R Estate - Perfect for swallowing bikes and kit, breeze block looks, classic status, reliability and solidity, will surprise quite a few people, police used to use these as fast pursuit cars.

Corrado VR6 - as above.

+1

To be honest the 2+2 seats in most are pretty unusable eg TT etc. If you can just go with 2. I would have another MX5 and put up with the hairdresser comments cause it was great fun and really reliable.

+1

Civic typeR ?

+1

Fabia vRS

+1

I guess it depends on how much you want to spend on keeping it as well, and whether it'll be used for anything practical.

The Mondeo ST155 estate is what I wanted for the practicality side of it (it's also a lot less thirsty than the ST220) but couldn't get a decent one for much less than £8k, whereas the ST220 has a lower resale. I was in a similar situation but needed bike/kit carrying capability, so went for an Octavia vRS. Am a happy bunny with it so far.

I was shocked when I had half a day test driving a Fabia vRS. It honestly felt as if it was turning the earth underneath it - so much torque its mad.

Or if the 2+2 thing doesn't matter anymore, a really good supercharged mk1 MX5 and put the other £2k in the bank.

2 plus 2 is always interesting, in that it really means 2 people plus a space for a dwarf to sit down - sideways. For proper 4 seaters then the Fiat Coupe, Ford Puma and VW Corrado win hands down. You can even squeeze in a full-sus mountain bike too. Mmmmmmmm go on - you know you want to!

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TBH - if you were to be going for a Puma just get the standard 1.7 one - the engine is lovely (built by Yamaha). Fair enough it doesn't get the flared wheel arches but it is still a really nice car and probably >half the price.

Possibly the second best car I have ever had (probably tied with my Clio RSi).