What would you buy?

[Scott]

Yes, I still have the Megane, and no, I've not bought a Z4

However I am looking to sell in the near future as the car isn't terribly practical for my commute due to back problems and stiff suspension combined with non-height adjustable seating (buckets y0!). I've looked at absolutely everything and have driven numerous cars, and my mind is still changing and not settled on any single car. I've gone all the way from luxury cruisers to 2-seater coupes, with everything in between.

• Up to 9k budget
  
• Good seating position (needs to be completely adjustable)
  
• Reliable with decent build quality
  
• Must have AC/Climate control
  
• Cruise control would be nice
  
• 25mpg combined (minimum)
  
• Over 200bhp
  

Suggestions on a post card please.

[C2K]

Late mk5/early mk6 golf gti.

[Matt-Rallye]

BMW 335d?

[Niall]

Ed buys a gti, you buy a gti,
Ed buys a megane, you buy a megane
Ed has a crash in a megane, you sell a megane
Ed buys a Z4, you see where this is going.......

You know my opinions on this. Don't buy a 5 series like you was considering. Quite frankly, BMWs prices are just outright horrendous even for their older cars. I remember reading on another forum someone paid over £500 just for a ABS sensor to be changed on their 5 series. Really!?! £500 for a magnet on a piece of 2 core!?

[Grant]

Ed buys a gti, you buy a gti,
Ed buys a megane, you buy a megane
Ed has a crash in a megane, you sell a megane
Ed buys a Z4, you see where this is going.......

QFT





Anyhow.... Astra /thread

[C2K]

BMW 335d?

For 9k? What?

[Scott]

BMW 335d?

For the budget they've all been to the moon and back sadly!

I've been looking at 123ds but they're tough to find with good spec for that price. Lovely to drive though!

Niall I had the GTi-6 way before that, when Ed still had his DT. I'd owned an S16 before that and got the Astor before his diablo went I was also looking at other cars before he'd crashed it. In any case, we're on a forum full of people who all own exactly the same car, it shouldn't matter if I did choose to buy the same car as him, but it seems the irony of people getting bothered by that is entirely lost on most!

I'm off the idea of a 5 series now, I'd like a 3 door/coupe in all honesty A 630i on the other hand ticks a few boxes...

Simon, not a bad shout, they do very well with the DSG boxes and a remap. How's the ride comfort in yours?

[306carter]

For me it would be a Mercedes c220 cdi albeit only 170~ BHP but in AMG flavour what it lacks in power it more than makes up for in looks.

[Pompey306mark]

Volvo.

[darrenjlobb]

Hm,

306 D turbo, replace the AC, fit a 2260vk, and you are sorted.

IIRC that should come in arond 7k under budget, allowing for 7k of winmods.

[Grant]

circa 2004 X5.

Ticks all the boxes

[Scott]

circa 2004 X5.

Ticks all the boxes

I could always buy a 3 series and fit some X5 alloys if that's what you're hinting?

[Scott]

For me it would be a Mercedes c220 cdi albeit only 170~ BHP but in AMG flavour what it lacks in power it more than makes up for in looks.

They're okay, I wasn't too keen on a colleague's one though sadly!

Volvo.

I might be wrong here, but I think they make a few different cars and models... Care to narrow it down?

Hm,

306 D turbo, replace the AC, fit a 2260vk, and you are sorted.

IIRC that should come in arond 7k under budget, allowing for 7k of winmods.

Doesn't quite fit the reliability and build quality bit though

[Grant]

circa 2004 X5.

Ticks all the boxes

I could always buy a 3 series and fit some X5 alloys if that's what you're hinting?

It wasn't, but that also works!

[Niall]

circa 2004 X5.

Ticks all the boxes

And again, you pay £1,000,000 just for a new tyre.

I never ever thought i would say this but i can't recommend Octavias enough. Mine was only a mid spec one but the VRS dervs are supposed to be very good. VRS perv was a bit of a let down in terms of performance but comfort and toys, couldn't knock it for the money!
RCZ? Never driven one so don't know what they are like to drive but I've been in one and must say, the build quality is substantially better than what you would expect from Peugeot.
Or, if you really want value for money and a bit of poke, Volvo or Saab. Seem to get shit loads of toys and comfort for what you pay!

[Grant]

circa 2004 X5.

Ticks all the boxes

And again, you pay £1,000,000 just for a new tyre.

I never ever thought i would say this but i can't recommend Octavias enough. Mine was only a mid spec one but the VRS dervs are supposed to be very good. VRS perv was a bit of a let down in terms of performance but comfort and toys, couldn't knock it for the money!
RCZ? Never driven one so don't know what they are like to drive but I've been in one and must say, the build quality is substantially better than what you would expect from Peugeot.
Or, if you really want value for money and a bit of poke, Volvo or Saab. Seem to get shit loads of toys and comfort for what you pay!

You think I was serious? My boss used to have one, it was shite.

TBF a newer 93/95 would be awesome. Sooo cheap to buy and solo cheap to maintain.

[Scott]

Don't mention tyres Just spent £300 on two PS3s

An Octy VRS isn't too bad. Definitely a more practical car and good value for money

RCZ is out of budget, and while they're nice to drive and pretty comfy inside, they're at the bottom of that market segment and are lacking in power for the looks, plus the drivetrain is in the wrong location Love the looks though and they're pretty efficient to run!

Saabs have a shit load for the money, there are some really nice ones about. Are they not getting a bit difficult to buy for in terms of parts?

[Niall]

Alternatively, spend £1500 on a gti6, spend another £1500 on eaton charging it and have over 200bhp, 49bhp when you drive sensibly and a ridiculously addictive sound

[Grant]

Saab parts are fine to come by. They are back in business to so parts should be readily available

[Niall]

Don't worry about Saab parts for two reasons;

A) Its a legal requirement for all car companies to supply parts for 10 years after the end of production of a car even if the company goes bust (Sweeden was funding the saab parts line until my next point...)
B) Saab is now back in business and will shortly be producing cars again.

They are cheap to buy at the moment because people think because they went bust, its 100% impossible to get parts for them. Wrong! I suspect they will go back up in price very soon.

For instance, last time i looked, you could pick up a 93 aero Carlsson edition for 8k for a minimum of a 10 reg car. You get shit loads of performance and toys for that money!

[Kezzieboy]

9 grand? Damn, I'm starting a forum if they're that profitable

I couldn't possibly come up with a serious suggestion, as with 9 grand you could purchase such vast quantities of win, being sensible would be a miserable prospect!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LHD-2-8-BMW-Z3...258c7445df

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1991-Nissan-Sk...4ad43ae631

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1987-BMW-E24-6...338d701d82

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1974-PEUGEOT-3...5663a0a51e

I could go all day lol

[C2K]

vRS is a good shout, but the lower the vag group you go from Audi/VAG-> Seat-> Skoda the interiors cheapen despite identical mechanicals so be wary.

Not sure what prices the FR Leon's are fetching but they're a bit marmite.

Simon, not a bad shout, they do very well with the DSG boxes and a remap. How's the ride comfort in yours?

Despite sitting on the optional 19s, I have dynamic chassis on mine so adjustable damping and it is sublime. It's so comfortable, but also it's an all new chassis (MQB platform). To settle my mind on the 19s I drove the test car at every single pothole and drain cover i could find and was well impressed on standard suspension.

On the mk5 and 6 I would recommend you need the standard sized wheels, the option 18s ride a bit harshly I understand, however you may get an Edition 30 (mk5) for that sort of money, they're a bit special and iirc have BBS alloys. They are well built, remaps and parts are plentiful and give big power, and generally they are very easy to see if they've been well looked after. There is also a nice Pirelli edition Mk5 but it's a bit Marmite.

The mk6 is nicer inside than the 5, but the Mk6 is known to suffer from cam chain tensioner failures so do some homework on this if you like it - but any early ones will likely be past this I expect. Not sure how prevalent these will be in your budget.

Even if it doesn't float your boat i'd recommend a test drive of them - you may be willing to stretch your budget if a nice example comes along. The seats should be adjustable to your every need - worth a try. Plus big power is rather cheaply obtained - a/c is standard i think, they are quiet inside, and lots of choices to make.

Don't know your take on diesels and not sure if they're much in budget, but a Mk6 GTD is 170bhp as standard and remaps to over 200bhp, you'd get 50 MPG from it and can engage the electronic-diff through vagcom as I did it to a colleagues GTD. Mk6 GTD is common rail, but Mk5 GT TDi will be a PD engine iirc.

[Niall]

9 grand? Damn, I'm starting a forum if they're that profitable

I couldn't possibly come up with a serious suggestion, as with 9 grand you could purchase such vast quantities of win, being sensible would be a miserable prospect!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LHD-2-8-BMW-Z3...258c7445df

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1991-Nissan-Sk...4ad43ae631

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1987-BMW-E24-6...338d701d82

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1974-PEUGEOT-3...5663a0a51e

I could go all day lol

The old 6 series, serious win (could better it by getting a 8 series)
Z3, serious Loose. Think that must be the ugliest car on the road second to the S- Cargo!

[lewisdmz]

Some sort of Audi S?

Quite like these, obviously parts are going to be horrendous but cheap to run wasn't on your requirements list! ;-)

Well under budget - http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/u...iment=true

[Niall]

vRS is a good shout, but the lower the vag group you go from Audi/VAG-> Seat-> Skoda the interiors cheapen despite identical mechanicals so be wary.

Wrong with the Octavia.
I would agree with some of their smaller models. They are cheaper inside but the octavia i had was as good if not better built than my old managers A3 Sport, if not better. Mainly because it was all the same parts lol

[C2K]

vRS is a good shout, but the lower the vag group you go from Audi/VAG-> Seat-> Skoda the interiors cheapen despite identical mechanicals so be wary.

Wrong with the Octavia.
I would agree with some of their smaller models. They are cheaper inside but the octavia i had was as good if not better built than my old managers A3 Sport, if not better. Mainly because it was all the same parts lol

Eish.

Having sat in a Leon, I was disappointed with a very plasticky interior. I was looking at Supercopa TDis. Despite the aura associated with a Skoda badge, there is a marked difference in interior qualities - they do it on purpose.

Entirely depends on which models you are comparing, I would agree though some of the older Audi's aren't very nice at all inside, very bland. At least they tried with the Skoda interiors, they use fancy bits but it's a still a cheaper car so the cost is reduced somewhere.

[mikey b]

Mk5 golf r32 we have one that comes onto work bloody fast and comfy would like but never have the money any they sound epic

[Kezzieboy]

Sorry, can't help myself

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1991-LANCIA-DE...27def4caa3

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Toyota-Supra-F...3f34b9023a

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1986-RENAULT-G...35d4f0c2fd

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MERCEDES-BENZ-...27deaed592

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SUBARU-IMPREZA...461d534ac5

[Niall]

vRS is a good shout, but the lower the vag group you go from Audi/VAG-> Seat-> Skoda the interiors cheapen despite identical mechanicals so be wary.

Wrong with the Octavia.
I would agree with some of their smaller models. They are cheaper inside but the octavia i had was as good if not better built than my old managers A3 Sport, if not better. Mainly because it was all the same parts lol

Eish.

Having sat in a Leon, I was disappointed with a very plasticky interior. I was looking at Supercopa TDis. Despite the aura associated with a Skoda badge, there is a marked difference in interior qualities - they do it on purpose.

Entirely depends on which models you are comparing, I would agree though some of the older Audi's aren't very nice at all inside, very bland. At least they tried with the Skoda interiors, they use fancy bits but it's a still a cheaper car so the cost is reduced somewhere.

Well with mine, i think the cost saving was the fact they used the 1.9 tdi instead of the at the time, new 2.0 tdi and lack of spec (although as said, mine was mid range).
You really couldn't knock it for build quality. Interior was as well build as my managers 10 reg A3 and my car actually had more spec minus the dual zone climate control. I really was sad to see it go and for 16k new, i couldn't think of a netter car to have and that really is saying something seeing as i hate all cars German!
Ive also sat in a same age Seat Ibiza and that was just shit. Think my 306 was built better just like the fabia and roomster i had as hire cars

[C2K]

Seemingly you can get Mk5 R32 for your money too but it's in brum so probably stolen... V6 powahhhh. I'd have the ED30 with remap though.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/a...?logcode=p

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/a...?logcode=p