# Changing car next year



## JohnA88 (Jul 26, 2011)

Hi all, I'm thinking about selling my MK3 Ibiza 1.4 next year for something with more power. iv'e got a few ideas but need your options aswell as you might have one of these as a daily driver.


----------



## Matt. (Aug 26, 2007)

Focus ST?


----------



## yetizone (Jun 25, 2008)

What about a Civic Type R ? EP3 or FN2 - both rev-tastic


----------



## JohnA88 (Jul 26, 2011)

Budget is only £2k no point spending anymore as it just gets damaged in car parks etc


----------



## bigmc (Mar 22, 2010)

Puma 1.7 is a fantastic drivers car if you can get a rust free one, they look great in sea grey and imperial blue.


----------



## JohnA88 (Jul 26, 2011)

bigmc said:


> Puma 1.7 is a fantastic drivers car if you can get a rust free one, they look great in sea grey and imperial blue.


Yeah thats the only problem with them . Was looking on eBay the other day at a sea grey thunder one but the arches were shot.


----------



## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

Hyundai Coupe
Toyota Celica
Toyota Yaris T-Sport
BMW 3-series Coupe
Alfa GTV


----------



## rf860 (Jul 24, 2011)

2k will be difficult to get a decent car for the kind of car that you want. I just had a look on autotrader at the examples of 330i BMWs and they are mostly tatty and/or have huge mileage and rust.

Just keep the little ibiza until you can afford something better imo.


----------



## Matt. (Aug 26, 2007)

I seen a 52 BMW 316 compact for £1650

Looked a clean example too.


----------



## rf860 (Jul 24, 2011)

Matt. said:


> I seen a 52 BMW 316 compact for £1650
> 
> Looked a clean example too.


316 is like the most basic, slowest one though is it not? Lol.


----------



## Prism Detailing (Jun 8, 2006)

Lexus IS200 are really nice car to drive, I had a budget of £2k and was looking at them, also you could get a BMW E36 323/325/328 in good condition for that money, even the 328 M-sport coupe which is a lovely looking car.....I ended up opting for a VW Passat V6 4Motion, i did see a few Golf V6 4Mo's as well, typically the bigger the engine, the cheaper to buy with the cost of petrol these days.


----------



## PugIain (Jun 28, 2006)

I think anything with a BMW badge for £2k will be leggy and probably rusty.
You'd get a mint late 406 and change for £2k


----------



## Natalie (Jan 19, 2011)

If your budget is £2k then you should be able to get a decent 1.7 Puma with enough change to get the arches sorted 
I had mine done (rust cut out & replaced with metal) + front & back bumpers and wing mirrors resprayed for £600. Another plac quoted me about £400 but I didn't get a good "feeling" from them 

It was a great car that never let me down mechanically in the 2 years I owned it. 

Great car if you can find a good one.


----------



## VW Golf-Fan (Aug 3, 2010)

Seat Leon Cupra - only because I don't like the MK4 Golf.


----------



## Matt. (Aug 26, 2007)

It comes up as a 1.8


----------



## cbr6fs (Aug 15, 2011)

Clio sport


----------



## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

e36 98/S 328i Sport £1995
e46 01/X 318Ci £1995

There's plenty of tidy 3-series out there if you're willing to put in the leg work


----------



## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

2004 Hyundai Coupe 2.7 V6 £1995
2003 Hyundai Coupe 2.0 £1599

EDIT: These cars are just ones I've plucked at random from the ad's.


----------



## Summit Detailing (Oct 9, 2006)

Given the budget I'd be searching for a nice IS200, blue or grey with black interior:thumb:


----------



## possul (Nov 14, 2008)

Wild card
MG ZR or ZS non Chaved up of course
There actually not bad looking cars and very cheap at the minute.
Unless your more fussed about what badge it has!


----------



## evil kegs (Jan 11, 2012)

ford mondeo st 220


----------



## dekerf1996 (Sep 9, 2008)

Leon Cupra's are good cars, very capible and better than the equivalant golf. Usually better spec'd too. 

Had one years ago and loved it. 

Simple map on these and good for 210 bhp and the 6 speed box make it very usuable power.

Mind with a bit of work you can get these engines over 500 bhp!!!


----------



## DJ X-Ray (Sep 2, 2012)

audi a3,theyre nice smooth reliable little cars..or a bmw 1series.


----------



## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

Dj.xray said:


> or a bmw 1series.


for £2000?...


----------



## Willows-dad (Jul 12, 2012)

Audi a3 1.8t is a good shout at that price. Just make sure all the important bits have been changed and serviced, and make sure you take any turbo car for a good test drive.


----------



## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

MK4 Vauxhall Astra coupe. 

You will get a turbo for less than £2000 but if you are working to a tight budget, insurance and running costs will make it wiser to consider the 1.8 version. 

The 2.2 is a good engine but again a little more to run.


----------



## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201239486232586 heated leather etc

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201238485535871 not sure about the exhaust.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201238485897731 higher miles but comes with factory bodykit.


----------



## DJ X-Ray (Sep 2, 2012)

m1pui said:


> for £2000?...


Yeah ive seen A38l's and bm's for that in autotrader and auctions.


----------



## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

Dj.xray said:


> Yeah ive seen A38l's and bm's for that in autotrader and auctions.


The cheapest 1 series in the Autotrader classifieds is £4000.

I'd bet the one at £3500 is a fraudulent too good to be true advert.

I've never seen one at £2000 and at that price, it would be an absolute dog.


----------



## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

Dj.xray said:


> Yeah ive seen A38l's and bm's for that in autotrader and auctions.


I've seen A3's and BM's for that price, but never spotted a 1-series for £2k or under.

You've missed a trick there if you have. You could've made a very tidy profit on those.


----------



## cbr6fs (Aug 15, 2011)

As a A3 owner i'd avoid a A3 if you like to get any enjoyment out of driving at all.

Boring boring cars.


----------



## DJ X-Ray (Sep 2, 2012)

cbr6fs said:


> As a A3 owner i'd avoid a A3 if you like to get any enjoyment out of driving at all.
> 
> Boring boring cars.


Safe,reliable,bombproof..like all audis are.


----------



## DJ X-Ray (Sep 2, 2012)

Kerr said:


> The cheapest 1 series in the Autotrader classifieds is £4000.
> 
> I'd bet the one at £3500 is a fraudulent too good to be true advert.
> 
> I've never seen one at £2000 and at that price, it would be an absolute dog.


I saw the bm in an auction kerr.went for about 2and a half grand in sw london.


----------



## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

Dj.xray said:


> Safe,reliable,bombproof..like all audis are.


I can assure you that is far from true also.

Quite a few Audis suffer with more than their fair share of reliability problems.

Also the fear of buying cars at £2000 quite a few people will be selling as the car is causing them problems, or has a few bills coming.


----------



## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

Dj.xray said:


> I saw the bm in an auction kerr.went for about 2and a half grand in sw london.


I haven't seen one going that cheap and usually when something goes cheap, there is often a reason.

You are a minimum of £4000 for a 116i and one if the requests by the OP was something faster.

All the little engined BMWs are underpowered.


----------



## rob_vrs (Jan 4, 2012)

Honda CTR Ep3 can pick them up for that money i reckon


----------



## Machine_Valet (Apr 1, 2012)

Seat Leon Cupra, mk4 golf, Audi a3, or if you like your Ibiza but just want more power why not get the Cupra version


----------



## DJ X-Ray (Sep 2, 2012)

Kerr said:


> I can assure you that is far from true also.
> 
> Quite a few Audis suffer with more than their fair share of reliability problems.
> 
> Also the fear of buying cars at £2000 quite a few people will be selling as the car is causing them problems, or has a few bills coming.


Well lve got two and ive never had any probs..apart from shocks on my a3.other than that perfect.the reason people are selling is because they cant afford to run them most of the time,recession etc.admittedly buying at auction is high risk.im just saying what i saw.i dont know what the guys budget is.


----------



## cbr6fs (Aug 15, 2011)

Kerr said:


> I can assure you that is far from true also.
> 
> Quite a few Audis suffer with more than their fair share of reliability problems.
> 
> Also the fear of buying cars at £2000 quite a few people will be selling as the car is causing them problems, or has a few bills coming.


Your starting to sound like a stuck record now.

I understand that people tend to "big up" their own cars.
But any reasonable person will understand that just because they own a particular brand it doesn't mean that brand does not have it's fault and that although it works for you it doesn't work for everything.

Cars being mechanical devices are NEVER 100% reliable, so slating any car that doesn't have a BMW badge on it is a bit ridiculous.

I'm not saying they are bad cars, simply that your blinkered view is not a fair representation of the facts.



Dj.xray said:


> Safe,reliable,bombproof..like all audis are.


If that's your priorities when looking for a car there are many brands that offer that AND a fair amount of decent feedback and driver involvement.

As i say i own a 3.2L V6 A3 so those were priorities in my buying choice, absolutely no doubt the handling is dull to the point of being dead with absolutely no involvement when making progress though.


----------



## Natalie (Jan 19, 2011)

rob_vrs said:


> Honda CTR Ep3 can pick them up for that money i reckon


For a decent one they're around £4-5k (or the ones local to me seemed to be anyway)


----------



## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

cbr6fs said:


> Your starting to sound like a stuck record now.
> 
> I understand that people tend to "big up" their own cars.
> But any reasonable person will understand that just because they own a particular brand it doesn't mean that brand does not have it's fault and that although it works for you it doesn't work for everything.
> ...


A very wild and inaccurate statement. Before making silly
assumptions you would be better knowing more information first before attempting to pick an argument.

I'm not blinkered about BMWs at all. In fact if you had bothered to read this thread you would have noticed that 1) I had been critical of BMW 2) my recommendation wasn't a BMW.

I responded to the fact the statement "bombproof" was used and even though you agree they aren't bombproof you are picking an argument over my statement. Confusing.

No more silly or antagonizing comments please. Keep on topic.


----------



## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

Back on topic, I still think that the Hyundai Coupe is a good consideration. A friend had one and it was def a nice car to be in. A big jump from Hyundai's of old.

I had thought, as someone mentioned a few posts up, about an Astra Coupe but my brothers got a Cab' version and I'm not the biggest fan of them. Also seemed like hatchbacks/4dr- saloons are what the OP is looking at.


----------



## Jammy J (May 5, 2012)

How about a MK4 Astra?


----------



## JohnA88 (Jul 26, 2011)

Cheers for all the recommendations guys. Iv'e pretty much decided on a Puma but it will all depend if I find a decent one and if I like them when I test drive one if not I will be back at square one again hahaha. That Astra looks good another one to consider.


----------



## Natalie (Jan 19, 2011)

JohnA88 said:


> Cheers for all the recommendations guys. Iv'e pretty much decided on a Puma but it will all depend if I find a decent one and if I like them when I test drive one if not I will be back at square one again hahaha. That Astra looks good another one to consider.


I don't think you'll not like the drive of a Puma


----------



## Mr.Ry (Nov 14, 2011)

Mk3 ibiza cupra..because I own one and they are very nice


----------



## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

The Puma is much smaller and sharper than the Astra. 

The 1.7 Yamaha engine in the Puma is a good one. 

The Astra is a good car. Just a bit bigger, softer and lazier. You do have more space for luggage and rear passengers though. 

Happy hunting.


----------



## SteveyG (Apr 1, 2007)

Kerr said:


> The Puma is much smaller and sharper than the Astra.
> 
> The 1.7 Yamaha engine in the Puma is a good one.


You can also DIY most work on these cars pretty easily


----------



## Alex_225 (Feb 7, 2008)

I clicked the 'other' option as you can pick up a good Clio 172 for 2k. Cheap to buy, plastic so no rust, 32mpg round town/40+ on a run and absolutely brilliant to drive. 

I know I'm a Renault fan but for the money I can't think of something that balances up the performance vs running costs. 

Out of the other choices you've put up though I'd fancy the Puma for handling fun and the IS200 for comfort.


----------



## aligtwood (Jul 25, 2012)

Dc2 integra type r was the best fwd handling car in its day. If yoy can find a cheap jdm the there are amazing great looks vtec sounds insane and great reliability just watch out for rust.


----------



## Superspec (Feb 25, 2011)

Dj.xray said:


> Well lve got two and ive never had any probs..apart from shocks on my a3.other than that perfect.the reason people are selling is because they cant afford to run them most of the time,recession etc.admittedly buying at auction is high risk.im just saying what i saw.i dont know what the guys budget is.


I'm with Kerr on this....buying a 2k car is a minefield....People offload them when they are having issues. You can pick up a bargain though if you know what you're looking for and can fix the problems yourself. I just picked up a 2002 E46 320D SE Touring for a shade over £2k, plenty of toys including unmarked leather and FSH but it had issues with the window mechanisms, drivers door lock, EGR valve, front control arms bushes and the spare wheel was missing. The body is a bit tatty but no dents or rust and being a detailer that doesn't worry me - nothing I can't fix! I got a few hundred £'s knocked off when I pointed out all the issues and offered to take it off his hands 

Couple of days graft and all the oily bits are done. Just need to get my detail on!!


----------

