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Nov 28, 2022 14:30:10 GMT
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For the first time in ages I don’t own a car. I spend most of my time in my works van a vw caddy, my wife is happy enough for me use her bmw when I need to go anywhere, which is nearly always here when I’m home from work. But long term she will be changed from home working back to office working. I bring the works van home so I don’t commute, I just want something fun for weekends and evenings.
I’ve got a small list of stuff I like, most of it is around year 2000 to 2005, and £1000 to £1500 in price.
Mini Cooper, looks fun, good value, loads around
Mini Cooper S, people say the supercharged engine is so addictive to drive, not loads in my budget but they do come up, but I hear they need a deep wallet for upkeep
Suzuki swift 1.3 or 1.5, nice stylish car, reputation for being bulletproof
Audi TT, never owned a petrol turbo, lots around in my budget
Toyota Celica gen 7, Probably the 140 version, I owned 2 gen 5 models and loved them
A small part of me I also thinking should I go down the Audi A4 / mondeo / jaguar x type tdi route,
Anyone got any thoughts on the cars in my list? Any others of that age and budget that I’ve not considered?
Cheers
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Nov 28, 2022 14:52:26 GMT
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I'm not sure I would buy a cheap Mini, the Gen 1 R50/3's are less prone to issues. They are fun to drive though!
Cooper/One always seem to need a gearbox & all of them need a power steering pump/rack at some point. R56's are generally garbage. I had a N18 Cooper S that was fine but I bought it off my mate who paid a lot for it and spent nearly as much again keeping it working.
Couple more suggestions:
Suzuki Ignis Sport
Just spotted a E39 528i Manual for £1k!
Yaris 1.5 T-Sport
Fiesta ST
Lupo 1.4 16v Sport (Used to be loads for cheap, havent looked recently)
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Last Edit: Nov 29, 2022 19:08:03 GMT by joem83
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geoffr
Part of things
Posts: 34 
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Nov 28, 2022 14:53:35 GMT
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Tough one really, does the budget go much further if things break? Speaking from my own personal experience, german cars have cost me more and japanese cars have cost me less, predominantly due to reliability. My wife has owned a 1.3 Swift which we changed for a Swift sport. Both of them gave completely worry free and reliable motoring. The Sport was a great laugh (out of budget though), the 1.3 wasn't quick but it was fun, reliable engine, good gearbox. If you want something fun that you don't need to commute in I would probably choose either the Celica or the Mini Cooper but probably lean towards the Celica for the reliability factor.
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Nov 28, 2022 15:09:04 GMT
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Joe, the minis reliability does put me off, but they look so fun fun and I keeping going back and looking at them. I want something I can drive and not worry about, don’t mind maintenance but not gearbox and steering failures. The 5 Series sounds good, funnily enough it was my Mrs buying a 3.0 manual bmw that made me think this is ace, I want a car again,
Geoff I will have some money for upkeep but a I’ve just wrote above, for things like brakes, tyres, not expensive failures. My supras and Celicas were very reliable. I wonder if the 1.5 swift would be a good choice. That little bit more power.
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Nov 28, 2022 16:08:17 GMT
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Small cars are a ton of fun for a lot less money (often)
I love the Swifts as well.
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Nov 28, 2022 17:25:18 GMT
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I'd 100% vote small car and recommend the quick suzuki variety. I had an ignis sport that was so much fun but they are starting to creep up in value. It got driven spirited-ly everywhere and flew threw MOT year after year never putting a foot wrong with only routine maintenence. Only sold it as when I started picking my daughter up from nursery I really needed extra doors. Genuinely one of the only cars I properly miss.
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adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,861
Club RR Member Number: 58
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Nov 28, 2022 18:30:11 GMT
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Not had a Celica but I've had a Yaris T Sport and a Corolla T Sport, the Yaris was a great little car, if you have some good windy B roads near you, it could be a right laugh. Runs out of steam a bit though on a longer straight, and not much fun on a motorway for any extended period of time.  Corolla T Sport was a great engine in an otherwise not particularly exciting base car, stiffer suspension woke it up a bit but the steering was still light and the gearshift a bit vague, sadly probably not available for £1500 these days, a mate of mine used to have a Celica but I didn't get a chance to drive it, they seem quite affordable for what they are  I know a couple people who have had R53 Minis and they seem a laugh when they're working, a cheaper example could be a bit of a gamble. If you shop around you might just scrape a Clio 172 in budget www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/3345099752398317/ I've never been big into them but they have a great reputation Lastly, bit of a left field one and a bit of a self plug as I have one, but the Chrysler Crossfire is in budget also.. They're a bit marmite, and the interior is a bit plasticky (though not moreso than the other cars I've mentioned) but they're about the cheapest rear wheel drive, manual (or auto) "sports car" that isn't an MX5 that you can get  |
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Nov 28, 2022 22:24:34 GMT
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Some good choices there Adam. Well over a year ago, one of my biker mates suggested a Yaris t sport, he had one and loved it. The R53 really seems a gamble, could be good or bad, someone said allow at least £1500 for maintenance. My second to last car was a Clio, A basic 1.2 16v with 75 bhp, I really liked it, was a great little run around. I’d imagine the same car with an extra 100bhp would be fun. I don’t know anything at all about the crossfire. I will have a look.
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adam73bgtI've been meaning to ask, how does the Crossfire steer? I've seen reviews that have said how the steering lacks feel, etc. ...but how bad or good is it? I'm no driving god, I won't be hanging the tail out at every slightly damp junction, but I do want something involving to drive Thanks in advance
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adam73bgtI've been meaning to ask, how does the Crossfire steer? I've seen reviews that have said how the steering lacks feel, etc. ...but how bad or good is it? I'm no driving god, I won't be hanging the tail out at every slightly damp junction, but I do want something involving to drive Thanks in advance Possibly some info here. forum.retro-rides.org/thread/221649/2003-chrysler-crossfire-subframe-dropAdam’s thread. |
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Another vote for a hot Clio  |
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I have had a few "second" cars in the last few years,had a nice Mini Cooper that was owned by the daughter of my local garage, 2003, low mileage, but not enough power.
Had BMW 3 series, Y reg, can't fault that.
A Renault Clio 1.5 diesel is a good buy, we have had five at our house, not all 1.5s though, one was a 172
Got a MGTF now !
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Last Edit: Nov 29, 2022 10:43:07 GMT by ontheedge
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adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,861
Club RR Member Number: 58
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Nov 29, 2022 13:26:22 GMT
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adam73bgtI've been meaning to ask, how does the Crossfire steer? I've seen reviews that have said how the steering lacks feel, etc. ...but how bad or good is it? I'm no driving god, I won't be hanging the tail out at every slightly damp junction, but I do want something involving to drive Thanks in advance So far I've not got any huge complaints about it, it's not razor sharp but there is some feel through the wheel. Like most steering box setups, there are quite a few links which with wear over time can result in sloppy steering. I'm currently changing most of the suspension bushes on mine as a subframe bush had collapsed so I'll see how tight it feels once it's done. Some of the reviews when they were new seem a little harsh, sure they're not an mx5 or a 350z but I've driven worse. Hoping to do a couple track days next year so that will be the true test 😅 |
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OGDB
Part of things
Posts: 544
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Nov 29, 2022 17:48:44 GMT
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Thought I’d chime in with my mini experience. I wrote out a reply this morning and realised it was 95% waffle so I will try to slim this down.
I bought a R53 & R50 about 7 years ago. I gave £1,000 for the S and probably about £600 for the other. So as you can imagine, these were right at the bottom end of the market at time time. Both however were August 2005 build dates so both were facelifts. The theory was to downgrade a bit on the car front to save a mortgage deposit.
Over the years we have done in excess of 100k combined in the two. Other than regular maintenance there has been absolutely zero issues with the R53. It was a fantastic car to drive, tight, pokey, sounded great and was just a nice place to be in all honesty. I will never forget following a cayman through some lanes for quite a while in a somewhat spirited fashion, when we both pulled into the same place the Porsche driver came over and was amazed that it had stuck with him for so long! All for £1000. I only sold this car last year, 5 years after it had served its purpose, purely for the reason that it was too small.
The R50 is still in the household, used by my wife daily. This one covered the majority of the mileage and has had a few issues but nothing unexpected. Had a new radiator, water pump, thermostat and oddly the starter conked out a few years ago, £25 for a replacement out of a breakers and away it went. For the mileage covered in it I don’t think we could’ve done it any cheaper.
I guess the point I am trying to make is that yes, there is a lot of horror stories regards the Gen1 Mini, yet I’ve had two and had no real issues with either of them. I’d happily buy another for a bit of cheap enjoyable motoring, the only draw back is I’m a big lump and getting in and out of them comfortably is a bit of a chore.
My advice if you was to buy one would be buy the newest you can get, the later models benefited from many revisions. Better supercharger, better gearbox, some even have an LSD. In addition to that get as low a mileage one you can. I am never usually bothered by mileage but on the Gen1 Mini it really does seem to make a difference. Check cooling systems very closely, they seem intricate with a few weak spots. The thermostat housing under the coolant cap on non-S models are prone to crack and only weep once up to temp, this then weeps down into the gearbox area and shags the parts out you don’t really want getting shagged out.
I said I’d try to slim it down and clearly haven’t. Sorry about that.
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Nov 29, 2022 17:57:11 GMT
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I have had a few "second" cars in the last few years,had a nice Mini Cooper that was owned by the daughter of my local garage, 2003, low mileage, but not enough power. Had BMW 3 series, Y reg, can't fault that. A Renault Clio 1.5 diesel is a good buy, we have had five at our house, not all 1.5s though, one was a 172 Got a MGTF now ! I did really like my little Clio 1.2. I’m just looking at the diesel 1.5 models. Quite confusing, there are few versions, one with 68bhp, one with 86bhp, and another with 106 bhp. If I went down that route I’d go for the most powerful one, 106bhp 0-60 is 11, nippy enough. On the other hand the 68 bhp one is 15 seconds which doesn’t sound very exciting. |
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Nov 29, 2022 18:14:06 GMT
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Thought I’d chime in with my mini experience. I wrote out a reply this morning and realised it was 95% waffle so I will try to slim this down. I bought a R53 & R50 about 7 years ago. I gave £1,000 for the S and probably about £600 for the other. So as you can imagine, these were right at the bottom end of the market at time time. Both however were August 2005 build dates so both were facelifts. The theory was to downgrade a bit on the car front to save a mortgage deposit. Over the years we have done in excess of 100k combined in the two. Other than regular maintenance there has been absolutely zero issues with the R53. It was a fantastic car to drive, tight, pokey, sounded great and was just a nice place to be in all honesty. I will never forget following a cayman through some lanes for quite a while in a somewhat spirited fashion, when we both pulled into the same place the Porsche driver came over and was amazed that it had stuck with him for so long! All for £1000. I only sold this car last year, 5 years after it had served its purpose, purely for the reason that it was too small. The R50 is still in the household, used by my wife daily. This one covered the majority of the mileage and has had a few issues but nothing unexpected. Had a new radiator, water pump, thermostat and oddly the starter conked out a few years ago, £25 for a replacement out of a breakers and away it went. For the mileage covered in it I don’t think we could’ve done it any cheaper. I guess the point I am trying to make is that yes, there is a lot of horror stories regards the Gen1 Mini, yet I’ve had two and had no real issues with either of them. I’d happily buy another for a bit of cheap enjoyable motoring, the only draw back is I’m a big lump and getting in and out of them comfortably is a bit of a chore. My advice if you was to buy one would be buy the newest you can get, the later models benefited from many revisions. Better supercharger, better gearbox, some even have an LSD. In addition to that get as low a mileage one you can. I am never usually bothered by mileage but on the Gen1 Mini it really does seem to make a difference. Check cooling systems very closely, they seem intricate with a few weak spots. The thermostat housing under the coolant cap on non-S models are prone to crack and only weep once up to temp, this then weeps down into the gearbox area and shags the parts out you don’t really want getting shagged out. I said I’d try to slim it down and clearly haven’t. Sorry about that. Thanks for the reply, it’s slim ish  but it is nice to get a reply from someone who has owned a car for a good few years. Gives you a better idea, over someone who bought one, had a few months with it, had some back luck and sold it on. From my list, the mini is still the one that makes me most excited about the thought of having one. |
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Nov 29, 2022 20:35:01 GMT
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I have had a few "second" cars in the last few years,had a nice Mini Cooper that was owned by the daughter of my local garage, 2003, low mileage, but not enough power. Had BMW 3 series, Y reg, can't fault that. A Renault Clio 1.5 diesel is a good buy, we have had five at our house, not all 1.5s though, one was a 172 Got a MGTF now ! Speaking of MGs you could get a minty MGF/TF for £1500. Not quite as practical as a MINI but I did manage to fit a coffee table set in the passenger's seat through the soft top  get one that's had the headgasket done with the Landy MLS version (most will have by now) and get one of the higher powered ones (VVC/Trophy/160) and you're good. The X-Type 2.2 diesel is the same as the one in the 406 Coupe. Maps well to 200bhp, and people have fit the turbos from Alfa 2.4 JTDs to go higher. |
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Nov 29, 2022 21:09:03 GMT
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Not sure about a "MINT" MGF/TF for £1500, have you seen the prices you can pay now !
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Nov 29, 2022 21:26:26 GMT
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adam73bgtI've been meaning to ask, how does the Crossfire steer? I've seen reviews that have said how the steering lacks feel, etc. ...but how bad or good is it? I'm no driving god, I won't be hanging the tail out at every slightly damp junction, but I do want something involving to drive Thanks in advance Possibly some info here. forum.retro-rides.org/thread/221649/2003-chrysler-crossfire-subframe-dropAdam’s thread. Cheers, Grizz Hope you are well |
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Nov 29, 2022 21:29:53 GMT
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adam73bgtI've been meaning to ask, how does the Crossfire steer? I've seen reviews that have said how the steering lacks feel, etc. ...but how bad or good is it? I'm no driving god, I won't be hanging the tail out at every slightly damp junction, but I do want something involving to drive Thanks in advance So far I've not got any huge complaints about it, it's not razor sharp but there is some feel through the wheel. Like most steering box setups, there are quite a few links which with wear over time can result in sloppy steering. I'm currently changing most of the suspension bushes on mine as a subframe bush had collapsed so I'll see how tight it feels once it's done. Some of the reviews when they were new seem a little harsh, sure they're not an mx5 or a 350z but I've driven worse. Hoping to do a couple track days next year so that will be the true test 😅 Cheers, thank you. Subject to Basiltown getting ULEZ'd, maybe an MG BGT as a daily? |
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but it is nice to get a reply from someone who has owned a car for a good few years. Gives you a better idea, over someone who bought one, had a few months with it, had some back luck and sold it on. From my list, the mini is still the one that makes me most excited about the thought of having one.
get one that's had the headgasket done with the Landy MLS version (most will have by now) and get one of the higher powered ones (VVC/Trophy/160) and you're good.