Ideas for a new car on a low budget

[Sonea Fifer]

Faster than a Micra - Check
Manual Gearbox - Check
Four Seats - Check
RWD - Check
In Budget - Almost

Your opinion on something like this?

 

[stoke1863]

MR2 Turbo?

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1339117.htm

Only 2 seats though

 

[dave1983]

Yes there is!

If he is (and appears to be) looking for a 6-pot, then check, double check, and triple check the rear subframe, specifically the rear mounting points under the boot carpet, they had a tendency to rip off the chassis on earlier cars.

Check the cooling system (and therefore the cabin heating), make sure you get to start the car from cold and check what kind of emissions are coming from the exhaust (white smoke = bad). The cooling systems are built by what can only be the German equivalent to Mr Magoo, with the aid of his mentally challenged sidekick, and as a result fail, lots. When the cooling system does fail, it only takes a few minutes of not noticing the temp needle rocketing to do head damage.

If there is a sunroof, check that it opens and closes properly, and that it is water tight, the seals tend to rot away and become porous. Damp headlining is a giveaway, or if it's dried out, it should feel softer than it's surrounding lining that never got damp.

If it's got one of the more feature rich OBCs, then check that all it's functions work, specifically RANGE and CONSUM1/CONSUM2. If part of the OBC appears dim, it's only a small bulb, not usually an LCD failure, so that's ok.

Listen out for clunking from the suspension, droplinks and trailing arm bushes are common failure points, in fact unless you can prove that it's had a suspension refresh, I'd be factoring in the fact that it'll be needing a full set of bushes all round at a bear minimum (probably needing shock absorbers also).

I'm also yet to come across an early e36 that doesn't have "quirks" with it's RCL/alarm. Mine had the great habit of only unlocking 3 of the doors, but happily locking all 4. It also liked to sound the alarm quite frequently, so I unplugged it. Muffin's also does this and was unplugged by the previous owner.

Other than that just check everything you'd check on any other car, electrics, dodgy noises from the engine bay, knocks, rattles, etc etc.

Sounds to me that a lot of attention is required, and the Good Head Gasket, i used to have a rover 214 si and lesson learnt as there was a hole in the cylinder head from it overheating, which would have meant a whole new engine. My nissan though is very strong overheated from a leaking water hose and it kept going and still strong. with 1.5k you can get a pretty decent car and does it have to be a RWD? what you must remember the bigger engine that has more power the more you pay in tax, petrol, insurance, wear and tear. my best advise would be go for a deisel, cheaper to run, insure and im sure if you look around you can get a peugeot 206 HDI, which has better peformance but also quite economical.

 

[Gribs]

my best advise would be go for a deisel, cheaper to run, insure and im sure if you look around you can get a peugeot 206 HDI, which has better peformance but also quite economical.

I've got to assume this is a ****take but if not why would anyone who wants something interesting and rwd, who also does low miles want a nasty little diesel hatch?

 

[bledd]

Fiesta 1.25

Sensible choice for your budget, cheap to run, cheap to fix

Bought one recently for the gf as a car for going to work and back. It's 10 years old, but I much prefer driving that in comparison with my mum's 1.2 '06 Corsa.

 

[paradigm]

does it have to be a RWD?

He already said, YES, it HAS to be RWD.

What you must remember the bigger engine that has more power the more you pay in tax, petrol, insurance, wear and tear.

It'll be pre Co2 based tax brackets, so no, tax won't be that bad at all (sub £200). The car is to be used minimally, so petrol costs are irrelevant, insurance will highly depend on the individual and their postcode, not engine size. Wear and tear... good one.

my best advise would be go for a deisel, cheaper to run, insure and im sure if you look around you can get a peugeot 206 HDI, which has better peformance but also quite economical.

So, he wants a large RWD 4 seater with a large petrol engine and you recommend a 206 diesel? Wtf are you smoking, and where can I get some?

Better performance than a 325i? Just no.

Also, on what planet does a COMPARABLE diesel alternative cost less than the petrol equivalent? A 330i would cost me the same to insure as my 330d. An'd I'll tell you right now that the running costs aren't any cheaper. Sure I get slightly better economy, but I'd need to be doing astronomical annual milage for it to make a noticeable difference in yearly costs.

 

[InvaderGIR]

Sounds to me that a lot of attention is required, and the Good Head Gasket, i used to have a rover 214 si and lesson learnt as there was a hole in the cylinder head from it overheating, which would have meant a whole new engine. My nissan though is very strong overheated from a leaking water hose and it kept going and still strong. with 1.5k you can get a pretty decent car and does it have to be a RWD? what you must remember the bigger engine that has more power the more you pay in tax, petrol, insurance, wear and tear. my best advise would be go for a deisel, cheaper to run, insure and im sure if you look around you can get a peugeot 206 HDI, which has better peformance but also quite economical.

Nothing to do with the HG at all. The cooling system is pants. It's more designed for a 4pot than it is for a 6pot, cylinders 5 and 6 are always warmer than 1-4 and if the engine goes, it's normally on 5 or 6. Not as big a deal on the M50 though as it is on the M52, so the 325i is the better bet of the i6 engined E36s.

206 HDI only fits the requirement of haing 4 seats, it fails rather well on all the others and even more so on being a car.

 

[dave1983]

He already said, YES, it HAS to be RWD.



It'll be pre Co2 based tax brackets, so no, tax won't be that bad at all (sub £200). The car is to be used minimally, so petrol costs are irrelevant, insurance will highly depend on the individual and their postcode, not engine size. Wear and tear... good one.



So, he wants a large RWD 4 seater with a large petrol engine and you recommend a 206 diesel? Wtf are you smoking, and where can I get some?

Better performance than a 325i? Just no.

Also, on what planet does a COMPARABLE diesel alternative cost less than the petrol equivalent? A 330i would cost me the same to insure as my 330d. An'd I'll tell you right now that the running costs aren't any cheaper. Sure I get slightly better economy, but I'd need to be doing astronomical annual milage for it to make a noticeable difference in yearly costs.

what am i smoking, some good FULLY star out swear words

there is some difference in deisel to petrol engines, . you critisize me for saying a deisel whats wrong with them it's a car that gets you from A-B, and if it saves you some cash, then so be it. All im saying dont fork out on a car that isn't going to be that reliable and spending more time repairing it than enjoying the car, i always find that when tax day comes i cringe cause i always have to pay 108 for 6 months or 190 for a year, and im a petrol owner, so before you bash other people suggestions let other people have there say, rant over

 

[paradigm]

But you've completely missed the point of what the OP was asking for. What part of "doesn't do much milage, only buying the car for a few trips a year and some FUN, RWD, comfortably seats 4" means Peugeot 206 diesel?

And I own a diesel, so I'm not anti diesel at all.

You say he should be enjoying the car, yet you suggested a bloody 206.

 

[InvaderGIR]

what am i smoking, some good ****

there is some difference in deisel to petrol engines, . you critisize me for saying a deisel whats wrong with them it's a car that gets you from A-B, and if it saves you some cash, then so be it. All im saying dont fork out on a car that isn't going to be that reliable and spending more time repairing it than enjoying the car, i always find that when tax day comes i cringe cause i always have to pay 108 for 6 months or 190 for a year, and im a petrol owner, so before you bash other people suggestions let other people have there say, rant over

How would a 206 of any age be more reliable than the E36 though?

 

[Janesy B]

Buying a 206 to save money? Does not compute?

 

[semi-pro waster]

oldskool babey.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1523062.htm

204bhp 4 door saloon with a lsd.

It's certainly an option I wasn't considering but I've got no real objections to it, if I happen to see one when I'm coming to buy then I'll look at it again. My only experience of the Carlton is that my uncle used to have a Carlton estate a long time ago. Is there anything obvious I should be looking for?

Faster than a Micra - Check
Manual Gearbox - Check
Four Seats - Check
RWD - Check
In Budget - Almost

Your opinion on something like this?

The 200SX is one that I did think of but wasn't sure if I'd be able to get a decent example for my money, that's fairly close though so it's certainly another option. Although my budget is only nominal I don't want to get into chasing after cars thinking that "another £300 will get me a much better example" and then find myself spending £3,000 because I've just kept incrementally increasing without realising. Obviously I appreciate that saving now may mean having to spend a bit more later on but I think it would be a mistake for me to not have at least an idea of budget in my head and stick to it.

MR2 Turbo?

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1339117.htm

Only 2 seats though

Thanks for the suggestion, for RWD and fun I did consider both the MR2 and MX5 but I do want the ability to carry more than one passenger and/or luggage on occasion.

what am i smoking, some good ****

there is some difference in deisel to petrol engines, . you critisize me for saying a deisel whats wrong with them it's a car that gets you from A-B, and if it saves you some cash, then so be it. All im saying dont fork out on a car that isn't going to be that reliable and spending more time repairing it than enjoying the car, i always find that when tax day comes i cringe cause i always have to pay 108 for 6 months or 190 for a year, and im a petrol owner, so before you bash other people suggestions let other people have there say, rant over

Could you please star out the swearing fully as requested in the FAQ.

I do appreciate that you (and others) are trying to suggest the most economical and/or practical options given my budget but that's not why I'm buying the car, as paradigm rightly points out it's a car that I want rather than need at the moment so I'm prepared to entertain options that aren't necessarily going to be the cheapest in daily running or the most sensible. There is a nod to practicality in that I'd like to be able to carry a few people or luggage but that's about as far as I need go for the moment - if that changes then maybe I'll buy a car to suit but for now I'd like to spend my money on a car I want.