7k GBP to spend on a fun car, what to take?

[VtecMini]

Really interesting thread, from my point of view, cos I'm in a very, very similar predicament. The only real difference being that I'm not planning to purchase until next summer, when I turn 22.

My current top choice is an S1 Elise. For between 8-10k I'm looking at one of the early base models, but since they're the lowest insurance group, it's the most sensible choice anyway.

I'm not sure how much your dog would enjoy an Elise, but since you're looking at 7 replicas and MX5s, I see no reason why the Elise couldn't fit your bill.

There's certainly a question mark over reliability, but that's generally always head gasket failure, which can be avoided by driving the car correctly (basically not thrashing it until it's warmed up).

The other car that I looked at recently was a Mitsubishi Galant VR4. Not very similar to the Elise, but with 280bhp heading to all four wheels, it's gotta be fun. You can pick them up for around £5,000 or so, too. The only problem is that I believe very few of them were imported by Mitsubishi and those that were imported were all autos, so if you find a manual, it a grey import. Bummer.

[MrKipling]

I reckon the best motor available for under 7k in England at the moment as the Clio 172 Cup.

2003 RENAULT CLIO 2.0 16V Renaultsport 172 Cup 3dr Hatchback,
21,000 miles, lady driver, brand new renault exhaust, 12 months tax & mot, good tyres, all round good genuine car, good example of a cup, company car forces sale. strictly no canvassers!. £6,900

Check out the mileage on that - and it's immaculate as you can see from the pic - 21,000 miles! That is still one of the best cars I've driven - and I've steered a few special ones - it's so rewarding, and surprisingly nippy!

[KM2]

I didn't look at the Elise, since I thought they didn't get this cheap just yet

As for the Clio, I really like it but it will mean a hard sell to my girlfriend. She did her driving licence in one of them (not the 172) and has no fond memories of the thing

[MrKipling]

Book a test drive for the pair of you in that, you'll be stunned.

It's also possible to get one for less that 6k, cheap to insure too - she'll like that!

[Equinox]

yeah... just take a test drive!

[KM2]

That sounds like a good idea! She loves driving small fast things Will arrange that as soon as we move

[VtecMini]

For general sports car classifieds, you'd struggle to go wrong with pistonheads.

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

There's a whole wedge of Renaultsport Clios on there, tons of Elises too.

[MrKipling]

^^ Definitely, that kills hours at work!

That sounds like a good idea! She loves driving small fast things Will arrange that as soon as we move

Good man... let us know how you get on!

[KM2]

It also depends on my wage negotiations later on today, so...

[Zytek_Fan]

I say Westfield 7 or Clio 172

[h00t_h00t]

You can get an older 3000gt Twin Turbo for 7k, being AWD they won't be as larey and they are have loads of kit to play with.

[KM2]

The salary looks acceptable, so I might actually get to 500 or so above the 7k.

The 3000gt for some reason doesn't appeal to me, nothing to do with how capable it is.

Anyway, since moving will take place in 2-3 weeks, there is a lot of stuff to arrange first, from the flat, to getting everything packed up and moved etc.

But as soon as we're settled in, there comes the test drive period

[Egg Nog]

My vote goes for a Caterham/Westfield, followed by an Evo of your choice. Personally, I'd go with the Evo 4.

[h00t_h00t]

I think they only started officially importing evos with the VI, so an Evo 4 will be a grey import and lack all that lovely rust protection.

[Jack_Bauer]

*SPOILERS* - If you haven't read the new edition of EVO and don't want me to spoil the feature article then ignore this post!




Another car you might want to look at is the Honda Integra Type-R (DC2 version). I must admit I've never really given the car much attention due to the fact I really dislike the looks, but in the newly released edition of EVO magazine they voted it the greatest FWD car of all time. It beat off competition from the likes of the Golf GTI, various legendary Renault and Pug hot hatches, Lotus Elan etc. They seem to rate is as one of the most focussed and absorbing driving experiences around.

A quick look at the Pistonheads classifieds shows that there are a few at around the £7000 mark - http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/list.asp?s=233 Probably not the cheapest to run or insure, but I'd say it's worth a look.

Of the other cars mentioned here I'd have a look at the 1.7 Ford Puma. Not the most hardcore car around but is still a fun little thing. It's also quite a cute, pretty little thing which should help persuade the girlfriend.

For £7000 you can easily get a mint condition 1.7 with all the extras, probably with some cash to spare. Or if you're feeling saucy you could go for one of the limited edition Racing Pumas, but they're a little bit on the pricey side. http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/list.asp?s=214

Hope this helps!