OT: £3000 challenge

[Insomnia]

Currently I have a 1.2 Bravo as the daily runner and the coop as the weekend toy.

The coop is staying and under no circumstances to be sold but I'm looking at replacing the Bravo with something.

Thing is, I have no idea what.

On a budget of £3k ish I'd like something that is stylish, smart, economical and fun. I appreciate that somewhere one or more of these desires will be sacrificed.

I had been looking at some MG ZRs (160 and TD variants) but as I'm 6'6" tall, I found them tiny, even in comparison to my Bravo.

I'm a kitchen designer and travel around Kent so the engine needs to be something strong and will tolerate high miles. My current 1.2 handles the miles well but naturally a higher powered engine will cruise a little better on long journeys.

I'm not a speed freak and generally drive like a grandad everywhere. Servicing I without fail do and usually before time. Nothing but the best for my motors.

So with all that in mind, any ideas or suggestions what I could look at? I'm going round in circles

Longest Serving BOO Member

Bravo: Nov 01 80SX / 75,000 miles
Coupe: Feb 97 20V N/A / 135,000 miles

 

[Matt]

Late model Alfa 156 2.4, only choice really

 

[ant]

how about the mg zs insy
them are really big and a gorgeous drive

ive had a zr105 and i drive my mates zs180 all the time, the zs is really spacious and quite economical on motorways supprised me for a 2.5 v6

 

[Insomnia]

ZS I thought was tiny.

Clanking of doors instead of thudding doesn't inspire quality and the fact that its designed for 4' high people doesn't help! - the seat only goes back a short distance.

Longest Serving BOO Member

Bravo: Nov 01 80SX / 75,000 miles
Coupe: Feb 97 20V N/A / 135,000 miles

 

[ant]

how did ya no how small i was lol

 

[ant]

do you want to buy a 155 engine with 38k
my cousins 20vt is goin in next 2 weeks

 

[Lee]

Alfa GTV 2.0 TS.Seats sit quite low,so would be ok for your height.Quite economical,extermely stylish and easy to drive.Cambelt will set you back about £450 tho

 

[Insomnia]

Ant: If I was to buy a 155 engine, I'd want the rest of the car to go with it

Longest Serving BOO Member

Bravo: Nov 01 80SX / 75,000 miles
Coupe: Feb 97 20V N/A / 135,000 miles

 

[ant]

he wont part with that hes been re building the 20vt for nearly 2 years

there is a sassy gray 147 5 miles away from me that is on ebay too

 

[Tommy K]

Well £3k your looking at...

Ford Focus
MK4 Golf
Skoda Fabia
Skoda Octavior
Seat Leon
Renault Megane
Mazda 323
Polo Mk6
Vauxhal Astra


My sister went for the Golf out of that list - 1.8T Gti mind you but should get a TDi for £3k now.

....

....

 

[Anonymous]

Why not go the classic route...!

I have a 124 spider (very under rated car) for summer and HGT for winter, best of both worlds.

Or what about a Barchetta.

Or you can't argue with a MX5, although I would like to. Food for thought!

John.

 

[Will]

What about a VW bora? had my mates polo apart the other day and the build quality is amazing!

 

[Insomnia]

Actually a Bora isn't a bad idea. They seem to be cheaper than a Golf but for more car!

Longest Serving BOO Member

Bravo: Nov 01 80SX / 75,000 miles
Coupe: Feb 97 20V N/A / 135,000 miles

 

[Will]

Yup They are a bit on the boring/ugly side, but that maybe why they are cheap? Plus its VW so it would be a solid reliable runaround? and plently of space in the back and boot for all the stuff you need to do your job

 

[Insomnia]

Apart from hard hat, hi-vis vest and a tape measure I don't carry company related goods with me.

Thats what we have reps for

But might be handy to have some bootspace...?

Longest Serving BOO Member

Bravo: Nov 01 80SX / 75,000 miles
Coupe: Feb 97 20V N/A / 135,000 miles

 

[Will]

Like corpses ... i mean urm ... runs

 

[Ian]

I loved my Bora, and got silly MPG. It was the TDI 130 model remapped by Angeltuning to somewhere around the 180 mark. I then had an Allard EGR bypass valve and a FMIC - probably then nearing the 200bhp figure.

Best I ever did out of it was from Manchester City Center to Nottingham 72.3MPG, and yes I was taking it VERYYYYYYYY easy.

Generally speaking though I'd get high 50's without even trying.

 

[Andy]

I will come back to this in a little while with some more interesting ideas... Tommy's list reads like a company car broucher, inspires nothing in the way of an 'entertaining' car for the money.

The best suggestion I have seen so far is the mx5, they are an absolute hoot to drive, and if height is an issue, you take the roof off and wear your noggin tecta!

as said, 3k can buy alot of car at the moment, personally i would look to spend around 2k on the car and the remainder on a damn good service (like you usually do mate)

Andy_sx

 

[Allan Wall]

re

it is in Tommys list, but I bought my Octavia VRS for £2800

Y reg, 80k, very tidy, fsh, and it has been a brilliant car, will of had it a year in July.

admitadly it was short mot and tax and needed two tyres, but went straight through mot with the new tyres.

had a look again recently and you will probably find a newer one for 3k now too

 

[Ins on holiday]

Well still thinking on this one but sort of steering into 3 choices....

Fiat stilo abarth or at least a 1.8
Ford Focus st170
Tolerate the Bravo and keep on saving!

Its hard as Im venturing into new areas! Bravo i know, other cars i dont