stylish car

littlesurfer

My car has just been taken off the road unexpectedly. I know nothing about cars at all and have no idea what kind of car i should be looking for. I had a 2000 silver renault clio. I would like something stylish but reliable. I really dont like the boxy look that the hyundai's have, dont really like the look of the vw. I did like the renault but it gave me so much trouble over the years that i'm not sure i'm willing to consider it!

What i really would like is an old vintage mg midget...but would be afraid would suck me dry of cash, and the only other thing i'm thinking is a mid 90's bmw convertalbe or something.

Any suggestions or ideas?

pcardin

BMW Z1

colm_mcm

Mazda MX5, bulletproof reliability, great looking, RWD handling, one to suit every budget. Buy one with the optional removable hardtop.

Midnight_EG

*Looks Around*


*Takes Deep Breath*



Honda S2000?





What's your budget and boundaries such as engine size, drivetrain, gearbox etc?

colm_mcm

typical honda fanboy attitude

Massive Muscles

Done.

http://www.carzone.ie/search/BMW/3-Series/330ci-M-/200950196151930/advert?channel=CARS

Midnight_EG

colm_mcm wrote: »

typical honda fanboy attitude

I thought I was being all covert with saying an S2000 rather than a Civic :P

littlesurfer

okay i looked up the bmw z1 but so far only found the z3 which is surprisingly not unaffordable. And i like the look of it but think at a 1.9l it might be a bit big for me.

would like to stick to a 10,000 budget and I know nothing about gearbox or drivetrain...in fact what the hell is a drivetrain?

Looking up the honda now

Midnight_EG

littlesurfer wrote: »

okay i looked up the bmw z1 but so far only found the z3 which is surprisingly not unaffordable. And i like the look of it but think at a 1.9l it might be a bit big for me.

would like to stick to a 10,000 budget and I know nothing about gearbox or drivetrain...in fact what the hell is a drivetrain?

Looking up the honda now

As in FWD, RWD or AWD?

The Honda is RWD, and she'll never let you down :P

colm_mcm

The Z3 is a huge disappointment (well it was for me anyway)

You might get a nice Lotus Elise for that money.

Midnight_EG

http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=55491&cpage=4#poststart
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1033005

littlesurfer

okay thanks a mil, liking the mx-5!

colm_mcm

they're a great machine, everything the 60's/70's English roadster should have been. They also have a fantastic Irish owners club.

partyatmygaff

colm_mcm wrote: »

The Z3 is a huge disappointment (well it was for me anyway)

You might get a nice Lotus Elise for that money.

Getting insurance for that will be expensive though.

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Audi/TT/1.8-180B/200943195577319/advert?channel=CARS

A '99 TT. Mileage is a bit high buts its a pretty good looking and luxurious car imo.

Or if you want a cabriolet here's a 2000 Audi TT. It has quattro, leather sport seats and a full service history. Its a two seater though. Definitley stylish.
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Audi/TT/225BHP-C/200948195974801/advert?channel=CARS

The second TT is better in almost every single way. Both are pretty high mileage but Audi's are very reliable if they're maintained properly.

colm_mcm

TT a great idea. love those cars. they get some bad press for being too good looking

littlesurfer

The TT is fab...always loved those but never thought it was in my price range...that thing must eat petrol !

colm_mcm

surprisingly not. I had a 180 Quattro for a weekend and was well impressed with the mpg (even though I was ragging it) and the grip. It was able to keep with a well driven DC2 Type R in the twisties too.

littlesurfer

okay,..will definately give them a call about that....the thoughts of owning a tt is making me a bit dizzy.....i could definately work one of those bad boys!

colm_mcm

be aware that the 1.8t engine in the TT isn't exactly bulletproof. I'd take the chance though because it's so pretty

partyatmygaff

Quattro's are excellent. They handle great in dry, wet and snow. It would handle great in weather like we have today.

TheColl

i know u said 1.9 might be too big, but if it's not, what about a GT? stunning car imo...

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Alfa-Romeo/GT/2.0-SPOR/200949196073855/advert?channel=CARS

pcardin

littlesurfer wrote: »

okay i looked up the bmw z1 but so far only found the z3 which is surprisingly not unaffordable.

This is Bmw Z1. You couldn't find as it is extremely rare. So far I've only seen 1 exemplar in Ireland and even that one wasn't for sale. More expensive than Z3 btw. Stylish though!

colm_mcm

Jeremy Clarksons Missus had a Z1 back in the day. Seems a bit of an odd choice to me given the OP's criteria

pcardin

colm_mcm wrote: »

Jeremy Clarksons Missus had a Z1 back in the day. Seems a bit of an odd choice to me given the OP's criteria

Sure! I've noticed myself 5 Years living in here that meanings "style" and "Ireland" are not connectible. Here people only need whatever the best friend, relative or neighbor has and preferable in the same colour.
I understood the OP was looking for something stylish, mid-90ties and preferable BMW.
Eh...well...Z1 was a bad choice anyway. To rare and to expensive.

Neilw

colm_mcm wrote: »

be aware that the 1.8t engine in the TT isn't exactly bulletproof. I'd take the chance though because it's so pretty

They actually are. Never heard of one go bang.

Would you be referring to the likes of coil packs and sensors? These can give some trouble alright.

I've owned a car with one of these engines and the only thing to go wrong in 4 years was a single coil pack.

colm_mcm

the only Z1 on Autotrader in the UK is £25k!

Neil, when they were new, 1 in 4 or 1 in 5 gave serious engine problems - what was described as engine failure.
Again, that could be down to electronics. With any turbod car I'd be looking for proof of servicing and maintainance.

I've heard of niggly stuff like sensor failure (air intake temp, MAF, coolant temp), coil packs etc. these would be a big issue on a new car, but with spurious parts and independant knowledge I concede that these things are less of an issue now.

I'd get an early 225 TT tomorrow over anything else in that price range.

Neilw

colm_mcm wrote: »

Neil, when they were new, 1 in 4 or 1 in 5 gave serious engine problems - what was described as engine failure.
Again, that could be down to electronics. With any turbod car I'd be looking for proof of servicing and maintainance.

I've heard of niggly stuff like sensor failure (air intake temp, MAF, coolant temp), coil packs etc. these would be a big issue on a new car, but with spurious parts and independant knowledge I concede that these things are less of an issue now.

Was that not just the coil pack recall a few years ago?
20 or 25% fail rate is very high and I think you are wrong on this.

Why didn't these engines fail in the sister cars which share the engine, golf gti, octavia vrs, leon and so on?

I agree sensors are an issue. I replaced the coolant temp sensor as a precaution when I bought my car. One coil pack died so I replaced all 4 with genuine ones and it's been 100% reliable since. Plus it's pushing 50bhp more then standard so that says a lot for the reliability of these engines.

ShadowHearth

+1 for mazda mx5, its one of the moust reliable cars out there. Its ideal for woman aswell, you can get it 1.6l as you dont need sport side of it. You wount even need 10k to buy decent one, you will need half of it moust...

I am a fella and i drive a mazda mx5 . Here it is, just to show you:

ShadowHearth

colm_mcm wrote: »

Jeremy Clarksons Missus had a Z1 back in the day. Seems a bit of an odd choice to me given the OP's criteria

lads were just taking a piss i think, as OP has not a clue about cars...

partyatmygaff

The interiors are definitley a world apart though....

TT


MX-5

ShadowHearth

partyatmygaff wrote: »

The interiors are definitley a world apart though....

TT


MX-5

OMG lol, you took best TT interior with best quality, and putted in worst ever picture interior of mx5!

Stylish and simple, same as in mine car... maybe more fair comparasing?

Graham_B18C

To be fair the TT interior is bloody nice. Its still nicer than the MX 5 IMO, but the MX 5 aint bad

ShadowHearth

Grahamo999 wrote: »

To be fair the TT interior is bloody nice. Its still nicer than the MX 5 IMO, but the MX 5 aint bad

fair play, matter of taste, but if someone does comparasing, they should do it fair. I just whant mx5 to be as compatitve as ather cars, and not bashed so cheap...really underestimated car.

Personally for me TT looked amazing when i sow it drive by or parked somewhere, but when i actually came close it it, and checked it out properly i was dissapointed, it just feels.... cheap... which i newer could say about audis ( and i am not a fan of audi at all)

colm_mcm

the interior of the TT is brilliant, the curved roofline looks amazing from inside, the narrow windscreen and relatively upright windscreen add a retro feel as does the tasty aluminium detailing.
Aside from all that it's rock solid inside too. with leather and heated seats it's lovely

partyatmygaff

ShadowHearth wrote: »

fair play, matter of taste, but if someone does comparasing, they should do it fair. I just whant mx5 to be as compatitve as ather cars, and not bashed so cheap...really underestimated car.

Personally for me TT looked amazing when i sow it drive by or parked somewhere, but when i actually came close it it, and checked it out properly i was dissapointed, it just feels.... cheap... which i newer could say about audis ( and i am not a fan of audi at all)

Don't get me wrong man. I just picked a random MX - 5 off carzone. There was much worse. I don't know why but most japanese cars in Ireland end up looking very shabby after 5-6 years. Most Mazda MX-5 sold used here at that price will be fairly poor when it comes to interior and spec. There are some good well kept ones but most of them are pretty bad.

That said, even if it was 2000 and both those cars were in a showroom. The Audi TT's interior and spec is far more modern than the MX-5. The MX-5 just looks 90s but the TT looks modern.

pcardin

Very stylish and NOT expensive.

littlesurfer

okay the lotus elite is a little more than what i'm looking for,..the z1..hmm not sure that even I can pull that off

Liked the GT but its a bit of a jump from the clio...Think the TT and the MX 5 are worth looking into though!


Thanks a million anyway for all the ideas,..cbg is a bit of a nightmare if you dont kow where to start.

ShadowHearth

partyatmygaff wrote: »

Don't get me wrong man. I just picked a random MX - 5 off carzone. There was much worse. I don't know why but most japanese cars in Ireland end up looking very shabby after 5-6 years. Most Mazda MX-5 sold used here at that price will be fairly poor when it comes to interior and spec. There are some good well kept ones but most of them are pretty bad.

That said, even if it was 2000 and both those cars were in a showroom. The Audi TT's interior and spec is far more modern than the MX-5. The MX-5 just looks 90s but the TT looks modern.

Well don't understand me wrong aswell bud, if you do comparasing do it atleast fair . There are alleays trashed cars, but that does not say that one kind is trashed alot more... Just don't look trashed ones. I can't imagine what extra tt can have that mx5 can't. All imported ones are better spec then uk/irsh is a fact.

Like I said in begging, you can't argue about taste, but tt is just not mine cup of tea bud.

And yeah mx5 has one thing that tt will newer have: RWD :P (for those who know)

bazz26

There is more to a car than just the quality of plastic used in the interior. The MX-5 has proved this for over 20 years now.

CianRyan

partyatmygaff wrote: »

The interiors are definitley a world apart though....

TT


MX-5

Not if you buy a nice M-X5.
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Mazda/MX-5/1.8-V-SP/200840190225174/advert?channel=CARS

Marlow

If it's a speedster, 2-seater, nice little stylish thing you're looking for, you might also want to look at the MGF.

I'd recommend a 1.8 VVC over any of the other engine variants. The same engine also sits in the Lotus Elise 111S, probably a bit tuned there, but with the MGF you don't have the big insurance issue.

You'll find that you get a good one for as low as 2k ('99) and upwards.

They are cheap in parts, MPG is not bad and a whole bundle of fun.

/M

littlesurfer

okay firstly, what is a vvw 1.8?

Also is a speedster an MX-5?....and what the hell is an MGF....this is getting a bit over my head...

Marlow

littlesurfer wrote: »

okay firstly, what is a vvw 1.8?

Also is a speedster an MX-5?....and what the hell is an MGF....this is getting a bit over my head...

1.8 VVC is a specific engine for the MGF.

The MGF is a roadster, that MG build. Example is here: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/200952349078311/sort/priceasc/usedcars/make/mg/model/mgf/quicksearch/true/postcode/bt11aa/page/1/radius/1500?previous=%2Fsearch%2Fresults%2Fusedcars%2Fpostcode%2Fbt11aa%2Fradius%2F1500%2Fmake%2Fmg%2Fmodel%2Fmgf%2Fquicksearch%2Ftrue%2Fpage%2F1%2Fsort%2Fpriceasc&logcode=p



Hope it helps.

/M

Graham_B18C

littlesurfer wrote: »

okay firstly, what is a vvw 1.8?

Also is a speedster an MX-5?....and what the hell is an MGF....this is getting a bit over my head...

1.8 VVC is one of the engines in the MG, This is the MGF...



This is a Speedster...



The Speedster is a very different animal to the MG or even the MX-5, it'd be on par with a Lotus Elise. The OP doesn't seem that into cars so I honestly think an Elise or a Speedster would be a really bad idea...