Best used hot hatch under €25k

fminus

As the title says, looking for a decent used petrol hatchback (2018-2021).

Market seems dismal atm with regard to both price and selection for anything over 1.0 litre (which is what I want).

VW GTI's pricing / styling not my cup of tea. Fiesta ST's seem to be priced more reasonably but ST3's hard to come by. Would rather buy from a dealer for some bit of security.

Would appreciate advice from the community. Anything I should go for/avoid? Should I wait for market to soften a bit more?

hoodie6029

Seat Ibiza FR would be well within budget. A Leon either if you needed a bit more space.

Kia ceed gt line all the way mate. You wont be far off brand new either.

bazz26

Except a Kia Ceed Gt line is not a hot hatch.

Yes it is

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/kia-ceed-gt-review-first-go-kias-new-hot-hatch

bazz26

That article is from 2018 and that is a GT not a GT Line. The article even mentions it's not a hot hatch too. They never sold that here either.

goochy

It's a bit big but octavia VR5

drunkmonkey

BMW M140i this is slightly over budget but they might take 25, there's a good few under 25 as well but a lot older.

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/bmw-m140i/33485900

That's going to be a bit of a handful in the wet, you have been warned.

Andrew76

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120577554#Comment_120577554

Nice car. But curious about this bit:

"Car is still on fianance in my name but will be paid off when sold open to offers"

So he's selling a car he hasn't paid off yet or am I reading that wrong?

D3V!L

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120578144#Comment_120578144

Moving to Australia too, so he's definitely going to pay it off and not skip the country at all 😉

duffman3833

I was thinning similar to you OP, a hot hatch that's not several years old for a 20k ish price range. Cupra Leon is tickling my fancy but not too many available.

Too many cars are over priced along with everything else in this country so i might just get a mk5 gti and run it for a year, then upgrade in new year.

goochy

VR5 OCTAVIA ?

Rowley Birkin QC

Do those M140i's come with a LSD?

djan

How about a Hyundai i30N, great driving car and looks more special than a GTI or Fiesta. What specifically are you looking for and would you settle for a "warm" that's newer or an older rocket a la 140i, (R)S3 etc. Given the tiny choice in Ireland, could look into the feasibility of importing something in.

fminus

VR5 looks great but be too big for me. Leon FR definitely on my shortlist.

Was looking at this ST3. Not many mk8's on the market with the performance pack. That said, 2 owners already. Afaik mk8's known to have a few common issues including clicking/rattling from steering rack. No idea what ford warranty covers after 4 yrs. Is it worth anywhere near the 24k being asked?

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/ford-fiesta-st3/33617510

Andrew76

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120578618#Comment_120578618

Not as standard from what I've read.

Rowley Birkin QC

Outside your age guidelines but an interesting option.....tarted up (mostly reversible by the looks of it) and turbo'd GT86 https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/toyota-gt86-2012-turbo/33037409

Daveq

With the used car market as it is I think you might need to compromise on something. It'd be very hard to find a decent hot hatch sub 25k and +2018

In saying that, this is pretty close

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/mini-john-cooper-works-s-g1-xm72-3dr-2-0-l-twinpo/34041272

aaronder

Megane GT 205

Marcusm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120581305#Comment_120581305

Pretty **** when a large dealership can’t describe a car properly. That’s not a JCW, it’s a Cooper S (and might be a Seven retro edition but can’t tell as no interior shots). They’re still a cracking car, I’m on my third, but not a JCW.

mcburns07

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120578621#Comment_120578621

Definitely not worth 24k as a 4 year old car and private sale. That would have cost somewhere in the region of 30-32k new. I priced a new one in 2021 and I think I was quoted 34k, there would have been a few price rises between 2019 and 2021.

fminus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120585444#Comment_120585444

What is a fair market value in your opinion? Same spec in garage going with a window price of 29000:

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/ford-fiesta-st-3-turbo/31981272

Finding anything with ~200BHP that isn't very old / high mileage is particularly tricky right now, so not much bargaining leverage (other than just walking away). I could always go the import route and get something from NI but that will prob only net me a small saving for a lot of hassle.

bazz26

This one has a bit more mileage (still relatively low for the year) but is cheaper:

https://www.carsireland.ie/3247690

Or here is a 2020 model for 28.5k:

https://www.carsireland.ie/3049274

mcburns07

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120587021#Comment_120587021

Cars generally lose 40% of their value in the first 3 years (there are exceptions good and bad of course). Even when comparing that car vs the price they are new now (not what the owner paid), a 30% depreciation in 4 years is a bit rich, especially as a private sale. I guess the one thing sellers have going for them is scarcity / the model being discontinued imminently. I'm not sure if you'd even be able to order a new one at this stage.

John_Rambo

While I jealously watch this thread I'll suggest Abarth.

Having owned one & driven two of these I'd highly recommend. Leave your prejudice & ego in the tiny backseats and give it a go. EVERYONE that raised an eyebrow at my one had a go and refused to get out of it. Two of my buddies bought one "for their wives" after driving mine and there were constant arguments over who gets to drive the 500 scorpion over the landrover truck.

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/abarth-500-scorpion-595-convertible/34064821?campaign=3

I'm a big hothatch fan, I've had GTi,s (vw & peugeots), Focus ST's, Alpha GTV's (big engine) and original John Cooper Minis and the Abarth was similar to the mini & the Focus ST but with a lot more power (than the mini) and less penalty points (than the focus ST). A pure drivers car.

Fun Fun Fun.

But service it like a Fiat/Alpha.

slinky2000

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120587021#Comment_120587021

just an FYI that st does not have the performance pack with LSD. It's a little cheaper than other ST's on sale currently.

colml cule

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120578620#Comment_120578620

Fair play if you can find an i30n under 25k these days. Apparently they're starting from ~49k new nowadays, only a couple on donedeal for ~34k.

Would love to have one but only when they come down a bit in price.

djan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120716110#Comment_120716110

I assumed there would be some early 2018 models within budget, they were 39k new back then!