Good sporty car for under 6k?

af_thefragile · 01-11-2010 11:44PM #1

Well I've decided I've got to get rid of my Puma sometime soon. Its sorta starting to move from passionate niggles to just plain annoying. Though it'll probably be sometime next year when I'll make the switch so apologies if this is a bit soon. I've just gotta decide if I've got to put a stop at spending money on the Puma trying to "fix" it and start saving up for something better or keep "fixing" it slowly till I finally have a spanking new Puma which I can keep for another 3 or so years before I get a job and can afford to buy a Lotus Elise!

But I am finding it fairly difficult to find a replacement for the Puma. I'ld like something with a bigger more gutsy engine and sporty. Something that'ld feel like a step up from the Puma. I was looking at BMW 3 series or something like that. Don't like MX-5, Celica and Hyundai Coupe.

So can you guys recommend me good and sporty which can last for atleast 2 years hassle free?

Mr Benevolent · 02-11-2010 12:06AM

Define 'sporty'.

The 3 series is not sporty unless you're looking at a 325i+. Neither is the Hyundai. I take it you're going for something under 2 litres? MX-5 really is your best bet. Have you ever driven one? It has superb handling compared to a 318i or a Puma.

Atomic Pineapple · 02-11-2010 12:11AM

budget? other needs? restrictions?

Integra Type R DC2 is what you want to be looking at if you can afford one and the insurance

af_thefragile · 02-11-2010 12:26AM

Well, I said 6000eur...

Sporty as in something that handles tight and has a lot of "feel" if you know what I mean... I don't need something very fast.

I know the MX-5 fits my recommendation perfect but I just don't like its shape very much and I'ld prefer 2 more seats... But yeah, have no restrictions. Just nothing too big and nothing "boring" like a Yaris or Fiesta or generic stuff like that...

The Integra looks good but most of them are modified and imports and all. Insurance people won't like that... I wouldn't touch anything that's been "modified" either...

bazz26 · 02-11-2010 12:28AM

Peugeot 406 Coupe:
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201043200016610

Eoin · 02-11-2010 12:31AM

FTO?

CR 7 · 02-11-2010 12:36AM

Mr2 gt-s?

af_thefragile · 02-11-2010 12:37AM

Dunno about the Peugeot... Not gonna be my first choice but might be worth a look.

FTO is good but they're all very old and another racer/modifier favorite.

What are BMW 318i's for under 6000eur like??
There're a fair amount of them but most are high mileage... Wouldn't mind a comfy car. Good change from my buttock numbing puma...

MR-2 is an option if I can get the newer model for under my budget. Wouldn't really want anything older than 10yrs...

Cartel Mike · 02-11-2010 12:40AM

You'd probably might find an 05 Mg ZS with over 60,000 miles on it for 6k. Lovely cars.

Eoin · 02-11-2010 12:41AM

Fiat coupé?

DMG_49 · 02-11-2010 12:43AM

Honda s2000???

af_thefragile · 02-11-2010 12:44AM

^I'ld love a s2000 but I don't think I can get it in my budget...

eoin wrote: »

Fiat coupé?

What's their reliability like?
I'ld like something that remains problem free for atleast 2yrs.
Actually come to think of it I might prefer getting a clean 1.7l Puma over the Fiat...

bazz26 · 02-11-2010 12:58AM

Audi TT:
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=200942195499032

Ardennes1944 · 02-11-2010 01:03AM

focus st?

ION08 · 02-11-2010 01:12AM

Although for some reason you ruled it out, id really be looking at an 01/02 celica in your position, it's a really nice car overall.

I'd imagine the bullet proof 1.8vvti 140bhp engine would be "sporty" enough for your needs - not to mention light years ahead in reliability in comparison to a ford puma

(If the 140 doesn't get your blood pumping enough, you could go for a 190 vvtli)

Nice sporty, low slung driving position yet comfortable and wont rattle your bones (as opposed to a DC2 integra which someone suggested), also the celica looks relatively modern and doesnt have the *cough* "image problems" of an integra.

Lovely interiors and most come with leather.

Fto's are very nice cars, but they stopped producing them in '98 so are quite old at this stage and as they're all jap imports the mileage & servicing may be questionable which could lead to reliability problems

Celica is also very practical, cheap enough to tax and insure and surprisingly economical if driven sensibly.

Overall it's a pretty smart car for the money, hard to beat and covers all angles for what it is.

Good luck

jaffa20 · 02-11-2010 01:21AM

bazz26 wrote: »

Audi TT:
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=200942195499032

Wow, for that price it's good value if all is working well.

Also, take a test drive in mx5 anyway. It's a great little car and you shouldn't be on here with problems every week like with the puma that's for sure.:D

_Conrad_ · 02-11-2010 01:31AM

af_thefragile wrote: »

Wouldn't really want anything older than 10yrs...

why not? It's maintenance/ care of the car and not age or mileage that determines how long it lasts. If you wanted a car that was actually sporty to drive, in the proper sense, you could do a hell of a lot worse than a 90s MR2 turbo,the revision 3 japanese market ones have 240bhp if i'm remembering this right, and they're an actual mid engined sportscar. The newer mr2 is a limp wristed affair compared to the older ones. I'm not even a hige mr2 fan but i have to give them credit where credit is due due, the first and second generation really to fit them bill for a cheap sporty car, because they're actually designed as sportscars.

I think you need to decide if which characteristics you want more: "pretty"/flash/posh/high performance/a "young" reg plate and pick them, not try to get them all because that's too much compromise for that budget.

If looking for a fairly practical (in terms of seating 4 people, having a boot, and being able to do everyday stuff while being a genuinely fast and sharp handling car) then an E36 ('91-'99) BMW M3 fits the bill, but not if you're restricted by insurance.
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1407897

Or how about an actual sportscar, made by a sportscar only manufacturer:

porsche 944
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1076726

Mr Benevolent · 02-11-2010 02:19AM

OP, posters here are giving sporty suggestions and you're babbling about a 318i, possibly the dullest, least sporty car you can get. I don't care if it has an M Pack or is an M Sport, it's still a Paddy spec lifeless 318i. The ONLY feature it has that distinguishes it from a Passat B5 is that it's RWD.

I might prefer getting a clean 1.7l Puma over the Fiat...

For feck's sake. A 1.7 Fiesta derivative is nothing compared to a Fiat Coupe. If you're serious about getting a sporty car you might want to wait until you can insure one. Come on man, make an effort to buy a proper car, not a bottom of the range BMW. 6k will get you a great car. It'll also get you a 2 litre repmobile. Which are you going to buy?

nothing "boring" like a Yaris or Fiesta or generic stuff like that...

A 318i is boring and generic. Every man, his dog and his dog's groomer has one.

Frankly OP I get the impression you don't have the NCD for a genuinely sporty car. I guess you've been eyeing the premiums for the cars you want and wincing. But you need to be honest with yourself. If you can't afford to tax, insure and run a truly sporty car there's no use paying dubious homage to your wishes by buying a repmobile with a stiffer suspension and a few bits of chrome stuck on.Guess what I drive? An Opel Meriva. Why? Because I'm unemployed and it's my dad's car. But feckit, it's better then wasting my money on trying to look good and getting no performance.

xp90 · 02-11-2010 02:31AM

A D-Turbo chap!

Springs cut clean off bouncing down the road, no smoke no poke!

Ferris · 02-11-2010 09:00AM

200sx or s15 silvia. Have occasional back seats and are a helluva lot more fun than a 318. I find mine very comfortable.

Kev_ps3 · 02-11-2010 09:27AM

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1529980
Slightly over your budget this one but im sure you could stretch;)

Sofiztikated · 02-11-2010 10:09AM

At 54,000km, you'd be looking at a clutch in the not too distant future. (I would imagine.)

Also, doesn't say if its a 192 or a 230. More than likely its the 192.

Also, yes its a 1.3 on the log book. (Its not, but anyway.) Tax is 1.8, and insurance is classed as 2.3(or 2.6, depends on the insurer.)

Jimmy Bottlehead · 02-11-2010 10:58AM

Sofiztikated wrote: »

At 54,000km, you'd be looking at a clutch in the not too distant future. (I would imagine.)

Also, doesn't say if its a 192 or a 230. More than likely its the 192.

Also, yes its a 1.3 on the log book. (Its not, but anyway.) Tax is 1.8, and insurance is classed as 2.3(or 2.6, depends on the insurer.)

Not heard of clutches going that early in the RX-8's?

Also, it IS a 1.3, but as it's a wankel engine it's vastly more powerful than a piston driven 1.3. You're correct at it being taxed as a 1.8 and insured as a 2.3/2.6 though.

thirtythirty · 02-11-2010 11:03AM

Sofiztikated wrote: »

At 54,000km, you'd be looking at a clutch in the not too distant future. (I would imagine.)

Also, doesn't say if its a 192 or a 230. More than likely its the 192.

Also, yes its a 1.3 on the log book. (Its not, but anyway.) Tax is 1.8, and insurance is classed as 2.3(or 2.6, depends on the insurer.)

Clutch? No. But i'd sure as hell wanna know what oil it's been using for those 54k km. Anything but fully non-synth and you can forget it! Rotor tips would be on the way out.

And log book says 1.3, because it is! Just twin 0.6's. But ye, taxed at 1.8 and insured as between 2 and 2.6 depending on who you go with.

Its the most sports you're gonna get for €6k though!

02-11-2010 11:12AM

ION08 wrote: »

I'd imagine the bullet proof 1.8vvti 140bhp engine would be "sporty" enough for your needs - not to mention light years ahead in reliability in comparison to a ford puma

The 140bhps are far from bullet proof, they go can go through litres of oil a month, wouldn't touch one with a barge pole to be honest.

Sofiztikated · 02-11-2010 11:18AM

Sorry, my bad, for some reason read the 54,000km as 54,000m.

I put in the (its not, but anyway) for the not so motor savvy, as for all intents and purposes they might as well class it as a 2.3.

Still a great car.

A friend has one, and its only after getting a clutch, and now is getting an engine rebuild as it lost compression somewhere, but I might have a look at that blue one myself, out of curiosity.

thirtythirty · 02-11-2010 11:27AM

Sofiztikated wrote: »

Sorry, my bad, for some reason read the 54,000km as 54,000m.

I put in the (its not, but anyway) for the not so motor savvy, as for all intents and purposes they might as well class it as a 2.3.

Still a great car.

A friend has one, and its only after getting a clutch, and now is getting an engine rebuild as it lost compression somewhere, but I might have a look at that blue one myself, out of curiosity.

Don't wanna hi-jack the thread so this is the last thing I'll say about it - I have an rx 8 and absolutely love it. I'd highly recommend one. BUT beware of the cheap ones currently flooding carzone and the likes - most of them will be people flogging them before the engine packs in due to poor care, and resulting low compression (like your mate's).

If you do decide to go for a cheap one, just be sure to check the engine's health first!

ottostreet · 02-11-2010 11:30AM

af_thefragile wrote: »

Dunno about the Peugeot... Not gonna be my first choice but might be worth a look.

FTO is good but they're all very old and another racer/modifier favorite.

What are BMW 318i's for under 6000eur like??
There're a fair amount of them but most are high mileage... Wouldn't mind a comfy car. Good change from my buttock numbing puma...

MR-2 is an option if I can get the newer model for under my budget. Wouldn't really want anything older than 10yrs...

Old...yes. But racer/modifier? It's one of the most difficult cars to insure in the country, so the people who generally have one...REALLY wanted one. If you look on donedeal right now, there is nine FTOs for sale on the 1st page. 8 are as standard, except maybe for alloys. Only one is 'modified' and that has a Veilside kit, which is a very expensive kit for that car!

An FTO would suit ya fine IMO. Quick, without being too fast. Looks a bit 'Puma' like, but less feminine. Is well below your budget, so you can pay the insurance handy. They are reliable.

FTO

What's wrong with that? I'm just disappointed cos I had to sell mine

02-11-2010 11:47AM

Confab wrote: »

OP, posters here are giving sporty suggestions and you're babbling about a 318i, possibly the dullest, least sporty car you can get. I don't care if it has an M Pack or is an M Sport, it's still a Paddy spec lifeless 318i. The ONLY feature it has that distinguishes it from a Passat B5 is that it's RWD.

For feck's sake. A 1.7 Fiesta derivative is nothing compared to a Fiat Coupe. If you're serious about getting a sporty car you might want to wait until you can insure one. Come on man, make an effort to buy a proper car, not a bottom of the range BMW. 6k will get you a great car. It'll also get you a 2 litre repmobile. Which are you going to buy?

A 318i is boring and generic. Every man, his dog and his dog's groomer has one.

Frankly OP I get the impression you don't have the NCD for a genuinely sporty car. I guess you've been eyeing the premiums for the cars you want and wincing. But you need to be honest with yourself. If you can't afford to tax, insure and run a truly sporty car there's no use paying dubious homage to your wishes by buying a repmobile with a stiffer suspension and a few bits of chrome stuck on.Guess what I drive? An Opel Meriva. Why? Because I'm unemployed and it's my dad's car. But feckit, it's better then wasting my money on trying to look good and getting no performance.

A 318ci is not a bad car at all for someone who cannot insure something more powerful. It may not be the most powerful but with nice wheels, leather etc they are a very nice place to be and look very good.

I bought one as I couldn't afford to insure more powerful stuff at the time and I'm very happy driving it for the last three years, there is a hell of a lot of more boring things you could be driving.

Henry Ford III · 02-11-2010 12:12PM

Keep the Puma and get it fixed up right. Try to avoid kerbs etc.

farna_boy · 02-11-2010 12:16PM

Seat Leon Cupra?

Good sporty car for under 6k?

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