Gentlemen....car Buffs...

[Hendrix]

I can get insured for £2k-£3k on this at 20/21, and it's a hell load more 'high profile' than a Evo..

Edited May 12, 2009 by Hendrix

[Mikey Tomo]

What do you work as??? lol.

[Pashley26]

Right, I know you've said you have 16K but I'm assuming this is some sort of a car loan or allowance your being given ? If so then I'd be looking to spend as little as possible, whilst still getting the right car. It might be hunky dory now but you may need a bit of spare cash in the future, or buying a 12K car and saving £80 a month or what ever might make a big difference in the future.

I suggest you have a look at something like this - 2001 BMW M5, Remapped, Sports Exhaust and a TV you can watch whilst driving!

The E39 M5's are a great car, with a good mix of intuitive handling and exhilarating performance and luxury cruise ability.

Or something like this - Audi RS2, Porsche Power, Legendary Handling and 160MPH

RS2's are going up in value, and are a LOVELY car !

Or you could go for the more obvious choice of a Porsche 911, Boxter or a Lotus Elise, or something like that.

But PLEASE don't buy any of those cars, there shit lifeless and boring !

[Wrayvon]

As has been said, Matt is 20. So that is the issue. If I were you mate, I would spend around 10/12 on a very nice car, and probably have to spend about 2k insuring it for the first year but somehow you can afford it!

[Fish-Finger-er]

i just wrote a massive post out and lost it, but essentially...

ive driven the st, and a clio 197 (pretty much the same as a trophy i guess???) clio 197 was meh, below 5000 rpm, it just felt like a 1.6 or so engined hatch. did feel boring(and nothing special), then at 5000ish, it went a bit mental, which was fun, but at 5000 your already 2/3 of the way through the rev range, so before you know it you had to change up a gear. which got boring very fast, to keep it in a "ready for fun" position, you have to have the engine revving its nuts off using loads of fuel.

whereas in the focus, you could just plant your foot anywhere from crusing at 2000 rpm, and itd stick you back in the seat, and youd be going like a bat out of hell.

not to mention the focus was quite a nice place to be when compared to the clio.

however for 12k you can get a brand new wrx, for £16,500 you can get a brand new wrx sti. (both of which are stupid fun on a/b roads,stupid quick, and have the potential to go quicker (the wrx is semi tame at 240 bhp, but with that £4500, you could have a £500 remap, sti 0-60 times(sub 5 secons i think) and £4000 worth of petrol). but the sti is just immensely quick, quite nice to look at(wider arches etc), handles like nobodies business and will have stupid remaps and bigger turbo/intercooler etc kits out for it in the near future, as its a turbocharged jap motor.))

or, seat leon cupra k1, in white, just cant see why not.

as for the r32 and the megane, never driven either, so cant really comment. I quite like dsg boxes, but am semi worried as to the costs of replacing clutches etc in them (not sure if you know how they work, basically 2 seperate shafts, 2 clutch packs, 1/3/5 on 1 shaft and 2/4/6 on the other, engages the next logical gear on the other shaft ready (works it out using whether the revs are going up or going down) and as soon as one clutch disengages, the other engages. obviously its electronically done, so no driver error riding the clutch, but can see when they do go, it could be a stupid expensive, specialist job to replace)

[Wrayvon]

Whats the highest insurance group you've managed to get a quote on? (that your willing to pay)

That will help us come up with some ideas mate

[Pashley26]

Whats the highest insurance group you've managed to get a quote on? (that your willing to pay)

That will help us come up with some ideas mate

Unless he's killed 30 people in car crashes he'll be able to go to group 20.

I can be insured on ANYTHING, and anybody who claims insurance is hindering them from getting the car that want doesn't deserve to own that car because they lack the back bone to pick up a phone and arrange the right insurance.

[Fish-Finger-er]

Whats the highest insurance group you've managed to get a quote on? (that your willing to pay)

That will help us come up with some ideas mate

insurance groups dont mean sh*t. (no offence, but they dont, i used to judge cars on insurance groups, but last year when i bought my car, i could get insured on a 7k type R, for £400 less than i could get insured on a 7k merc c220 cdi coupe (5 seconds difference in 0-60 times, and 25 mph difference in top speed)

[-RoBBo-]

Yep, 20 as said..

Job..I have 2...and semi-pro rugby player..so paid for that too..

In answer to the insurance question...

An R32/new S3...would cost me £1218 per year...and i havnt dared even ask for something such as a subaru...just because i thought group 20 would be just a rediculous amount!

I think i'm going to have to totally re-look at everything now. I want to stay away from the old looking cars though, because they really just dont do it for me. I'm sure the performance would, but looks wise..i'm left feeling a little flaccid!

[Pashley26]

insurance groups dont mean sh*t.

+1.

I've been insured on a group 19 car, but got denied insurance on a group 14 golf GTI.

It's more down to the risks and associated drivers with the car your trying to insure, for instance you you get a golf GTI as I did the insurance group will be low. But you won't get insurance easily because it's a boy racers car.

What I'm getting at is you might NEED to look at an older car to keep the insurance down, but obviously it's your money and your car

Edited May 12, 2009 by Pashley26

[Tom_]

+2

[Nuke Bowel]

Focus St imo out of that lot.

I drive one and it's soo nice

[Muel]

Jardos going to shoot me down, but Sierra RS500?

For 16k you can get a mental R32, my dad's mate has a standard one which cost him 10k and it was immaculate. You can buy one, get a turbo or supercharger kit installed, then you're laughing! He told me you could get a turbo kit that can take it up to about 500bhp, which I think he said costs about £5k.

[Pashley26]

Jardos going to shoot me down, but Sierra RS500?

It's too old you foo' !

If I were you I'd look at either....

1.) Porsche Boxter

2.) Lotus Esprit

3.) BMW M5

4.) BMW 850i

5.) A NICE Evo 5

6.) RS4 Avant

...

...

...

197.) R32 Golf

[F-Stop Junkie]

I'd go for a late model E46 M3. Full BMW service history, 300+bhp and real world useability. Not as costly to run as a Porsche, far better handling and performance than the modified shopping Golf.

Or a nearly new RX-8 and a holiday.

[OD404]

For 10K you can get a 400whp rx7 with warranty on the engine and and immaculate chassis. It would certainly be more entertaining than half the cars already mentioned and if you're prepared to look around, are easier to insure than most high powered jap cars. I still get refused on EVO's but can insure my rex (with 350bhp) for £950 and that's without any alarm or immobiliser...

[N.Wood]

Could you afford the upkeep of a Porsche/BMW?

[F-Stop Junkie]

It always makes me laugh in threads like this.

"Mate, get a <car I've always wanted>. My mate says you can get a remap/turbo kit/magic exhaust and 500bhp easy for £1.50"

If you want a fast car, buy a fast car. Don't buy a slow car and silly modifications which either don't deliver what they claim, cause your fuel consumption to rocket, or leave you in a smoking heap by the side of the road every time you go for a spirited drive.

Not to mention the insurance problems.

[Davetrials]

Megane R26 + RS Tuner chip at a cost of £400 *they are in leeds*, makes it 265 BHP.

literally, one of the fastest car's point to point. mikes dad has one. it would eat a standard impreza' and its M3 territory.

the car's go for around £11k with under 10k miles.

Edited May 13, 2009 by The Joker

[Muel]

It always makes me laugh in threads like this.

"Mate, get a <car I've always wanted>. My mate says you can get a remap/turbo kit/magic exhaust and 500bhp easy for £1.50"

If you want a fast car, buy a fast car. Don't buy a slow car and silly modifications which either don't deliver what they claim, cause your fuel consumption to rocket, or leave you in a smoking heap by the side of the road every time you go for a spirited drive.

Not to mention the insurance problems.

Makes me laugh when people post stuff like that, assuming that we don't know what we're talking about.

The fact of the matter is, I don't want an R32 and doubt I'll ever buy one, just saying I know someone who owns one, and you can get a turbo kit which will give 450-500bhp for about £5k. And they don't blow up or break down that often, he knows someone with one thats covered about 30k with the turbo making that sort of power and it hasn't missed a beat, and the service intervals aren't that different from a standard one.

Just pointing out what kind of R32 he could get for £16k, that's all.

[JD™]

The point he was getting at was that you don't have FIRST HAND knowledge, so you can't give FIRST HAND advice. "My mate this" and "My mate that" means sweet f**k all.

I would personally go and drive as many of the cars listed as possible and find out which one you fall in love with. Cars are an absolutely personal purchase and only you can decide what it is you want.

[F-Stop Junkie]

Makes me laugh when people post stuff like that, assuming that we don't know what we're talking about.

The fact of the matter is, I don't want an R32 and doubt I'll ever buy one, just saying I know someone who owns one, and you can get a turbo kit which will give 450-500bhp for about £5k.

Easy tiger. I've been involved with a lot of different cars for a long time, and I know what I'm talking about too. That wasn't aimed at you specifically. I know for the R32 you can buy kits like that, though I think £5k is a *little* on the light side... I've also seen enough cars have wonder maps that either don't deliver the power they promise (mostly because they can't without breathing changes or more fuelling) or make the car worse for the sake of peak dyno figures.

Plus you get people suggesting silly mods, like a 400bhp FWD car which physics says can't be handled.

You also get entirely hyperbolic statements about a car being faster cross country than <list of fast cars>, which again is just stupid to claim. I've been faster on normal rounds in a 130bhp MX-5 than I have in some more powerful cars because it depends on the road and the situation.

Oh, the MX-5 was awesome on the Nurburgring too!

The point he was getting at was that you don't have FIRST HAND knowledge, so you can't give FIRST HAND advice.

On a forum like TF where a lot (though, as I pointed out to Muel, not all) of people don't have experience of fast cars or the engineering there in. They see headline figures, and they don't realise they're silly tuner specials that are actually rubbish cars. They also pick up second hand facts off friends and forums and they're convinced that their particular favourite is unbeatable, despite the fact that a similar priced M3 or 911 would leave them for dead in the real world.

I don't believe anyone's comparisons unless they've actually got the experience to back it up. Cars feel fast when you're not used to them, but if you've never sat in an Impreza at full chat, how do you know?

[Simpson]

Meh I've found it more wierd how nobody has actually asked what he wants the car to do or how he wants to drive it.. I do tonnes and tonnes of miles in my car and I'm not too interested in going at a gazzilion miles per hour. What I want is a reliable steed, which I dont have to touch, is good on petrol. has loads of boot room because it constantly has more than 1 bike in., and it pretty nippy so i can enjoy it when needed.

Even if i had £16k to play with would I look at getting a Porshe boxter or a Lotus Esprit? No, because it not fit for what I want to use it for.

So if topic starter could outline basic things like, milage, what he drives mostly motorways, B roads etc, how he likes driving and what he wants the car to do for him, then it would be more usefull.

Edited May 13, 2009 by Simpson

[JD™]

That settles it then. The car he should buy is an MX-5. Sorted.

I wish I had £16k so I could just go out and try all those different quick-from-stock cars and find out which one was the best for me. As it is, I'm sat with a box full of bits to put into the engine of my £250 motor to try and make it mobile again! So I have no opinion on what should be bought, but I do reckon something that's quick from stock is the way to go.

[Pashley26]

Meh I've found it more wierd how nobody has actually asked what he wants the car to do or how he wants to drive it.. I do tonnes and tonnes of miles in my car and I'm not too interested in going at a gazzilion miles per hour. What I want is a reliable steed, which I dont have to touch, is good on petrol. has loads of boot room because it constantly has more than 1 bike in., and it pretty nippy so i can enjoy it when needed.

Even if i had £16k to play with would I look at getting a Porshe boxter or a Lotus Esprit? No, because it not fit for what I want to use it for.

So if topic starter could outline basic things like, milage, what he drives mostly motorways, B roads etc, how he likes driving and what he wants the car to do for him, then it would be more usefull.

Are you f**king blind Simps ?

What do you want this car for ? And I/we will advise you on what he best car for you is. But I certainly wouldn't buy any of those at 16K under any circumstances.

I live near Yorkshire dales and on the moors....so B road heaven! want something thats going to be able to handle every corner as best as something can, but also have the straight line speed.

Edited May 13, 2009 by Pashley26