what car to buy??

[biffo70]

I currently own a 52 plate civic type r had it 4 years and think its time for a change,I have a budget of £3000-£3200 thats including the sale of my car,anyone got any ideas of what to buy...cheers>>

[mfnick]

DC2? Not as powerful but you wont notice it because its just absolutely mental & great fun.

[SMcP114]

DC2?

S14A?

Type R Impreza?

[Kozy]

ATR. £3200 will buy you a tidy one, it'll only buy you a shoddy DC2.

[SMcP114]

Kozy said:

ATR. £3200 will buy you a tidy one, it'll only buy you a shoddy DC2.

As someone who's had quite a few of them, I definitely disagree. In N.I you can pick up a very good example of a DC2 for less than £3200.

[Kozy]

'Shoddy' may have been a bit dismissive, but you'll certainly get a better condition ATR for your money though. I paid £2700 for mine and it's a very good standard example with a ton of history, recent cambelt, clutch, refurbed brakes etc and none of the common issues and generally mechanically perfect. There's not a chance in hell a DC2 in the same condition would have been under £4k in England.

NI cars always tend to be a bit cheaper for some reason.

[forks]

I would disagree....I have a DC2, which I'll be selling soon. I won't be asking more than 3k, as I believe some owners ask far more than they're worth. Ok, mine has a fairly high mileage, but below average for year, and a few stone chips and blemishes. However it is fine mechanically, which is the most important bit IMO.

[Kozy]

Well it's nice to see a DC2 owner with a realistic valuation of their car! JDM Scene tax is a bh normally.

[Riknos]

Kozy said:

Well it's nice to see a DC2 owner with a realistic valuation of their car! JDM Scene tax is a bh normally.

This. I looked at getting a DC2 ITR about 5 years ago (ended up going for a ST205 GT4 - and regretted it) and in those 5 years, the cars have gotten 5 years older, higher mileage, but have only probably dropped about £1k in price - Which further fuels my regret for not getting one back then. Now they just seem over priced, especially when you compare to an EP3 CTR which is what, 90% of the car, but less than 50% of the price (if you could compare) like for like?

[Kozy]

Yes although the EP3 is an inferior car in all but the engine and gearbox, you really can't deny the VFM they offer over the older models now. You have to be a rabid fanboy to consider spending the £5k some people are asking for a 14 year old, 100k+ DC2.

If it's had all new dampers, brakes, bushes, rebuilt engine and replaced syncros then yes, possibly it's worth it, but most of them haven't.

[forks]

I'm under no illusions over what mine is worth, but ultimately it is a 14 year old car! There is a lot of hype surrounding them thanks to EVO and the like, and I suppose it is fairly distinctive looking when you compare it to others from the era. There's no doubt Honda did a fine job on it, but if you've owned one, you'll know it takes a bit of work to get the most out of it. Something its difficult to do faced with the roads these days. I used to live in a small village in Hampshire, where I could find such roads less than a mile from my front door. Now I live in Sunbury, and a fair bit of travelling needs to be done in order to do the same. The other day I went out, and couldn't find anywhere to have a spirited drive, so gave up and went home. I've had mine for close to nine years now, and I'm sorry to say its time to sell, as I'm just not getting the use anymore. I have a van for work, and we also have a 9-3 diesel for mundanery. I'm 39 now, and it just doesn't fit me anymore which is a shame, because if I'm honest, I'm still quite attached to her!