£4k up to £4.5k max, need funky cheap, nice car!

[KingLudwigII]

Ok Briefly very limited Budget of £4.5 and only ever driven crap rough old bangers like Old Golf (fell apart) Nissan ( leaked and rotted) Renault Megane Coupe which I really like but they are heavy and breakdown!

So I want something reliable, cheap to run, with a bit of oomph, BUT has to look nice and feel great to Drive... done a tone of research but it s still difficult to narrow down. Everyone tells me to 'buy Japanese'...

Criteria - 1) No more that 205 Tax (what I'm paying now)
2) Good mpg, my Renault does about 30... way too expensive
3) Speedy between 30-50 for getting around pensionsers...
4) 3 Door - no interest in passenger comfort, LOl
5) Cool funky looks, no Boxes, no estates, you know the score people!!!
6) Must be Petrol as I hate the noise and rattle of Diesels.....

Options/ Ideas SO my first choice would probably be an Audi A1, BUT round here ( Bournemouth) my Budget would only score me a very old with over 100,000 miles on and fairly expensive to run... and really at end of Budget...

Newer Renaults - hhmmm, not really sure... Twingo Sports looks nice, none round here

Suzuki Swift - Always like the look of these, good reviews, cheap to run, but long journeys? basic equipment? Good To Drive?

Mini - tons round here, older models, lots of mileage, are they RELIABLE? Sure look pretty!! Good to Drive ?

Nissan Juke - millions round here, cute looks , but perhaps heavy for engine, thirsty? Driving?

Citroen DS3 - again lots of options, but I've read BAD things about engine failures etc , sure look nice, but is it a poisoned chalice - FRench CARS !

Mazda 2/ ?
SEat Ibiza ?
Alf Romeo Mito ?

trouble is when you look at specs etc all the cars tend to blur into one another and my eyes glaze over !!

So any advice greatly appreciated !!!


yours

King Ludwig

[scoey1001]

Suzuki swift sport? I think from 2012ish onwards they have a 6th gear so much better for motorway driving and also fun on the b roads. Found this in your budget but could get a little newer if bought private?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2012-Suzuki-Swift-1-6-S...

[KingLudwigII]

scoey1001 said:

Suzuki swift sport? I think from 2012ish onwards they have a 6th gear so much better for motorway driving and also fun on the b roads. Found this in your budget but could get a little newer if bought private?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2012-Suzuki-Swift-1-6-S...

Cheers, haven;t thought of Ebay...

I have bought private before, can't remember what the deal is with forking over huge amounts of money with bank transfer, . rather go with dealer ,I know it'll cost more, but peace of mind!

[LightningBlue]

The difficulty is most desirable or sporty cars at that budget will be getting on and more prone to needing replacement parts or reliability issues. A Honda Civic Type S 1.8 springs to mind for something in range and generally well-regarded but I have to admit mine had lots of niggles. They still look very nice though.

As for the others on your list - Minis drive great but aren't known for reliability and rattle like crazy. Renault - I probably wouldn't bother unless you can get the fourth gen Clio which you can't. I'd definitely try an Alfa, despite the reputation people I know who've had them haven't had any major issues. If you're brave you could get a Brera or a GT but get an RAC or equivalent inspection. A Giulietta 1.4 would be a more sensible option and I'd have one of those over a Mito. Nissan Jukes are horrible. DS3 looks nice but do your research on the engines - if it's the 'Prince' engine they needed a lot of care (I actually have one of the later 'N18' ones in my Mini which were meant to be improved). Mazda and Suzuki have decent reputations although I haven't driven those models.

[Pastor Of Muppets]

Honda CR-Z, Apart from speed it pretty much ticks all your boxes, 20 quid a year road tax, very reliable,
good economy, great handling for what it is, looks good and you wont be passing one every two streets.



https://www.mppsociety.com/wp-content/uploads/2016...

[KingLudwigII]

LightningBlue said:

The difficulty is most desirable or sporty cars at that budget will be getting on and more prone to needing replacement parts or reliability issues. A Honda Civic Type S 1.8 springs to mind for something in range and generally well-regarded but I have to admit mine had lots of niggles. They still look very nice though.

As for the others on your list - Minis drive great but aren't known for reliability and rattle like crazy. Renault - I probably wouldn't bother unless you can get the fourth gen Clio which you can't. I'd definitely try an Alfa, despite the reputation people I know who've had them haven't had any major issues. If you're brave you could get a Brera or a GT but get an RAC or equivalent inspection. A Giulietta 1.4 would be a more sensible option and I'd have one of those over a Mito. Nissan Jukes are horrible. DS3 looks nice but do your research on the engines - if it's the 'Prince' engine they needed a lot of care (I actually have one of the later 'N18' ones in my Mini which were meant to be improved). Mazda and Suzuki have decent reputations although I haven't driven those models.

some great advice here, I've deffo ruled out Jukes, heavy and slow and a bit naff! Honda's possible, could only get an old one, maybe they do go on for ever!! How would I find out what engine the DS3 has, ask the dealer, is it printed in big letters when I left the bonnet? I'm sooo crap at cars thats why I need advice, lol ? I will certainly check up on Alfa Giulietta, i've sen a few around, look nice... i've a garage who have offered to check cars over for me...

cheers!!

[Objective Alpha]

Pastor Of Muppets said:

Honda CR-Z, Apart from speed it pretty much ticks all your boxes, 20 quid a year road tax, very reliable,
good economy, great handling for what it is, looks good and you wont be passing one every two streets.



https://www.mppsociety.com/wp-content/uploads/2016...

id agree on this one, really good car and very reliable! would be a great choice and owners seem to have nothing but good to say about them!
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202102048...

Edited by Objective Alpha on Saturday 8th May 15:50

[ZX10R NIN]

Your budget will land you a very nice 208 XY 156 with the revised & reliable prince engine, these come loaded with kit & are very nice place to sit.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104231...

DS3 is a good pick if you can't find an XY they're essentially the same car but you get the older style dash in the DS3, DSport Plus 156 is the pick of the spec options.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105012...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104302...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105072...

Mito Cloverleaf nice cars with decent amount of go but not as nice inside as the two above

If you don't mind going up a size, for me the Astra GTC SRI 180 makes a lot of sense, nice interior an engine with a nice amount of poke & they imo look good.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105012...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103039...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105052...

SRI 140

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104181...

Giulietta Veloce 170 nice interiors reliable & a nice amount of go:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104030...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103280...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105032...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105072...

[soad]

KingLudwigII said:

Criteria - 1) No more that 205 Tax (what I'm paying now)

Has gone up to £210 now? Despite what the tax reminder initially said, start of a new tax year now...

[ZX10R NIN]

Forgot to say don't be afraid to travel.

[heisthegaffer]

Abarth 500?

[robemcdonald]

Get a first gen new Mini Cooper s (r53 I think) get a non modified one if you can.

The mini has just passed their 20th and will probably assume classic status soon.

Or some sort of Renault Clio sport.

[KingLudwigII]

ZX10R NIN said:

Forgot to say don't be afraid to travel.

My car is about to die, I went 20 miles yesterday and it was smelling BAD... so will have to be local (ish)

I just have to accept I won't be getting my 'dream' car just something that won't breakdown and kill me!! lol

[KingLudwigII]

Anyone rate MINI Cooper S, ones come up locally, looks the biz. leather seats , air com. 0-60 in 7 secs, sounds FUN?

[clockworks]

The early Cooper S (with the supercharger) struggles to do much better than 30mpg.

I live in a semi-rural area, and I just about managed 32mpg from a '54 plate Cooper S. That's about the worst fuel consumption from any car that I've owned for many years. Even my Boxster S did better, and my air-cooled 911 (964) was only marginally worse.

32mpg from a reasonably small and light car is pretty poor IMHO. Great fun to drive though.

[Birr97]

Civic Type R FN2.

These can be found within your budget, or brought down with a bit of haggling.
Good reliable cars with decent performance.

Here's a few;
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104161...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105022...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105062...

Edit: forgot about the £205 tax limit.
£330 annually, still pretty good for the performance, you might struggle with performance unless you go turbo. But then there's more to go wrong/less reliability.

Edited by Birr97 on Monday 10th May 20:34

[ZX10R NIN]

KingLudwigII said:

My car is about to die, I went 20 miles yesterday and it was smelling BAD... so will have to be local (ish)

I just have to accept I won't be getting my 'dream' car just something that won't breakdown and kill me!! lol

Or look for dealers that will deliver:

XY

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104211...

DSport Plus

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105072...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104302...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104231...

[LightningBlue]

KingLudwigII said:

Anyone rate MINI Cooper S, ones come up locally, looks the biz. leather seats , air com. 0-60 in 7 secs, sounds FUN?

How old is it? I’ve actually got a Cooper S Coupe (2015). Honestly it’s a lot of fun on a B road but it rattles a lot from the dashboard, but I didn’t buy it for ultimate quality. Rattles and build quality issues seem to be quite common with Minis but it’s hard to beat the way they drive for a front wheel drive car. My head unit needed replacing as some buttons stopped working (fairly common) and check for signs of water ingress, apparently into the boot floor is quite common. Have a look on the Lohen website for issues to look for on the ‘Prince’ engines if it’s a gen 2 Cooper S. If you find a good one I’m sure you’d enjoy the way they drive

[robemcdonald]

I had a Cooper s from new when they were first launched in 2002. They are great little cars and almost fit your brief perfectly. The only issue being they cost more to tax..

[pb8g09]

I’m in Bournemouth and have a Mini Coopers S.

It’s good fun, especially on the roads out towards Swanage or Lymington.

I’m looking to get rid of it some point soon if you want to save yourself a few grand on your budget!