what car under £3500....

what car under £3500....

Author
Discussion

DustyC

Original Poster:

12,820 posts

261 months

Thursday 24th July 2003
quotequote all
What car under £3500 would you recommend?
In order of my favorites Im currently think of:
MR2 Turbo Rev2
BMW 325i Sport (coupe)
Porsche 944 (S2 or Turbo)
300zx Turbo
200sx
Supra Turbo (old)

Any other good suggestions?
(Try and make it a very good one if its not RWD!)

Going to upgrade this in 2 years for an S Series TVR or an old Porsche.


>>> Edited by DustyC on Thursday 24th July 11:26

Alan420

5,594 posts

265 months

Thursday 24th July 2003
quotequote all
A friend of mine has one of the REALLY old supras, which he's restoring (nearly done).

It's a powerful car, but not in an exciting way, if you catch my drift.

Pulls like a train at high speed, but acellerates like one to.

I've never driven it, but bearing in mind the size of the thing and its fuel economy/tyre wear I'd be tempted to avoid them.

DustyC

Original Poster:

12,820 posts

261 months

Thursday 24th July 2003
quotequote all
I didnt mean that one but thanks for the advice.
Although I do think that was the best looking supra, the first one.

I have a friend who has tuned an '89 Supra turbo to 450BHP and is about to add Nos!
Should be fun!

I'll let you know what the MR2 Turbos drive like after the weekend Alan.
If I like then I will be going all over the place trying to find a good Rev2 next week.
(Would love a rev3 but cant afford one!)

douglasr

1,092 posts

279 months

Thursday 24th July 2003
quotequote all
Honda CRX 1.6 VT (Mk II).
Honda Prelude 2.2 VTEC.

MR2Mike

20,143 posts

262 months

Thursday 24th July 2003
quotequote all
To be honest, you aren't going to get a mint Rev2 turbo for £3500 (or even a Rev1), but you should be able to find something reasonably useable. Have you checked the MR2 Turbo FAQ at www.btinternet.com/~netsurf/mr2t/

shadowninja

77,495 posts

289 months

Thursday 24th July 2003
quotequote all
I'd recommend a 200sx s13a. Don't pay less than £2000 unless you want to pay a lot more later

DustyC

Original Poster:

12,820 posts

261 months

Thursday 24th July 2003
quotequote all
MR2Mike said:
To be honest, you aren't going to get a mint Rev2 turbo for £3500 (or even a Rev1), but you should be able to find something reasonably useable. Have you checked the MR2 Turbo FAQ at www.btinternet.com/~netsurf/mr2t/


Yes thanks and its excellent.
Also the IMOC and MR2DC have excellent infor and links on them for anyone else interested.

Never seen so much useful information on a car before!

DustyC

Original Poster:

12,820 posts

261 months

Thursday 24th July 2003
quotequote all
douglasr said:
Honda CRX 1.6 VT (Mk II).
Honda Prelude 2.2 VTEC.


I already owned a CRX VTEC (mk II) and it was excellent. Made even better with a large bore custom made s/s exhaust (quiet for crusing and loud for fast driving) and air intake mods.
Mine was mint and I sold it for a bargin price because I was going to Australia.

Have considered the Prelude VTEC as I do like the VTEC engines.
Wish Honda would make more RWD cars. The Integra and CRX would have both been perfect if they were RWD. If I had the time Id build my own!

and there lies the problem with the Hondas. They are FWD.
I have also looked at Fiat Coupe 20V Turbos which are now coming down to this price range. Again though they are FWD.
Corrados too.

I think I have considered all the best FWD cars but always end up coming back wanting a RWD again.

Im not too keen on the Nissan 200sx. Dont take offence, Im sure they are great, I just dont fancy one. In fact I KNOW they are great! I have looked at a few and found they never quite did it for me.

I forgot to add earlier that I dont use my car everyday as I cycle to work so I like the idea of a nice littlle MR2 Turbo in the garage to play with!
Also planning to do some touring around Europe. How much luggage space does the MR2 have? I know its 183Litres but what is that in laymans terms?

anonymous-user

61 months

Thursday 24th July 2003
quotequote all
I have a Supra Turbo, see profile pic.

They can be a little expensive when bits go wrong but luckily its not that often.

I believe mine is still on the original exhaust at 123K!!

There is an article on the mkiii in this months Japanese Performance mag.

iguana

7,056 posts

267 months

Friday 25th July 2003
quotequote all
I knw this is jap chat & all but sorry I know tits all about your other candidates.

but ref "Porsche 944 (S2 or Turbo)" the answer for £3500 is bog all but absolutly hound dog examples. Maybe a nice Lux or S tho.

DustyC

Original Poster:

12,820 posts

261 months

Friday 25th July 2003
quotequote all
iguana said:
I knw this is jap chat & all but sorry I know tits all about your other candidates.

but ref "Porsche 944 (S2 or Turbo)" the answer for £3500 is bog all but absolutly hound dog examples. Maybe a nice Lux or S tho.


Yeah good point!
I got my goals muddled up a bit there.
Thats meant to be next years aims!

DustyC

Original Poster:

12,820 posts

261 months

Friday 25th July 2003
quotequote all
anonymous said:
[redacted]


Is it the white one or the black one?

anonymous-user

61 months

Friday 25th July 2003
quotequote all
I own both

err... maybe not then, the black one, on my profile that is!!

Mine is identical to the black one in the mag.



>> Edited by anonymous-user on Saturday 26th July 14:15

ROR350

115 posts

266 months

Saturday 26th July 2003
quotequote all
toyota supra turbo or 200sx would be good, on the german side though, hows about a nice 535i sport, great motor, 325sport e30 also great, but e36 325s are shite, no guts .
ps what about an rx7 twin turbo?

nws25

35 posts

264 months

Sunday 3rd August 2003
quotequote all
For 3.5k you could pick up a twin turbo old (as you call it) supra.
You havent really said want you want to do with it, are you planning to mod it?? or leave it as stock and just use it for a weekend blaster.
The MR2 or Supra will blow any of the german counterparts out of the water.

DustyC

Original Poster:

12,820 posts

261 months

Monday 4th August 2003
quotequote all
have been considering E30 325i Sports.
Are they any comparison to some of the similar priced Jap stuff?

The car ewill be a weekend car. Mostly used for drives to events around the country and the ocasional trip to Europe (about twice a year, including Le mans).

I would like to carry out some mods but if its a Jap then would prefer to buy one with decent mods already applied. (Not too many though, just a decent filter/exhaust/ECU). Too many mods can also be too much trouble.

Also considering using it for 2-3 track days a year which is why I keep pushing the Supra out of the equation (its heavy). I do like Supras, have already looked at some.

I still keep thinking MR2 Turbo but want a '92+ model. My money will only just get me one of those so it may not be a good one.
However the money will definitly get me the 325 or the Supra.
Im a bit of a wuss when it comes to RX7s and dont want to be "wankeled"! I would buy a newer, less worn out RX7 if i had the money though. fantastic cars. Shame the Rx8 looks like a pile of crap. (I have now seen 2 in the flesh and been in one).

nws25

35 posts

264 months

Monday 4th August 2003
quotequote all
Is a tricky one, but i certainly wouldnt go for the beemer, if its only gonna be a weekender, you want it to feel a bit sporty when you get in it.
It sounds like the MR2 Turbo, just have to haggle a bit

DustyC

Original Poster:

12,820 posts

261 months

Monday 4th August 2003
quotequote all
I know you're right but I just cant seem to get one close enough to home thats in the right price range!
I dont have enough time on my hands to travel further than 50 miles from home to view cars at the moment as I have loads of work going on.
By the way, home is south coast hampshire.
I love the MR2 turbos for sale in the classifieds but simply cant get to them....yet!

DustyC

Original Poster:

12,820 posts

261 months

Monday 4th August 2003
quotequote all
I know there is a rev2 MR2 turbo for sale 5 mins from me and also BMW 325i sport.

The MR2 is £4K and the BMW is £2.5.

Im thinking the BMW and keep the cash at the moment.

MR2Mike

20,143 posts

262 months

Monday 4th August 2003
quotequote all
I'm thinking you should drive both of them before making any rash decisions

It depends on if you enjoy random people coming over to talk about your car and small children asking "wot'll it do mister?", rather than people treating you like the average bimmer driver. But obviously, I could be a little biased

Back to sensible land, the MR2 will almost certainly cost more to run, and is certainly less practical, if that sort of thing worries you. 30mpg is probably a realistic goal for an E30 325i bimmer, 25mpg is more likley with the '2 (although the odd thing is it hardly seems to vary between gentle cruising and a good thrashing).