Best car for about £1000 ???!?

[£50 Scent]

I will soon be back on the road ( :lol: ), but, I will need a car to do so. I want to pay off debt for the next 6 months or so before I get something decent ( :roll: ). Until then I need something to get about in, any ideas on what would be good/fun runabout for about 1k (UK) ???

[£50 Scent]

I think at the moment possibilities are:


Toyota Celica GT-Four,

Honda Prelude 2.2 V-TEC,

Peugeot 205 1.9 GTI,

Peugeot 405 MI 16,

Ford Mondeo ST24,

Vauxhall Vectra SRI V6.


These either seem that they would be ragged to death or boring as. C'mon peeps, opinions/ideas??

[mindgam3]

lol, i think you are being a bi optimistic, finding any of the cars u mentioned, in ok condition or not's gonna be hard. You're gonna get a banger for that money unless you plan on travelling round the UK to look at them alot and waiting along time for a decent one to appear in a mag by which time u'd probably spent the £1000 on something else....

Maybe a mini, easy to maintain if u have a bit of experience and parts are dirt cheap?

[bmwmpower]

Toyota Celica GT-Four,

Honda Prelude 2.2 V-TEC,

Ford Mondeo ST24,

no way for tohse money,
bmw 325 E30 or 535

[crayzayjay]

For a grand, the cars you mention will be in dire condition. If youre short on cash, get a R5, they use no petrol whatsoever and arent too bad to drive...

[Anonymous]

I can't believe a mini hasn't even reached your list LOL plenty of choice for around a grand and cheap to insure too :D 8) most fun you'll have for the money too IMO.... its not all about power!! :P

[gis]

lol,first of all if u can find any of these......

Toyota Celica GT-Four,

Honda Prelude 2.2 V-TEC,

Peugeot 205 1.9 GTI,

Peugeot 405 MI 16,

Ford Mondeo ST24,

Vauxhall Vectra SRI V6

u find one of those for less than £1000 in good condition u deserve a medal.lol

anyway for that money u could probably find a high mileage 205 gti (1.6 and maybe 1.9) a mk2 golf gti (8v or 16v) if u look around u could proabbly find a high mileage pug 106 xsi 100hp for £1000

[TransAm]

Hard to find as they only imported for 18 months, in 1991 and 1992

CRX VTEC - 900kg and 148hp.

That or the Prelude would be my choice.

Stay away from older French cars - learn from someone elses experience :wink:

Having said all this you are more likely to find a street sleeper in good condition - a Vauxhall or Mondeo V6 owned by an old gent with low miles on it, but the Honda's will be quicker and more fun to drive IMO.

Completely agree with Crazyzayjay though - you'll have to look long and hard to find anything decent.

Service history stamps and good cosmetics are your friend - If someone's looked after a (10 year old) car well for 10 years it will probably be ok.

[Silvia_Drift]

How bout a Nissan 200sx turbo? I heard on 5th Gear that they are pretty cheap. You might have to save up a bit more money but they are worth it. Awsome handling with near perfect weight distribution and turbo power!

[Mopsdrops]

I think Celica GT-Four or the Prelude 2.2i VTEC. 4th generation one or new one ? Celica's are fast and have a lot of comfort. but prelude is nicer IMO.

[gis]

^^^^ he will never find a good condition one with full service history for £1000 or less.

[rob_e1]

Good 205 1.9 GTI's are going for more money these days. For very similar vehicle have a look at 309 GTi. Same engine and chassis, but not as desirable hence you'd easy pic one up for less than a bag of sand ;)

I'd look at Mk2 Golf GTI 16v or Scirocco, Corolla Gti.

200Sx can't be had for sensible money any more - too many people buying them for drifting, ditto most big engined bmw's.

You can search autotrader.co.uk for anything up to £1000 with a GTI badge.. turns up some interesting stuff:


http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/WWW/cars_search.asp?modelexact=1&lid=search_used_cars_full&make=&model=&variant=gti&keywords=&min_pr=75&max_pr=1000&mileage=&agerange=&postcode=ox5+1px&miles=1500&max_records=200&source=0&photo=1&sort=5&ukcarsearch_full=SEARCH


To be honest though - if you want to save money, anything with a big V6 or a Gti badge will mean you'll be raped by your insurance company.. :roll: If you really want to save money, get a diesel, go by bus or ride your bicycle. :wink:

[mindgam3]

still think a minis the best option ;)

[TransAm]

You can search autotrader.co.uk for anything up to £1000 with a GTI badge.. turns up some interesting stuff:


http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/WWW/cars_search.asp?
modelexact=1&lid=search_used_cars_full&make=&model=&
variant=gti&keywords=&min_pr=75&max_pr=1000&mileage=&
agerange=&postcode=ox5+1px&miles=1500&max_records=200&source=
0&photo=1&sort=5&ukcarsearch_full=SEARCH




Good point, Rob.

BTW, you need to register&log in to search for a specific keyword like GTi

[£50 Scent]

Cheers peeps, Some interesting comments. With regard to getting those sort of cars for that money, remember I did say about 1000 not less than. But to those who said I would have to look long and hard to find something, true and would probably buy something before than, also true.

I already use Autotrader to look up cars :wink: , but thanx for the suggestion. I also use eBay to look at cars a lot here are a few things I have found:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2489651577&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2491076796&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2491026455&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

The last may be hopeful. But I have also considered spending a bit more as there is no point in me spending a little on a car if I am going to be in and out of the garage all the time. I was thinking of going a bit mental and spending about 2.5k on a '98 astra 1.8 CDX. I know they are not the most exciting of choices but to an extent rob_e was right the insurance will be harsh but thats why I wanted to spend less on the car. As for the bus or bike etc. no basically its not happening. I want to drive, if I absolutly had to I would drive the worlds worst car. At least I would not get wet in the rain (it is exactly 1 mile to the bus stop). This may make me a bit vain but I don't care as I am a car enthusiast and need to look smart for new work. I have finsihed uni and am working in a local pub (ok, but minimum wage), I cannot be bothered to get a new job (real money) until it is convienient for me, how many jobs paying what the job is worth in a given profession that are worth having are within cyclying distance or on the bus route? Anyway, back to why the astra - on paper good performance / price for insurance:

http://www.parkers.co.uk/choosing/tech_data/index.aspx?manu_name=Vauxhall&manufacturer_name=10968&model_id=993&fueltype=&months=&spare1=&spare2=

The parkers web site is useful for looking up tech specs on cars to let u see exactly what you are in for (in theory) and also for price comparisons for free :wink: .

A mini? you are probably right it is probably fun, but, I want something more mordern feeling, also, I am quite big and would look and/or feel stupid in a mini.

Anyway, thanks for the input and any fresh ideas would be gratefully recieved. Cheers.

[cooperluke]

I don't know about you... but for £1000 here in Portugalthe onlyt quick thing you y get are things like hot hacthes, such as VW Polo G40, Citroen AX GTi, And those small Gtis...
You can also get bigger cars, but for that kind of money, they will be in very bad shape!

[£50 Scent]

The reason I said CDX astra is because I have seen this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2489907610&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

Sport version is also ok(ish) and various 1.8 16v versions.

Old BMWs are cool to drive but a bit 'drug dealer'.

Overall budget will be 2-3k (3.5 absolute maximum) insurance will be potent as I am 23 have been banned and have had a car stolen (even 3rd party, and has top be!!). This is why the combos and variations.

I have also looked as Passat 1.8T sport but I think this would be too much, grp 15 and about 2.5k to buy - the reason I thought about that is because my friend has a mk4 golf which looks crap on paper and in papers but is quite cool, even though it is standard and 1.6 (SE) it feels quite quick and holds the road quite well.

The cars I have had previously (in order) are:

Austin Metro 1.3 L,
Vauxhall Cavalier 2.0 8V CDX (SRI engine),
Citroen ZX 1.8 Aura,
Peugeot 205 1.6 GTI,
Citroen ZX 2.0i 16V.

I think the pug or the cav were best (in differing ways). The metro was my first car and the others represent the minimum sort of performance required (I like to shift :D ).

[gis]

hmmm if your willing to go to £2500 then u have a better choice.maybe have a look of the older fiesta SI 1.6 16v.they are pretty nippy.also corsa sport/sri are around that money

[Ford Capri 2.8i]

Firstly, id got for a hot hatch or the ford capri, and i share almost the same hot hatch tastes as dani according this price, but instead of danis list, my personal list has the pug 205 GTI 1.9, the Renault 5 GT Turbo, the Renault 21 Turbo, the Opel Kadett GSI 16v/Vauxhall Astra GTE 16v(the 88-92 shape, not the following astra), and why not...the ford Escort RS Turbo......according to this price its also possible to find out some Delta Integrale, some Sierra Cosworth, and some even BMW E30......BTW, however, i dont want to know in what kind of condition they will be

[TransAm]

/\/\/\/\ Would that be the Ford Capri 2.8i by any chance? You're bloody biased LOL!

[Porsche911r101]

Mini mate.

mini 1.1 with stage 1, quite fast

[Anonymous]

Mini mate.

mini 1.1 with stage 1, quite fast

why an 1100 in particular? not really much faster than a 998. thinking about a stage one kit for my 998 when i can afford it followed by a modified head and fast road cam. They are best when set up properly on a rolling road though and are generally claimed to put the bhp up by around 20% and torque by about 12% Oh and remember some of the kits do make it very noisy inside, even when standard motorway blasts get a bit on the noisy side! :P