What can I buy for £1800 that's fun?

Guys,

help me out here please. Please tell me WTF I should buy that won't bore me in 3 weeks?

I've just sold my Capri 2.8i. Bought it 3 weeks ago. Got bored. Sold it today. Nice car, broke even on what it cost me.

So, that plus a bit left over gives me £1800ish to spend on something quick, fun, roomy enough to get a babyseat in the back occasionally, cheap enough to maintain myself, and not break the bank if it needs to go to a garage. Wouldn't mind it being pre-1992 then I can put it on my classic insurance policy too.

Other things - it's got to be economical enough to use as daily driver . If I feel like it:-) 18-20mpg in "urban traffic" is OK. Got to be fun on the twisty bits, but quiet enough to travel on the motorway 200miles without driving me mad. 160BHP +

I've had 26 cars in the last 6 years. The missus originally didn't mind as long as I didn't lose money, but I've had 5 cars over this summer and now she's getting pissed off!

A Classic Saab 900T16 springs to mind. Must be other suggestions though?

So, any ideas welcomed!

Cheers!

Mike

Got to have a decent heater, primarily because I used to be a fat bastard, but now I'm not, I feel the cold!

Reply to
Mike P
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Mike P waffled on in a quite bewildering manner to produce...

24v Carltons - good fun, Autos are better cos the manual box blows goats Alfa 164 3.0 24v, - great cars, monstrously good heaters, torque steer problem nearly solved Sierra XR4x4 Turbo - if you can find a good one Granada 24v - big, wafty, and a bit quick, dead cheap too Omega MV6 or Elite - like a faster Granada, handle well too Corrado - bit dull, but handle brilliantly Renault 21 Turbo Quadra - if you're good with engines, and can find one Lancia Thema Turbo 16v - *beware* of shoddy ones Rover SD1 Vitesse - the last true hooligan luxury bus, and values are on the up Alfa 155 2.0 - make sure it's a widebody one BMW 750i - Luxury, leather, and 300 BHP V12, good combination Jag XJ12 - but you'll never get 20 mpg

and for a wildcard, Fiat Strada Abarth 130 - ugly as f*ck, but they're damn quick, handle very well, sound fantastic, rust if left near water.

Reply to
Pete M

You missed the most under-estimated car in the world Citroen BX16v For under half your budget you'll get a good one with decent history. You'll get a good runner from about £350.

160bhp - 1040kg = 135mph & 0-60 in 7.6sec. They are pretty economical, returning 30-35mpg. 5 seats and they don't attract the thieving scumbags. DON'T be put off by sceptics stories of suspension maladies and disasters, properly maintained they are cheap to run and the engines are almost bulletproof.......
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Only a thought, I love mine

Reply to
r

again, mpg

worst mpg imaginable :) you can kill almost a litre/mile if you feel like it :)

executive express, as long as it don't leak oil, never buy one with an oily engine bay, no matter what the seller says it is, they become very big expens's when they leak, and if the auto box won't shift to 4th, it'll cost you a grand to fix watch out for rear rusty arches but other than that they are sound try to buy 92 spec onwards

for £1800? remember them engine filter things and chain costs

only a 16V for that money, the rest seem to be well looked after and cost

very nice, if you can find one there is an owners club

if you order a catalouge from rally design, they post it out to you with an issue of CCC which has a dedra fetured in it

but so are the petrol bills :) make sure it's not overheating and everything works, you couldn't ask for a bigger bill for rear tyres :)

early touring car version?????????????? :)

cheapest i've seen one was for £2800, nearly bought one from down the road for £3k but was put off by the fact that i had seen it parked in the same spot for the last 3 years and wondered what the bills would be like (considering the neighbours 730Li costs him £80 for oil when he has it serviced, i was glad i didn't :) )

i doubt he would be able to see single figures in that :)

Reply to
dojj

The Sierra XR4x4 and Corrados are great I have owned both. I have a mate selling a Carrado G60 for £2000, he is only the second owner

Reply to
Richard Brant

GSi 3000? Suits you, sir :-)

Noooooo. Not thr 24v. Much better to find the rare phaseII car with a

12v engine. Believe me, you don't want an old 24 valver.

Aftermarket kit, I assume? - The 2.8i wasn't such a bad car, and there's more of them around.

Nice choice - must be getting a bit rusty around the edges by now. Watch for knackered 'toys'.

Senator was better, IMHO. Was certainly better screwed together.

Good choice, but the 1.8 is a bit slow, and the G60 expensive to run and maintain.

Noooo. Not unless it's £500.

Lots of good cheap ones, but Integrale servicing and maintenance bills, unfortunately.

Hard to find nice ones these days, but what a fantastic car. Any running now should have had all the electrical gremlins fixed.

Good choice - look for evidence of regular oil changes, and if it clatters like a diesel run a mile - it's due a variator, tensioner and cam-belt. Not cheap. I love 'em.

Might even get a 2.5V6 for this money - but, again, beware of the belts and tensioners.

Thirsty and massively expensive to run. Very low-rent image. Nice if you're a bouncer / drug dealer, but not for anyone else. Buy a 535i instead.

And you'll never recover from the maintenance costs.

Excellent car. Just try finding one.

You have, however, missed the obvious choice. Alfa 75 3lt V6. What more could you want out of a car? - performance up there with the 535i and Thema turbo, and that engine sound is to die for :-)

Pretty cheap to run, too - nice, safe, chain driven, 12v V6. Just watch for shot synchros and clutch. It'll cost you the thick end of £500 to change a clutch. However, a 'box is only £250 - so worth negotiating on.

Reply to
SteveH

Touring car version was based on the narrow-body 1.8. Which was nowhere near as good.

However, if you can find a 1.8 'Silverstone' with all it's original aerodynamic aids either fitted or in their wrapping in the boot, then snap it up now for a cast-iron investment.

Reply to
SteveH

whats wrong with it?

Reply to
Carl Gibbs

dojj waffled on in a quite bewildering manner to produce...

I used to get 26 round town, and up to 35 on the motorway out of mine.

yup, but if you don't, you'll get 18, 20 round town, 28 on a run

yup, but £1800 is well possible

Pah, I've seen G60's for £1800.. you need to know where to look..

I used to get, er...., 16-20 round town, but an astonishing 37 mpg on a relaxed motorway cruise. Don't forget, the Vitesse is only doing about 2300 rpm at 90...

average price round here for a *nice* 730i is £500, 735i £600, 750iL £1500. Scruffy ones are worth slightly less than a mangy kitten corpse.

Reply to
Pete M

Has one J370 HFV, great car, unkilleable.

24vs are ace, and you can get a late spec one for £2000 if you look hard enough.

Yup, Janspeed kit. (P.S. I'll have a nice 2.8i motor and box for sale soon)

yeah, but a 24v Senator is worth about £800 now, and the MV6 Omega looks lovely.

worth it though, nice cars.

wish I hadn't written mine off :-(

*AVOID* the 2.5 V6. Sound great, but you'll get pasted by a well driven 2.0

actually capable of 20 mpg in town these things. You're right about the bouncer dealer thing though. That's why I like 'em.

personal worst Fuel consumption ever. A444KRT Jag XJS, Colchester in Essex to Liverpool. 270 miles.£140 worth of fuel. Worked out at about 6.7 mpg. Was unimpressed.

Had one about 5 years ago, paid £350 for it, sold it to a mate for £350, he used it for a year (until the rear shocks decided to make a break for the rear seat).. He sold it to a loon who wanted to restore it for £500.

Shh, I'm trying to keep these things a secret.

Reply to
Pete M

I know. But they're a timebmb waiting to go off. My contact in the trade told me to avoid at all costs - belts are a pig to change, and the engine has a habit of going off like grenade without warning.

IMHO, nothing, not even an Integrale is worth the servicing costs. I _might_ make an exception for a decent EvoII, but a major service on a Thema Turbo could cost more than the car is worth.

True. The V6 was always a tad nose-heavy. And you get that grenade of a

24v motor, too.

Widebody 2lt 16v TS it is, then.

Heh. Depends on where you live, I suppose.

Wouldn't want to drive one in Manchester, always be worried about mistaken identity drive-bys ;-)

Oh, and you will _constantly_ get pulled by the plod in one of them, too.

Heh. As an owner (admittedly only a TS), I want everyone to wake up to just how much of an underrated car the 75 is..... ;-)

Reply to
SteveH

92/93/94 Celica? Pretty economical, reasonable on insurance etc etc - bulletproof engines - apparently you see loads still going strong with 200k+ on them. Might have trouble getting one for that money, but you never know.

Peter

Reply to
AstraVanMan

more turbo technics kits about than janspeed ones hence the rarity value of the janspeed kit they did the Capri and the early XR4i's, some of them in a twin turbo version as well ;)

Reply to
dojj

what?!?!?!?!!?

Reply to
dojj

Pete the ebay trawler comes up with this one - dunno if it's a valver though.

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Also, how about this for a piece of history:

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Peter

Reply to
AstraVanMan

405 Mi16? You can get 2 for that money, class leading handling, the FWD is better than the 4x4 (french electrics...), and quicker. There was 55k minter on Ebay for £800, it was a Mk1 (pre 1993) with the 160bhp 1.9 16v all alloy engine. After 1993 and you're looking at a 155bhp 2.0 16v. Easy get that MPG, but when you need to, it'll shift nicely. My heater in my 405 rocks as well...
Reply to
Dan405

sorry, I read that as "calibra" :)

Reply to
dojj

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Good lord i'd love that, 1k tax tho :(

-- Chet

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Reply to
Chet

Hmm, 1800 quid. A really good Porsche 924 (or S if you can get can one for that price - not 944 as most are dogs for that price) - a babyseat fits very well in one, and they are also suprisingly cheap to run. Or a great Mini 1275 GT, Dolomite Sprint?

Otherwise for that price (and I am looking for one if anyone has one - negative spam?) an absolutely mint Saab 900 LPT (original, not GM/Vectra) - please email.

Or

Alfa 164 Alfa 155 BMW 3 series touring Citroen BX 16V (oh sod it if you can find one a quadra) Bugger it, find a mexico/rs2000 they are fun bigstyle! Oh hell, I'll be obvious (and realistic) - Peugeot 205 1.6 (not 1.9)

Reply to
Sparadrap

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> 7

Nice, innit?

1k tax???? Eh?

Peter

Reply to
AstraVanMan

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