Suggestions for used car around £5k?

[watchstudent]

Hi guys,

So the missus has a much longer commute than me so she gets the "good" car, a 2013 Volvo V40 D2 (lovely comfy and safe car, the Ford 1.6L diesel is a bit gutless but just about perfect for her). I am stuck with the "shitbox", 2007 Toyota Aygo. It is fine, been reliable but to be honest I hate it, plus it lets in loads of water. Whenever I can, I ride the Vespa!

Anyway looking for something that people have had good experiences with. Should be a bit fun, a bit fast and maybe a bit different, to give you an example my current favourite would be a Volvo c30 D5 or T5 (cool hatchback with a proper 5 cylinder Volvo engine). I will look for FSH but thats about it to be honest. Doesn't need to be big or all that practical to be honest. Wouldn't be used much for short journeys as I have the scooter for that.

Would love to hear your thoughts!

Also I park on a road outside my home and am not experienced in doing any maintenance other than change a wiper and check the oil, but I have a local mechanic that seems to be pretty trustworthy so far! I religiously get my cars serviced every year.

[demonloop]

Older Golf GTi? Bullet proof, nimble and easy to maintain.

[watchstudent]

Older Golf GTi? Bullet proof, nimble and easy to maintain.

Certainly one I have thought about but only issue I can think is a budget GTI has a fairly high chance of having been abused a bit, I guess if the history is good it could be an option.

[tvralan]

GMTmaster has a great looking Volvo V70 for sale?

Sent from my SM-A750FN using Tapatalk

[watchstudent]

GMTmaster has a great looking Volvo V70 for sale?

Sent from my SM-A750FN using Tapatalk

Oh my, that looks awesome... I’m based in Plymouth (he is in Manchester) though and to be honest a car that size would not be all that useful and a pain to park where I live. If it was closer though I’d be very tempted anyway!

[Grandiloquence]

Shame you're down in Plymouth. You could have bought my CR-Z so I can buy that Volvo on SC!

[Harry Smith]

Go French. We've got a Pug Gti and RS Megane. Great cult following on all RenaultSport and very affordable.

[watchcollector1]

BMW e90 330d. Wonderful cars, 230 bhp with Aston Martin levels of torque even in standard spec and can be easily mapped for any add other 50 bhp and crazy torque with no other mods needed (auto boxes can easily take more power as they are used in the twin turbo 335d).

Go for Msport spec, it looks so much better than the standard spec.

The earlier M57 engine is pretty bullet proof and doesn't suffer timing chain issues of the later N57 Lci engine. There's some common faults to look out for (e.g. thermostats, turbo actuator) but that will be the same for any model of this age.

You'd be able to get a great earlier example for £5k. Go for the e91 Touring if you want a bit more space.

Mine has been a great car in 7 years of ownership and is now up to 120k miles and going strong. I'll never sell it there's nothing else for the money that would come close for me.

https://youtu.be/NH2Xk5LSEmA

[AlphaOmega]

Shame you're down in Plymouth. You could have bought my CR-Z so I can buy that Volvo on SC!

How did you find the CR-Z ownership experience?

I tested one and it was nippier than I expected.

[zelig]

BMW 123d

Displacement	2000 cubic centimeters (2.0 liters / 122 cubic inches)
Maximum power	204 metric horsepower (201 brake horsepower / 150 kilowatts)
Maximum torque	400 Newton-meters (295 pound-feet)
Engine location	front-mounted
Drive	rear wheel drive
0 to 60 mph	6.3 seconds

BMW 130i

Displacement	3000 cubic centimeters (3.0 liters / 183 cubic inches)
Maximum power	258 metric horsepower (255 brake horsepower / 190 kilowatts)
Maximum torque	310 Newton-meters (229 pound-feet)
Engine location	front-mounted
Drive	rear wheel drive
0 to 60 mph	5.5 seconds

IMHO the 6 cylinder 3.0 litre is the one to go for... but I would say that...



They may not be the prettiest car on the road - but they are a hoot to drive & surprisingly comfortable & frugal over motorway distances.

z

[Grandiloquence]

How did you find the CR-Z ownership experience?

I tested one and it was nippier than I expected.

I think they belie the official figures somewhat. It does feel quicker than 10s to 60 in sport mode. They handle really well and it has been utterly reliable. Quite a few mods available if that's your thing, in fact there's a supercharger kit available that supposedly takes it to 200bhp.
The only issues for me are really surrounding practicality. Treat it as a two seater as the back seats are genuinely useless.
My other gripe is the doors are really wide so if some plonker parks too close to your driver's door you'll be climbing in through the other side! Had to do that a couple of times, needs some flexibility I'll tell you.

[yumma]

Maybe a left field choice, but in this position I’d be all over an Alfa Romeo Guilietta. Great vfm, nippy, spirited, gorgeous.

[jon8oy]

Civic Type R, Corsa or Astra VXR, one of the Skoda vRS models?

Failing that, could always go for forum fave MX-5

Sent from my GM1913 using Tapatalk

[thieuster]

First the sensible cars... Subaru: boring but reliable; Honda, boring but reliable. Same goes for the Korean fleet. Volvo V70 is a good choice but not with the D2 engine. This engine and auto/box aren't up to the heavy car (first hand experience here!). c30 always had my attention too! Love-it-or-loath-it model. In my book a good choice.

Menno

[Kirk280]

First the sensible cars... Subaru: boring but reliable; Honda, boring but reliable. Same goes for the Korean fleet. Volvo V70 is a good choice but not with the D2 engine. This engine and auto/box aren't up to the heavy car (first hand experience here!). c30 always had my attention too! Love-it-or-loath-it model. In my book a good choice.

Menno

Subaru 3.0R Spec B. Not boring and reliable!

(Although mine had got a warning light on the dash now....it is sad for not being driven)

[Grandiloquence]

Subaru 3.0R Spec B. Not boring and reliable!

(Although mine had got a warning light on the dash now....it is sad for not being driven)

Very cool. Hopefully my next car!

[Kirk280]

Very cool. Hopefully my next car!

I genuinely love it mate. Great in the snow. As thirsty as me on a stag do though!

[GraniteQuarry]

Fun and fast for £5k? Think I’d also be on the French hot hatch train, you’ll get newer and lower miles than the German gear

[vRSG60]

vRS Octavia


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Michael 38]

07 to 09 civic type r

[Kingstepper]

Me too, Laguna was nothing but trouble - gearbox had to be replaced twice. Engine mounting bolts sheared off 3 times (my local mechanic kept a few in stock for me). Finally written off when cambelt failed in Spain.

Having said this, I think older cars may have been (relatively) better. My father always had a Renault - including 4, 16, 9? and 19 and can't remember any problems.

[vagabond]

Older French cars were quite formidable because they still had the design flair (quirks to some) but none of the electrickery that modern cars have - they were mechanically modest, apart from the hydropneumatic Citroens of course.

[Michael 38]

Older French cars were quite formidable because they still had the design flair (quirks to some) but none of the electrickery that modern cars have - they were mechanically modest, apart from the hydropneumatic Citroens of course.

My mum always had french cars in the 70s Renault 5s 12s Peugeot’s never had any mechanical problems used to dissolve faster than an aspirin but all cars did back then, my workmate had a Peugeot 307 and the gearbox went my mates parents also had one were the engine caught fire I had 2 3 year old pug 406s first one great second one had something breaking every month

[Liner33]

£5k fun car would be a Fiesta ST Mk7 , if you can live with the choppy ride on Devon roads

[Tom-P]

Saabs make excellent and left-field s/h buys because their value has obviously tanked, but Saab parts are a separate and profitable company, so parts are easily obtainable, and there are plenty of good indies still around. You could get a vgc 9-3 Aero for that money - 200+hbp and very quick - or of course a convertible.

[watchcollector1]

Hmmm, certainly an interesting recommendation. A big heavy diesel saloon would not do it for me if the requirement was for something fun.

For £5k i'd be considering something like a Clio RS, MR2, Boxster 986 (you'd be surprised, plenty of folk on Boxster fora that run sub £5k cars), Z3, 325ti, supercharged Mini etc

The bulk of those cars were designed to be what they are from the ground up rather than boggo models with big engines/more powerful maps.

Since when has a 3 series with a decent engine been dull to drive?

It's hardly a lard ar**, plus it's rear wheel drive, has good power, shed loads of torque and lovely weighted hydraulic steering. And when you put your foot down it sounds better than most petrol 4 pots. To me that's still fun, especially when you put your foot down and ride a wave of torque.

And if Diesel really is a no no then there's always the 330i.

Of course they won't anywhere near as involving as something like a clio sport in the b roads but it's a much nicer place to be sat in and a much better all rounder.

The OP didn't ask specifically for a small hatch or a 2 seater just something a bit fun and a bit fast. I don't see how that automatically rules out fast saloons too.

[rico]

Since when has a 3 series with a decent engine been dull to drive?

It's hardly a lard ar**, plus it's rear wheel drive, has good power, shed loads of torque and lovely weighted hydraulic steering. And when you put your foot down it sounds better than most petrol 4 pots. To me that's still fun, especially when you put your foot down and ride a wave of torque.

And if Diesel really is a no no then there's always the 330i.

Of course they won't anywhere near as involving as something like a clio sport in the b roads but it's a much nicer place to be sat in and a much better all rounder.

The OP didn't ask specifically for a small hatch or a 2 seater just something a bit fun and a bit fast. I don't see how that automatically rules out fast saloons too.

It’d be boring if we all liked the same things! I understand your point of view but I take the standpoint that smaller lighter cars are generally more fun to drive.

[yumma]

I’ve had two Renaults, a Scenic and a Clio sport, neither without some little foibles, but a lot less troublesome than the two Audi’s I’ve owned; Q5 and TT, both suffering catastrophic Engine and gearbox issues at around 70k. Never again will I buy VAG unless it’s a lease. I love Jap cars and they are usually reliable but my new EP3 Civic Type R had all the known faults and needed new suspension and gearbox under warranty. So I’d still err towards the Alfa. I owned a Lancia in the early 90’s and it never let me down and was a superb car to own, not even a minor electrical glitch. If you want rock solid reliability get a Lexus IS250. Just speaking from personal experience.

[Rod]

I have a Civic 1.8S which was 5K and had very low miles on it. It's been fantastic, serviced once a year, 43mpg, reasonably fast too.A bullet proof option.
My independent garage opener said it was a superb example.

[Harry Smith]

After my last post I remembered a Panda I bought from an Auction many year ago. It was a Gullible Fool Special Pos and my first auction buy. I was totally suckered and it cost loads to be put right. We used it for a year and got rid at a loss. Didn't put me off auctions however and I've bought one or two cars and bikes since. But I didn't and don't go around telling other people never to use auctions or never buy a Panda or some silliness. Just because you or your mates mate had a bad experience doesn't mean the next thing you buy is going to be the same. You must do your home work before buying anything and always walk away if in doubt.

[Ellietwed]

I'm a sucker for anything Japanese having various Subaru, Honda and Toyota fast scoots in my time....unfortunately I don't have anything particularly sporty at the moment (although my Toyota Granvia 3.0 turbo diesel camper van pulls like a train ) my Japanese motors have been totally reliable...a leftfield option that is available for £5k is a Mazda MPS...260bhp and a decent rep...eg https://www.motors.co.uk/car-56328470/?i=1&m=sp