sub £4000 fun car

[bashbarnard]

Track use and fun on the b roads

[399road]

Mk2 Cavalier SRI 130. Not driven one for about 20 years but they feel mega dangerous and you can absolutely smash its head in and it'll keep coming back for more. 130 horses feel like 430!  It'll see off almost anything on the road and scare you to death every time you go out in it. The brakes were crap when they were brand new and when the suspension gets tired they're even more terrifying. Classic car insurance is a bonus too. .

[Stef205]

205 /thread

[Redordead89]

The best legacy twin you can find for 3K+ can still cart family around and LPG it!

---

Mk2 Cavalier SRI 130. Not driven one for about 20 years but they feel mega dangerous and you can absolutely smash its head in and it'll keep coming back for more. 130 horses feel like 430!  It'll see off almost anything on the road and scare you to death every time you go out in it. The brakes were crap when they were brand new and when the suspension gets tired they're even more terrifying. Classic car insurance is a bonus too. .

My brother had one of these when it was about 8 years old and it was shit then so I can only imagine a 20 year old cav would mean instant death or dismemberment do lets not go down the road of the astra gte or red top anything!

[399road]

The best legacy twin you can find for 3K+ can still cart family around and LPG it!

---

Mk2 Cavalier SRI 130. Not driven one for about 20 years but they feel mega dangerous and you can absolutely smash its head in and it'll keep coming back for more. 130 horses feel like 430!  It'll see off almost anything on the road and scare you to death every time you go out in it. The brakes were crap when they were brand new and when the suspension gets tired they're even more terrifying. Classic car insurance is a bonus too. .

My brother had one of these when it was about 8 years old and it was shit then so I can only imagine a 20 year old cav would mean instant death or dismemberment do lets not go down the road of the astra gte or red top anything!

Oh no. It must have been a bad un. Surely you must have experienced the fear for your life a teeny weeny bit? Oi...my Manta's Red topped lol.

[welshpug]

There's none left, all rotted away!

and had the engines nicked...

[Piggy]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/252394702514

/Thread!?

[1616six]

Best advice is don't ask for advice.

Go test as many cars as you can, go and watch some track days, make your own mind up.

All you'll get by asking is people's own preference, then an argument of why their opinion is wrong.

Just ask Tom or myself, it's really not worth asking for car help.. I didn't & I love my car..

[Toms306]

Just ask Tom or myself, it's really not worth asking for car help.. I didn't & I love my car..

This man speaks sense.

[bashbarnard]

Oh im not asking to be told anything. I already secretly know what i want. What i want to know is what other people would buy for interest purposes and theyre have been ars suggested that will be put on the list to try

[Piggy]

Ah ok.

If i had 4k...I'd buy a damaged/blown evo.

[Poodle]

Best advice is don't ask for advice.

Go test as many cars as you can, go and watch some track days, make your own mind up.

All you'll get by asking is people's own preference, then an argument of why their opinion is wrong.

Just ask Tom or myself, it's really not worth asking for car help.. I didn't & I love my car..

You really make me wonder sometimes, what exactly do you think advice is if not somebody elses opinion of your best option...? 

[bashbarnard]

So the sabb that welshpug mentioned is on the list to test drive now. m3 was always a given. although i hate bmws i seem to have a soft spot for the e46 one. nissan 350z a bit out of the price range but they do come up cheap every so often. didnt think evos could be got for that cheap.

[ozonehostile]

So the sabb that welshpug mentioned is on the list to test drive now. m3 was always a given. although i hate bmws i seem to have a soft spot for the e46 one. nissan 350z a bit out of the price range but they do come up cheap every so often. didnt think evos could be got for that cheap.

You could get an ok evo 4 for around £4-5k 

That's probably what I'd do tbh

[cpikey316_]

stealth SAAB ninja 

[1616six]

Best advice is don't ask for advice.

Go test as many cars as you can, go and watch some track days, make your own mind up.

All you'll get by asking is people's own preference, then an argument of why their opinion is wrong.

Just ask Tom or myself, it's really not worth asking for car help.. I didn't & I love my car..

You really make me wonder sometimes, what exactly do you think advice is if not somebody elses opinion of your best option...? 

It's exactly that, you're bang on.. However everyone's opinion is right in their minds & will not be superseded. Asking for advice on a car forum is absolutely a terrible idea because secretly every single person on here is biased, fact.

Cpikey is a Saab man, we all know that.. He'll always suggest one, doesn't mean he's wrong but not necessarily an unbiased opionion. Chris has an Impreza, naturally he'll suggest one. Ruan is a Volvo fanboy.. You'd probably not be far off by guessing he would suggest a Volvo of some sort. We're on a 306 forum so it goes without saying someone would suggest a 306, nothing wrong with that at all but it doesn't mean it's the best car for Bash.

You can have 10 pages of people saying "Ooh get XXX" and the OP will still buy the car they had in the back of their mind.

I know exactly what you're saying Poodle and you're right, advice is an opinion of your best option.. My argument is that asking for other people's opinion of your best option is a very poor idea! 

Good luck with the search Bash but as I've said, you're really better off conducting your own research. It's your money, you know what boxes you want to tick.. Don't let others influence your car choice. If it's your money, then you choose. If the Mrs has involvement then it's a joint entity.

---

So the sabb that welshpug mentioned is on the list to test drive now. m3 was always a given. although i hate bmws i seem to have a soft spot for the e46 one. nissan 350z a bit out of the price range but they do come up cheap every so often. didnt think evos could be got for that cheap.

Have you driven a Z? My friend paid £4300 for one with a full Audi respray & loads of work done so they're do-able however I was underwhelmed by the performance. Not slow but didn't blow my hat off.

[Poodle]

Haha fair point, although naturally you're wrong. Personally i think getting all that opinion stuff is a great idea as it'll highlight things i haven't thought of or make me reconsider parts of my criteria. Yes, the views you will get on here are biased, all opinions are by definition, the important thing is their bias is different to your own. You can't develop a balanced opinion by yourself because you simply can't consider all the angles without being several different people at once. Believing that you can merely blinds you to potentially useful input and obstructs your own ability to make an informed decision. IMO.

[bashbarnard]

Best advice is don't ask for advice.

Go test as many cars as you can, go and watch some track days, make your own mind up.

All you'll get by asking is people's own preference, then an argument of why their opinion is wrong.

Just ask Tom or myself, it's really not worth asking for car help.. I didn't & I love my car..

You really make me wonder sometimes, what exactly do you think advice is if not somebody elses opinion of your best option...? 

It's exactly that, you're bang on.. However everyone's opinion is right in their minds & will not be superseded. Asking for advice on a car forum is absolutely a terrible idea because secretly every single person on here is biased, fact.

Cpikey is a Saab man, we all know that.. He'll always suggest one, doesn't mean he's wrong but not necessarily an unbiased opionion. Chris has an Impreza, naturally he'll suggest one. Ruan is a Volvo fanboy.. You'd probably not be far off by guessing he would suggest a Volvo of some sort. We're on a 306 forum so it goes without saying someone would suggest a 306, nothing wrong with that at all but it doesn't mean it's the best car for Bash.

You can have 10 pages of people saying "Ooh get XXX" and the OP will still buy the car they had in the back of their mind.

I know exactly what you're saying Poodle and you're right, advice is an opinion of your best option.. My argument is that asking for other people's opinion of your best option is a very poor idea! 

Good luck with the search Bash but as I've said, you're really better off conducting your own research. It's your money, you know what boxes you want to tick.. Don't let others influence your car choice. If it's your money, then you choose. If the Mrs has involvement then it's a joint entity.

---

So the sabb that welshpug mentioned is on the list to test drive now. m3 was always a given. although i hate bmws i seem to have a soft spot for the e46 one. nissan 350z a bit out of the price range but they do come up cheap every so often. didnt think evos could be got for that cheap.

Have you driven a Z? My friend paid £4300 for one with a full Audi respray & loads of work done so they're do-able however I was underwhelmed by the performance. Not slow but didn't blow my hat off.

Yes ive driven a few 350z's and ill agree the performance isnt blow your hats off but the drive was very nice

[Eeyore]

saab 93 aero with the upgraded clutch and turbo swap should see you to 380hp

[Magenta Sunset]

if I had the cash, & the space, a well sorted (ie not rotten) MGB or TR7. but that's just my wish.

[Paul Baldwin]

I've just been trying to persuade my old man to get a 350Z. Might not be quick enough for you by the sounds of it BUT very close to being in your price range http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/a...&logcode=p

If you've never driven a kit car and love performance, sort yourself out :p You may be very suprised to find out how cheap they are to insure too! Any well sorted sevenesque car with a set of 888's all round can provide amazing levels of grip, even a 1.8 Mazda engined one can provide very spirited performance if it's light enough. That leaves many options for more power but imo turbo's on that sort of car are just asking for trouble (unless it's a Dax quadra!)

[insomaniac45]

 power but imo turbo's on that sort of car are just asking for trouble (unless it's a Dax quadra!)

turbos on a 7 is asking for trouble, a highly tuned 7 has a hard enough time staying collected round a bend   

but yes, 4k KIT CAR is a must, if i had the cash, thats exactly what i would do

[399road]

What about big power Saab motor in an old SRI 130? That scary "there's going to be an incident" feeling would be even better with an extra 200 horses.

[Paul Baldwin]

 power but imo turbo's on that sort of car are just asking for trouble (unless it's a Dax quadra!)

turbos on a 7 is asking for trouble, a highly tuned 7 has a hard enough time staying collected round a bend   

but yes, 4k KIT CAR is a must, if i had the cash, thats exactly what i would do

A friend of mine has recently done this to his Roadrunner SR2 (the best looking 7 copy ever imo) I tried really hard to get him to go the super-charger route. Not even sure I even want to get in it in future! My old vindicator could be dodgy in the wrong weather conditions just from hitting the second barrel on the Weber! That thing's in a different league when it comes to handling and performance.

[Poodle]

Tbh, if you want fun and cheap you can't go far wrong with an mx-5. £4000 could see you with a tidy one with a reliable turbo conversion, those have as much power as the chassis needs.

[Piggy]

Genuinely cannot believe people are suggesting anything vauxhall....

[1616six]

Genuinely cannot believe people are suggesting anything vauxhall....

Why?

[powerandtorque]

Track use and fun on the b roads

If it's for track use and B-road blasts then I can't help but think that something comparatively light and agile is the order of the day rather than the big heavy bruisers that some are suggesting, but each to their own.  Big powerful bruisers have their own charm certainly, but to me at least, they're simply not "fun" in that kind of environment when their size and weight is working against them meaning that you're fighting the car.

[bashbarnard]

Genuinely cannot believe people are suggesting anything vauxhall....

Why?

Im with piggy here. Tey all drive like shite, never driven one i like. Its personal opinon at the end of the day isnt it. Its why instarted this thread for opinons. From it ive got another car so far that wasnt on my list that i fancy a test drive in. What its about really isnt it

[powerandtorque]

Im with piggy here. Tey all drive like shite, never driven one i like.

VX220 certainly doesn't drive like shite, completely the opposite in fact... although that's arguably not really a Vauxhall at all (and rather academic since it's above your £4k budget)