View Full Version : decent car for around 3.5k
vanishing days
17-10-12, 02:10 PM
Basically my best friend has 3.5k to spend but has no idea what he wants all he says is he wants something relatively modern and sporty any ideas
Captain Peanut
17-10-12, 02:14 PM
Any other requirements, load carrying, number of seats, insurance limitations etc?
Love these kinds of challenges but that is a fairly broad choice (although MK2 180 and mod money is the first call!!)
vanishing days
17-10-12, 02:26 PM
He has a wife and son so has to have 4 seats no other requirements he dosnt want a mg as hes had a 45 and currently has a zt and fancy a change in brand I've recommended a rx8 and a Hyundai coupe so far
Captain Peanut
17-10-12, 02:30 PM
That's my afternoon sorted then, time to hit Autotrader!!
He has a wife and son so has to have 4 seats no other requirements he dosnt want a mg as hes had a 45 and currently has a zt and fancy a change in brand I've recommended a rx8 and a Hyundai coupe so far
I definitely wouldn't recommend an RX8 for the money as most will be over 60,000 miles and start experiencing compression issues.
Captain Peanut
17-10-12, 02:51 PM
Ok, apart from the RX8 have found a few options with a quick search:
Renault Megane 225 - http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/renault/renaultsport-megane/2004-renaultsport-megane-225--2-0-t-5-door/821239 or http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/renault/renaultsport-megane/renault-megane-2-0-t-16v-renaultsport-225-5dr-huge-spec/847951
BMW 330ci M Sport
Ford Focus or Mondeo ST (remapped diesel in the latter for some poke)
Seat Leon Cupra R
Skoda Octavia vRS
Depending on how they interpret modern you could also have:
Honda Integra DC2
Older Scooby or Evo
VW Corrado VR6
Volvo 850 T5
carmadbaker
17-10-12, 03:14 PM
Ok, apart from the RX8 have found a few options with a quick search:
Renault Megane 225 - http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/renault/renaultsport-megane/2004-renaultsport-megane-225--2-0-t-5-door/821239 or http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/renault/renaultsport-megane/renault-megane-2-0-t-16v-renaultsport-225-5dr-huge-spec/847951
BMW 330ci M Sport
Ford Focus or Mondeo ST (remapped diesel in the latter for some poke)
Seat Leon Cupra R
Skoda Octavia vRS
Depending on how they interpret modern you could also have:
Honda Integra DC2
Older Scooby or Evo
VW Corrado VR6
Volvo 850 T5
epic choices dude, cant go far wrong with any of them :mml:
I have a BMW 330I M-Sport that I am going to be selling, only after around 2k ONO for it, 4 door saloon, X-reg with M-Tech kit, 112k miles but full service history upto 107k, 0-60 6 seconds...Handles great and pulls like a train...
Oh and no, dont buy a RX-8, I had one with 70k mile son the clock with full histiry and had for for 6 months and needed and engine rebuld, lovely to drive but never again...
Steven11
17-10-12, 03:43 PM
I like the Mazda 6 MPZ, there are also 1 or two fast Audi's you could have for that money !
Mazda 6MPS is a dam good car to drive but they are Mondeos at the end of the day, 2.3 engines can suffer with piston ring issues...
Steven11
17-10-12, 04:07 PM
Mazda 6MPS is a dam good car to drive but they are Mondeos at the end of the day, 2.3 engines can suffer with piston ring issues...
Didnt know that. I guess its just easy to assume anything Jap will be bullet proof, still a really good looking car though. Even the Mazda 3 MPZ would do me.
Problem is its not jap...its a ford... 2ltr mondeo zetec bored out and a turbo stuck on it... good looking car tho... and nice to drive...
The BMW I would avoid...they can be absolute money pits to be honest.
There are plenty of options available...
Mondeo, Saabs, Focus, Skoda Octavia, Seat Ibiza (always had a soft spot for these)
Absolutely loads about...more requrements needed.
Does he want performance, handling, comfort, mpg's.
Average mileage? :)
Mps is nothing like a mondeo,
Mps has issues with the timing chain rattling which is usually caused be lack of servicing, 4wd also so you can have transfer box problems on them and it isnt that easy a box to to get out
Mazda parts are really pricey too, poorly undersealed so id be checking carefully for corrosion, quite bad for front wheel bearings, and can be a nightmare to get stuff to bits because of the corrosion.
Genuine mazda brakes are fairly poor grade of metal so corrode quite badly. Il give you the low down on the rx8 when i get on my computer and mondeo diesels:)
vanishing days
17-10-12, 05:24 PM
Yeah he wants a sporty car that's comfy on long journeys and has decent rear leg room with average miles as he plans to keep it for around 3 years
WalkerDnB
17-10-12, 05:42 PM
Mondeo st 2.2 or 220 best car for the money in fact get one for less than 3.5k :)
rx8 problems:
rotor tips sticking, if the car isnt driven hard at least once a week the rotor tips can end up sticking causing poor compression, they are designed to be redlined
rotor tips wearing out: dependant on mileage the tips wear and basically new engine time
get two power models, high power and low power, high power has the 6 speed box in it, has different manifod and ports on the engine
prone for coils failing, 4 of them
prone for h.t. leads failing
prone for plugs cracking due to being exposed at the side of the engine all causing misfires, theres 2 plugs per rotor, leading and trailing, pretty pricey
cats can be common for needing replaced due to misfires
the engine is designed to burn oil so need to keep an eye on the level, uses dexelia, fully synthetic 5/30 oil
sumps are prone for going porous, not a huge job butworth checking cost of parts
theres an uprated starter motor out for them if its got poor starting
dont like doing short journeys as they are prone to flooding the engine, if this happens best way to get them going is to tow start that, failing that, plugs out and cleaned, eccentric shaft sensor disconnected and spun over, then re-assembeled, dont start with your foot on the throttle
prone for both n/s and o/s engine mounts failing, youll feel a vibration through the car if this happens
the oil cooler pipes had a recall for corrosion, but even the uprated ones have been seen to leak
coolant level sensor in the expansion tank going faulty
if it has xenons the level sensors on the suspension are prone to failing bringing the light on the dash, pricey part to replace,
xenon units themselfs are £2000 each iirc
rear lamp gaskets prone to leaking causing the lamps to fill up with water
alloys prone to corrosion and bubbling
arb links splitting
the wiring looms going to the bootlid can short out sometimes for the high level brake lamp blowing the fuse and bringing the engine management light on
terrible mpg, most the time its in the teens
expensive road tax due to the high emmisions
discs corroding if they are genuine items
if your taking the engine out the pcm bolts are a pain to get out and the steering couplers usually seized on
if the numberplate plinths loose or broken, theyre bolted from the back which reqs a wee strip to get at
mondeo diesel,
pretty common for the dual mass flywheel for failing and knocking, if its ignored the metal shaving fill up and the car wont start, look at about 5.5hours labour to replace this as the subframe needs dropped
injection system can be prone to failing,
egr valve seizing and this can cause poor starting
auxilary bekt tensioner being noisy
rear subframe bushes splitting
rear wheel bearings
WalkerDnB
17-10-12, 06:02 PM
mondeo diesel,
pretty common for the dual mass flywheel for failing and knocking, if its ignored the metal shaving fill up and the car wont start, look at about 5.5hours labour to replace this as the subframe needs dropped
injection system can be prone to failing,
egr valve seizing and this can cause poor starting
auxilary tensioner being noisy
rear subframe bushes splitting
rear wheel bearings
You can write a list for any car mate there would be a bigger list than that for a zs
every car has faults its just a case of finding a good one.
Steven11
17-10-12, 06:11 PM
Who need's Edd China. We've got Ritchy
2004.5 shape focus..pretty good cars all round
anything with a zetec engine the water pump can be prone to leaking, timing belt off job but not overly hard
misfires usually are the spark valley filled with water, this is usually caused by the washer jet gaskets leaking, new plugs leads and jets usually fix this, sometimes the coil pack needs replaced too, sometimes the core plugs leak in the valley but not overly common, again leads plugs and core plugs
1.8 the manifold gaskets can leak causing misfires/lean running, same with the injector seals
rear a.r.b. links if they are the rose jointed ones can knock
worthwhile checking if the rear shockers are leaking, if its had a lot of heavy loads in it something funny about the angle the shock sits at the wears the seals out
front rear wishbone bushes splitting, come as part of a full of the wishbone in general
check the sill line, paint seems to peel off there a lot
You can write a list for any car mate there would be a bigger list than that for a zs
every car has faults its just a case of finding a good one.
im giving him things to look out for if he does want to buy one for haggling ect..
WalkerDnB
17-10-12, 06:16 PM
im giving him things to look out for if he does want to buy one for haggling ect..
fair doos then mate I have to stick up for fords (still a ford boy at heart :D)
Got to ask where are you getting all this information your posting it almost as quick as I can read it lol
big_wasa
17-10-12, 06:20 PM
look at his tool box lol
mazda 3 is pretty much a focus underneath, pretty good cars, the 2.0 sport is a nice driving car, look out for the same things i listed for the focus really, some parts are pricier but if you get the equivelant ford part its cheaper,
the abs module can be iffy on them, if the dsc light is on likely it will be needing a module, good thing is they now do the two parts of the module sepratly, so youll just need the hydraulic part of it which is only about £200 instead of about £1000
again as i said about on the 6, just make sure its not corroding underneath, may be worthwhile getting it sealed underneath
interior wise the sprt comes with the bose soundsystem which is good:)
the 3 mps has the same engine as the 6, again make sure the timing chain isnt rattling
big_wasa
17-10-12, 06:23 PM
I really fancy an rx8 and dont care about oil or fuel. Reading around when the coil packs fail it increases bore wash and that screws the rotors aswell. Your ideas on this Ritchy ?
fair doos then mate I have to stick up for fords (still a ford boy at heart :D)
Got to ask where are you getting all this information your posting it almost as quick as I can read it lol
im a ford and mazda tech lol, also have nissan dealer, and we are an ex rover dealership and we are also have a motorstore so end up working on anything and everything
I really fancy an rx8 and dont care about oil or fuel. Reading around when the coil packs fail it increases bore wash and that screws the rotors aswell. Your ideas on this Ritchy ?
suppose it could do yeah as the fuel is going to act as a degreaser really wahing the oil away, guess as long as you keep an eye on it, they loose a lot of power when the coils go down
big_wasa
17-10-12, 06:28 PM
I read the power drop is not as noticable if its just the trailing coil that goes down.
I dont mind the spanner time but couldnt take cost of a new engine.
they are lovely driving cars, r3 is very nice inside too with the recaro wingback chairs and looks a lot nicer outside with the bodykit, not sure on price of them atm, the p.z. wil be down in price now too which has the bilstein shocks and lightweight wheels, if you get yourself into halfords you can buy the noid lights that you fit onto the plugs anbd you can watch see if any arent firing properly, the coils arent that expensive for aftermarket units, but as i said you cant buy them as a car to pootle about in all the time, they need a good kicking at least once a week
vanishing days
17-10-12, 06:34 PM
Cheers Ritchy and guys he's liking the Mazda 6 and a Saab best at the moment
6 mps really is a wolf in sheeps clothing, bose sound system with the sub built into the parcel shelf, theres an option of the pop up satnav as well which is a good item, say just makesure your getting one thats been regularly serviced, the servicebookj on them is digital so youll need to be looking for receipts or if it has been dealer serviced can check on the digital service record
im always a bit wary of saabs, but i dont know if thats mainly from a mechanics point of view, nice driving cars and parts arent too dear, dont work on them enough to give you a decent heads up on them
vanishing days
19-10-12, 11:29 AM
Picked up the car today it's a 07 Mazda 6 mps was a bit more than he wanted to spendhad a quick go in it have to say I'm slightly envious really quick very nice power delivery and really nice interior and sound system
Captain Peanut
19-10-12, 11:37 AM
Great news, glad he's found something and quick too!
Nice choice...just check the sparks and make sure they are clean and not caked in oil before you rag it around...
fastmike
19-10-12, 12:32 PM
Saab everytime ......post 2004 or pre 1999 anything inbetween can suffer with blocked oil pick up caused by poorly designed engine breather ( updated 3 times )pre 1999 check it has the B204 engine..... bomb proof and easily takes 300 BHP .....9-3 not so good on the handling front......9-5 Aero epic.... 250 BHP out of the box
Failing those ......E46 BMW 325 or 330 , neither will disappoint and both return fuel MPG in the mid to low 30s......only thing is your mates budgets a tad on the low side to get a decent E46
Dan1971
19-10-12, 01:13 PM
That must have cost him a fair bit more than his £3500 budget - Big tax too if I'm right....
Glad he's happy with it though.
vanishing days
19-10-12, 01:33 PM
Yeah it was 4k plus his zt so was a bit more but he seems to be happy
The tax is ridiculous but he got 12 months tax with it and 6 month warranty
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