looking for a new car!!

[chris_rolling]

right, after having the saxo for over two years now, deciding to get another car. am going to be 21 when i get it, and will have (touch wood) 4 years no claims. just been looking around at insurance quotes on other cars (has to be jap and fast) and hve been plesantly shocked at the quotes! celica gt4 st205 came out at around 650 quid, scooby wrx was 1200 and a 300 zx came out at 1700 per year. so what car would you recommend with a budget of 5k max for the car? not just the ones ive mentioned, but i was as much bang for my buck in regards to power, but obv dont want it to be a shed and want some reliability out of it (around 60k miles if poss) cheers!

[Jazz]

(has to be jap and fast)

Whole world of models out there mate, seriously so many variations and trims of different models its down to you to decide what you're after.

5k could get a Celica GT4 ST205 as you mention, they're quite cheap to insure for some reason and theie 3S-GTE engines are highly tunable.

Be weary of the older Scooby WRX's, plenty of power out the box but many run lean which leads to detonation which kills the engines, hence so many rebuilt examples around. A properly mapped one with forged pistons and rods would be a great catch though. (edit)- your budget could also get you a bugeye Impreza. Stronger engine and very good for tuning.

Evo 4's and maybe even 5's can be found around your budget, and have awesome power out the box, simple mods like a remap with exhaust should push them over ther 300bhp mark. High maintenance and running costs though.

VTEC is another option if you want performance without the high running costs. 5k could bag you a JDM Integra DC2, EP3 CTR or ATR with plenty of change.

Plenty of others, including glazas, pulsars, 200SX's etc..

[chris_rolling]

have been offered a wrx for 3500 quid, my dads gf's car, and its not been ragged. but since the insurance is getting better for me, thought id have a look around. any idea about the 300 zx? can imagine the running costs etc would be sooo much more than the scooby or celica, but more power obv, also looking at rx7's, but know the engines need a rebuild at about 70k

[gaz4399]

id go with a dc2 integera

[andyt81]

i have had an impreza in the past
was a uk2000 turbo on a x reg classic(best shape)
was a great car, i loved it

[Jazz]

http://www.grandprixgroup.com/new/magazine/xoauto/115/styleup_gto/1.jpg

Mitsubishi GTO Twin Turbo 3.0 24v. Monster.

[mtpagey]

buying and insuring the car is the easy bit, its running/maintaining it that tends to burn a hole in your wallet. as said, sky's the limit when it comes to what your after

[chris_rolling]

buying and insuring the car is the easy bit, its running/maintaining it that tends to burn a hole in your wallet. as said, sky's the limit when it comes to what your after

what im doing is just putting a budget out there for the car, although running costs can vary greatly, am just going to ignore them for now. not that bothered about petrol costs, services, tax etx, more worried about if the engine blows, how much its going to cost to source parts etc. integras are nice, but am looking for the 200 - 300 power bracket, because i can lol

[Mark51]

have you thought about the running costs?

When i got my new car (yes i know its not jap) i thought that it wouldnt be that much more than running a saxo. However, it costs me £20 more a week in petrol, the tyres are 3 times as much, the servicing is 6 times as much (seriously) and when it needs parts they are also more.

[chris_rolling]

what i am going to keep in mind is that cars like scoobys, celicas are going to be stacked more, so more cheap spare parts, but fto's, fairladys, skylines arnt, so all parts are going to come from dealers. the petrol isnt going to be an issue, as im at uni, so its just pootling to uni and back, 2 miles in the week, but i have fun at the weekends. dont use that much petrol unless im out doing the twisties. but what is the reliability like with the cars mentioned?

[Mark51]

how longs a piece of string, if someone can prove they have looked after the car e.g, genuine parts used, plenty of service history when it should have been serviced, etc...... and it looked well and drives well then you stand a good chance. How does the owner drive it? rag it from cold to 'show you what i can do'? or let it warm up and then give it some?

Stiffler69 bought an evo from a garage and it turned out that the YAW control had been bodged and whatever happened it ended up mashing the engine up and that came with all the documents so its a lucky draw really.

[chris_rolling]

as mentioned before, dads gf has got a 2001 scooby wrx, 60k on the clock and she wants 3.5k for it, so i know thats a good deal, but even though ive got that offer, i cant help wondering if im going to get somthing better ;) are the wrx fun to drive, and are they worth the hype?

[MiniGibbo]

Why does it have to be jap? they have rusbish interiors and most look cack straight out of the box..

Have you considered a e36 m3, a sub 100k decent 3.0 with 286hp will only set you back 4k?

:y:

[andyt81]

my impreza was 215bhp as standard
had remap, sports cat and exhaust and was 258 bhp and 284lb torque on rr

the wrx in classic shape are all imports
lighter and slightly faster than the uk version

all i can say is join the forums of the cars your interested in and reasearch as much as possible

[scot-ish]

tdo4 forged starlet, make a cunt of afore mentioned cars, and still pretty good with respect to running costs