My brother wrote off his Factory Built Caterham 7 on black ice on Boxing Day : o (
He has decided not to replace the Caterham for the time being and is looking for a fun sporty car I would imagine around the 5k price bracket for sunny weekend use to fill the void in his garage that the Caterham has left.
He has a company car for everyday use so this car would be a 'toy' : o )
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Fabia VRS ?
OR
A proper car, a 5ks worth of big engined BMW !
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I suppose he wants it to be reliable and a proper convertible.
Can only really be an MX5, if he's prepared to go down the targa route could get a previous shape mr2 turbo. Or if he's prepared to have a solid roof, celica gt4.
Most other cars are going to be too run of the mill after something like a caterham, subaru's and the like on every street, and most hot hatches and convertibles the same.
Rare but possibly slightly out of budget, merc 124 convertible.
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>>Most other cars are going to be too run of the mill after something like a caterham, subaru's and the like on every street, and most hot hatches and convertibles the same.
And an MX5 isn't run of the mill? Nice cars but a yawn after a Caterham and everywhere you look. It all depends on how the OP's relative defines 'fun'. Does he want performance or just something different? Or both? More information needed!
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I've got a very nice MG TF that will be for sale soon :-)
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If a solid roof were acceptable, what about a Mitsubishi 3000GT - 4wd, better on black ice and things?
A Mk IV Supra would be better, but perhaps more run of the mill, and a decent one (i.e. not messed about) is going to be in a higher price bracket. The local Toyota dealer happily services mine.
See HJs Car-by-Car in either case.
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It's easy enough to shove a turbo or supercharger into an MX5. The chassis is fairly good as-is, but easy enough to lower and stiffen up a bit at minimal cost.
Theer again, a fair percentage of imports from Japan already have the tweaks done to them. They're cheap at the moment as well.
There's one or three that have had V8's dropped in as well.
Edited by martint123 on 25/03/2008 at 11:32
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I knew a chap with a supercharged mk1 1.8 which was knocking out 250 bhp.
The supercharger came as a kit which he installed himself, plus he'd had some work done to the head (cams, porting) and bottom end.
All told, he'd spent about £4k on the mods, plus a heck of a lot of time. Blimey, it was quick though. Would easily give a Honda S2000 or 3.0 Z3 a run for its money.
Cheers
DP
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Westfield 1600 SE. There are a couple on Autotrader at just under £6k.
Panther Kallista - again Autotrader at just over £6k.
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A bit above the estimated budget, but well worth a look / drive is the Lotus Elise. 7k would get him into a higher mileage, but well cared for early car. Comparable to the Caterham as a "pure" driving experience, but a lot cheaper and more plentiful on the used market.
Watch out for K-series HGF, but a mate of mine had 95,000 very reliable miles out of his. In all that time it only needed a fuel filler hose, shocks, and a boot/engine cover release cable outside of routine servicing. Did 40 mpg as well. That was a daily driver used in all weathers and driven hard.
They are an absolute joy to drive.
Cheers
DP
Edited by DP on 25/03/2008 at 12:43
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They covered the Elise on Fifth gear last night in their 'great (2nd hand) car for not much money' slot, but I missed that bit. Anyone catch what they said ie. what to look out for?
Edited by Focus {P} on 25/03/2008 at 13:21
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>>Anyone catch what they said ie. what to look out for?<<
Head gasket, hydraulic line from clutch master to clutch slave, steering.
Possibly the best choice after the caterham ?
Was he a member of the caterham 7 club ? I guess he won't find a better car club, and may need another caterham
If he wants real fun, then he'll want a motorcycle.
Honda Fireblades and the like would be well within the budget.
Avoid all ice though :-)
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