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Best bargain in motoring?


Ekona

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Idea stolen from me on another thread :p

 

So what's the best bargain in motoring right now then? Let's play fast and loose with the rules, so let's do realistic purchases as well as daft ones.

 

 

I'll start with a couple, and the obvious one first: 987 Cayman S. £45K when new, down to around £15K now, and that gets you a proper mid-engined coupe with a great chassis, and an exotic flat six engine. Bags of power for the road or track, and a badge you wouldn't mind showing off when you chuck your car keys in the bowl at special parties. For normal folks with a sensible budget looking for a weekend car, I don't think there's much better.

 

 

For a little more cash (!), how about something like this Lambo Murci? A V12 engine wrapped in a stunning aggressive shape, with a proper manual 'box for less than £100K. It's modern oily bits will last much longer than the Lambos of old, but they've still got all the character from before the German's purchase. Over 200mph in a supercar, what more could you ask for? That's a proper bargain, that is.

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Doesn't the Cayman have a slight flaw which might be reflected in the price though?

 

My turn, I have two for now!

 

So for the gangsta in you that wants to live in the hood in deep LA but actually lives in a little village in Hampshire.

 

8 years old and $80k new. Yours for the same price as a new Corsa.

 

http://www.ebay.co.u...=item28085ba5b4

 

 

Shaken not stirred, your own 007 dream - Same price as a new MX5. Over £120k new.

 

http://www.ebay.co.u...=item1c56c060c8

Edited by 370Ad
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Hmmm, if we are talking cars you are going to use then the Escalade and Murci are a touch high on running costs ;), I reckon an XKR is a bigger bargain than the DB7 as well - youre paying for the badge. If fuel and running costs dont come into it then theres any number of massive barges that will fit the bill, but buying a bargain and then getting 10mpg dont really fit for me :lol:

 

Ive always struggled to believe that you can pick up a well looked after 306 GTI-6 for a grand (yes, Ive got one) - they are still fairly quick, handle well enough to use on track and are 5 seat hatchbacks so are practical too, see also fast Clios but they are bit more cramped and buzzy. E36 M3 is difficult to beat at the price and the Octavia VRS are mad value for what you get. If you arent interested in the car itself, then Kia Cee'ds are cheap as chips, particularly if you take the warranty into account.

 

All of that said, if someone offered me an MoT'd 350Z for less than 4K I dont think Id be able to say no ............ :D

Edited by docwra
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When I read Dan's post earlier I went straight onto Autotrader and started looking for Caymans, but the IMS / bore score just terrifies me. A sorted one for £15k is pretty hard to beat though. You can get some older Merc AMG stuff for crazy money now, but they would be ruinous if anything went wrong too. As someone else has mentioned, the newer shape XKR is hard to ignore for £20-30k. Some older Maser's are starting to look inviting, the 4200 for around £15k and a Granturismo for £30k... but again, scary running costs.

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When I read Dan's post earlier I went straight onto Autotrader and started looking for Caymans, but the IMS / bore score just terrifies me. A sorted one for £15k is pretty hard to beat though. You can get some older Merc AMG stuff for crazy money now, but they would be ruinous if anything went wrong too. As someone else has mentioned, the newer shape XKR is hard to ignore for £20-30k. Some older Maser's are starting to look inviting, the 4200 for around £15k and a Granturismo for £30k... but again, scary running costs.

 

This.

 

I really want a caymen. But those issues really put me off. A friend of mine had ims failure and it crippled him financially. An unexpected rebuild is not something I want to get into.

I guess you can get a PPI done.

 

Sorry. Back on topic

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Stop worrying about things like running costs, they don't count :p Of course you should get a PPI done on any M97 engined Porker though, no-one would be daft enough to buy without ;) ;) ;)

 

M5 is a great shout, I'll also chuck in a DB9 too, have you seen how cheap they are now?! For a genuine British V12 as well, got ta be worth a punt.

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E36 M3s, E39 M5s and R32 GTRs definitely aren't going to get any cheaper so a clean one of any of those would get my vote. I have been keeping half an eye out for a good one at a bargain price but it would mean selling my Z, E28 and then some so wouldn't be an easy swap.

Think only the E36 would be a realistic daily too. M5s I read struggle to get 15mpg if you are even a bit heavy footed and no doubt and ageing RB26 is bound to get expensive and troublesome sooner or later.

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Going to go with the above after some 6 series chat on here.

 

M6 is a lot of car for very little money.

 

Like the Lambo option but would plumb for a Gallardo.

 

Also dont think you can ignore GTRs if your talking value for money or V8 R8, not that I would want one but a lot of car for the money.

Edited by Jetpilot
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Bargain is relative, look at what you're getting for your money and then see how much you'd have to pay to get that elsewhere. GT-R will wee all over a 997.1 Turbo, which are still around £65K, so for half that price to go faster? Yup, I'd call that a bargain.

 

Same way I called the Murci in the first post a bargain, as if you want a manual mid-engined V12 supercar you'd need to get an F50 for half a million quid.

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I'm with M16YRF.

 

If you can call spurting 30k on a car and call it a bargain motor then you're doing darn well :)

 

I'd call an EP3 Type R at 5k a bargain motor. The M5 at 15k is at the top of my threshold.

 

Talk of 911s and R8s being thrown around like chump change lol.

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