Pre-2001 Factory Fast manual MOT'd vehicles under £3k?

[BellyBuilder]

So I'm nearing the time of needing to buy another mid-life-crisis car to be used for the occasional burn-up!

Minimum 150bhp

Pre-2001 to keep the road tax sensible unless its unavoidable. If not, pre-2006 as they seem to be £325pa road tax.

Manuals only, load luggers will score extra points! No convertibles.

Thoughts so far are:

90's 2.6 Audi A4's (quattro) or Audi 80 coupe (2.6).
Honda Accord 2.3 (not sure how fast these are unless Type R's, but they're over £3k for non-ragged).
Toyota Celica ?
VW Golf V5 (170bhp) or V6 2.8 204bhp. Had a Mk4 before and it was a good car!
Ford Mondeo 2.5's have 217bhp or ST-220 and somehow are only £325pa tax???

[ballbagbagins]

There is an accord type r in the classifieds

Might be able to get an mk2 mr2 turbo

E46 330d touring

Subaru Legacy, I think the spec b is the fast one

[luca24]

Saab, anything with Aero on the boot lid and manual will do, certainly does me

[Phil H]

Anything with “T5” after the model..and made in Sweden?

[keithyboy]

If your Saab doesn't say Aero on the bootlid, as long as it has a turbo, 220ish bhp can be had for very little money.

[welshpug]

mk4 pd golf with some mods.

[b3nson]

Feel free to check out my Accord Type R in the for sale section, you’ll even get some change from £3k!

[absolutepony]

Subaru Legacy 3.0R Spec B.

Flat 6 (think old 911 sound but more stifled), four wheel drive, reliable, fast, handles well, huge boot.... A different option to a Swedish barge.

I owned one for 12 months and it was epic.

[MkX]

If you kept your eye on the marketplace you'd pick up one of these well within that budget, check out the performance figures:
www.parkers.co.uk/peugeot/406/coupe-1997/30-v6-se-2d-(ac)/specs/

The load-lugging credentials are pants but its going fast on a budget credentials are more impressive. You don't want the 2 litre version you want the 3 litre V6 petrol engine. There's a pigeon-poo encrusted garage find example on Gumtree for £180.00 at the moment. If you want harder acceleration for £3K you're probably looking at a Robin Hood or Locost.

In it's day the 406 V6 Coupé was the equivalent of spending £54K in today's money. I think the most expensive one I've seen advertised in the past year was around £1K so £3K would buy you a nice one.


This guy's last Youtube post was this video in 2017, I'm guessing he's still banned or died at speed shortly afterwards on his (nearly) private Croatian racetrack.

[ruairi50]

Heres a few all seen on CARS & CLASSIC ALL under 2500 quid
Alfa Romeo 164 3.0 cloverleaf, GTV, AUDI TT Quattro 225, AUDI 100 AVANT 2.0, audi a4 1.8 turbo, 2001 Jag XJ V8, 1999 Porsche Boxster needs a bit of work £2500ono, 1992 Toyota Celica ST185, 2006 SAAB 95 Hot Aero, Vauxhall Calibra V6, VOLVO 480 Turbo,

[MkX]

As long as you're prepared for the fuel outlay you'd pick a XJR-6 within budget, the XJR-8 would also fall within budget but you'd likely experience more issues with it.

[swampy76]

Feb 16, 2020 17:50:07 GMT MkX said:

If you kept your eye on the marketplace you'd pick up one of these well within that budget, check out the performance figures:
www.parkers.co.uk/peugeot/406/coupe-1997/30-v6-se-2d-(ac)/specs/

The load-lugging credentials are pants but its going fast on a budget credentials are more impressive. You don't want the 2 litre version you want the 3 litre V6 petrol engine. There's a pigeon-poo encrusted garage find example on Gumtree for £180.00 at the moment. If you want harder acceleration for £3K you're probably looking at a Robin Hood or Locost.

In it's day the 406 V6 Coupé was the equivalent of spending £54K in today's money. I think the most expensive one I've seen advertised in the past year was around £1K so £3K would buy you a nice one.


This guy's last Youtube post was this video in 2017, I'm guessing he's still banned or died at speed shortly afterwards on his (nearly) private Croatian racetrack.

loved my v6 coupe plenty of room in the back for the kids , wasn’t that bad on fuel and sounded awesome , if it hadn’t been written off I’d probably still own it!
Have a load of spares for it still in the loft

[MkX]

Feb 17, 2020 14:44:14 GMT swampy76 said:

loved my v6 coupe plenty of room in the back for the kids , wasn’t that bad on fuel and sounded awesome , if it hadn’t been written off I’d probably still own it!
Have a load of spares for it still in the loft

They weren't produced in large numbers and I would suspect a high attrition rate due to road-racing mishaps. Good-looking, quick and (one day) rare will eventually make them valuable.

[BellyBuilder]

Feb 16, 2020 13:11:50 GMT absolutepony said:

Subaru Legacy 3.0R Spec B.

Flat 6 (think old 911 sound but more stifled), four wheel drive, reliable, fast, handles well, huge boot.... A different option to a Swedish barge.

I owned one for 12 months and it was epic.

I have seen a few 2.0R on autotrader but not a 3.0R on my travels as of yet. Must be a rare beast!

[Woofwoof]

Feb 15, 2020 20:30:17 GMT BellyBuilder said:

Thoughts so far are:

90's 2.6 Audi A4's (quattro) or Audi 80 coupe (2.6).
Honda Accord 2.3 (not sure how fast these are unless Type R's, but they're over £3k for non-ragged).
Toyota Celica ?
VW Golf V5 (170bhp) or V6 2.8 204bhp. Had a Mk4 before and it was a good car!
Ford Mondeo 2.5's have 217bhp or ST-220 and somehow are only £325pa tax???

Out of that lot I'd pick either Accord. Ideally, a Type R but the 2.3 is a cracking car too and you'll pick a tidy one up for a grand. Not bad for a fairly bulletproof motor. I wouldn't say no to a late 90's Celica 2.0GT either if you can find a nice one.


Good hunting. 

[scimjim]

A legnum with a few minor issues?

NTDWM but I’m not sure you can find more load area per smile for your money?

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mitsubishi-legnum-vr4-1997-twin-turbo-300bhp-retro-classic-low-mileage/174190382678?hash=item288e8e4e56:g:NkoAAOSwwlJeRYyF

[ChasR]

Intersting thread this as I've had or driven/maintained for the family a few of the above cars, so let's get started .

Post 2001 Saabs. Great cars but they are dull. My sister's improved with fresh Goodyear Eagle F1s to replace the Kumhos (which replaced some Landsails) where actually gripped nicer (something which she reminds me about to this day). In 1.8t form; the gearing is curse word; there is no other word for it; it's very easy to stall them in 2nd on the move in town and 5th is taller than almost any car's 6th I've been in. Yes the gearing is that tall and is what kills them in that form. What transformed hers was remapping it via Noobtune from 150BHP to 220BHP. What's more, the torque was improved low down, so it actually was a little nicer to drive in town. Where 5th was useless for accelerating in, it now pulls and pulls. The downside is the clutch does now slip a little now and again despite the biting point being lower. Whether this is down to the clutch being old or the fact that the car is now dealing with 70BHP more than it left the factory with is another matter.

But the steering is still inert even for the standards by the day, and the handling is still a little plain Jane, but the remap does make you forget that issue somewhat!

Oh, and not many people IME and in my friends circles with a Snap-On Solus etc. can read anything from a Saab, meaning your only choice is Saab specialists in this case. Thankfully, the one near me wasn't too price. Oh, and spares are tricky to get. I can get stuff online but almost anything I've tried to get locally resulted with 'not in stock', 'can't get it' or it simply being a little off ; drop link was larger than what I had on for example.

Golf V5s make a great noise but they also like a drink and aren't *that* fast. V6 4 Motions are slightly better on fuel and are not a bad thing. Not the most fun car but not the most dull either. I didn't mind a friend's example. Just get one with a very good service history to avoid timing chain issues etc. Most do seem to be fine mind you.

I myself have a 2007 Mondeo 2.5T and it's quite hard to go to something else. It's a much nicer chassis than the Saab, the steering actually has feedback and on decent rubber they grip very well. Mine's not even that bad on fuel. I get between 28-37MPG depending on if I'm in town or on a 75mph motorway run to work and back. The downside with them is they are a little big. I parked mine next to a brand new Defender 110, and it's as long as one; No joke! The 2.5T also feels in some respects like it was put in at the last second. They are easy to service but things like clutches can be expensive to do due to parts prices (Volvo/ST only) and the Mondeo seeming to not be as easy to work on with this engine than if it was in a Focus ST. My dad paid £1.4k for a clutch in this car when he had it; I thought he was conned initially until I did the sums and did some research ; the parts alone were £800 alone before touching the car ; a clutch is potentially simpler in my M3, just because it's designed that bit easier to work with ; an airbox for example ideally needs the engine mount to be loosened to get it out easily.

I do like mine and even at £325 a year road tax, it's a great steed.

However, if you are after the X-factor, I'd look no further than b3nson's car . He seems to maintain them well, and an ATR is a rare and cool thing indeed!

[lightyearman]

Feb 15, 2020 20:46:52 GMT ballbagbagins said:

There is an accord type r in the classifieds

Might be able to get an mk2 mr2 turbo

E46 330d touring

Subaru Legacy, I think the spec b is the fast one

You're looking at £4.5k minimum for an MR2 Turbo that's worth having these days I'm afraid

[BellyBuilder]

B3nsons Accord Type R is nice but I'm steering clear of modified cars with not much history from here on in. Too many wallet lightening moments and i'd want to always go back to stock anyway so why not just get a stock car?

Current motors that are on thr list are a Civic Type S as has 155bhp and shouldn't be boy-racer'd. There's quite a few around and £2k gets a good one. Accord Type V are nice but most are autos. I had an auto vtec Accord and the auto sucked all the life out of it. Must be a manual.

Mondeos are looking interesting but I think the ST with its high cost clutch potential kindly mentioned above puts me off.

I seem to be heading down the route of being more interested in the model that is one down from the top spec racer edition:

Civic Type S instead of Type R
Accord Type V instead of Type R
etc.

[ChasR]

Feb 18, 2020 10:58:24 GMT BellyBuilder said:

B3nsons Accord Type R is nice but I'm steering clear of modified cars with not much history from here on in. Too many wallet lightening moments and i'd want to always go back to stock anyway so why not just get a stock car?

Current motors that are on thr list are a Civic Type S as has 155bhp and shouldn't be boy-racer'd. There's quite a few around and £2k gets a good one. Accord Type V are nice but most are autos. I had an auto vtec Accord and the auto sucked all the life out of it.

Mondeos are looking interesting but I think the ST with its high cost clutch potential kindly mentioned above puts me off.

I seem to be heading down the route of being more interested in the model that is one down from the top spec racer edition:

Civic Type S instead of Type R
Accord Type V instead of Type R
etc.

The V6s are cheaper on the cost to be fair for a clutch, and IME easier on the flywheel. I think it’s down to only 1000 2.5Ts being made: everyone bought diesels instead. The 2.5Ts were never called an St, bar in Australia where they were called the XR5.

The clutch in ours were changed at 160k, not a bad innings