WRX Blues

Rover 216SLi
I use one as my daily hack and get over 40mph. Best of all....wait for it.....it's got an electric sunroof
The only downside is that, according to Clarkson, anyone who drives an antique Rover has got ears like satellite dishes

mit

iTrader: (10)

Yeah,you've got me there,but i was young and have moved on!

AllanB

Daihatsu Charade GTti. Cheap road tax with sub 1 litre engine, sub 8 second 0-60 easilly tunable to be as quick as an Impreza turbo.

Keep an eye on ebay as they charge hands a fair bit before May when prices creep up.

I run the owners club so can help if you want to know more.

Very reliable, servicing easily done DIY, parts a little hard to get hold of but then you rarely need anything and dealers stock most parts. Quite a bit available second hand via ebay or the club.


AllanB

Andy M3

Finding a useable one tends to be the issue Allan - any tips?

RS Grant

1992 Rover 216GTi

I've got one, been problem-free in the 2.5 years I've owned it.. IMO, a Rover with a Honda Engine is a seriously cheap and reliable 2nd hand buy that very little people know about. Doesnt matter if you get the Single or Twin Cam model, they're both nippy and bulletproof. I've got the Twin Cam and its a really nippy wee car, on par with Saxo VTS' that I've had run-ins with.


Cheers,
Grant

subaruturbo_18

aren't those rovers known for head gasket issues? but as much as i hate to admit it they are quite nippy. but id still rather a 205 GTI

MooseRacer

Rover with a Honda Engine

No headgasket problems with these. 214's on the otherhand.....

marv wrx

iTrader: (1)

i had a rover 216 gti (honda twin cam) for 5 years with no head gasket probs...bloody quick for a 1.6 to

AllanB

Andy just let me know if you want help finding one I tend to hear abut them first and knw of a few for sale but at the moment its mainly very good ones so nearer 2K mark at the moment.

They'll be others for sure you just need to be a bit patient and continually check ebay or bbs.daihard.org

I've bought a few for a few hundred quid indeed I got a very nice one on here for about £400.

AllanB

Steve_PPP

iTrader: (3)

Xsara VTS - 170bhp, more reliable than most people think, same car as the 306 GTI-6 but with a different body and a 5 speed box. Will do 30mpg too

1k should put you in 98-99 cars, 2k would push that to 2001, maybe newer.

mit

iTrader: (10)

Many people under estimate the top citroen's.I had a zx volcane,which again was the same as the xsi,a good fun car,and only paid £500 for it!

Mit

Blueblaster

I think a lot of these odd-ball suggestions are quite good. Very imaginative in some cases. While I would normally never recommend a Citroen it is probably a pretty good bet in this case. Because it depreciates so quickly you could probably pick up an acceptably young example for your budget. Get it checked by the AA or someone similar and you should really have at least a year of super cheap motoring.

Thinking about it again....it obviously depends on how big a car you need, but I had a '96 Fiesta 1.25Si for 5 years from new. It had a cracking Yamaha engine and the sweetest chassis. There are loads of those available and there is a very good chance you'll find one that's been owned by an old lady since new. More food for thought.

CrisPDuk

OK, my daughter has just acquired one of these babies, but with my motoring background being almost exclusively Ford and VW based I know the grand total of nothing at all about them

How is this 25bhp for £0.00 actually achieved then

ohnosubaru

I got a mint 1987 XR2 for £800 a couple of years back and it has not missed a beat yet

Tobisausage

I picked this up for £650.

Andy M3

Should be ok if it is V6

Here's Tony's details if it's not Items For Sale

aggs

Another vote for a 205 GTi for a cool older car.
But can be a bit unreliable with simple items,easy and cheap to fix,but they are getting old,should be depreciation proof as well!!
The diesel 205 very relible

Some other suggestions on here not so cool,but if the car has really good history and is cheap to run then you are getting cheap motoring-that is cool.

my old 405 diesel turbo cost me £300 notes, could park it anywhere, was 100% reliable, handled pretty well, car park dings, I did not care.
45mpg.
I strangely miss it.

Jamo

iTrader: (23)

ive just bought a 2000 on a V plate vectra sri 140 hatchback for just under a grand, its just had a top end rebuild and is still running in. ive been getting around 40mpg! its a cracking car and drives like new. nuff said

lozgti

I noticed on the cover of Evo they are talking about the performance 'sub £1000 challenge'

Might be worth a look

This month's evo | evo News | News | evo

turboman786

40mpg?...in a petrol vectra?.....I take it these are motorway miles.....

Richard_P

My mate had an sri 140 and got about 25mpg. You must drive carefully

I've bought a golf gti 3dr for 900, in really good nick, drives well, needed new brake pads all round but apart from that seems good. its fun, fairly economical, not sure if they are cool though?

4ndy

iTrader: (7)

saab 9000 2.3 aero turbo , about £600 for a good one and for upto 300bhp for less than £1000 total . Great fun front wheel drive , not sure about the economy though , doh ! lol

dome

If you find a good one for that price I've got cash waiting. Here. Now.
I'm in the market for one, about a grand is the minimum to get a good one, they are excellent cars tho, handling like a big hot hatch and they can run silly levels of power with no worries

AdamR

What about an XR2i 16v? Seriously strong zetec engine, you can pick them up for buttons and if you get bored then do what i did! Stick in a 2.0 zetec mondeo engine! She would beat my mates redtop nova and still get 35mpg if you didnt drive like a fool! Handle like a go kart too!

Failing that stick some cash in your pocket and head to your nearest car auction! I work at leominster car auctions and you never know what is going to arrive! I got a 1994 2.0i honda prelude with 110000 miles a few weeks ago for £400 with full history and 1 owner! Ragged it silly and hasnt missed a beat!

OcTag3n

iTrader: (4)

How about one of these

Toyota : toyota celica 2.0GT

Or

Toyota : 1994 CELICA SSII

OcTag3n

iTrader: (4)

Or one of these, this ones sold but you get the idea..

Vauxhall : Vauxhall Calibra 16V Ecotec



I've owned both Toyota's, one SSII (180bhp) & a GT-FOUR RC & a Calibra.

All great cars that can now be picked up for pennies.

Andy Tang

iTrader: (3)

£1000 will get you a pretty good Honda CRX 1.6 16v, or a ropey Honda CRX 1.6 VTEC.

Mine averages around 30-35mpg depending on driving style and I think it's one of those cars that still looks pretty good now even though it is 17 years old!!

saxperience

I will eat my shorts if a 1.9td 306 can get a real world 60mpg average miles

Andy M3

Tuning turbo diesel Peugeot 306 for better fuel economy and increased performance | Club-306

I have just bought a D-Turbo as a daily hack, so far so good, but in standard tune.

Andy M3

I have just picked mine up, it's the 2nd one I have had in the last 10 years. My current average with a lot of 5th gear sub 70mph motoring resulted in 39mpg