srdenny

Hi people!

Newbie here! I am sure this has been covered many times before, but...

I currently drive an E36 BMW coupe, but after wanting an Esc Cos for years, my insurance has finally come down to something reasonable enough for me to look to buy one.

I have never owned a Cos before, so I was hoping that some of you would point me out what to look for when buying... brakes, suspension, gearbox, clutch, bodywork etc etc

One of my main concerns with the car is how susceptable it is to being nicked/keyed/damaged. I am fully aware that most cars come with Cat 1, and many come with Trackers, but still this doesnt stop jealous people having a go. How susceptable are they? I wont be parking it in any dodgy car parks or the like, but it worries me that because the car stands out so much, it doesnt matter where its parked...

I am ideally after a small turbo, as I wont be tuning it too much, and seeing as this is my first Cos, that seems like a sensible idea. However, I dont mind if the car is a large turbo either. I would like to spend between £12-13k, though I could be stretched for the right car upto £14k.

Where is the best place to buy? I look weekly at autotrader, but I was wondering if there was anywhere else I should consider...?

All info is greatly appreciated.
Many thanks
Scott

Maria.

hmmmm dont go to Junction 28! lol

As for being keyed/vandalised... im lucky... never had anything like that done to clive *touch wood*

for 13k you should get a decent car... probably more like a small turbo but there are respectable large turbos out there for that money too!

look at the for sale section on here.... Gus has got his for sale at the minute.. and a fine candidate it is too... not sure how much he wants for it tho?

keep looking on the trader, pistonheads.com, here, and findit.co.uk.

K3V HA

Welcome, funny this, im the opposite of you, ive had my Escort RS Cosworth since beginning of Feb, but am now selling so that i can get some money in the bank for a house and get a cheaper BMW. LOL

In my honest opinion, the prices have gone up on Cossies, i searched everywhere for mine, and ended up blowing my budget thru the roof Now im struggling to sell it.

One of the main reasons for selling it, is that you cant take em everywhere, im sick of having to think which car im taking in case of where i can park it!
BUT, the attention the car gets is immense, everywhere you drive people look, and stare, i do love it to bits!!

Gus wants 12k for his, and its a great example, if i hadnt bought my red one, id have gone for D4mo v's though!

srdenny

@ Maria - Funny you should say that, I went to J28 on Mon! They had 5 of the things! The Imperial Blue small turbo caught my eye but it was sold. But they were well overpriced, and after reading a thread on them yesterday I wont be buying from them that’s for sure lol!
So are the T35s more money than the T28s, with you saying that for £13k I would get a T28 model? I fully agree with what people have said on the ford dealer stamps on here. I would much prefer to buy a car privately that has mayb a few more miles on it, as I can speak to the owner and see what they have had fixed etc etc. I would however like to buy a standard one. Is this possible for this amount of money? Ie do higher prices = modded cars, or standard cars?

@ K3V HA - This next car will be my last fun one before buying a house, and in a way will form the majority of my house deposit. With you saying that you wanted to sell yours so you could buy a house and a ‘cheaper’ BMW?? So do they cost a lot more to run then?
You say that people look at you everywhere you go in it, bet that must be a buzz! But can it be a hindrance as well? How easily are these cars broken into and stolen?


What are the major things that go wrong on them? A final scary question – mpg! Normal, average driving, what are they like? I would be using the car as a daily driver – is this possible?

K3V HA

TBH mate, i tried using mine as a daily driver, and couldnt, too scared, but thats just me!! MPG about 20 if ya steady, well, in mine you do!

Tis a buzz, not a hinderence at all mate! Twas why i wanted one in the first place!

End of teh day, if someone wants it mate, they'll get it, someone actually said to me yesterday, they are too obvious a car to nick, attract too much attention!!

Maria.

Mine is a daily driver ( when she works! lol )

Not necessarily.... but i think your more likely to pick up a smaller turbo model in a reasonable condition for that amount of money... and yes... your budget is very realistic... if Gus is only askin 12 for his... i would seriously take a look at it mate!

For a completely bog standard one i think you are looking to spend a bit more money... the kind of people that own the standard ones are the people that pay gazillions to keep it like that! not that peole who have modded ones dont look after theres cos the majority of em do!

MATCOS

iTrader: (1)

I used mine as a daily driver for a while, but as said above, its wasn't practical for me, I spent all day either looking out of the window or worrying it would scratched in the work carpark, saying that apart from a problem with the 3 bar map sensor it was very reliable and I loved going home in it, stuck in traffic people staring

try www.automotiveunlimited.co.uk if you are feeling flush, Duncan sells some amazing motors , but cheap it aint!

Mat

Simbo

I could never use mine as a daily driver, theres not another car on the road that catches attention like an Escort cossie,IMO all sorts of attention, good and bad , sometimes its just people genuily interested in the car other times theres wee neds eyeing it up making you paranoid even when you're in it, lol, or maybe thats just me!

12-13k will get you a reasonably good car but i doubt very much if you'll get one at automotive unlimited for that money, happy hunting

check yer mail dude!!

Damo V

Cheers Kev thats realy kind.... ...I aint seen your car mate... but each car is individual in its own way and has its own assets, dont get messed about on the price, IMO someone will be out there to buy (just as you did), Im not saying it aint worth it, but its more than I would want to spend (BUT dont take that the wrong way) its just a matter of time... you have to be just as patient as you were when you were looking, once someone comes along who has viewed a few (as we both did) they will then know what the "nicer" ones ARE worth ... the better examples are only gonna hold money

srdenny, I could talk to you all day long mate about what to look for .. BUT as I am currently a "vendor" also... I dont think thats right

BODGE

i to will be looking for a nice one in the next few months, have been keeping an eye on price's and what about for the last year, going by some of the lads on this site that have been looking for the right car, and the time it seems to take, im going to have some fun to look forward to unless im lucky i want a big turbo car and will pay up to £17k for the right one

what get me is people are asking that money for cars with 70k on the clock

mark

Damo V

I kinda see your point... but IMO prices advertised should really be disregarded UNTIL the car in question has been inspected... I have seen / did view cars 2-3 years ago with half the mileage of mine and they were absolute shitters.... honestly proper dogs, rust new panels etc etc... you will see trust me

BODGE

yeh ture, the only thing with 70k+ cars if its a good car and has had a proper engine rebuild then that ok , but paying 17k for a car with 70k+ and on the same engine, box, turbo, you could be talking about a 22k car very easy

that would get you a year old mits evo MR320

mark

Damo V

kinda agreed on the price.. bear in mind though a S/hand box is 250 ish (I bought one which had dne aprox 50k) turbo 300 exchange ... engine rebuilds by reputable people are as little as 2.5k now (std) (even less prob)

Rs Craig

i have seen cars with 30-40k for stupid money that aint a patch on cars with 60-100k it all depends on how theyve been looked after.You will find that some have had lots of owners as thyre now over 10 years old. People buy these cars after havin saphs and then loose interest or are scared to use them. When i bought mine i looked at loads around the country and ended up buying 1 from scotland that was bought new from the place i live. to be honest ive not used mine much as i have 2 cars there for mines been no trouble but ive still spent loads on it. With out lookin at loads youll never see the good and bad

TurboNutter

With regard to it getting nicked, i think your more likely to get 'car jacked' than it getting robbed off your drive or whatever... I remember a few months ago i was going to bass junkies in Wolverhampton, i was on the m6 just cruising along at 70 and noticed a white merc with 2 hefty looking blokes in it following behind me. Everytime i changed lanes, they did. I speeded up, so did they, but would never come past... me being mr paranoid booted it upto about a ton, but had to slow down for traffic, waited till i got right ontop of my junction and pulled accross from the fast lane to the slip road, and guess what, so did they! i was on my own and getting quite worried by this point... Needless to say, an old merc can't keep up with a cos on short dual carrige ways peppered with roundabouts!!

Touch wood, that has been my only dodgy experience with owning the cos

oilcosworth

Yeh ur bang on there Turbo nutter it is worryin
as ive been followed home and ive had 2 drive passed my house
its not nice,
but like people have said thats the joy of
owning a cosworth every 1 likes them

Simbo

Iv noticed a couple of times folks following me home, usually just young guys wanting to see a cossie go fast, then they can go and tell their mates they raced a cossie!!!
i never went home tho, went away on a goose chase till i lost them before goin home, maybe a wee tad paranoid but better safe than sorry

Holty

Simbo, I've had that a few times and done the exact same thing