BlueSmoke

Now that the excitement should be dying down, I thought it was safe to put up a new topic asking advice!

I'm going to get rid of the Leon soon and get shut of my finance, so I will be buying something a little cheaper, around the £3.5 - £4k band. At the minute I am leaning towards an E36 as a good all round solid car that has a nice bit of pace and should be pretty bulletproof (provided it's had a block change to sort the nikasil issue) but the Scooby is also turning my head a little as a faster car.... However, I am thinking I'd be better off with the N/A car as the old turbo on a mid 90s Impreza is just another thing to let go and cost me money plus I think it will be harder to find a nice one.....

Opinions?

pani_k

iTrader: (1)

hmm I can see where you are coming from mate but logic/sense says bmw. fun/boy racer says subaru

STUCOS

iTrader: (8)

M3 evo mate,thats what you need

cheeRS stu

BlueSmoke

Aye, I've never been big on logic OR sense

Trying to take control and sort my shit out tho lol. And the 328i responds really well to breathing mods, and I believe I could see 220bhp out of one for relativey little expenditure, i.e. manifold, induction, remap and exhaust.

S1rst

Why not go for the M3 instead of the 328? that way you get a better car and it would probably end up costing less than a 328i with the mods you mentioned.

BlueSmoke

Only ones under £4k have got starship miles tho! It's all well and good saying the engines can take it etc. but surely the gearbox, clutch, diff etc need to be thought about too.

Couldn't realistically repair an M3 if it went wrong mate. Maybe in 09.

STUCOS

iTrader: (8)

Pm me mate,might have something that interests you


cheeRS stu

900ss

If I had 4k no way would i buy an ol 3 Series bm
Would buy a nice TVR 390 wedge for that

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/294157.htm

Much more fun

BlueSmoke

Deffo an acquired taste! It IS cool tho.

But it's about buying something half decent that I can afford to maintain. What happens if one of those things goes wrong?! Where the heck do the parts come from?!

900ss

Maxi, Marina, SD1 n the odd mini should do it

Fook me I just put a deposit on a 5k+ Datsun 260z. If I worried about spare parts thats the last car I would buy
enjoy it whilst you can

simonc

Got rid of my Cossie & now have a M3 Evo, its no hassle at all & great on long journeys the 328 Sport is a really nice car & cheap to run,cheap ins to, Subaru's are a bit chav
If you get a 328 sport don't chav it up they look best completely standard, no stupid lights,spoilers or chav wheels


Simon.

BlueSmoke

Editted title to add Skyline R33 GTS-T. Would it be wise to consider one?

Paddy

I've had a few of these now and pound for pound they are the best car in that price bracket. BUT they are FUCKING hard work to sell

I've got one of the last Celica GT4s [UK spec and standard, pretty rare now] that's in your budget. They're not bad? Pig dog slow though compared to the skylines.

And I wouldn't toucha £4k M3 personally, may as well buy one for £7k and at least have a nice one, than spend £3k on top of your budget fixing up what will always be a high mileage car.

simonc

I just paid £6700 for a 98 S plate estoril blue M3 Evo coupe with black leather & fsh & new vanos, seems a lot of car when i sold my saph for 7k.

Simon.

BlueSmoke

Paddy - totally spot on with the M3 comments I think.

What are the Skylines like to maintain etc? I'm worried about getting one that's been thrashed. I really need something at least quite reliable... and witht hem being imports I haven't seen any ads on the trader tonight that state FSH....

Paddy

If you're worried about buying a car that's been thrashed, a skyline, scooby or M3 probably isn't the sort of thing you should be looking for

Ring them up and ask them? Most imports don't have any history from Japan, so they wouldn't say FSH just make sureit's been looked after in this country.

To be honest mate, the ones I've had [and used a couple, one non turbo and one GTS-t for a bit] have been brilliantly reliable and the parts for them haven't been anymore expensive than any other car.

Plus the engines and layout are so simple you can do most things yourself quickly and easily, there's actually room under the bonnet

If you're doing a cambelt though, get the part from nissan WITH a pulley as I've done a couple now and if you don't get the original bits, they tend to squeak like fuck.

BlueSmoke

Right then. Cheers for the advice

I guess it will come down to the best example between the Beemer and the Skyline that comes up when the time is right

Stavros

If you want performance youd be out of your mind to choose a 328 over an R33GTST if we talking the same money.

Id prob have an M3 over one though if I wasnt planning to tune it though, and id deffo have an M3 Evo over one regardless.

matt4

3.0 M3 for 4k would be a good example

BlueSmoke

i'm convinced a 4k M3 would be asking for trouble to be honest. I want something that is fairly quick, not lightning obviously with the cars mentioned but a car where I won't dread servicing it or fear parts dropping off!

BlueSmoke

Seen a few nice GTST's on the trader....

Does GTR suspension fit them? Stav??

C4llyT

Get a nice 3.0 M3 for 4k, prices have dropped lately.
Mine's on 131k miles now, oils not needing any topping up for 24k miles of owning, and revs to 7700.
For type of car it is is cheap to maintain, and mpg will average high 20's if you don't sit in too much traffic.
Very good all rounders, and a sensible choice in many ways.

Crikey, first post and it's about a bmw, what a good start

xr2i-carl

the bmw would be even more fun that the 4wd scoob

BlueSmoke

You fuckers have got me looking at M3's now

http://pistonheads.com/sales/270118.htm

If I was ready to buy now, that would be perfect. Didn't realise they were available in decent nick at that money. It's not an Evo but it's nice.

Still liking the Skylines tho..... Argh why can I never make up my mind

C4llyT

When I bought mine I had a budget of 8k, and went for a late non evo.
Many prefer them, myself included; nicer box and clutch, and less chance of a 2k bill for new vanos unit, which seem to last 2k miles, or 200k miles, depending on your luck on the dual vanos evo.
Get one above 5000 revs, and reckon you'll be sold

PeterLucas

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/bmw-328i-sport...QQcmdZViewItem


My one, cheap enough

BlueSmoke

Cheers dude but I will be after one with under 100k and it's looking like a straight shootout between R33 GTS-T and 3.0 M3 now....

BlueSmoke

Just thinking though, I'm with Greenlight for my insurance and my policy runs til May..... and they don't touch M3's do they?

bud-weis

No they don't...you'll have to cancel, like me

S1rst

Dont buy on mileage. Buy on general condition.

Id put money on many high milers being better cars than low milers. And that goes for any car, not just M3's. You can get decent high mile cars for much less money, doesnt mean there not as good.

Also, many high mile cars have had the major things replaced and sorted, whereas on many low mile cars, its only a matter of time before they let go.

S1rst

Also, id go for a non evo. As mentioned the vanos unit on the evo's are a bit hit and miss, and very costly.

And MANY evo's dont kick out anywhere near the quoted figures, and dont seem to come out at much more power than a non evo once on a proper rolling road.

pollocks

dp none evo m3's not have vanos then ?

C4llyT

3.0 litres are sought after under 100k miles, be lucky to get anything respectable for your budget

Yeah evo's are 316 brake, not 321 (din) and are obd2, so unless thrashed for a bit before rr will be down on that as they trim settings for economy.
3.0's always make their power if not more, and never much between them on the 1/4 mile.
Is a squarer engine too, better for high revs (safe to 8400).

As for mileage, well my box and diff are quiet, and as I said no oil use in 24k miles, not bad for a highly strung high mileage engine.

Soon be selling for an old sierra though lol.

Edit/ Pollocks - 3.0 is single vanos.

BlueSmoke

That's no good, I get my 3rd year of no claims in May. Can't really afford to be cancelling.

Bastards.....

DAN P

iTrader: (1)

my m3 has 140 on the clock but had a new engine at 115 though still goes well handles like a boat at the mo though

Tony @ Greenlight

Anyway, your view of our parental status at Greenlight aside, i'll do my best to comment on your quandry:


ABI listed Skyline R32 R33 R34 GTS/R 2.5 models ARE acceptable to some of our Underwriters - from memory, the one you're with can do this.

M3 wise, we can place the E30 & E46 as neither of these have ruined our Underwriters to date, but not the E36 (due to abysmal historic claims stats).

Impreza wise, we can cover ALL UK models - but direct imports from Japan are not covered due to Subaru UK not supporting repair or supply of parts.


Modifications are not a problem - once you have sourced a suitable vehicle we cover practically any vehicle modification up to & including nitrous oxide + roll cages.

Kind regards

Tony

BlueSmoke

LOL the "Bastards" wasn't directed at you guys Tony, it was just me being random with frustration

EIL132

Had both, would go for the Evo, no question what anyone says. Still have it after 21k miles, used it for work day in day out, ripped the shit out of it on most occasions and had zero troubles, been a joy to own but is just a toy/statue that sits around now lol. Plenty places will insure you for cheap money, try first alternative

BlueSmoke

Think I am gonna have to go Skyline for the time being guys. I like Greenlight and would hate to have to cancel a policy in the middle of the term.

simonc

I have had the 3.0 M3 & the Evo, sold the 3.0 after nearly 3yrs of trouble free motoring including a 1500 mile round trip upto & around Scotland & back to Kent, sold it with 123k on it, only thing was servicing was expensive as it had full main dealer hist insp2 was about £800 inc rear trailing arm bushes but it was a lot cheaper to maintain than my Cossie that i had at the same time. Had the Evo a few months its deffo quicker & feels a better car than the 3.0 i had, all i've spent on it is 6 months tax & 1 brake light bulb, if you buy a good one you can't go wrong, they are nowhere near as exciting to drive as a stage 3 Cossie but they are a easy car to live with day to day.

Simon.