I've spent 3 days going round in circles on deciding which cheap tintop to buy (under £2k) and not really knowing as much about most cars as I'd like thought I'd throw it out for some other opinions, if indeed there are any

I recently got rid of my old Mazda MX-6 which I loved but was tired and abused (DIY superchargers etc), and now in the space of a month have bought and sold a Nissan Almera GTI (thought it might be a fun little car), and a BMW 328, I realise now that I really only love V6`s as 4 pots to me felt all harsh and slow unless they're in their proper home, a bike or 7

I`ll do very few miles a year in it (under 3K).
Long story short in some order of importance:

1: The more I can service/repair it myself, the happier I'll be, the MX6 was ace for this, easy access, not too many little black boxes to worry about etc.
2: I'd rather it didn't break down every day or cost millions to repair if it does (Alfa?).
3: As long as it's over 20mpg I'm happy, 30+ even happier
I'm especially fond of coupes, A for the looks and B for the seating position.

mg zs 180 You would get an 03 for 2k

edit for link

[Edited on 28/1/10 by big_wasa]

defo the alpha.

love their engines

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defo the alpha.
love their engines

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mg zs 180 You would get an 03 for 2k

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get a rover or mg. cracking v6, smooth like a limo with a lovely note with you press it. mie was 2.5 k electric everything a 27grand special order car in 2002. 2.5 k in 2009 with 18thousand miles on and a full service history from one old chap.

amazing looks better than an x type, and cheap as chips. fun too when people assume it must be an old git in a rover at the lights!

XJS with a straight six. your not likely to get a V6 Jag for 2K as only newer Jags have them.

406/407 v6 exec.

Id go for an MG too. excellent cars.

My BMW 525 tds is going up for sale next week. Straight 6 with nearly 150bhp and 35+mpg Probably not sporty enough for you though.

little hot hatch v6 would be a vr6 golf or one i was pointed at an A3 3.2 quatro, not sure on the A3 price, but you'd get a v6 golf, the really fast fun vw is the corrado vr6 2.9, i think it was clarkson that said it was very fast and fun, even though its front drive.

Steer well clear of Alphas -- electrics are terrible and I won't even mention the potential engine problems.


If you do go for a MG/Rover V6 keep in mind the cambelt change interval is 90,000 miles and this is a fairly major job requiring expensive special tools. Also bear in mind although it is a terrific engine and makes for a very quick and good handling package the body it is based on a ten year old stop gap Honda model.

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My BMW 525 tds is going up for sale next week. Straight 6 with nearly 150bhp and 35+mpg Probably not sporty enough for you though.

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£500 on a vauxhall omega MV6 and the rest on petrol and tyres

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£500 on a vauxhall omega MV6 and the rest on petrol and tyres

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Steer well clear of Alphas -- electrics are terrible and I won't even mention the potential engine problems.

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little hot hatch v6

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+1 406 V6

Such wonderful cars. Only the coil on plugs do let down.

Otherwise quite excellent.

Nice handling, good comfort and good performance. (everybody expects diesel performance, but a v6 pulls a little longer )

Quite economical too. Our 3.0 v6 autobox wasn't that much uneconominal then a 2l autobox.

Standard 97 black mx3 V6 available 87k & mot'd till july available! drive away for £800

[Edited on 29/1/10 by Davg]

Fiat Coupe 20VT

I've had and been around them for years. Fantastics cars- handle well compared to cars of that era, sound fantastic and if well maintained are no less reliable than other cars.

The forum www.fccuk.org/forum is one of the best out there and you'll never be stuck for an answer. If tuning is your thing, then up to 400bhp is possible 'relatively' cheaply.

[Edited on 29/1/10 by JonnyS]

Definately a 3 litre Vaux Omega!! RWD is the only way to go. Manual hard to find if you want full pimp spec, but since I got my Elite I'm a total auto convert. It's the only way to roll. It's been fantastic fun in the snow too

Liam

EDIT: Oh forgot to mention - I can get 37MPG average for a motorway cruise which aint at all bad. Mid 20s for short run urban though.

[Edited on 29/1/10 by Liam]

156 V6. A GTA if you can afford one. You know you want to....

I've been living with one (a 4 pot version) for two years before selling it on. It needed quite a bit of work during those years, but in hindsight, it was worth it. Great looking / sounding / driving car.

O, and easily better then any Rover / MG / Honda piece of cack....

best sounding road car engine EVER! <-- Clicky!

Oh, and: Clicky too! same engine in a GT.

[Edited on 29/1/10 by sebastiaan]

The electronics on Vauxhall Oh-my- god ! tend to make the Alfa's look reliable,

Indeed! back when I was doing emissions tuning work for the Millbrook LPG converted Vauxhalls, the ones we got had at least 8 random error codes, and those were BRAND NEW...

The circles I was going in at first are now bigger and more confusing

i had 5 different 406s and loved them to bits, never had a bad mechanical failure on them. In fact, i dont remember any problems at all, though a few pulled harder than others. Always like the way it was built as a fast luxury car rather than a sports car, nice and soft when you hit speed bumps at 50.

Also had an omega 2.5 elite, which was very nice. Both cars unbelievably cheap for what you got - the omega had an electric rear blind!

Other favourite classic is subaru legacy turbo, though obviously its not a v6.