What To Buy - For Between 500k-900k?

Supra_Natural · March 14, 2009

Continuing the idea had here,

http://forum.autolanka.com/index.php?s...c=5657&st=0

which I had totally forgotten about till today, here's the next price band.

I guess my original idea to have descriptions and experiences was quite far fetched, so lets continue in the list format... any extra info of course, will be appreciated.

My choices (will probably add a few later)

BMW E30 3 Series - A good one will be a decent drive, reliable, relatively economical, "interesting" and can be maintained at reasonable cost if approached right

Mazda Astina - Looks cool, drives well, good prices and reliable runner.

Mazda Interplay - As above, More conventional though

Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno/Corolla Levin - The legendary "hachi roku", RWD Chassis, Toyota reliability, practical and with great tuning potential. Good ones are kinda hard to find though

Alfa Romeo 33 - Most are at the lower end of the price band, but definitely the left-field choice here. Fun drive, not expensive to run if you find a good one (So says our resident alfisti), and it's an ALFA!!!

Mini - Blast to drive, economical, characterful..... can be a hassle as a daily driver though, and reliability is questionable.

Honda CRX 2nd Gen - Light weight, nice handling, decent pace, Honda reliability.

Nissan Presea First Gen - All the sensibleness of a doctor sunny, in a much nicer looking wrapping.

Subaru Legacy RS First Gen - Subaru, All Wheel drive, Turbo. What more do ya need? Good luck finding one though.

All that comes to mind right now.... will add more soon

Edited March 14, 2009 by Supra_Natural

GTAm · March 15, 2009

Since no ones replying to this..... let me start again....

E30 - Yes good. Nice car. There's a semi nice 320i for sale.......

Astina/Interplay - Can you really find a decent one? Most seem buggered up or riced...

AE86 Trueno - Interesting but somehow I skeptical. Not driven one for ages.

Alfa 33 - Yes yes since especially there's a very nice one that might be for sale. Again don't touch a poor one unless its a bargain.

Mini - Definitely a wkender only.

CRX Gen2 - The more I drive my cousins car the more I'm not happy with it. Tiring ride and feel-less steering and chassis. It can handle though. No finesse for me.

Nissan Presea - ???? Whaaaat??? NO WAY! It's not really a CAR for me...... JC would burn it for sure!

Legacy RS - Nice. As you say clean ones may not exist. Fuel consumption is going to be your most mentioned word

Can I add......

1. Toyota MR2 - Engineered by Lotus so it handles like a dream. Looks terrible though. IMHO.

2. Fiat Punto Ser1 - Handles better than you expect and fun to drive. Economical, Good looking and easy to maintain. You might want to "enhance" the performance a bit though.

3. Something retro with modern mods to take on the daily grind? Could be a lot of work, but should be rewarding if you do it right!

milindu · March 15, 2009

The boring yet sensible options:

Corolla Wagon EE 102

Nissan AD Wagon Y10

Maruti 800

Maruti Alto Pre-facelifted

Nissan Doctor Sunny

Starlet EP 82

Corolla AE90

Corolla CE81

Corona AT 170

Daihatsu Cuore

Daihatsu Charade G200

Mazda 323 (96/98 series)

Hyundai Accent Pre-facelift

Hyundai Getz

March K11

Bluebird U13

Devinda_Z · March 15, 2009

Supra_Natural said:
Alfa Romeo 33 - Most are at the lower end of the price band, but definitely the left-field choice here. Fun drive, not expensive to run if you find a good one (So says our resident alfisti), and it's an ALFA!!!

there was a 164 for a smidge over the top end of the limit in this category advertised today..

Elvis_Pil · March 15, 2009

Edit

Edited March 15, 2009 by Elvis_Pil

GTAm · March 16, 2009

Devinda_Z said:
there was a 164 for a smidge over the top end of the limit in this category advertised today..

Not sure about the history of this V6 Super but make sure you buy some LIOC shares as well with the car 2.0TS 164 much more practical and a lot more reliable.

Devinda_Z · March 16, 2009

GTAm said:
Not sure about the history of this V6 Super but make sure you buy some LIOC shares as well with the car

i remember how i was warned owning something with the Aegis V6 by someone ( ) with first hand experience,might make a person have to relocate to Orgodawatta or somewhere close by!

GTAm said:
2.0TS 164 much more practical and a lot more reliable.

there was Black one of those advertised as well! but the asking was far above that of the Red one..

Edited March 16, 2009 by Devinda_Z

isam · March 17, 2009

GTAm said:
Nissan Presea - ???? Whaaaat??? NO WAY! It's not really a CAR for me...... JC would burn it for sure!

Well GTAM, from your previous posts we know you are a European car fan, but why do you despise the Presea. I've used one for two years and it was an OK ride for daily drive. The only weakness I saw was the low ground clearance.

Edited March 17, 2009 by isam

pradfred · March 17, 2009

Devinda_Z said:
i remember how i was warned owning something with the Aegis V6 by someone ( ) with first hand experience,might make a person have to relocate to Orgodawatta or somewhere close by!
there was Black one of those advertised as well! but the asking was far above that of the Red one..

Buy the V6. Is fantastic and sounds great. I had one once and those polished plenums are a sight to behold every morning.

It was my ritual in the morning, open bonnet, check fluids, and lovingly caress those pipes and close bonnet.

Bu**** the practical aspects. Its an Alfa ! Live dangerously .

One of my fav mottos: "Don't take life too seriously, its not like yoyu will get out of it alive ! ! ! "

Devinda_Z · March 17, 2009

pradfred said:
Buy the V6. Is fantastic and sounds great. I had one once and those polished plenums are a sight to behold every morning.
It was my ritual in the morning, open bonnet, check fluids, and lovingly caress those pipes and close bonnet.

Bu**** the practical aspects. Its an Alfa ! Live dangerously .

One of my fav mottos: "Don't take life too seriously, its not like yoyu will get out of it alive ! ! ! "

if i haven't said it at least once before, that engine has gotta be one of , if not the most , beautiful production engine ever to make its way over into an ordinary car!

only Alfa would make something so normal , so stylish!

YALA · March 18, 2009

Quote
GTAm Posted Mar 15 2009, 12:40 PM
Can I add......

1. Toyota MR2 - Engineered by Lotus so it handles like a dream. Looks terrible though. IMHO.

you are talking about the first gen right?...i havent seen one for sale or heard of any running around for quite sometime now....

Edited March 18, 2009 by YALA

Devinda_Z · March 18, 2009

YALA said:
you are talking about the first gen right?...i havent seen one for sale or heard of any running around for quite sometime now....

There are a few first generation MR2's for sale these days - the Blue & Yellow Supercharged cars and another white one as well..

saw what i believe was S.Lawrence's Black MR2 running about down the other day

its the 2nd Generation cars that seem to have suddenly disappeared seeing as i haven't seen any bar the Red (444) one (which is in good shape now) on the road

YALA · March 18, 2009

Quote
Devinda_Z
QUOTE(YALA @ Mar 18 2009, 12:04 PM)

you are talking about the first gen right?...i havent seen one for sale or heard of any running around for quite sometime now....

There are a few first generation MR2's for sale these days - the Blue & Yellow Supercharged cars and another white one as well..

are you serious machan...wuts the range they are quoting...specialy the supercharged one...

GTAm · March 18, 2009

isam said:
Well GTAM, from your previous posts we know you are a European car fan, but why do you despise the Presea. I've used one for two years and it was an OK ride for daily drive. The only weakness I saw was the low ground clearance.

I'm not really a Euro car fan as such. There are lots of Euro cars that I would not touch - Opel Astra, Peugoet 307 for example. And there are quite a few Japanese cars I'd consider owning - 240Z, MR2, CRX1, MX5s WRXs etc.

I'm more and "interesting" car fan.

Looking at Supra's list, all the cars except the Presea has a at least a slight sporting bias. So you kind of gather which way the wind's blowing. The Nissan is the odd one out. One of my friends used a Presea for ages and I used to drive it occasionally. To be very honest I found it crap to drive and would go into deep depression if I had to use one everyday.

Just my opinion. For a car crazy person like me, the thrill of driving is a lot more important than the majority's opinion or re-sale value and all those other boring stuff that are usually blown way out of proportion. So my priorities are different.

GTAm · March 18, 2009

YALA said:
you are talking about the first gen right?...i havent seen one for sale or heard of any running around for quite sometime now....

There were one or two advertised a couple of months back. Some were missing the original engine while some were in poor shape.... There maybe a very few good ones left.

GTAm · March 18, 2009

Devinda_Z said:
saw what i believe was S.Lawrence's Black MR2 running about down the other day

Must be getting warmed up for the season I guess....?

Devinda_Z · March 18, 2009

YALA said:
are you serious machan...wuts the range they are quoting...specialy the supercharged one...

not too sure but i recon the figures are well within those in this bracket

one of the supercharged ones (yellow - famous 1st owner) has been through the mill and blue one is also a rather tired specimen i've heard..

the white one is mystery car - might be one that came up on the market ages ago - motormag carried an advert in its B&W days i think

GTAm · March 18, 2009

Devinda_Z said:
not too sure but i recon the figures are well within those in this bracket
one of the supercharged ones (yellow - famous 1st owner) has been through the mill and blue one is also a rather tired specimen i've heard..

the white one is mystery car - might be one that came up on the market ages ago - motormag carried an advert in its B&W days i think

I phoned the seller of the white one. It did not have the original engine

Devinda_Z · March 18, 2009

GTAm said:
I phoned the seller of the white one. It did not have the original engine

thats not much cause for concern is it given that sourcing a 4AGE or even 3A motor can't be that difficult , especially given the following the former has...

the Supercharger might be the only tricky bit

YALA · March 19, 2009

Devinda_Z said:
not too sure but i recon the figures are well within those in this bracket
one of the supercharged ones (yellow - famous 1st owner) has been through the mill and blue one is also a rather tired specimen i've heard..

the white one is mystery car - might be one that came up on the market ages ago - motormag carried an advert in its B&W days i think

oh ok...i mite check up on that when i come down in a couple of months...jus curious to see in wut nik the cars are in...and if its within the range it should be worth the money you pay as well....

Devinda_Z · March 25, 2009

YALA said:
oh ok...i mite check up on that when i come down in a couple of months...jus curious to see in wut nik the cars are in...and if its within the range it should be worth the money you pay as well....

it should be - decent value i guess

but i don't think any of the 1st Gen MR2's are in mint shape (bar the black one possibly) , so all of these cars will need some work to undo some years of molestation at the hands of some pillock who picked it up as a show-off budget car as opposed to a nice Midship run about...

the think to look out for aside from obvious (& almost certain) accident damage would be issues with the cooling system , thanks mainly due to the fact that the piping needs to extend all the way to back of the car from up front

GajaYa · June 23, 2009

id defa go for a good honda EG8..........

Supra_Natural · June 24, 2009

GajaYa said:
id defa go for a good honda EG8..........

Really, you can find one under 900K? wells THAT's interesting, because all the ones I've seen (decently kept ones anyway) tend to be priced at 950K upwards

kavinga · June 26, 2009

Supra_Natural said:
Really, you can find one under 900K? wells THAT's interesting, because all the ones I've seen (decently kept ones anyway) tend to be priced at 950K upwards

I saw a EG8 for 790k with a bodykit on a car classified site. maybe the car already sold. price really bargain.

Edited June 26, 2009 by kavinga