It's ( another ) new car thread? Or is it....

Okay it is, sort of.
I was hoping to get some advise, from both the petrol heads and the family car driver we've got here at hexus ( and everyone in the middle, of course )

I'm torn over what to do with my car at the minute.

Last feb, I got a nice ( in my books ) 2 litre Astra G with a full factory-fitted Irmscher bodykit. I paid 6K for it, 25K miles - 2001(Y), 1 year warrenty.

Now, I know the car needs some work, I've got the option to renew the warrenty - which _should_ cover the repair work it needs - the cost of the warrenty is £365 for a year. For those interested - one of the exhaust manifold screaws has broken and it needs to be tapped/drilled or some thing or other - and recover any debris.

I've been looking at a new car for some time, been very interested in a Volvo S60 D5 SE. Today I saw a fairly nice Mazda 6 2.0 TS2 with some extras. I'd love to have a RX-7 or Evo but obviously running costs... though when I see RX-7's for under 5K I get very tempted, even though I know it'll probably turn into a paperweight in a few thousand miles.

Now, this is the question...

Would you:

A) Keep the astra... stick with it... runs fine, goes quick, nice enough... get the manifold fixed before it causes an actual problem ( still runs fine at the moment ).

B) Buy a new car... if so - what? My budget is around 5-10K. Insurance IS still an issue, I'm just 20 with 2 years NCB - but obviously driving a group 12 already, I don't mind something similar.

If I do get a new car... I'm looking for something fairly big... saloon/hatch - estates dont interest me. Would like something fairly quick, more than happy with petrol or diesel though. I like extras... would love to have both A/C and a sunroof... leather would be a big bonus!

Or, something smaller but 'sportier' such as an RX-7. ( probably awefully unrealistic )

Despite owning an astra - or maybe because. I'd quite like something a little more unusual... so any suggestions of Modeos/Focuses/Vectras will probably not be ranked too high... but never know, I could end up with one.

What would you chaps suggest?

Thanks!

S60 D5 is a nice option, otherwise a 3/530i/d? Theres a nice 530i with Alpina rims on Pistonheads, don't be put off by the tiptronic 'box, its one of the best, and the 3l Straight 6 is a beaut of an engine. (its up for 10k on the nose, there are others with more miles on there for less. (ie a 2001 for 8,750, but with 58k miles). This would be a fair jump up on insurance, but the 530i/d is probably the sweet spot of the range, and only one insurance group higher than the Volvo.

Otherwise Audi A6 TDI? 1.9 isn't bad, or if you want performance they do a 2.7 or 3.0 tdi, though again the insurance may be a fair whack.

Personally a sports car would be a terrible choice for a day to day motor, if you have a budget of 5-10k keep the astra, get it repaired and you have a good workhorse. Then maybe take what money you have to get a weekend car like an RX-7 or something. You're only looking at a few thousand miles a year so running costs won't be too bad.

Or perhaps strike a balance with something like a T5 or ST200/220

Thanks for the replys thus far... You're probably right in terms of the day-to-day sports car Graham. I'd not really considered getting two cars *scratches chin*.

dave, 3 litre beemer _might_ be a little too much running costs wise though... ?

BTW - 5-10k was on top of the 3.5k part-ex I'd get for mine.

Please keep them coming people... will let you know what I decide in a few weeks/month!

Ah, with 13.5k you could get a 530d with reasonably miles.

The only thing that a 3 litre beemer will cost more in is fuel. Compared with other luxury cars, including the likes of Audi/Merc, the servicing costs are about the same. You can reduce both of those by having a less heavy right foot (longer service intervals, lower petrol/diesel consumption) and by using an independent BMW specialist. (lower service costs, replaces the things needing replacing, not those that don't)

Fuel wise, I'm not sure what fox gets, but Dad used to get 23mpg doing mainly around town mileage in his 523i (2.5l Straight 6) so you should get about that on a 530, more like 40+ on a 530d, unless you have a lead foot. Running costs between the 523i and the V70 (dad's & mum's old cars) were about the same, and by moving to a V70 D5 SE Sport, mpg has increased. I'd say unless you are doing 15k+ miles a year, then the choice between diesel and petrol is negligible - diesel will cost more to buy, but petrol will cost more in fuel. Diesels do hold their value better, and if you think about it you are getting a 40k+ car for £10-12k. Try getting similar amounts off honda's etc. Oh, and BMWs are slight step up from an Astra, however lovely it may be....try getting similar levels of kit on an Astra, and you'll spend about the same - Leather, Upgraded HiFi etc.

I would also say that if you don't spend the full budget (negotiate on cars, you'd be surprised how much you could probably get off) and put the money aside for a years running costs (incase) I dare say you'd have most of it left at the end of the year. Depreciation won't be as great as some other choices too, they've already lost most of their value.