£6000 to spend, must be quick! Any ideas?

[rainbow]

if they wont touch you on an rx-7 what hope do you have on a supra?
i would say mayb an older evo, or a 328 sounds good the old ones look good too, vr6 golf?? v5 golf mayb

[Shad]

Accord Type R?

You could even just about get a DC2 Teg for that kind of money too... possibly a bit impractical though.

[5lab]

i disagree fox. you can get a 97 plate st24 for £1000. thats not a car which is holding its value well - a similar age, similar price (origonally) volvo, audi or bimmer would be worth over twice as much

£6k is pushing it for an st220, but it is (imo) too much to spend on a car origonally released in '93..

[Konan555]

The st24 is very little more than a mondeo with a V6 in it and a hideous set of wheels (sorry Fox ), most people recognise that.

The ST200 holds a value a lot better and should come in well under £6K now..

[dave87]

Thinking along the lines of an exec car (ignore this completely if you want a sports hatch) but some rather nice BMW 7 Series are coming into your price range, and with a 4l v8 they aint gunna be slow. Private plate on it any everyone will think you have gone up in the world. The only problem is BMW servicing will cost you a bomb, as will filling the tank, but thats the same with any premium marque. They will however be a lot better spec'd, some in your price range even have tv/navigation features.

Just food for thought...

EDIT - specs speak for themselves

Engine Size: 4398 cc
Cylinders: 8
0-60 mph: 6.8 s
Power Output: 286 bhp
Valves: 32
Torque: 420 Nm
Top Speed: 155 mph

though the downside is the insurance group - 19

[CocoPops]

Or for a good fun motoring...

Clio 172 will see you right.

0-60 in 6.4 iirc
Xenons
Leather/Alcantara
Climate Control
Traction Control
etc

Obviously if you want a large car like the BMs, Mondeos etc then its out!

[Fox]

i disagree fox. you can get a 97 plate st24 for £1000. thats not a car which is holding its value well - a similar age, similar price (origonally) volvo, audi or bimmer would be worth over twice as much

The only 97 plate ST24 you can get for £1000 is a high mileage, non RSAP fitted saloon which looks identical to any other Mondeo in the range.

The going rate for a tidy 97 ST24 hatchback with bodykit is nearer £2k. Still not much, but it is nearly 10 years old and the price is considerably more than you'd expect to pay for a regular Mondeo. Either way, I was talking about the ST220 - which you said would drop value like its French, and which I say wouldn't

£6k is pushing it for an st220, but it is (imo) too much to spend on a car origonally released in '93..

The ST220 is a Mk3 - an all-new car released in 2000, not 1993. It shares nothing with the car released in 1993. Even the engine is different.

ST220's start at about £8500 for an early 2002 example.

The ST200, a special edition of the Mk2, is approx £5000 for a good example, despite being 6-7 years old now, although it was produced in limited numbers.

[Fox]

Thinking along the lines of an exec car (ignore this completely if you want a sports hatch) but some rather nice BMW 7 Series are coming into your price range, and with a 4l v8 they aint gunna be slow. Private plate on it any everyone will think you have gone up in the world. The only problem is BMW servicing will cost you a bomb, as will filling the tank, but thats the same with any premium marque. They will however be a lot better spec'd, some in your price range even have tv/navigation features.

The E38's are comfortably below £6000 for a decent 740i now, but bear a few things in mind..

1) They are all automatic
2) They are designed for sitting on the Motorway, and although they are without a doubt the drivers car of the luxury car segment, it's still quite large for hustling around lanes.

You could consider an E39 540i instead - IMHO a better package. Handles better, as it's smaller and has a much newer suspension setup (The E38 is revised E32, itself a 1980's car - the E39 is all new and was BMW's first production car to use new aluminium design for the suspension components), and the size difference is enough for noticeable handling improvements without losing the refinement on the Motorway.

Plus, it's available with a manual gearbox, and will hit 60 in 5.9 seconds. With facelift front and rear lights it still looks fresh and modern, whereas unfortunately time is not being kind to the E38.

[dave87]

The E38's are comfortably below £6000 for a decent 740i now, but bear a few things in mind..

1) They are all automatic

All semi automatics, which is actually a pretty good gearbox and was shared with the e39 5 series.

They are designed for sitting on the Motorway, and although they are without a doubt the drivers car of the luxury car segment, it's still quite large for hustling around lanes.

Oh most definately, but they also have an air of class lacking from some of the more regular cars listed in the thread

You could consider an E39 540i instead - IMHO a better package. Handles better, as it's smaller and has a much newer suspension setup (The E38 is revised E32, itself a 1980's car - the E39 is all new and was BMW's first production car to use new aluminium design for the suspension components), and the size difference is enough for noticeable handling improvements without losing the refinement on the Motorway.

Definately true, one of my neighbours has just bought one actually, and my dad had a string of 5 series (from about J reg to the last one being on a V). The only thing is they are more popular than 7 Series (mainly because no one thinks of them for a 6grand car) and therefore carry a slight price premium. They also rarely have the same spec as the 7 series for the same money.

Plus, it's available with a manual gearbox, and will hit 60 in 5.9 seconds. With facelift front and rear lights it still looks fresh and modern, whereas unfortunately time is not being kind to the E38.

The second point is subjective, I still prefer the E38 to the new 7 Series - the Bangle-ised one. The gearbox in the 7series is a semi auto - and pretty good (as said before) but it is personal preference. The semi auto does however give you the best of both worlds, whereby around town it can be left in D, and when you fancy a sportier change you can do it yourself.

Good points though fox

[5lab]

The ST220 is a Mk3 - an all-new car released in 2000, not 1993. It shares nothing with the car released in 1993. Even the engine is different.

ST220's start at about £8500 for an early 2002 example.

The ST200, a special edition of the Mk2, is approx £5000 for a good example, despite being 6-7 years old now, although it was produced in limited numbers.

misread what i meant - i was saying the st200 would be crap because its a 12 yr old car for 6grand. the st220 is a good buy, but as you've seen, a little expensive

either way, they hold value well for a mondie, but still pretty badly in general. a 1-year old version will have lost £10,000 - a whopping 40% of its value. ouch! they do cost more 2nd hand, but they cost nearly twice as much when new! a 6 grand st200 would get you, say a 2001 model, which in 3years will be worth £1500. a 6 grand a4 2.4 (for example) would be worth £2000 in 3 years..

[Fox]

misread what i meant - i was saying the st200 would be crap because its a 12 yr old car for 6grand. the st220 is a good buy, but as you've seen, a little expensive

I agree the ST200 is expensive - its why despite liking them a great deal, I will probably never own one.

either way, they hold value well for a mondie, but still pretty badly in general. a 1-year old version will have lost £10,000 - a whopping 40% of its value.

Disagree. You are basing this ST220 depreciation on the list price of the car - list price is a staggering £24,000. As we speak, Broadspeed.com can source you a brand new, unregistered, UK main dealer supplied car for £18k. So, those 02 plate ones for £10k or so have lost £8000 in 4 years. Thats £2k a year.

You'd lose a lot more on an Audi or a BM over the first 4 years - infact in the first 3 years of its existence our 530d has shed a staggering £15,000...

a 6 grand st200 would get you, say a 2001 model, which in 3years will be worth £1500

I wish I could say you were correct becuase I'd have one at that money. ST200 prices will depreciate reasonably slowly and reasonably steady by virtue of the fact there are very limited numbers around. I would estimate that £3k will buy a good ST200 in 3 years time, at the very least. You may find that as more and more of them are destroyed in accidents etc, the price may even stay stable or perhaps rise, as it's starting to do with decent examples of the Sapphire Cosworths and earlier RS2000's.

[Fox]

All semi automatics, which is actually a pretty good gearbox and was shared with the e39 5 series.

Yes of course - they are Steptronic boxes and it is indeed identical in every respect to that found in the earlier E39's (The 2002 onwards E39 have the same box but somewhat oddly the shift action is reversed on the Steptronic part). It's one of the best autoboxes I've experienced but... if its a sporting drive you want, the manuals just have it licked, imho. It was a tad *too* keen to kickdown at inopportune moments and even in Steptronic mode will change up or down if it thinks it's needed.

Oh most definately, but they also have an air of class lacking from some of the more regular cars listed in the thread

They do at the moment but are being affected by older BMW's biggest problem as time goes on - undesireables find how cheap they are, want the image associated with a huge BMW... and buy one. Watch out for an E38 covered in England flags soon

It's a bit of a shame really, as they are technically excellent cars. It happens to all BMW's sooner or later - even the 5's - although the 5's are not affected qutie as much as pikeys who suddenly decide they must own a BMW either want the biggest, poshest one they can find, so buy a 7, or the sportiest one they can find, so they buy a 3.

It's partly the reason why I must get E39 ownership sorted as soon as possible, within 5 years I think it's prestige image will have vanished

[rainbow]

well, this must be for a reason that pikeys want these cars lol, why dont thye want clk mercs? i think that tthere wil always be a prestige beamer or whatever brand about, and on the hole most of the people you are on about have 3 series from my exp, but this doesnt mean its bad to own sucha car.

[Fox]

well, this must be for a reason that pikeys want these cars lol, why dont thye want clk mercs? i think that tthere wil always be a prestige beamer or whatever brand about, and on the hole most of the people you are on about have 3 series from my exp, but this doesnt mean its bad to own sucha car.

I often wonder why it is BMW is chosen for the pikeys to make themselves feel special, whereas most old Mercs (With the notable exception of the 190E and C Class) either fade away un-affected or simply become classics.

I think it's to do with the fact BMW is, by nature, a very aspirational brand - a lot of people aspire to own a BMW simply for what they perceive the brand to stand for. It is this trait within people which is responsible for near-miracles like dealers actually selling 116's and 316's, and is really a bit of a shame for those of us who wish to own a BMW not for what the brand may or may not stand for, not for what others may or may not think of us, but becuase actually, the higher end models are really rather good cars.

BMW has also long been seen as the more sporting of the main prestige brands - Mercedes is the classy, luxury brand, Audi is the refined, understated brand, and BMW is the sporting side. Lexus don't count as they are simply a Japanenese facsimilie of what their marketing department thinks a BMW or a Merc is. It is BMW's sporting nature which unfortunately adds to its popularity with the more undesirable members of society once the cars get cheap enough

They either want everything - and buy a 7, or want to be 'cool', and buy a 3. For this reason cars like the 5 Series and 8 Series manage to escape reasonably unscathed - you'll find many, many more 'barried up' E36 3 Series around than you will E34 5 Series despite the fact both are in the same price range. Although I have noticed a worrying trend amongst scrap metal dealers to start buying early E39 520's

[Taz]

My favourite second-hand car at that price level would be a highly-specced, top-of-the-range Vauxhall Omega. You get a decent bit of luxury, good build quality, lots of toys, huge amounts of space, reasonable performance, rear-wheel drive and German build-quality.

Maintenance costs will also be quite reasonable compared to a BMW/Audi/Merc.

[5lab]

Disagree. You are basing this ST220 depreciation on the list price of the car - list price is a staggering £24,000. As we speak, Broadspeed.com can source you a brand new, unregistered, UK main dealer supplied car for £18k. So, those 02 plate ones for £10k or so have lost £8000 in 4 years. Thats £2k a year.

02 platers are (book value) ~£8,500 :

Private Good £ 9240
Private Poor £ 7340

i see your point though.

You'd lose a lot more on an Audi or a BM over the first 4 years - infact in the first 3 years of its existence our 530d has shed a staggering £15,000...

still a smaller percentage than the mondie

I wish I could say you were correct becuase I'd have one at that money. ST200 prices will depreciate reasonably slowly and reasonably steady by virtue of the fact there are very limited numbers around. I would estimate that £3k will buy a good ST200 in 3 years time, at the very least. You may find that as more and more of them are destroyed in accidents etc, the price may even stay stable or perhaps rise, as it's starting to do with decent examples of the Sapphire Cosworths and earlier RS2000's.

nagh i dont think that'll happen. the st24s are more commen, granted, and a bit more slow, but they're pretty much the same car. st200s are just a mondeo with a big engine. cossies and rs2000 were absolutely nuts - many people would claim you cant get a better car for a given task tahn a cossa or a rs2000, but i dont think this will ever be the case of a st200. i think a (for instance) 330 or v70r (if you want an estate) will always be a better car in pretty much every way. mondeos just arent desirable..



back on topic, is200 (with a large engine)?