a bit of what car and a bit of find me a car please

[flip flop]

Calling on the SE brain pool for thoughts/suggestions. After selling the exige and sorting the family chariot for the baby coming the miss's has put a ban on the future offspring going in the works vans so I need a daily barge for getting to/from child care and a wee toy.

Current fave is an s1 elise and something like a golf. Concentrating on the toy(cause thats the important one)

My main queries are a) after the exige am i going to be setting myself up for a disappointment with familiar surroundings but half the power. With the experience of you guys, would you go for an elise or maybe a vx220 for a bit more power but still reasonably familiar. From what I can gather 190 n/a vx is close to most elises for feedback and the turbo is a bit more insulated but can be quick.
b) with a budget of 10-12k honda's are out, as are bigger power cars, so would the above be the best bet or go for a track toy (bike engined caterham type thing), traillering is no issue and outside the amount of time id have for trackdays there wouldnt be much more for road driving.

A couple of mates have said dont buy 2 cars, just buy an rs4 or m5 but I dont fancy spending £80 a week to drive the crappy commute to work and then not have anything lying in the garage to enjoy when i do get some spare time. As im a boring git the only fun time I generally get is the runs/events based around cars so as much as the budgets not brilliant, I am keen to get something.

Finally, if anybody knows of anything for sale (or coming up in next few weeks) within the above I'd be grateful for some info.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions/comments

[Justin]

VX220T for me, I loved mine.

[Andy G]

Vx220 is such good value.

S1 -will you be disappointed with the power? Depends best to drive one. I actually really enjoyed the ones I've had as you tend to drive it flat out more often, carry more speed, and still get epic economy. It's driving a modern classic and easy to upgrade to 150-160bhp if you want to.

M3 new stylee might be a good "bit of both option" and the last of the NA motorsport engines?

[douglasgdmw]

I do not know how new your Golf is going to be, but another suggestion would be to go for the Leon then save a bit more cash for the Elise/VX. Leon is essentially the same car.

I would personally go for a good S1 elise, ideally 135R if you can find one. Remember that the S1 Elise is not really going to depreciate so in the long term you will also be saving money that way.

Cheers
George

[robin]

135R is an S2; the equivalent model for S1 was the Sport135.

The S2 135R is a really good car.

The Sport135 also a good car, but good luck finding one that won't consume a fair amount of cash to keep on the road at this age.

Cheers,
Robin

[Stu160]

http://www.scottishelises.com/phpbb/vie ... =7&t=30210

Well inside your budget, as quick in a straight line as an exige, very reliable, I have tracked it since I bought it, and its been great.

Stu

[I-Mac]

M3 new stylee might be a good "bit of both option" and the last of the NA motorsport engines?

I think the E9* M3 will be over the 12k budget??

I would go for the S1, it's a modern classic, has great feel and feels special to drive, just as special as the exige. The S1 is a lot lighter than the exige but may feel a little underpowered, however great pleasure can still be had by wringing it's neck

An M5 (assuming with budget is E39) and RS4 (TT?) are both great cars and much more powerful and hence faster than the S1. however after a short while you will bore of them and the associated running costs. £1000 for tyre and almost same again for brakes, compared to almost half that for an S1. And count on the heavier cars eating the consumables a lot more frequently too.... On my BMW my tyres will do around 1-1/2 track days per set x4 tyres at £1371....(last set)

The S1 as previously mentioned can have power upgraded cheaply too

[GRAHAM]

Stu, is your car on pistonheads for pics??

[Stu160]

no, but I can get you some if you want, is is not in showroom condition, I bought it as a track car, but it does its job very well.

Stu

[Lazydonkey]

Syu's car has been well kkown.in the vx community for years now. A good buy.

[Corranga]

Buy Stu's car (or similar)

An N/A Vx is a great tool, and there is very little to choose between that and an Elise.

The Exige billys make them a great car rather than a very good one, and with the team dynamics you'll have the 16 inch fronts that allow decent trye choice, plus there isn't much left to depreciate, I reckon you could maybe even go for 0% depreciation in a year there!

Chris

[Lazydonkey]

Not that it matters but an na vx is only 145bhp........but as others have said it is almost exige quick.

Prices have started to firm up now with the best cars starting to go up in value.

Welcome to have a shot of my car if you want.

[flip flop]

Thanks for the help guys,

Andy - can totally see why the M3 works but have previous with them and found them not quite special enough for my perceptions of heavier costs in consumables and fuel. Only car to tick that box is 911 but am sure my back would be trashed trying to get the little one in and out the back seat. Other downside to one more expensive motor is trackday wear'n'tear costs and the worry about spanking it.

Stu - could you please put some more info and pics up in the classifieds

Am really hoping I'll find a wee gem that I'll look forward to every track day or run (with the added advantage of keeping part of the SE social callander). Weirdly Im glad that nobody has suggested something that I hadnt thought of so it seems Im def on right path with elise/vx22/bike engined thing. As nobody's been an advocate of the bike engined toys that may reinforce my worry's about handling and reliability, or a clarkson said, its a lot of faith in something that was built in a shed at weekends by an amatuer.

It was Stu's car that got me thinking about vx's but I've also seen an s1 with 135 upgrade from Murrays that looks v tidy (although cant seem to get to it), both look v good.
I seem to be developing a different dilema, Ive always bought the best condition I could afford but its starting to feel like its gonna be either a well put together trackable toy or pay top dollar for a pristine but probably wouldnt feel as comfortable tracking, it feels totally alien to consider something a bit scruffier but at this age/budget that has to be a very serious consideration. I think there is going to be no substitute for getting out and test driving now.

cheers

Ps LD thanks for the offer of a run, I might be back to you on that.

[Stu160]

Again, no problems with you having a drive in it, or a shot at kh on a track night, to make sure you like it, just let me know.

I put it up for sale when i was also selling the TT, and now its gone, I am not fussed about selling it to be honest, I have been thinking about it all day, and am thinking that if I sell it, then I may not be as happy with the next track shed that I buy, as I do really it. Its not the fastest thing out there , but that just makes passing faster cars more fun

Cheers

Stu

[Andy G]

but that just makes passing faster cars more fun