What Jondot said. Plus they're nowhere near interesting enough for me. I want something more exciting than my Fiesta, and a basic Sierra's handling is terrible in comparison. The majority of 80s-early 90s Fords were awful as standard.
I'd buy one just because generally they're so cheap that they make perfect disposable transport
I don't want disposable transport. It'll only be my second car, and the reason I've waited over five years is so that I can insure something more special, even if I can't spend that much actually buying it. Interestingly though, I did have a fleeting look at Jags like yours after I saw your thread!
On your list I would say the Alfa, it's such a good looking car. Well ok you do have the reliability issue with it but come on how can you pass over a design like that? It's brilliant!
Now I'm not sure how the whole UK car thing works with insurance and MOT certifications, it's something I've never really discussed with relatives. So please bear with me if I'm a bit off the mark.
- Vauxhall Tigra, I know Vauxhall's get a bad rap in Europe but I've always though they were cool little cars.
- Ford Mondeo, it looks like you can get one from 2000 in your price range and based on the Contour we got here in the states I have to imagine it's a decent car. There is always at least one or two Contours at autocrosses so I have to imagine they aren't awful.
- Mazda 323, I know we got something different here in the states then you did in the UK (or is that wrong?) but it always seemed like a pretty decent car.
Thanks for the good response Joey 👍
The Alfa is very tempting. As for the Tigra, the styling has taken 14 years to grow on me and I actually kinda like it, but the rest of the car isn't even close to anything I've listed above! The Mondeo is too boring - I respect them as good cars and a V6 would be nice, but it isn't special enough for me when I could have the Bora or Civic VTi instead if I wanted something practical. The 323 is a reasonable car but again, I've got the option of something like that Civic so the 323 doesn't really get a look in.
As for insurance, there's a grouping system going from 1-20, but it's very vague (group 20 is anything from an Impreza to an Enzo). The lowest grouping of my choices is the Paseo at gp5, the highest the Alfa at gp16, and yet there's only a £250ish difference in their insurance cost over the year. Actually, I'll post the quotes I've got for all the cars above so you can see what costs what (all are roughly £1500 value, I'm 23, and live in a decent area):
BMW 316i 2dr '88 £174.60
VW Golf GTI mk1 1.6 '76-83 £188.25
Toyota Paseo ST 1.5 '96-97 £220.96
VW Bora Sport TDi 110bhp '99-00 £235.20
VW Bora Sport 2.0 '99-06 £248.85
SAAB 900 Turbo 16 3dr '84-87 £304.50
VW Bora V5 '99-00 £322.35
SEAT Toledo V5 150bhp '99-00 £329.70
Honda Civic VTi 5dr 1.8 '97-00 £364.35
Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0ts '97 £389.55
Honda Prelude 2.0 '97-99 £478.53
Now, I obviously haven't quoted the earlier Prelude, and with the later one I have a sneaking suspicion I did it ages ago when the value of the car was higher. You'll also see my BMW quote was for the 316 - I'd expect the 318is to be over £200. I haven't quoted either MR2 yet, but from an earlier one I did I'm pretty sure they're both around £350-400. As you can see, the classics (Golf, 900, 316) are clearly cheaper - I do few enough miles that they can be considered for a "classic" policy.
The other cost to consider is road tax. Currently I pay £120 a year. All the cars above save for the Paseo are £180 a year I think, because the cut off limit is something like 1550cc, and my Fiesta and the Paseo are both under this. None of the cars are post-2001, otherwise I'd be paying according to their CO2 emissions.
The Miata is probably the most fun car there, but as an only or first car... pass. Same goes for the MR2s. for an only car / first car, even if you don't care about the impracticality of two seats, you want to leave your options open... for example, if you move up a notch in terms of expendable income and can thus afford to upgrade, you won't have as big a problem selling off and buying something else.
That's an interesting point for me to consider, thank you.
I like the idea of a 318. I agree... it's the prettiest of the modern BMWs, not so modern as to be too expensive to maintain, and yes, the age gives you tax perks. A lot will depend on the condition of the car you get, but driving around in one would be fun. As would be the MkI GTi or the Saab
The BMW is certainly one of my top options, probably one of the best mixes of style/practicality/fun/running costs etc on the shortlist.
You mention condition - the picture I used of the 318is is on UK ebay at the moment, absolutely immaculate, unmolested and not a stratospheric mileage, and it's only £1500, pretty much on the dot. If I was changing my car now I'd buy it today.
Damn, you've got me thinking now... I've always had an eye for E30 320is....
...and I can actually afford to go out and buy one and have it refurbished without batting an eye... but my wife would
kill me if she found out I'd bought yet another car...
I considered the 320i actually, I'd like one of the straight-sixes, but the 325i is more than I'm willing to pay on insurance, and the 320i doesn't have enough performance advantage over the 318is to justify the 10mpg less it gets!
I think there is one major piece of hardware missing:
*Celica*
You can get a late-gen one for right in your price range, and at least in my opinion, if you're going to be considering MR2s and Preludes, this is an important one to keep in mind. Dynamically, they are very good cars that are easy to drive around town and a bit "briskly" on the back roads. Only problem is that you guys got stuck with not-so-good engine choices in Europe, so I can understand if you do wish to pass.
That shape Celica was one of the ones I considered for a while actually. As you mentioned though, the engines aren't as good as many of the cars above, and insurance-wise I'd be limited to the base 1.8. Thanks for the suggestion though, I may come back to it eventually 👍
Just a thought...
What do the French have to offer?
Not interested in French ones really beyond the Renaults I mentioned. The only other one that takes my fancy is the 106 Rallye, and they're too expensive to buy because they're "collectors" cars
Dude you should really get that MR2, they are very rare nowadays
Not in the UK they're not! What
is rare is one not covered in rust...
) Those toledos are good value, used to have the previous generation version which didnt let me down. Good choice of cars all round, i expect it will be difficult to decide 
