JAC said:
[post]359823[/post] Reading this thread, I am a little confused as to whether it is about replacing the Puma with something cheap, or with something modern.
The OP was about both together with comparable qualities and so is/was rest of the thread, er, until now.
We all know, and indeed have known forever, that if you throw a min of 5 or 6K+ at a car that you'll find one that ticks most of the boxes reasonably well. But, we've
always known that, so discussing that side is like watching old episodes of Fifth Gear or something.
What is new (newish) is the fact that it's possible to tick all those boxes for less than 1 or 2K with the Puma! Accept a few bits of rust and it can be done for £500 even. That is unheard of.
So, yeah, the game has been changed and people are now asking if and when they change their Pumas is it possible to find something comparable, but younger (say, up to 10 years old) for less than 2K? My casual browsing on Gumtree* suggests not.
* within the brief, the MX5 is possible, but the Mk1 and 2s are all getting old now and the Mk3 wishes it looked like the previous versions, well, their owners do.
The other one is the Mazda RX8, but this is the car you hope your mate gets, so you can see how they get on with it. Looks OK, handles and drives OK, but has a Wankel engine (that is not a critique on the engine, it is actually called that) that needs a litre of oil every 1,000 miles, has really awful petrol consumption and cost a fortune to fix if it goes wrong. Apart from that, it's fine.
Some Renaults may also be possibles, but I'll need to look into that more closely.