Hello All,

Total newbie here so please be gentle! Have read a lot of the recent threads but I could really use your help with an overview of my situation. We're expecting baby number one in April and trying to just keep it to one vehicle for now. Currently we run a 206 GTI but this will soon be too small, also it's been fun but now I want more power. Unfortunately, the missus wants something cheap and practical. The Mazda ticks the practical box with its 5 doors and big boot, but it's not as cheap as she would like!

So I'm looking for a Mk1, ideally without the Aero kit (do they exist?) and totally unmodded - sorry to disappoint some of you but that's not something I'm interested in, I also have very little mechanical aptitude. Besides, if I can persuade the missus that we should get one, the MPS will be a big step up from the Peugeot anyway. I've read about the potential problems with the turbos and VVT so I hope I can find one that has had the work done. I'm looking at a budget of maybe £5-7k. Had a quick look around and there seem to be very few cars meeting my requirements, Autotrader doesn't seem to have any at all and those that have come up recently have been in Scotland, not ideal as I'm in Bristol.

Anyway, am I being too ambitious with any of the above (both in terms of what I hope to find for the money, and if I'm trying to have my cake and eat it by using an MPS as a daily driver - we won't be doing big miles, probably ~10k/year)? Any help much appreciated.

Just bought myself an aero mps the day and what a car, i had noticed a non aero on ebay in glasgow for 5495 with 63k, you would be far travelled but looks clean, bristol to glasgow airport would be peanuts!

do not buy a mk1 mps if you want something cheap haha £260 tax for 6 months! and running on v-power i get through a tidy amount of fuel.
think an mps might be a step to far on your upgrade.

even tho i love mine id say you'd be better off with a focus ST similar size and engine etc but tax for a year is same as ours for 6 months. but will be more expensive to buy then a mk1 unless you go for one with more miles.

MK1 MPS ticks lotsa boxs but cheap isnt one of them im afraid. and with a baby on the way id say (just opinion) hold back on more power for a while until babys arrived and settled and you'll know your finances and budget and weather you can afford extra petrol tax servicing etc and price of parts as the mps isnt as common as other 'hot hatches' are parts tend to cost more.
just my veiw on it mate but if i had a baby on the way then it would probably be the only time im not thinking about more power haha

Welcome to the forum mate.

There's plenty mk1 non aeros! (Well maybe not sh!t loads) but there's a good few out there. There is on the other hand more aeros that appear for sale. Have you had a look on eBay? There's loads of cars for sales on there. Also have a look on pistonheads aswell.

I guarantee the ST will cost more over a year taking tax, insurance and fuel into account.

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Thanks, yes I think I saw that one - trouble is, we want to test drive it before making our final decision and if she doesn't like it, would be a wasted trip. Also not ideal if the car turns out to have problems that need sorting. Found one on pistonheads (I think) in Congleton, Cheshire but it was category C, repaired by the seller - don't think I need to touch that as there should be enough clean ones about.

As to the cost, yes I know any MPS is not a cheap car, it's the missus who wants something cheap - I'm prepared to spend the money on the fuel, maintenance etc, I've done a budget and we can afford it, she'd just rather spend the money on something else as she's not into cars. I was just explaining why I was looking at Mk1 rather than Mk2. Appreciate the advice though, definitely something to think about.

I don't really fancy the Focus ST, the Mazda is much better looking in my opinion, I actually prefer the look of the Mk1 to the Mk2 - but it's not really looks I'm after, anyway. It's nice that the Mazda is much rarer than the Focus, though I realise that can make parts pricier.

From what I have gleaned from other threads, the main things to look out for if I go and view one is let it idle for 10 minutes, then rev it up and look for white smoke from the exhaust, and listen for the timing chain rattling - is that about right? Any other major issues to look out for that could be costly to fix?

yer listen for vvt rattle on cold start up.

and yer mk1 looks much better! mk2's only look good from the side front and back looks awful on mk2's (bound to annoy a few members with that comment haha)

yer fair play mate on finance side of it. and skip might have a point actually my mates ST that cost about an extra £10k has had to go in the garage for smokey turbo and all sorts already when my mps with 30k more miles on hasnt

Insurance for an ST will be a couple of hundred more and that 5 pot is very thirsty

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Just to throw a curve ball out there, the 6 is much cheaper to buy than a 3.

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yer the above. i kinda wish id bought a six just cause you cant put any big power down in fwd. and craving some sideways action

And just to Add,the wear and tear parts are virtually the same between the st and mps so that isn't an issue when comparing costs either.

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Hi & to the

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to the forum

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I hope you find a good one but sometimes you'll need to travel far to get one. I know I did and it's worth it

Hmm - that is a good point. Don't think the wife will go for a 6 though, she'll say it's "too big". At some point I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and spend the money on running 2 cars, for the moment I'm going to try to keep it to 1.