#Blogpost
5 cheap petrolhead cars in Europe

Being a petrolhead can be hard sometimes. Especially if you are young and live in Europe. All you want is a car that is your own. But as a petrolhead it just cant be ANY car. No, you want something special, something you do not find everywhere. But what makes a car special? It should have a lot of power, a decent handling, great looks, a great heritage and RWD or AWD would be cool too huh? Oh and yeah, you do not want a new car. We petrolheads like older cars from a “better” time. Classics with character and personality. Automotive history has brought up a whole bunch of four-wheeled icons and legends like the ´67 Shelby GT500, the Miura or Toyota GT2000 just to name a few. But as we all know, most of us could never afford one these cars. So it has become something like a “treasure hunting” as we try to find affordable cars that deliver almost the same amount of fun for just a little percentage of the price.

Well known cars of this class are the E36 328i, F-Body Camaro SS, Miata MX-5 NA, Nissan S13 or maybe the first gen. Audi TT. All these are without a doubt great if not even awesome. BUT you are young and you live in Europe. So forget all Muscle and/or Pony Cars and many Imports because you will not find them (for a realistic price) over here. So whats left? E36 328i? Good luck paying the fuel and insurance bills for an 2.8 Liter inline Six “Boyracer-Car” as a beginner driver. First gen. TT? Have you looked at the prices for spare parts? Man, that is really the most premium part of an Audi. MX-5 NA? LOL, try to find an unmolested example in good condition without rust for fair price.

What I want to say is, that most of these “affordable petrolhead cars” are not affordable if you are an average young petrolhead or student in Europe. So I thought I could make a small list of cars that are available, cheap to buy and cheap to run for a beginner driver here in Europe and still have at least one special thing about them.

All the cars on this list have a few things in common. No premium manufacturers, no high power outputs and “small” displacement. So no old V8 Mercedes S-Class for you, even if you can grab them for less than 2k here in Germany. Sorry.

Mazda MX-3 / Eunos Presso / Precidia

We all know the MX-5. And you could think that the MX-3 is its little brother. But that is not true. In fact the MX-3 is more a smaller and cheaper version of the MX-6. Its a small FWD coupe based on the 323 and was build from 1991 to 1998. With around 1100 kg / 2425 lbs its relatively light. The most interesting thing about it is, that it was available with a 1800cc DOHC 24V V6. Yeah that’s right; a 1.8 Liter V6 with 129 HP made this little badboy pretty quick. Top speed is around 200 km/h / 120 mph and 0-100 / 0-60 takes around 8.5 sec. Nowadays MX-3´s are becoming more and more rare but you can still grab a good one for 1500-2500€.

Small displacement, parts used from an 90´s eco-hatch and Japanese reliability make the MX-3 a “cheap-to-buy-and-run” beginners car with a sporty attitude.

Subaru Libero

Yes, that’s right. No, I am not kidding. I am suggesting a Libero. Why? Because it is just awesome and probably the most overlooked subbie ever. It is AWD and powered by 3 cylinders with 1.0-1.2 liter of displacement. It might be slow and for some people almost as ugly as an Multipla or an Aztek, but it is one of the very few Kei-Cars ever come to Europe. (with some changes) You can use these as a daily, as a mini camper, parts hauler or as a shopping car. Whatever you want, the Libero will do it. Like the MX-3, Liberos are becoming very rare but you can still grab a good and rust-free one for 2000-4000€.

If you are still not convinced, watch this Kei-Van review from RCR. This might be a Honda but those Kei-Vans are more or less all the same.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL_T4Lr0uu8

Daihatsu Cuore / Mira

If you have really no money at all, you should consider buying a 90´s Daihatsu. The Cuore is a super light and agile city car. They are extremely simple but solid and with that a perfect DIY car. Small Daihatsus are very popular in Japan so you could even start a small “JDM-Build” if you want to. Especially Cuores are very cheap. A good example is around 800-1200€ and a perfect first hand model with low miles should not top the 2000€ mark.

EXTRA PETROLHEAD BONUS:

The Cuore / Mira was the first car that appeared on Mighty Car Mods S1E1 and was their first project car in a later season. So if its good enough for MCM to start and get big, it should be good enough for you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pj0w0xo2ChY

Volkswagen Jetta Mk 2

Despite being a good selling car in the US, the Jetta never played a role on the European market. Blame it on whatever you want, but the Jetta was always just a shadow of the way more popular Golf hatchback. The Jetta was so unsuccessful in Europe, VW tried to reinvent its identity twice with the whatever Mk3 Vento and the luxurious Mk4 Bora. But today these old Jettas are becoming relatively cool and they are very cheap. Starting at 500€ and ending at around 3000€ for a really good example. Build from 1984-1992, there is a big variety of models and engines from the 55HP 1.3 base model to the 130 HP 1.8 16V GT top spec. And those cars are so simple, its like playing with LEGO. Honestly, just google for Mk2 Jettas and you will find a big amount of front end and engine swaps. The Mk1 Golf and Jetta are already classics and it wont take long for Mk2´s to become too. So if you want one, buy a cheap one asap.

Sachsenring Trabant

I live in east Germany and I was born here and my parents were born in the former GDR. So I have a special connection to these cars. I do not want to explain the whole history of the evolution and the meaning of the “Trabi” for the GDR. (At least for now, may I write a whole article about it soon.) But you should really consider buying one of these. You maybe have to import one if you don´t live in east Germany or eastern Europe. But man, it´s worth it. Trabants are extreme cheap. Depending on the condition of the car you will have to pay between 200-3000€. (Some examples cost more, but it should be in an A+ condition to justify that) . And it is THE do it yourself car. There is literally no part you can not change on your own. Body-on-Frame structure, leaf springs front and rear, all around drum brakes, and a 2 cylinder 2 Stroke engine with 500-600cc depending on the model. It is old, it is loud, it is rare, it has character and it is cheap. So if you want something special for cheap. Buy one!

I hope you liked this small article, tell me your thoughts …