Could You Still Do A Top Gear Cheap Car Challenge? Do £1500 Porsches Still Exist?

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In today's video, I am looking at four of the most iconic Top Gear Cheap Car Challenges and asking - could you do them today?
Liberal use of stills taken from BBC's Top Gear, under the guise of fair use and hoping this video doesn't get demonetised by them.
Thumbnail photo made with resources from:
Charles01 via Wikipedia
www.carandclassic.com/car/C14...
#TopGear #CheapCar #budget
Chapter Listings
0:00 Introduction
2:22 The £100 Car
9:54 £1500 Porsches
16:46 £10,000 Italian Supercar
22:16 £2,500 Student Car
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[@dtulip8]

The one that gets me is the £5000 sports saloons in Germany challenge- Jezza ends up with a Sapphire Cosworth for under 5k!

[@benpenagonzales6014]

Love a Coss-eh! Harry showed one on his Silverstone auctions in burgundy. #goals!

[@richboy900]

Or when Hammond got the cheap Subaru in the African special

[@SunnyD1865]

@@richboy900 I’m more impressed by James’ 850 R… they’re worth even sillier money now

[@olik136]

there are currently 6 on sale in Germany- ranging between 19k€ and 59k€...

[@Jamesmorley1999]

Remember James bought a 190e 2.3-16 for £2500 or something ridiculous, can’t get the bodykit for that money nowadays 🥲

[@DominicLeung87]

100GBP challenge!!! Couldn't fill up your tank with that nowadays.

[@christopherdean1326]

Certainly can't fill the 83 litre tank on my Ford Explorer for that.....

[@elisorrells5314]

They all got half decent running cars, especially James in the Audi 80, I was kinda pissed when they destroyed them in the end for no reason

[@Gobbbbb]

@@christopherdean1326 It costs me 25ish quid to fill the tank on a 125cc motorcycle, which is mental.

[@Gobbbbb]

@@elisorrells5314 They were rot boxes though, they weren't exactly "roadworthy"

[@gui18bif]

Here in Portugal the government sells some cars through bids and some of them sell for lower than the actual value of petrol in the tank.

[@thomashayhurst6547]

Jay, when you mention the Merak not being an SS, someone checked the VIN and it was a legit SS. What's likely is the car was involved in a rear end collision and the badge was probably bought to replace the stuff that was damaged or destroyed. Also would explain the £10,000 the previous owner spent on the engine (only to get it working, Merak parts are not exactly mass produced or cheap). Doesn't really matter since it was turned into soup cans or something like that after it's engine grenaded itself.

[@paulbird1808]

You answered one of my questions, although I did guess similarly on the query about the SS badge?

[@Sawubona2007]

Really appreciate you advising the original air date of the episode and a quick summary. Brings back memories. A lot of us in our early 30s (like myself) grew up on that era of Top Gear.

[@eolix_]

I grew up dreaming I could buy an Urraco for £10k

[@danstevenson8918]

Good times!

[@YegoYTP]

I've had a look what you could get nowadays for a couple of other challenges they did For the £1500 Rear Wheel Drive Coupe Challenge (£1500 in 2008 is around £2300 adjusted for inflation) Mays Capri MK3 2.8i would go for at least £10,000 now, Hammonds 300ZX Twin Turbo would be about £6000 at least and Jeremys high mileage 944 S2 would still be about £4000. All roadworthy, for £2300 nowadays you could buy: 1999 BMW 318is Coupe E36 for £1995, 2002 BMW 325ci E46 for £1300, 2005 Mercedes CLK320 3.2 Auto Avantgarde for £1995 (in quite good nick too), 2004 Chrysler Crossfire 3.2 for £1995, 2008 Mazda RX8 230 for £2295 (unreliable but only 47k miles), 2001 Jaguar XK8 for £2000 (a bit ropey with high miles but a lot of car for the money), 2008 BMW 120d M-Sport Coupe for £1795 (with very high miles), 2008 BMW 330i SE E92 for £2350 but could probably haggle 50 quid off, 1976 Reliant Scimitar GTE 3.0 for £2300, a bit tatty but I think road legal since its MOT exempt, 2002 Mercedes CL500 V8 for £2000 Honourable Mention: 1995 Ford Mustang 3.8 V6 Automatic but it failed its MOT on brakes For the hot hatch challenge in 2014, Mays Fiesta XR2i would be worth around £7000, Hammonds Nova SRi would be worth around £7000 also and Jeremys MK2 Golf GTI 8v would be worth around £4500. They all paid under £1000 for the three cars which would be £1250 in todays money, but I've rounded it to £1500 because theres not much variety, but that would get you: 2002 Ford Focus ST-170 for £1200 2007 Ford Fiesta ST for £1200 2005 Peugeot 206 GTI for £850 (The 138bhp model, absolute bargain it looks brand new) 1999 Volkswagen Golf GTI 1.8t MK4 for £1000 2003 MG ZR 160 VVC for £700 2002 Renault Clio Sport 172 for £1500 (Although pretty ropey) 2009 Vauxhall Corsa SRI 1.6 Turbo for £1415 2009 Alfa Romeo Mito 1.4TB Lusso for £1295 2004 Toyota Corolla T-Sport for £1500 2005 Toyota Yaris T-Sport for £1140 (If you count that as hot enough) 2002 Mini Cooper S for £1250 2002 Citroen Saxo VTS for £1640 (Slightly out of budget but too good to miss off) 2007 Citroen C2 VTS for £950 2007 Peugeot 207 GTI for £1495 Honourable Mention: 2005 Volkswagen Golf GTI MK5 for £1300 but its misfiring

[@Stallzyx]

would be a bit of a ropey ST-170 also for £1200 I think, or at least going off ebay and autotrader prices. Saw one in a classic car auction with a guide price of 800-1000 that ends in the new year

[@jonnyc429]

What a great bit of research this is, I could have read that all evening just to see what else was around. I've always wanted to do a cheap car tour with mates, over the channel and around europe, maybe one day !

[@whichwasher2007]

I've got a st-170 for £1000. It's ropey with a millage discrepancy. Gave me 6 months and 4000 miles of cheap fun miles till the gearbox went. So it's a replacement gearbox for £50 and uprated clutch and single mass flywheel upgrade soon.

[@mdwroblewski]

Nice comparison. However, within 40 miles from Cambridge you can easily double the prices for the above cars.

[@danielalexander8588]

Some proper research there! Good work!

[@JohnFromAccounting]

The cars that were cheap in the 2000s aren't so cheap now, but the cars that were new and expensive in the 2000s and now cheap. The 350Z is very affordable because they made so many, and it's still an incredible car. Great platform for making a drift build, a track weapon, or you could leave it alone and drive it sensibly. Any option is inexpensive.

[@scottcolpitts8521]

I would just go 370z instead of 350, unless you adore the 350. Does everything the 350 does except better. Nc2 mx5s haven't gone up really here in Canada either. Don't know about the situation across the pond, but my nc2 might have gone up a grand or two in value since covid.

[@PointNemo9]

It's an American car pretending to be Japanese, this is proven by the handbrake location was clearly designed with left-hand drive cars in mind.

[@PointNemo9]

@@scottcolpitts8521 Obviously that is reflected in the price, a bit of a silly comment when the main point he was making is how affordable the 350z has become.

[@will_on2793]

@@scottcolpitts8521 Yeah it does everything better, but a 370 double the price of a 350.

[@scottcolpitts8521]

@Will_On2 In canada a decent 350z is about 7 to 9 thousand cheaper on average, your right about the 370 being double. When we are saying double price we are talking 10 grand max difference. It's not like a 50 grand car and a car that's double that at 100g. I still consider a 370z in good shape at 25 grand a decent deal. That's like 15 grand cheaper or more than the average brand new car sold in canada.

[@truevip100]

I think the fact that Jeremy, James and Richard actually drove these cars instantly boosts their appeal and as a coincidence, boosts their sale price

[@gingernutpreacher]

But how long does that last

[@truevip100]

@@gingernutpreacher how long is a piece of string? All it takes is a rerun of an episode and you start searching cars for sale

[@gingernutpreacher]

3ft long but I get your point

[@BodyDestruction]

What appealing cars didn't they drive? Anything remotely fun to drive has risen in price sharply recently because there are barely (if) any new cars being made like that. It's not because they drove them: a Dacia Sandero has only become a bit more expensive, in line with the rest of the regular car market.

[@gingernutpreacher]

@@BodyDestruction it's double in price but that's because it's based on a new Reno Clio chassis and not the crap before I test drove the old one and it was crap

[@X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X]

Top Gear and their cheap car challenges helped me to learn the English language, and made me fall in love with it.

[@antikristbutalsoawanker7547]

Me too bro! me too!

[@15DEAN1995]

I vaguely remember the very first cheap car challenge where Jeremy drove a volvo into a wall and bought it for £1

[@MrGman2804]

An interesting exercise. It further confirms what I thought. 18 or 20 years ago there were some breath taking bargains at ten a penny. Alas, as you mentioned, the scrappage scheme took away thousands of gorgeous useable classics, and destroyed them, which made absolutely no sense to the environment, because the carbon footprint to build the replacements was ridiculous. A tragic end to some cars that would now be worth a fortune, hence making it very hard to replicate the Top Gear exercises in modern times....😪

[@ScottyDnB]

Agreed, the scrappage scheme really did cause a genocide of usable modern classics, i bet there are many people kicking themselves over their unfortunate timing of giving away a future fortune.

[@MrGman2804]

@@ScottyDnB It was an insane scheme that made very little sense in multiple ways, but yes, it was a massacre of 300,000 cars built before 1999. OK some would have been crap, but 300,000 cars taken out of circulation with very little benefit to any cause except a short term boost to car sales in 2009/10. Ouch. Even if only 10% were 'interesting' that is 30,000 potential classics trashed for nothing..... but maybe more.

[@irishwristwatch2487]

They didnt scrap huge scores of them, theyre still sat on a disused airfield and cant be bought back

[@MrGman2804]

@@irishwristwatch2487 They scrapped 300,000 cars, and they are not on an airfield ready to buy back. They were destroyed. However, if you know an airfield & how we buy them back, would love to know!

[@irishwristwatch2487]

@@MrGman2804 theyre on an disused airfield indefinitely. They cant be bought back - the gov has said so after a few petitions. Theyve said they will eventually be crushed regardless

[@jdmsnowmonkey7913]

Growing up watching these cheap car challenges, I was always interested to know the history of the cars themselves, especially the ropey ones. As some have found out, their histories are often very different to what they were made out to be on TV - I didn't know until this video that May's Urraco was actually better than it looked, and I dread to think what kind of life Clarkson's 928, his Merak, or his Lancia Beta from the Botswana special had, prior to filming.

[@peugeoting]

I always think about this, especially how cheap May’s Urraco was as I love the old Lamborghinis. I missed out on all this but I still have many classic car adventures to come if I choose the right ones in the market 😁

[@AlbertBuckinghamEllison]

The classics... 👌👌 - £250 SUV Challenge - Drop-top coupe's in Iraq special - 4X4's in Bolivia special - Estates in Africa - Cheap Porche challenge - Police Car challenge - First car for a teenager challenge - Hatchback episode - GTI, 308, Nova - Sports cars for less than a golf membership & clubs

[@SA-zoom1]

The reality is you can buy the equivalent more modern versions that have fallen to rock bottom values. But pretty much all the cars used in TG challenges are now classics.

[@ArneHulstein]

Even back then I thought they were a stretch. Having said that, I look at those cars from the European market, which has always been more expensive on those cars. None of the Italian cars could have been had for that money here in NL (believe me, I checked back then). Nowadays, you'd probably be a millionaire if you had all of the TG cars from the challenges. ;-)

[@onlinefriend3889]

I'd also argue that the scrappage scheme probably killed off a lot of the original cheap cars featured on Top Gear, hence their higher prices

[@lostgps3005]

Would love to see you and the guys on the other Jayemm and friends channel do a cheap car challenge. Would be the perfect excuse to buy something like that Cayanne.

[@sportzntouring]

Oooh, I like that idea!

[@PointNemo9]

The Cayenne has nothing going for it other than the badge.

[@pffyespff]

There's Cartrek, where the US youtubers buy and drive cheap exotics. It's exactly that.

[@AdminAbuse]

What's a "Cayanne"?

[@PointNemo9]

@@AdminAbuse misspelling of Cayenne

[@paulbird1808]

Nice to be reminded of the 'Italian supercar for under £10, 000 challenge' - one of my all time favourite episodes - although in the case of Jeremy's Maserati, left the viewer wondering who checked the car over, before handing over a considerable amount of wedge, since the engine blew up so spectacularly!?

[@matthewstrange3778]

It's scripted, not actually real .

[@IceColdH2O]

@@matthewstrange3778 wow no way

[@geoffsaunders4960]

It is television. They are making a show. It isn't real.

[@nmeister67]

Being a car guy of a similar age, I've often found myself wondering how much the Top Gear cheap cars would cost nowadays. Once I've recovered from the shock that 2004 is nearly 20 years ago that is! Thank you for answering those questions 😅

[@machohogan]

I bought the Golf GTI 1992 115 bhp in 04 for £950. It wasn’t fast at all but I loved it. It drive really nicely and I loved the interior. At the time I had a choice of quite a few at that price. So that would be £1500 today. I wonder how many 12 year old Golf GTI’s there are for £1500 now? Mine needed no work and passed its MOT with no major issues. Only repair I recall was a new wiper motor. Just checked and the cheapest even 16 year old GTi is £3000. Equivalent double what I paid and I had a choice. Times have definitely changed, also cars seem to last far better.

[@C.Fecteau-AU-MJ13]

The Urraco from the £10k challenge lives in Australia now... Or has done up until I saw it a couple years ago. It's been painted red, or possibly orange, I can't remember. But it's been restored and was for sale not that long ago in Melbourne. Edit: it must have come to Australia relatively recently, if James saw it in the UK.

[@HG504X]

Its amazing how they managed to get a hold of some of the cars they mentioned. Would love a Part 2 to this.

[@dobo2232]

This is incredibly interesting and I think that the changes indicate how certain cars are appreciated.

[@doctorhouxoflemans]

Good to hear Mat Armstrong given a name check. Very modest guy and equally humble when I met him in person. Thx for all your entertaining stuff James and for featuring my Aston, and look forward to more content in 2023 👍

[@richboy900]

The British Leyland one was one of my favourite ones 😂. Surely you could get them cars for not a lot

[@mrtinthewebuk]

Loved that James. Real nostalgia meets 2022. Appreciate the effort!

[@ericdeven1296]

Inflation is a nightmare!!! We just found a 2008 550i that needes a clutch for 6 grand, the guy just got out of prison and needes the money. Its mint. Good video, as usual. The deals are out there, just be patient and ready to grab the opportunities as they come.

[@richardharrold9736]

Considering my daily is an E39 535i that I bought (via an eBay auction) for £595 eight years ago with an MoT, turned 100,000 miles on the way home, full history, no rust, it's now at about 150k (not sure exactly, it did a few weeks with a broken wheel sensor earlier this year) and, aside from a transmission rebuild and a water pump, it has cost me very little indeed and still refuses to rot despite being covered in mud... even post scrappage, it was possible to get some really decent cars for very little money. Now, I'm sure I could get £2k-2500 for that car, if I was going to sell it. Which I'm not.

[@R03333]

Love these stories, they help me reinforce the "im sure everything will be fine" belief when I'm looking at very high mileage M3's...

[@richardharrold9736]

@@R03333 I also have a 225,000-mile facelift 540i Touring, and a 270,000-mile E66 760Li. Neither are currently runners - the 540 blew its coolant header tank, and the 760 (which had 201k by its first MoT!) just fell out of use due to COVID and an intermittent misfire on all twelve... but all three are on their original timing chains, guides and tensioners, and none have given any trouble with VANOS (or in the 760's case, Valvetronic). If you want to risk it all on an M3, just set up a KZbin channel and make a video on your phone about how you have bought the CHEAPEST or WORST old M3 in the country... Chuck it up on KZbin with some appropriate tags so the algorithm picks it up and you should start to get some traction, and if you make a new video every time the car presents you with a big bill, eventually you'll be able to monetise it... after all, that's basically how Jayemm got started with his Evora. I'd do it myself with my cars, but I absolutely hate being on camera, there are virtually no photographs of me and not one video.

[@taylorjs2534]

'plenty of words... I like this' That sums up JayEmm perfectly.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

It does

[@Sir-Prizse]

To put inflation and the rising car prices in perspective: In 2020 I got my mother a 1999 MX-5 NB 1.6 with 110 hp and 154.000 km on the clock. The car cost €2,400 and had been partially restored with new sills and new long beams, just had a slightly worn soft top. Now you can easily pay €4,500 for a comparable example. Because I like the car so much, I'm now looking for one for myself.... to be specific the 2001 - 2005 NB-FL with the same 1.6 and for a good low mileage example you easily pay 6,500 €.

[@fortheloveofnoise9298]

they cost even more in the U.S.

[@sickgit66]

The scrappage scheme killed off so many decent cars and has skewed the used car market since. There's an excellent video on KZbin listing the distruction. Just search '2009 scrappage scheme' for the raw date. As usual excellent content Jay👍

[@jackfloyd6114]

Fantastic video. I have been watching some old TG recently too so this was timed really well. Really interesting and some great research👍🏻😁

[@dougnolan5567]

Merry Christmas James, and thank you for the fantastic content that you have supplied to your followers this year.. Brilliant..Happy New Year.. 👍👍👍

[@edd7397]

Well the problem is that by that time when Top Gear was buying these cars you simply couldn't fine one for same money in an open market. Their price estimations were unrealistic I would say it is just the show.

[@paulsheehan2998]

The Scrappage Scheme needs a full video. Absolutely criminal.

[@Jalreal]

The first episode of top gear I watched was the cheap porsche challenge. Here in the USA the only way (that I know of) to watch the show back then was when it was randomly airing on BBC America some time after it originally aired in the UK. Even then I couldn't believe they were able to get a 944 for less than 1500 pounds. Maybe that's because cars have always been pretty expensive here in the states. Cool video and I hope your channel growth continues and you bring us more great videos next year and beyond. Merry Christmas!

[@JowoHD]

your point on the scrappage scheme truly sounded like the exact argument ive made many a time. every time the government involve themselves in the car industry they fuck over the poorest people =

[@JowoHD]

also it may just be my area but i got a vw polo 1.4 insured bought and insured for £2500 with no black box. i did have to put half my family on as named drivers but that's besides the point

[@hexgraphica]

I love the Dino GT4. Unfortunately it's a great design on bad proportions, but if you put that on an Esprit (same body style) you'd get a stunner

[@Maximekeeuh]

Great video again Jayemm! I always wondered this since the prices in top gear always looked soooo low 😅

[@MrRoyck10]

Excellent content that highlights the declining status of our country mainly economically as the pound it losing value like the Zimbabwean Dollars. My follow Petrol heads, hedge your money in commodities, stocks, shares and other collectibles such as cars. Still on the topic, this content highlights that we can pick tomorrows classic today at an affordable price as he head into the new era of EV….Thanks JayEmm.

[@TheMrFishnDucks]

Awesome car. The Porsche is the only one i remember all that well. Nice video. Keep up the good work.

[@hurstinator]

The student car was a interesting one. It was £2500 inc insurance. I did see in the epsiode they printed some option off. One of them being a citroen AX. Now it would be £3500 inc insurance. Average premium according to a comparison website gives you £1800 (so lets say £2000 to give some leeway). The golf is a yes. Found a Mk4 (not a Mk3) for £800 on marketplace which was a 1.4. Volvo you would end up going for a S40, did see one on ebay (1.8) in bradford for £900, the hyundai is pretty much as you said in the video.

[@JAY61ish]

Great video James.. My ears pricked up when you mentioned the scrappage scheme. when we were all told to buy Diesels... got me thinking as to how many years in the future EV owners will be stitched up in the same way. just a thought.

[@djmandrick]

I had a 2009 i30 with that 1.6D engine (was a mobility vehicle so at 3yrs it had 11k on the clock, and as recommended by top gear mag as the engine to get. Best car I've ever owned, fun round rtown due to the torque of hte diesel and huge boot for my old greyhound. Had it 10 years, nothing went wrong, daily driven 45 miles a day and I sold it to a friend last year for a grand at 84k miles. I'd bought an EP3 in 2020 for £3200, basically the shell was good and the bottom end had been rebuilt. The rest was questionable. It was restored and undersealed but the paintwork and inside was ropey. But with my COVID acquired detailing skills it looks great now inside and out. I've spent about the same on it as it had or developed a blown headgasket. That 3k ish budget spent included an upgraded £1200 piper exhaust front to back, and everything it needed including a custom remap which transformed it from a wheezy engine to a beast. Undertrays re-added, full refresh on all corners and bushings and many other little things - a three page invoice. It drives like new now and one I won't be getting rid of, just needs decent tyres. I've recently had the custom intake I bought changed and had a new Tegiwa fitted. Looks beautiful and does the same job. Bought a fiesta mk6 ST four years ago for £2600 (see your video for my essay on advice buying one of those) and did the same treatment on the outside (how i learned what I know now). Pieced together a full miltek exhaust fron to back in pi3eces for £504, the catback half being brand new. Learned paintwork touch up from YT video, full 2 stage restore to the paint and ceramic coated it, had the wheels trued, fixed and powdercoated gloss white. It looks fab, I've done 5k in it since buying it now (currently at 70k, about at 64500 2 previous owners in the same family) as I wfh (hence no i30 anymore). Have mountune cold air intake to fit and then get a custom remap, hopefully a task for next year via Jamsport (other side of town, local to me) then that's done. You couldn't get any of that now in only a couple of years, let alone buy it and get them to the level I have them now. Interesting video. Been meaning to contact you for ages in case you were interested in driving them both but not quite to the standard/level I want to make it worth your while from the videos you've already done on both models. And you said a remap won't change a car (S2000 you were talking about) and not worth doing. Absolutely disagree, it's night and day having VTEC at 4600rpm and revving to 8600, having done it. :)

[@shaunmartin7123]

Great video. Love to see another one like this. Remarkable how it's impossible to buy a decent, cheap car.

[@rambleon3698]

Love your editing skills. Good show thanks.

[@ghostfacesam]

I've got an esoada, 246, 400 and a 412 all bought circa 2006. None are running proper but all painted beautifully.... Dont know what to do as the parts I think will. Cost double what I paid... So glad you gave matt Armstrong a shout!

[@lpj1922]

This is brilliant!!! Well done JayEmm!

[@seanknight2516]

The £100 challenge is the hardest probably because of a few factors. 1) the government scrappage scheme that saw a lot of older cars disappear from the road forever. 2) changes to the MOT system that meant it was harder to get dodgy cars through a test (though not impossible. 3) more available car finance also saw lots of old, cheap motors disappear

[@ianmason3040]

Fun video James, wishing you all the best for Xmas and New Year 👍

[@tommos16]

This is really really good. Thanks man!

[@dadcars]

Really enjoyed this video 👏 love the idea of doing a cheap car challenge for KZbin in the future

[@nickcunningham6588]

Brilliant idea for a video! Thanks James.

[@thegaz-man]

It's at least four times as hard in Australia too, half the choice and double the prices 😅😅 Hope you like 90s family saloons and Hyundai Getzs because that's most of the menu

[@pandabond8977]

Great topic and nice to look back at those classic top gear episodes. Classic super cars are now a collectors market and way over-priced

[@Chris-np5uo]

Great episode! Please do the other cheap car challenges!

[@TheCrazymook]

A year or so ago I bought a mk1 KA for £200, found £3.30 under the seat.. Not bad for £196.70. Clutch release bearing was knackered and 5th gear didn't exist but still did a further 10,000 miles before being scrapped for £210. Cars you don't care about are the best fun

[@wasteoftime2187]

Agreed I had a similar story to this I bought a 206 with no exhaust for £100 just before lock down, it was great fun and still did 90 mph 😂

[@johnmitchell2269]

IMO, the best 'all round ' non expensive 'drivers car' that ticks almost every box, is the BMW 123d M sport. Not expensive to buy, decent on fuel, decent on road tax, plenty of torque and performance, RWD and manual. Not sure if you have ever driven one (because you have driven so many cars). But if you haven't, would be good to see your thoughts on them, to see if you feel they really are the best all rounder in terms of value for money 'bang for buck' for driving enthusiasts.

[@Termi-Motovlogs]

I managed to snag a ex police 2007 BMW E60 m sport a year ago for £3000, which included a full tank of VPower! 140,000miles, used to train their new drivers in evasive and aggressive driving and it had a full BMW history. I still drive it to this day, I am slowly modernising it as it didn't have any speakers for music or creature comforts to speak of like ABS or power steering as these died while it was locked up since 2015 in a police garage. But it started on the button and drove from London to Portsmouth the very same day. Best car I have ever owned.

[@davidsherrick898]

The Alfa Romeo challenge was my favorite! Having owned a Milano and Spider, I could relate. After covid every thing went up, great video!

[@Azeria]

I suspect all of the cars they bought for these challenges were all in need of fixing, and that wasn’t included in the original price. Obviously they didn’t attempt to make it 100% but they did make it road worthy. Also as much as we all talk about how expensive train tickets have got, it looks like a London to Manchester return is still about a hundred quid depending on when you go!

[@cornishrider]

Superb episode! Thanks James

[@Taylor40667]

This was such a good video more of these please 👍

[@joshuabodgers9238]

Its a shame that super cheap cars are so hard to find now. In about 4 years of buying and selling the odd car the best I’ve managed was a £100 lupo, a £100 Micra and then the gem was an £800 E30 Coupe. However, looking at old car mags and things you begin to realise how much the scrapage scheme killed the super cheap cars.

[@grippingyarnsuk]

I tried to buy an emergency car for £500 over this Xmas and it was virtually impossible.

[@jamesfoster4045]

Would love to see you do an update of the British Leyland challenge. Dolly Sprints seem to be getting quite pricey now and rightly so, but it would be good to see this challenge updated.

[@shaunreppion87]

Hi! I bought not too long ago in October a retro 2000 CLK55 AMG on the w208 platform for £5k. Always loved them from the gran turismo days as a child. What a car for the money! Fast and rare too!

[@jdmimportlogistics]

Just picked up a 2001 for about the same price.

[@fiswis2]

that wall mounted PC is FIRE!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@christop997]

Liked your post very muchAn Austin Rover GTI was a twin cam and the Austin Rover GSI was a single cam so not quite the same and certainly fooled insurers as cover much less than GTI( I owned two GSIs and thats a bit of a story). Owning one already I only went to look at another cos my dad used to live nearby to it and i drive 600 miles a week. It had 42k miles on it selling for £995 in 2008 from its first owner. Got in it, it still smelt, new full of genuine rover extras such as mats etc too it was like going into a time warp! I didn't really want a car then but everytime I said it probably needed something doing to it to try to get the price down the elderly seller - who wouldn't let me drive it myself-brought out a bill showing it had been fixed already . Concluded I was discount it for the cost of a service it didn't need. it was just a brilliant car and bought it for the asking price My other GSI had been in the garage for an engine flush which it didn't need... which promptly caused the engine to blew up writing it off.. making my totally unnecessary purchase extremely timely!! In fact I was two days without a car as I'd arranged to go back to collect. It was a totally brilliant car and wished I'd looked after it a bit better . I liked that volvo/audi/rover episode because I had come close to owning all of the cars. Now drive a 25 year old celica which I maintain carefully . Bought a long time ago from another elderly seller with low 40k miles for then an expensive £2k. Just seen a lesser model now being offered for £7k. Let's hope clean air tax doesn't kill it!

[@cambs0181]

2004, before the 'We buy any car' people it was easier to sell the car on than to scrap it. I remember trying to scrap my old rover around the time and the scrappy wanted 35 quid to take it off my hands. Little bit of MOT left, so sold it for 150 quid.

[@mrkiplingreallywasanexceed8311]

Happy Xmas!I am writing this after just one minute to say what an interesting proposition and look forward to seeing the results of your inflation adjusted purchases (or theoretical ones anyway!!)

[@CarGuyLife]

Really enjoyed this style of video

[@yudhabagaskara98]

For the part 2, please cover: - Build your own police car challenge (Fiat Coupe, Lexus LS, Suzuki Vitara) - Build your own ambulance (Chevrolet Van, Ford Scorpio, Porsche 944)

[@bueunhcaefo]

My favourite challenge was £1500 coupes that aren't Porsches. Veeery british episode - lots of rain, driving through Oxford and Millbrook test track, great background music. It's incredible when you realize that all 3 cars is the episode were just ~15 years old and looked very dated compared to the new cars being sold in 2005. BMW and Mitsubishi bodyworks were screaming angular 80s, while Jag with its EU-land barge style was even further, in deep 70s. While today, the notion of a 15-year old sports changed completely. It can be a Jaguar XK (X150), first gen Audi A5 or even Nissan GTR (R35) which is still being made! The only thing that differs them from today's new cars are simpler infotainment, smaller central screen and no safety assistants.

[@davefig1760]

Merry christmas to all, being a fan of this kind of content, why not do the challenges between you, all the other KZbinrs adapted to nowadays? I've seen TG since the beginning and i miss good content such as the cheap car challenges! Cheers from Portugal!

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Not enough people watch - the effort Vs reward ratio is way off

[@SonicBoone56]

Amazing video. Should make more of these for their other cheap car challenges.

[@bingoberra18]

Gone are the days of great sub-2k fun cars. You used to get Clio 182s, MX-5s and all kinds of things. Now theyre like twice that

[@oneeleven9832]

My uncle had a Maserati Merak…actually he had 3…all of them failed to start every time he tried to go to the golf club on a Sunday..we don’t know how lucky we are these days to actually have things that work..mostly 😊

[@Mike-rk8px]

I’m a mechanic who has worked primarily with European cars where I live in California. The Maserati Merak was a really great sports car, but it was a VERY complex car to work on unless you knew what you were doing. All of the Maserati Merak’s (and its V8 twin the Bora) that I worked on ran fine when maintained and fixed properly. Lots of garages tell you they’re “experts”, but you really have to be careful who you take the car to. My best advice to your uncle (or anyone else) who is going to buy a used European sports car is to join a club (Maserati Club Of America, or wherever you live) because it’s run by owners, so they can give you advice that’s VERY valuable, you can go to meets, and all the best cars get bought and sold between members who are knowledgeable. Clubs can recommend who to go to for service or repairs or restorations near where you live. There’s no reason your uncle should’ve had that much trouble with 3 different Merak’s (finding the cause of engine problems is not that hard, especially when it’s a car that Maserati mechanics have been familiar with since the early 70’s). I would bet that if your uncle were to talk to customers of the place(s) he got his Merak serviced, he would find that they have a lot of complaints.

[@paulgregory1364]

Thanks for this, what a clever video!!!

[@eze8970]

Thanks J, shame how the bargains have mostly dried up, that was part of the fun getting a sorted car for cheap price! 🙏🙏

[@markcarter9476]

Good concept, more of this please.

[@vognmandpedersen8144]

More episodes like this, please! Great idea

[@princesssolace4337]

Early 04/05 seems like ystrday, LFC winning the UCL in Turkey. I was in my early 30s. Missed the Boxing Day tsunami by luck. Excellent content mate

[@victor9sur768]

the scrappage scheme really did a number on cars of this era

[@Dubfender]

Loved this video, was one I could put on and listen to while I cleaned the kitchen. Ever thought of doing a podcast?

[@slideways8022]

I spoke to a guy at a car show a few months back that said there is only 4 S-coupes on British roads, and he owns 2 of them. So I’m not surprised you didn’t find one.

[@Jeagles]

When I was a kid I really enjoyed watching them smash up and modify old cars. Now, seeing all the cars of that era either valuable classics or long since scrapped, I can’t stand seeing those cars perish on the cheap car challenges.

[@emmanuelspencerl.i.7022]

I grew up watching the old Top Gear shows. Jay, can you make a second part for this video? I would love to see if it is possible to do the cheap Alfa Romeo and classic car rally challenges. 😊

[@Michael-4]

Chancer trying to sell the SS. 😂 I love these cars. The typical Top Gear trouncing (like that Stratos kit hit job) actually was a good thing, putting people off and lowing price expectations. You just had to put up with the knob in the pub quoting that episode.

[@jose7777777777777777]

Love the wall mounted PC

[@thomasfrank280]

The Merak is my favourite. Looking forward to seeing you test one. Or even better, a Bora.

[@uclearwhale]

The cheap SUV challenge in the very last episode was one of their best in my opinion, and a mixed bag of what's risen and fallen for those cars featured.

[@sauce3memes832]

You’re gibing me bribe brewer vibes sir… keep up the good content

[@cristiancristi9384]

All the cheap car challenges were great , actually they were my favourite type of "specials" that they made... All were original, weird and crazy in their own way, I just loved it when they continued the spirit with the "old Jaguar" challenge in the "Grand Tour" show 🤣

[@Hipas_Account]

This was a great look into the car market. I live in Finland, where cheap cars still exist to an extent, for example about a year or 2 ago I bought a 2002 Ford Ka for 300€ (listed price 350€ private seller) and kept it for 2 months, insurance for it cost around 400€ or so, and for example the 2000 Citroen Xsara I ended up trading it for, only cost me around 500€, which was at a dealer (dealer prices of course higher than private sellers), and the insurance was only a bit higher. But, used car prices have started going up and up even here, plenty of the cars you'd buy for the 300€ mark are now getting closer to 800€ even with short MOT periods. Luckily I am currently in possession of 1 car that works that cost 3400€ (1991 Chevy Caprice Classic) and I don't have to worry about buying a new car every year, which I have done for about 5 years or so, the reason why I have 5 cars just sitting, waiting to be touched.

[@jonfrank2566]

Worth checking out the auction house websites to get an idea of where the market is. A lovely Merak recently went for £45k while GT4s are more like high £30's now.

[@schmuppetify]

Is that a wall mounted PC in the background?

[@RWL2012]

No, it's a ceiling mounted Mac.

[@zm321]

The Volvo @ 23.27 is NOT a 940 Turbo! It is a 740 GL. This is like comparing a BMW 320i with a 328i. I sold a 940 Turbo, B230FT engine in summer 2019 for £5500. Also JayEmm misses a fundamental point about cheap cars in the early noughties; around 2005/06 the value of scrap metal shot up by loads, so the rises were not just down to the scrappage scheme but basic market forces (value of scrap metal). In 2002/03 I was having to pay about £20 to have one scrap car removed, which seems crazy now. In about 05/06 a typical family car would weigh in for about £400 and scrap values have remained very positive since, we all know what an OEM cat can make for instance. This rise in scrap values has shifted the baseline value for cheap cars up in a big way. I fondly remember those days in the early noughties when I was able to buy an MOT'd, serviceable and reasonably presentable Sierra for £50 but I don't see these kind of prices ever returning.

[@wezross]

Same! Just watched the Bolivia Special, what a gem! Also the America special!

[@vlada55mv]

great episode!