Top 10 used cars under 4000 € (central/eastern Europe edition)

So I’ve decided to create a list of my top 10 choices for cars that can be quite fun, are cheap, reliable, and have acceptable gas mileage. The list is in no particular order! Yeah also English isn’t my native language so I appologize for all the mistakes I may=will make.

Alfa Romeo 156

So to begin we have here an Alfa Romeo 156. I personally love wagons, so be prepared. Anyways this Alfa came with many engines ranging from 1.6 liter 4 bangers to 3.2 “Busso” V6s petrol ones. And 1.9 to 2.4 diesel ones. Unfortunately 3.2s are often out of our budget, so we are left with two sensible options. Those are 2.0 twinspark petrol I4 and 2.5 V6 engines. I’d personally go with 2.5, because it’s smaller cousin of a 3.2, makes decent power, it’s NA V6 so it should be reliable, but then again it’s Alfa Romeo and sounds just glorious. I’d stay away from diesel engines, since I’ve heard that they aren’t particulary reliable. And the cherry on top? Interior looks just stunning.

Audi A4 B5

Moving on we have an Audi A4 B5. once again you could get this car in many combinations. FWD or Quattro AWD, petrol or diesel, saloon or wagon. You name it they have it. So again we have plenty of enignes to choose from. Petrol ones ranged from 1.6 I4 to 2.8 V6 (yeah the S4 and RS4 had 2.7 V6 biturbo, yeah it’s my dream car, let’s move on). I won’t bother with diesel enignes here, since they aren’t interesting or reliable. Again this information isn’t from my experience it’s just what I’ve read and heard. My perosnal choices would be definitely Quattro equiped one with either 1.8T 20V or 2.4 V6 or 2.8 V6. The 2.6 makes about the same power as 1.8T or 2.4 and has higher insurance cost (in some countries). My personal favorite is 1.8T 20V. The reasons are: It makes good power on stock boost, it has great potential for upgrade, gas mileage isn’t bad for what it is, it’s quite light so you get rid of some of the Audi’s notorious understeer, it makes choo choo noises. 2.4 and 2.8 are also good choices if you are more into NA power. but be prepared for understeer.

BMW E39 5 series

Let’s stay in Germany for a while. Here we have E39 5 series. It came with many petrol and diesel engines. But my favorite one is 530D. Why? it’s almost bulletproof, My relative has one with over 500 000 km on the clock and that thing is still running like a champ. Of course the body is not perfect… well to be honest the body is rubbish, but what would you expect from it after 0.5 million km? Of course this isn’t going to be the sportiest car on the list, but would ya just look at it? It still looks stunning and is great for long distance cruises.

BMW E36 3 series

Another piece of Bayerische engineering. Do I even have to introduce this one? I don’t think so. This car is basically becoming a legend. Again engine choices are obvious. Please I’m begging you stay away from 4 bangers! Do you know what you have when you buy an E36 318 compact? 2/3 of a BMW enginewise and bodywise. Anyways let’s move on from my bad jokes to real engine choices. Those are: 2.5 and 2.8 inline 6 cylinders. Great power output in comparison to fuel consumption and reliability. That’s basically what these engines are. Also you could get this car with a LSD from factory. just be careful the M3 LSD won’t fit. Also be prepared to fight for your own car with rust.

BMW E46 3 series

What’s to say? Well this is just younger brother of E36. It gained some weight, became a bit more complicated, but that’s about it. engine choices stay the same. It’s got one advantage, you don’t have to worry about rust that much. But it also has some cons, for example you couldn’t get LSD as an option from BMW so if you want one it’s going to be quite expensive.

Mercedes Benz CLK

To be honest this car may not be the most reasonable choice. It often has really bad rust issues. the styling is questionable… So why did it make the list? Simply because it’s something different. in this price range you can get 2.0 liter supercharged engine, and that’s something you can harldy beat.

Honda CRX

Finally we are getting to some JDM. All generations of CRXes are great cars. you may ask why. It’s simple, you start of with a really light car then you throw in a bit of V-tec and a lot of reliability. Well at least if you don’t do something crazy with the engine it should stay reliable. If you want 1st or 2nd gen CRX better be quick, they are getting more rare every day. 3rd generation isn’t so popular, I suppose it’s mostly because of it’s look. But if it’s done right it may look stunning. Just be sure to get 1.6 V-tec engines.

Honda Civic EK4

Another gem from Honda. I admit that it’s getting more difficult to find an EK4 with B16 in this price range, since their prices skyrocketed lately. But if you manage to find one. Buy it. No I mean it. Just do it! Even as an investment. But that’s not the point of this post. Reasons to buy one are basically the same as for any other Honda in this post. It’s light, reliable, for the power it makes it hardly sips on fuel (if you don’t push it), and the sound of NA engine revved to over 6 000 is something you have to experience in your life. If you wonder why. Here is a short explanation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jG8MnyXCJEc

Honda Civic EE9

The story is similiar to BMW’s This is basically a predecessor of EK4 only lighter, less complicated and with less power. Also if I’m not mistaken, this is where V-tec madness started, at least as far as civics are considered. Unfortunately it’s getting really hard to find one in decent condition with 1.6 V-tec engine. And if you find one, it might be over your budget.

Mazda MX-5

Did you really think that MX-5 wouldn’t make the list? Honestly there is nothing to say. Just be sure to check for rust. And don’t expect miracles.