As an example of the alternatives, I just decided to have a look for a BMW 330i (231bhp) on Autotrader (don't worry, I'll empty my cache and page history afterwards to avoid embarrassment
)
Looking for a 6 year old, so 2003. Average mileage or less.
Cheapest I could find was £10,750. Most expensive £17,000
And £8000 is too much for a 250bhp car?
But this is just arguing on your stats-based terms Darren, in fact it's irrelevant.