sorry me again - still looking for car advice

[ZX10R NIN]

danlightbulb said:

You're wrong actually. I have listened to you all immensely. I may have dropped a bank loan and bought a 4x4 on a whim by now if it wasn't for the forum's advice.

I'm now saving up for it instead of having 5k on finance. I'm going to be keeping an emergency fund back for repairs which I've never had before as well.

Not quite sure, when you guys talk about what can be afforded, what you actually mean. Do you all have 10/20k in the bank to drop on a car when you feel like it? And £200 a month free cash in your budget to throw in fuel at 20mpg and get all those niggly repairs that are so common done every 2 months? Because that's the impression you give when you say I can't afford it. I can't afford to throw money away like a fool no, but neither am I on the breadline either. My cost of motoring is currently about the lowest it can possibly be, so anything is going to be an increase. I don't mind an increase in my cost of motoring to get a car I will enjoy owning. Unless I'm talking to millionaires on here then we'll all be in a similar position and have limitations on the family budget.

The problem I have is I see a car I like, and I come and ask about it here for example, and I end up disappointed. Because it seems like every car that has desirability to me has something wrong with its reliability or performance or costs too much or whatever.

Its frustrating because the cars I'm choosing, in my mind, are not cheap tat cars. These weren't cheap cars when they were new. They aren't like the Vauxhall Viva's my Dad used to own in the 70's. I see lots of people running these nice BMW's, Audis, Range Rovers etc. Where are they getting them from, whilst I'm scratting around for a £5k car.

I could go and get a brand new car through the salary sacrifice deal at work for £300-400 a month, all in. But it will be a bottom of the range piece of poo for that money. Boring, slow, bland, small. As Ive said before, if I can't get something I will thoroughly enjoy having I may as well run my mondeo for another 200k miles until it turns into a small pile of rust dust on the driveway.

Look most people on here have whatever they can afford to spend on a car, they then get the one that suits their needs best (in your case an ST220) then when they go wrong they work around it curse a bit then find the money to get the car sorted.

Some people will spend more than you but that just means we're ready for even bigger bills, jesus if I told you some of the bills my SL55 has thrown at me you'd cry, I did

[Ghost91]

While this forum is a good source of advice, I wouldn't listen to tens of different opinions and take them all as gospel to the point where you're scared to buy anything.

If you've got a just incase fund anyway then a 530 shouldn't be too much of a problem surely? Is it the cheapest to run, or the safest option? No not at all. But if you know that and you're happy with it then so what? You'll never justify your choice by asking if a 530 is the best choice for you in your particular set of circumstances. Cause it's not. In the same way that I commute stupid amounts in a 22 year old petrol Saab and a CLK500 when it would suit the situation more if I had a diesel. I don't want a diesel so I drive the Saab! No one would suggest to me on this forum that it's the best commuter car for 550 miles a week just like no one can suggest to a man worried about the running costs of a car to buy a 530 over a Mondeo ST.

[technodup]

danlightbulb said:

The more I save the less I want to risk that cash on an uncertain car

It's going to be a second hand car, they're ALL uncertain. Especially a £30k one which is approaching 10% of it's original value. And as others have pointed out a £6k car isn't necessarily any more certain than a £3k one. Buy something at a grand, run it, sell it or scrap it. Repeat.

danlightbulb said:

I do like to do my research though and get all options

No kidding.

[danlightbulb]

Will keep saving till I get that 5k then go and look at some £2-3k 9-5's. I'd expect that 45k miles Saab up above to last me 10 years though, so depreciation not a massive issue. Dealer price, so maybe could get 500 to 800 quid off asking price. ONly down the road so will pop and have a closer look.

[stuart-b]

danlightbulb said:

You're wrong actually.

Do you all have 10/20k in the bank to drop on a car when you feel like it? And £200 a month free cash in your budget to throw in fuel at 20mpg and get all those niggly repairs that are so common done every 2 months? Because that's the impression you give when you say I can't afford it.

£25k, £350 a month, and yes - it's a £45-£55k car new, so it's worth it to me, and I'm averaging 20 mpg. But I'm under no illusion that it will become expensive to run, fuel pump, injectors, vanos, etc etc. Anyone who buys this level of tech at 10 or 15 years old... good luck to them ! The car won't be worth anything but the expense of running it will be significantly higher. Just look at some of the ads of the 2001-2003 era BMWs (3 and 5). The list of work done around 100k is immense. Suspension, coils, rust, you name it...

No where near as reliable as the old 944 era of cars.

I also have a £1k Astra shed which I drive anywhere, dump anywhere, and it costs £50 a year to service. If I needed to free up cash tomorrow I'd sell the Z and happily keep the shed running. A few years ago I didn't have the cash to spend on cars, I only had my shed - I've kept it because it's the best car I've ever owned. When I bought it, it had ran out of oil (literally, almost...) and I thought the gearbox was on its way out. 50,000 miles later, it still won't blow up. Good luck doing that with an E39!

[stuart-b]

danlightbulb said:

Saab 9-5 2.3T Turbo Edition, 2008, 45k miles, £5k. 27.7mpg, £490 VED.

And you are officially certified if you think that looks better than the ST220, with 20% of your budget on VED annually .... Jesus. I am genuinely offended when I look at the front and side of that heap.

[danlightbulb]

I agree the chrome on the front is horrible. Apparently having that chrome trim vinyl wrapped is a quick and cheap option. And I really don't want to pay £490 VED either. Alloys not great styling either. Older model is better I think.

Side view is very similar to the E39:



Older model:


Side view of ST220 to compare:

[ZX10R NIN]

Nice 2.3 9-5 well within your original 3k budget 76k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

ST220 just over 3k 64k on the clock
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

530i SE with some Alpina alloys on 94k in budget
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

The first three are within your budget & requirements all are good cars with your budget for running costs being tight I'd just pick the Mondeo over the Saab but would understand if you picked the latter.

Then sell your tdci the £100 you get for it put to one side & syart saving for your next one which will be an upgrade to whichever one you buy.

Or there's this:

530i M Sport needs a bit of fettling.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-e39-530i-Sport-Touri...

[Bennet]

danlightbulb said:

Not quite sure, when you guys talk about what can be afforded, what you actually mean. Do you all have 10/20k in the bank to drop on a car when you feel like it? And £200 a month free cash in your budget to throw in fuel at 20mpg and get all those niggly repairs that are so common done every 2 months? Because that's the impression you give when you say I can't afford it.

Some people maybe, but most of us - not in the slightest. But we just bought the ST220, the Mazda 6 or the MG ZT-T, rather than creating three (and counting) threads essentially (sorry for this) whining about not being able to afford a 530i or that the cheaper brands just don't look quite right.

You're missing out on the joy of cheap motoring because you aren't willing to compromise on anything. Are you coming under pressure from the Mrs to get something with the right badge? If so I sympathise.

[garylythgoe]

Regardless of the type/class/price of car.

If I read/listened to opinions on here, and actually based my personal decisions on them. I wouldn't actually own a car.

Opinions are like aholes, everyone has one.

Just buy the car you're fixated on, get it done. Life is too short to worry about finding out peoples opinions on them. You're not looking for approval on the car you buy, you're looking to buy the car you want - I hope.

[TheJimi]

TheAngryDog said:

You miss the point. Premium to me is when not everyone is able to buy something, and isn't as common as muck, which is the opposite of what these cars are now.

I own a BMW, it was premium back in the day, now its a 14 year old BMW.

Aye, that's a fair point, I concede

[danlightbulb]

Bennet said:

You're missing out on the joy of cheap motoring because you aren't willing to compromise on anything. Are you coming under pressure from the Mrs to get something with the right badge? If so I sympathise.

Thanks for the reality check. The Mrs thinks I should look at newer cars, and thinks I'm saft by looking at 10 to 15 year old cars when I already have a 12 year old car. She has a point I guess. She's got no interest in the performance element.

garylythgoe said:

You're not looking for approval on the car you buy, you're looking to buy the car you want - I hope.

Actually I think I am looking for some sort of tacit approval or justification for the right car. Because I don't want to take too big of a risk on a car.

TheAngryDog said:

You miss the point. Premium to me is when not everyone is able to buy something, and isn't as common as muck, which is the opposite of what these cars are now.

I own a BMW, it was premium back in the day, now its a 14 year old BMW.

Out of curiosity on the way home from I work I counted up how many cars were newer than 2010 and how many older. Very roughly, 80% of cars I saw in my 30 minute town commute home were newer than 2010. And I saw a high proportion of large, 'premium' cars like land rovers, BMW's, Audis. Unless buying a Bentley or a very expensive version of a car like the RS4 or M5, then it would seem none of these cars are premium any more.

Just for the record, although I used the term premium myself to set cars like BMWs apart from more family brands, I don't particularly want to own something rare and premium. I just want a nice looking powerful car that has 'got something about it', which doesn't cost a fortune to run. I don't care how many other people have the same car.

The only reason I'm keen on the E39 530i is because it seems very good value for what it is. A 3 litre 6, in a 5 series, with half the miles of my mondeo, for £2.5k. A car which looks good and has a cracking reputation. But if its the money pit risk everyone says it is (not just here) then its not worth it for me.

Looking objectively, the ST220 also has a cracking reputation. I'm sure it would be good to own as well, but its not quite got the desirability of the BMW, and a good one is more expensive because its rarer. I know the mondeo very well having owned one for 9 years so maybe its the familiarity with the model that is not making it an exciting prospect for me.

The Audis look good in my opinion. Criticism over the engines though puts it in the same category as the BMW. The same engine is used in the Octavia VRS and Passat right? So that's the same then for those choices as well.

Saabs - well I really don't know alot about Saabs. A bit dated interiors. Funny looks on the newer model. GM underneath (and I hated my old Vauxhall).

Seems like a nightmare price range to be searching within. If I had 50k I have lots of choice. If I didn't care what I wanted and was shedding, I wouldn't care about performance or age or mileage.

[technodup]

danlightbulb said:

I just want a nice looking powerful car that has 'got something about it', which doesn't cost a fortune to run.

That 'something' costs money.

danlightbulb said:

Seems like a nightmare price range to be searching within. If I had 50k I have lots of choice. If I didn't care what I wanted and was shedding, I wouldn't care about performance or age or mileage.

Eh? You'd have less choice (nicer cars though). You'd struggle to find a Peugeot, Citroen, Hyundai, Kia, Vauxhall etc at anywhere near £50k. All of these are available to you (albeit you don't want them). Likewise the really premium brands which wouldn't be as cheap as £50k would be out too. You'd still be in a BMW/Merc/Audi merry go round, just at a better/newer level.

And anyway if you can't bring yourself to spend £3k how long would this thread be if you had £50k to play with?

Not trying to be cheeky but ffs man up and just make a decision one way or another. You've had every possible bit of advice, time to weigh it up and choose.

[danlightbulb]

technodup said:

Not trying to be cheeky but ffs man up and just make a decision one way or another. You've had every possible bit of advice, time to weigh it up and choose.

If i had 50k lying around and waiting to be spent, the choice would be simple. An RS6 Avant. (I haven't checked to see how much they actually are).

Anyway I don't so. Your criticism is valid. I'm not going to buy an old 530i. The reason im pondering and annoying everyone is deep down I know you are all spot on. Sorry for dragging it out.

Just been browsing the octavia Vrs. 200bhp and 35 mpg. But its the TFSI engine again, and about as big as the A4 or V50.


At the risk of dragging the thread out even longer, can someone tell me more about the VAG cars and the best engines to look at?

Edited by danlightbulb on Wednesday 14th October 21:41

[Willy Nilly]

danlightbulb said:

Just been browsing the octavia Vrs. 200bhp and 35 mpg.

200hp, 35mpg?

[Ghost91]

Good grief

It was a bit of a laugh when I first started following these threads, but it's getting silly now.

All cars have their problems Dan really, you know now which cars are the cheapest to fix when problems do arise, so based on that you can now definitely make an informed decision one way or another.

[technodup]

danlightbulb said:

Just been browsing the octavia Vrs. 200bhp and 35 mpg. But its the TFSI engine again, and about as big as the A4 or V50.


At the risk of dragging the thread out even longer, can someone tell me more about the VAG cars and the best engines to look at?

I had an A6 Avant, the 1.8T which I think was 150bhp and it didn't get 35mpg (31 all day long), and my 200bhp Jag doesn't get anywhere near it (don't want to work it out!) so I'd be very doubtful of those claims.

The 1.8T was pretty gutless up motorway on ramps but it was a big old car. I gather it's nippier in a Golf or TT or whatever, not that that's what you're looking for. Not a foot wrong in 2 years though, 02 plate.

You really really need to stop the mpg obsession. If 5 either way makes that much of a difference you can't afford to run it. Harsh but true. Petrol prices can negate 5mpg anyway so it's pointless worrying about when you can't control it.

[SidewaysSi]

What about an E Class? Or perhaps a Honda Accord? As said above, mpg is really the least of your worries. A big repair will make 5mpg seem like chicken st.

[stuart-b]

Good grief man.

Go and buy a fking car and drive it.

If you don't like it, sell it again - it's not like you'll lose anything on it.

What do you want to drink Dan?

"Quite fancy a blonde, but I'm not too sure about the yeast intolerance..."
"But I do like a dark beer... they are my favourite, but a bit expensive and _rare_"
"I've been drinking Fosters for 9 years and I know it's good but I'm rather bored of it"
"What about a cider, hmm, premium cider. Nice. Although I don't like apples."
"Tell me about your Wine menu"

[danlightbulb]

I know i wont get 35 mpg. But if a car is indicated at 35 i might get 30. If its only indicated at 27 (st220) then id likely get 22.

The difference between 30mpg and 22 mpg for me is about 750 a year or 65 a month ish. Thats not chicken feed and over a few months will pay for a repair.