sorry me again - still looking for car advice
Discussion
Need to widen my horizons dont i. Stop thinking about rare things like quattro or 6 cyls.
This is not a quattro but otherwise looks very nicely speccd. A bit newer so higher claimed mpg.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...
People keep saying the mondeo is big lol but it doesnt feel it to me, or look it when parked next to modern cars.
This is not a quattro but otherwise looks very nicely speccd. A bit newer so higher claimed mpg.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...
People keep saying the mondeo is big lol but it doesnt feel it to me, or look it when parked next to modern cars.
Coming back to the mondeo. If the boot is so large then what is it about the car that makes it look so small compared to audis and bmws? Is the the small low bonnet rather than the long agressive front ends of the bmws? It must just be the styling and the fact they never tuck the wheels nicely into the arches like the premium brands do.
I keep coming back to the saabs. Many of the older ones for sale have done alot of miles though. Ill take a closer look and try and pick a couple out for comment.
The legacy is nice too. But its either the 3 litre r doing 250bhp or a smaller one doing 160. Where is the middle one at around 200bhp which is where i want to be.
I keep coming back to the saabs. Many of the older ones for sale have done alot of miles though. Ill take a closer look and try and pick a couple out for comment.
The legacy is nice too. But its either the 3 litre r doing 250bhp or a smaller one doing 160. Where is the middle one at around 200bhp which is where i want to be.
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.
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.
Although I have test drove a 530i and a ST220, I'm not quite ready to buy yet because I'm now saving rather than having a loan for it. The more I save the less I want to risk that cash on an uncertain car when my current car is running ok at the moment, despite it being old and shabby. If my current car broke tomorrow I'd have to act then.
I do like to do my research though and get all options on paper before then exploring the short list.
Based on my 530i test drive, I could have easily bought that car. But the prevailing opinion is that it would have cost me, so these forums are important to me a source of information.
I do like to do my research though and get all options on paper before then exploring the short list.
Based on my 530i test drive, I could have easily bought that car. But the prevailing opinion is that it would have cost me, so these forums are important to me a source of information.
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.
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:
Side view is very similar to the E39:
Older model:
Side view of ST220 to compare:
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.I own a BMW, it was premium back in the day, now its a 14 year old BMW.
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 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
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.
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.
stuart-b said:
Good grief man.
Go and buy a f
king car and drive it.
If you don't like it, sell it again - it's not like you'll lose anything on it.
I'm thinking long term. Im thinking what I buy now I will keep for another 5 or 10 years. Maybe if I think short term then I'll see things as you do. But it must cost more to keep swapping cars all the time.Go and buy a f
king car and drive it. If you don't like it, sell it again - it's not like you'll lose anything on it.
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