How do you choose your next car purchase?
Discussion
I'm really struggling to choose my next car. I think I know what I want, then my heart takes over , before my head brings me back down to earth with a bump and I start to think about running costs and practicalities. I didn't want to make this a thread about my personal choice, I was just wondering if any of you have a process you use when searching for a car?
Where do you start? Budget...then what?
Thanks,
Owen
Where do you start? Budget...then what?
Thanks,
Owen
I knew the next car I was buying, an E46 M3, now after buying a Bullmastiff puppy that's not going to happen, when I bought the dog I knew I would have to get rid of my car, E46 330ci but for the first time I have no idea what I want, budget will be the decider as I've just bought the wife a car which was an impulse buy and I don't want a loan, whatever I get has to be practical and have some attraction, it has to last two years and the fact that it won't bea RWD coupe cheaper to run as I'm not bothered about performance,to be Frank I couldn't give a toss about not owning anM3 but I don't know what to get, everyday I'm looking at different cars, I just haven't a clue.
I ignore everything anyone has ever told me. I decide what I like and what I want.
Then I will look at cars subjectively, weigh up the pro's, con's such as running costs and insurance.
I then ignore everything above and buy the one my heart tells me.
Put me in good stead, I currently have a two v8's, W8, flat 6, 4 pot turbo and a 2.4 vtec!
I'm poor but happy.
I can almost guarantee someone would have told me I was crazy for buying any of the above cars, funnily enough I have had four TVR's spanning over a decade and not one has let me down. Go figure.
Then I will look at cars subjectively, weigh up the pro's, con's such as running costs and insurance.
I then ignore everything above and buy the one my heart tells me.
Put me in good stead, I currently have a two v8's, W8, flat 6, 4 pot turbo and a 2.4 vtec!
I'm poor but happy.
I can almost guarantee someone would have told me I was crazy for buying any of the above cars, funnily enough I have had four TVR's spanning over a decade and not one has let me down. Go figure.
I sympathise with you op I have been looking for a new car for months now and could not make up my mind. My choices would swing wildly from day to day from Megan 225 to merc s classes.
In the end I identified what I really wanted out of a car. Above all else for me comfort and auto came out tops above nippy little hatches .
So now it was a matter of narrowing down the comfort and auto thing. I listened a lot to what people said on here about certain vehicles e.g mercs suffering rust on 2001 and earlier. My previous disaster with an XK 4.0 made me wary of an S type Jag all though I am still very tempted by a 4.2 R but funds won't run to it with out finance and I've decided (talked out of by PH more like) against that.
Eventually I found I kept returning to one type of car a Lexus RX. When I found one in the right couler combo,price, condition, and history I thought give the man a deposit quick before I start thinking about wrangler jeeps or some other such nonsense ( i collect next tues cant wait).
So once again I sympathise with you, so much choice out there so much to be had for reasonable money, I'm now looking forward to the day it's time to change again. Enjoy your self and good luck.
In the end I identified what I really wanted out of a car. Above all else for me comfort and auto came out tops above nippy little hatches .
So now it was a matter of narrowing down the comfort and auto thing. I listened a lot to what people said on here about certain vehicles e.g mercs suffering rust on 2001 and earlier. My previous disaster with an XK 4.0 made me wary of an S type Jag all though I am still very tempted by a 4.2 R but funds won't run to it with out finance and I've decided (talked out of by PH more like) against that.
Eventually I found I kept returning to one type of car a Lexus RX. When I found one in the right couler combo,price, condition, and history I thought give the man a deposit quick before I start thinking about wrangler jeeps or some other such nonsense ( i collect next tues cant wait).
So once again I sympathise with you, so much choice out there so much to be had for reasonable money, I'm now looking forward to the day it's time to change again. Enjoy your self and good luck.
Edited by Mashedpotatoes on Thursday 11th July 07:57
Years ago I needed to replace a dying 200SX with a new car. I did a spreadsheet of requirements, then went through a Parkers price guide book cover to cover and added in every car that was within my requirements and scored them for atributes based on statistics and road test results.
Then I bought a mk2 MR2 because that's the car I wanted next. I rigged the numbers so it would win. The whole process was a waste of time.
I wait for one of my cars to die, then buy the thing I most want that's in my budget.
My budget is hugely variable and can halve or double depending on how much the car I want is.
Then I bought a mk2 MR2 because that's the car I wanted next. I rigged the numbers so it would win. The whole process was a waste of time.
I wait for one of my cars to die, then buy the thing I most want that's in my budget.
My budget is hugely variable and can halve or double depending on how much the car I want is.
Captain Muppet said:
Years ago I needed to replace a dying 200SX with a new car. I did a spreadsheet of requirements, then went through a Parkers price guide book cover to cover and added in every car that was within my requirements and scored them for atributes based on statistics and road test results.
Then I bought a mk2 MR2 because that's the car I wanted next. I rigged the numbers so it would win. The whole process was a waste of time.
I wait for one of my cars to die, then buy the thing I most want that's in my budget.
My budget is hugely variable and can halve or double depending on how much the car I want is.
Ha ha, I have a spreadsheet too and I add another vehicle to it every day, and I also rig/ignore the numbers when I find a car I like :-)Then I bought a mk2 MR2 because that's the car I wanted next. I rigged the numbers so it would win. The whole process was a waste of time.
I wait for one of my cars to die, then buy the thing I most want that's in my budget.
My budget is hugely variable and can halve or double depending on how much the car I want is.
Here is my situation, if anyone is interested.
I have no children and live with my girlfirend and we share a car as we both work from home. I do approx 120 miles a week running errands and visiting friends/family, and the roads around me are great fun to drive.
About 5 or 6 times a year i pick up family from the airport (I'm in Sweden) which is a 5 hour round trip. Twice a year we go skiing which is 5 hours away. In the summer we drive 1.5 hours north for biking at the weekends, and also to the coast for kayaking which is 4 hours away. For these journeys I also need space for 3 or 4 tall adults and all their gear.
My total annual mileage is under 10k miles.
So, I need a big, comfy, auto, economical barge for the long journeys and something sporty, lightweight and exciting for normal use...but I can't afford two cars and have no where to keep a second car (I'm in Sweden so I would need a heated garage).
Any suggestions?
I get drunk by myself mid week, then go on ebay and randomly click bid.
Then I post on PH about it but can't post pictures because I don't actually do any of this but please pay attention to me.
P.S. I am a director, with a BMW, and presumably a goatee and powerful build, so whatever you have or do, I've got and done better, or have a damn good reason why I don't / haven't because I win at life.
P.P.S I'm not really
P.P.P.S Love me.
Then I post on PH about it but can't post pictures because I don't actually do any of this but please pay attention to me.
P.S. I am a director, with a BMW, and presumably a goatee and powerful build, so whatever you have or do, I've got and done better, or have a damn good reason why I don't / haven't because I win at life.
P.P.S I'm not really
P.P.P.S Love me.
SturdyHSV said:
I get drunk by myself mid week, then go on ebay and randomly click bid.
Then I post on PH about it but can't post pictures because I don't actually do any of this but please pay attention to me.
P.S. I am a director, with a BMW, and presumably a goatee and powerful build, so whatever you have or do, I've got and done better, or have a damn good reason why I don't / haven't because I win at life.
P.P.S I'm not really
P.P.P.S Love me.
did you mean to post that on welshbeefs thread ?Then I post on PH about it but can't post pictures because I don't actually do any of this but please pay attention to me.
P.S. I am a director, with a BMW, and presumably a goatee and powerful build, so whatever you have or do, I've got and done better, or have a damn good reason why I don't / haven't because I win at life.
P.P.S I'm not really
P.P.P.S Love me.
Mashedpotatoes said:
did you mean to post that on welshbeefs thread ?
I did not, it is a reference to welshbeef's thread, but used here, in a different thread, providing readers with the joy of getting an 'in joke' or what could possibly even be considered a 'callback' 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callback_(comedy)
1) Work out what I can afford as an absolute maximum.
2) Work out what I NEED as a minimum.
3) Work out what I want beyond that.
Go on auto trader, put in a price max of £1k above my maximum price to allow for negotiation & finding a cheaper one of something I had not thought of. Look for something that fulfills all of my needs and as many of my wants as possible and go from there on auto trader & PH.
2) Work out what I NEED as a minimum.
3) Work out what I want beyond that.
Go on auto trader, put in a price max of £1k above my maximum price to allow for negotiation & finding a cheaper one of something I had not thought of. Look for something that fulfills all of my needs and as many of my wants as possible and go from there on auto trader & PH.
Jaguar steve said:
Run the old one for as long as possible then buy a absolutely identical replacement.
HTH
He he, I did this with the last work hack. As I had never washed it in 3 years, people assumed I had just cleaned it, not realising it was a different car. Same model and colour, but different spec, wheels, towbar and sunroof. Not what I intended, just happened that closest one was the same colour and age.HTH
smele said:
Jaguar steve said:
Run the old one for as long as possible then buy a absolutely identical replacement.
HTH
He he, I did this with the last work hack. As I had never washed it in 3 years, people assumed I had just cleaned it, not realising it was a different car. Same model and colour, but different spec, wheels, towbar and sunroof. Not what I intended, just happened that closest one was the same colour and age.HTH
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