What is the main factor when you are buying a car?

[bdgriffiths]

Just wondering, what are the main things you look at when you buy a car?

Economy?
Tax?
Looks?
Performance?
Brand credability?
Common?
Rare?
Wolf in sheeps clothing to catch out other road users?
Insurance?
Cool factor? (that saying will take off in the marketing world soon lol)

All your comments are welcome,
Cheers

[AdamMitch69]

for me it's 'how does the car make you feel'.
I want something that when I drive it I feels like an occasion. I can drive 100miles in the gf's 1.2 Punto, but it driving at its dullest compared to the 1mile drive to shops in my 350Z.

[Shmee150]

AdamMitch69 said:

for me it's 'how does the car make you feel'.
I want something that when I drive it I feels like an occasion. I can drive 100miles in the gf's 1.2 Punto, but it driving at its dullest compared to the 1mile drive to shops in my 350Z.

+1

[anonymous-user]

Economy - depends on purpose
Tax - no
Looks - generally things that look fugly dont....
Performance .....perform that well.
Brand credability - Not bothered
Common - doesn't matter
Rare - 50/50
Wolf in sheeps clothing to catch out other road users - not bothered
Insurance - has to be paid
Cool factor - irrelevant to me.

[300bhp/ton]

bdgriffiths said:

Just wondering, what are the main things you look at when you buy a car?

Economy?
Tax?
Looks?
Performance?
Brand credability?
Common?
Rare?
Wolf in sheeps clothing to catch out other road users?
Insurance?
Cool factor? (that saying will take off in the marketing world soon lol)

All your comments are welcome,
Cheers

Depends what I'm buying the car for really.

But it has to be something I like and I'm interested in as a rule.

[HAB]

21 inch wheels.

[Jayho]

Something rare and you dont see much off ideally...

Something that handles well for my twisties!

Something a 20 yr old can insure for less than £1k

[davidjpowell]

Economy, Size, Image (shallow I know, but I reckon I'm not the only one), Running Costs, Safety (not be all and end all, but if there is a safe option and not safe option, seems daft not to take into account),Performance.

Saab conforms by being relatively economical for a 2.3 turbo, decent size, image is nicely vague - and it's hard to date, does not cost me a lot to run and has a few airbags.

Performance really not as important as it used to be. It's not like you can use it much anymore. There's either a camera or some bloody Micra in the way.

[thesyn]

Generally has to be something that i would not feel embarrassed getting out of.
Also cool as in it doesn't make you look as though you are trying too hard.
Running costs, not too bothered as I only drive 5k/year.
Love sleepers, preferably V6 or V8 in a standard saloon body.
Also as I'm a tight git, bhp wise I want the most bang for my buck.

[JR Hartley]

Main thing for me is that it's fun to drive and puts a smile on your face.

[Dominicc01]

Price.

Power.

Looks & image.

[Alfanatic]

How it interacts with the driver, and how it communicates. Steering is most important. If its communicative and consistent then that's maybe 80% of what I want in a car covered, and things like throttle, brake feel and gearbox feel will have to be very bad to dissuade me if the steering is good.

That's in the ideal world. In reality it's the closest match to my needs at the time, if I can't find something very special then I'll just get whatever's closest.. which is how I ended up with a golf.

[300bhp/ton]

Alfanatic said:

Steering is most important. If its communicative and consistent then that's maybe 80% of what I want in a car covered

Yet you drive a MKIII Golf!

[marcosgt]

Something that appeals.

Of course, it's always more than one factor.

For me the main things, in order, are :

Fun to drive with more emphasis on handling than power, although not bog slow...
Reliable (so reasonably new)
Affordable to own (Tax, Insurance, Servicing)
Space for four adults and a bit of luggage
Decent radio/CD

M.

Edited by marcosgt on Friday 11th June 14:45

[300bhp/ton]

marcosgt said:

Reliable (so reasonably new)

Kinda curious, but how does new = reliable?

Replacement due to wear and tear is maintenance, not unreliability. Unreliability is something that fails, stops working or wears far quicker than it should.

Maybe it should be more like "low maintenance, long service and maintenance intervals" rather than reliable?

[LuS1fer]

I want something distinctive which is why I have a Mustang which also fulfils my need for something quick and fun and entertaining.

If it isn't any of those things then it has to be fit for purpose and cheap enough that I don't much care about anything bar the fact it doesn't need any work doing.
That applies to the Mondeo which was bought new at a huge discount to accommodate 3 children and pushchairs etc and serve as the family car. it's a bonus that it's a nice handling car but it wouldn't win any beauty prizes or rarity awards.
That also applies to the Golf which is my daily commuter. I like it because it's shabby and a bit of an anti-hero despite the GTI badge but it's compact, goes well and I keep it well-maintained rather than make it look good.

These make the Mustang far more of an event than if I drove it every day and it'll last longer.

So what I look for isn't just one car, it's the right combination.

[300bhp/ton]

LuS1fer said:

So what I look for isn't just one car, it's the right combination.

Couldn't have put it better

[kambites]

Interaction and communication. Nothing else matter much.

[300bhp/ton]

kambites said:

Interaction and communication. Nothing else matter much.

Thought you'd have mentioned vehicle weight

[Alfanatic]

300bhp/ton said:

Alfanatic said:

Steering is most important. If its communicative and consistent then that's maybe 80% of what I want in a car covered

Yet you drive a MKIII Golf!

Yes, I appreciate the irony there