What Car? Help for the clueless
Discussion
Hi.
Thinking of starting a "what car?" thread? Literally no idea what car you want? How about you don't know what car you want but you do know what car you don't want?
There may be some help here for you.
There is a web site that helps you select cars. Say you want a car. Say you hate diesel. Maybe 2 seaters aren't practical enough for you. Also you are too heterosexual to drive an auto yet are metrosexual enough for a convertible. Also you don't know how much you want to spend, but £10k is too much, and £3k is too little. Maybe you want to have the security of paying too much for a car combined with negotiating with a professional trained to screw you over, in which case private sellers aren't acceptable. Maybe your current car has been stolen and you need to replace your BMW from somewhere within cycling distance. And your OCD will only let you own cars with even numbers of doors. And you have to have a massive engine. And it has to be silver. And less than three years old, because you hate MOTs, or more than 10 years old, because you want internet respect for hating modern technology.
There is a website that will select cars for you, based on those criteria, then show you pictures of actual cars literally for sale.
You can even cheat and tell it to just show you BMW 3-series. Or just MX5s.
It's this site here: http://www4.autotrader.co.uk/
If it can't find you a car for sale then your dream car is either too rare for someone with your car knowledge to adequately look after, or too expensive for someone of your limited means. Or you did what people often do in "what car?" threads and you left out half your criteria and some of them are mutually exclusive.
Once you've found your car for sale, or even several difference cars that all look the same to you, please feel free to ask opinions on PH (maybe even in the part of the forum dedicated to that car so you avoid opinions of people who don't know any more than you buy are riddled with misplaced confidence). But if you have only the vaguest notions of which cars you like, or which cars even exist, then do some basic research first because it's your money.
This message was brought to you by the Campaign for Internet Literacy, and funded by my incandescent rage that belming stupidity no longer leads to painful early death.
Thinking of starting a "what car?" thread? Literally no idea what car you want? How about you don't know what car you want but you do know what car you don't want?
There may be some help here for you.
There is a web site that helps you select cars. Say you want a car. Say you hate diesel. Maybe 2 seaters aren't practical enough for you. Also you are too heterosexual to drive an auto yet are metrosexual enough for a convertible. Also you don't know how much you want to spend, but £10k is too much, and £3k is too little. Maybe you want to have the security of paying too much for a car combined with negotiating with a professional trained to screw you over, in which case private sellers aren't acceptable. Maybe your current car has been stolen and you need to replace your BMW from somewhere within cycling distance. And your OCD will only let you own cars with even numbers of doors. And you have to have a massive engine. And it has to be silver. And less than three years old, because you hate MOTs, or more than 10 years old, because you want internet respect for hating modern technology.
There is a website that will select cars for you, based on those criteria, then show you pictures of actual cars literally for sale.
You can even cheat and tell it to just show you BMW 3-series. Or just MX5s.
It's this site here: http://www4.autotrader.co.uk/
If it can't find you a car for sale then your dream car is either too rare for someone with your car knowledge to adequately look after, or too expensive for someone of your limited means. Or you did what people often do in "what car?" threads and you left out half your criteria and some of them are mutually exclusive.
Once you've found your car for sale, or even several difference cars that all look the same to you, please feel free to ask opinions on PH (maybe even in the part of the forum dedicated to that car so you avoid opinions of people who don't know any more than you buy are riddled with misplaced confidence). But if you have only the vaguest notions of which cars you like, or which cars even exist, then do some basic research first because it's your money.
This message was brought to you by the Campaign for Internet Literacy, and funded by my incandescent rage that belming stupidity no longer leads to painful early death.
Edited by Captain Muppet on Wednesday 18th April 10:55
But what if one of the suggestions from the PH club is a car that isn’t on autotrader.
Sure, a question about ‘What 4 door saloon should I get for the school run with a £800 budget?’ will result in a fairly boring thread which ultimately ends with ‘who gives a crap, just buy something local’.
But ‘I have 9k for a weekend toy, what suggestions do you have?’ leaves room for lots of different ideas and an interesting PH discussion.
Someone posted a link to used Bristols earlier, not a car you’ll find on Autotrader (probably).
Sure, a question about ‘What 4 door saloon should I get for the school run with a £800 budget?’ will result in a fairly boring thread which ultimately ends with ‘who gives a crap, just buy something local’.
But ‘I have 9k for a weekend toy, what suggestions do you have?’ leaves room for lots of different ideas and an interesting PH discussion.
Someone posted a link to used Bristols earlier, not a car you’ll find on Autotrader (probably).
Snowboy said:
But what if one of the suggestions from the PH club is a car that isn’t on autotrader.
Sure, a question about ‘What 4 door saloon should I get for the school run with a £800 budget?’ will result in a fairly boring thread which ultimately ends with ‘who gives a crap, just buy something local’.
But ‘I have 9k for a weekend toy, what suggestions do you have?’ leaves room for lots of different ideas and an interesting PH discussion.
Someone posted a link to used Bristols earlier, not a car you’ll find on Autotrader (probably).
Sure, a question about ‘What 4 door saloon should I get for the school run with a £800 budget?’ will result in a fairly boring thread which ultimately ends with ‘who gives a crap, just buy something local’.
But ‘I have 9k for a weekend toy, what suggestions do you have?’ leaves room for lots of different ideas and an interesting PH discussion.
Someone posted a link to used Bristols earlier, not a car you’ll find on Autotrader (probably).
Captain Muppet said:
If it can't find you a car for sale then your dream car is either too rare for someone with your car knowledge to adequately look after...
vixen1700 said:
Well I started a 'What Car' thread in February and somebody chucked up an idea that hadn't really registered on my radar at all.
A few weeks later I bought one.
The can sometimes be helpful.
>checks garage<A few weeks later I bought one.
The can sometimes be helpful.
TVR or CTR?
Also check my thread title and just have a little think about whether it applies to you or not.
I don’t really agree with that sentiment at all.
Anyone can learn to look after a car that requires different maintenance to their normal cars.
In fact, I’d suggest that most people start a what car thread because they want a car outside of their previous scope of experience and are hoping for some unusual suggestions.
Anyone can learn to look after a car that requires different maintenance to their normal cars.
In fact, I’d suggest that most people start a what car thread because they want a car outside of their previous scope of experience and are hoping for some unusual suggestions.
The Crack Fox said:
All AT needs is a reliable filter for reliability and running costs.
Yes.Is it possible to reliably predict reliability and running costs for any particular car?
Plus lawyers would get involved if AT said, for example, "all new BMW security systems don't work", or "all french cars are rubbish".
Snowboy said:
I don’t really agree with that sentiment at all.
Anyone can learn to look after a car that requires different maintenance to their normal cars.
In fact, I’d suggest that most people start a what car thread because they want a car outside of their previous scope of experience and are hoping for some unusual suggestions.
Let's try an experiment: The next time there is a thread about a fun to drive reliable convertible 4 seater I'll suggets a Citroën Méhari, and if they just buy a 3-series instead we can both agree that what people really want is not something outside of their previous scope of experience.Anyone can learn to look after a car that requires different maintenance to their normal cars.
In fact, I’d suggest that most people start a what car thread because they want a car outside of their previous scope of experience and are hoping for some unusual suggestions.
Done: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Edited by Captain Muppet on Wednesday 18th April 11:21
I'll stick my neck out here. I like the What Car threads.
Sometimes people have narrowed things down to two or three models and want to hear tales from real world owners. It's worth hearing from those people in the midst of people regurgitating what they saw on Top Gear. In the middle of 20-or-so predictable responses* there will often be a well thought through, original and insightful suggestion.
*The Laws of PistonHeads decree that one of those predictable responses will invariably be a mean-spirited moan at What Car threads, redirecting people to Another Trader website.
Sometimes people have narrowed things down to two or three models and want to hear tales from real world owners. It's worth hearing from those people in the midst of people regurgitating what they saw on Top Gear. In the middle of 20-or-so predictable responses* there will often be a well thought through, original and insightful suggestion.
*The Laws of PistonHeads decree that one of those predictable responses will invariably be a mean-spirited moan at What Car threads, redirecting people to Another Trader website.
blearyeyedboy said:
I'll stick my neck out here. I like the What Car threads.
Sometimes people have narrowed things down to two or three models and want to hear tales from real world owners. It's worth hearing from those people in the midst of people regurgitating what they saw on Top Gear. In the middle of 20-or-so predictable responses* there will often be a well thought through, original and insightful suggestion.
*The Laws of PistonHeads decree that one of those predictable responses will invariably be a mean-spirited moan at What Car threads, redirecting people to Another Trader website.
See what you've done there is reply to that thread: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...Sometimes people have narrowed things down to two or three models and want to hear tales from real world owners. It's worth hearing from those people in the midst of people regurgitating what they saw on Top Gear. In the middle of 20-or-so predictable responses* there will often be a well thought through, original and insightful suggestion.
*The Laws of PistonHeads decree that one of those predictable responses will invariably be a mean-spirited moan at What Car threads, redirecting people to Another Trader website.
This thread is about helping people, albeit helping really stupid people who literally have more money than they know what to do with.
deltashad said:
I really like this idea. There used to be a magazine which sold cars and separated them into different sections, say classic, sports and prestige. That was good, but this is the best format I've seen as yet.
I used to resent having to buy the pages outside of the "sports" section (just before caravans I think). The internet is much more better.Captain Muppet said:
See what you've done there is reply to that thread: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
This thread is about helping people, albeit helping really stupid people who literally have more money than they know what to do with.
See what you've done there is to plug your "What Car threads should have a separate forum" idea again. I didn't agree with it last time either! This thread is about helping people, albeit helping really stupid people who literally have more money than they know what to do with.
If you think "What Car?" threads are stupid have a look at this one:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
What Alarm Clock?
The opening line is "What alarm clock for a watch enthusiast?"
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
What Alarm Clock?
The opening line is "What alarm clock for a watch enthusiast?"
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