So what car have you been obsessing about today?? (Vol 2)

So what car have you been obsessing about today?? (Vol 2)

Author
Discussion

masermartin

1,629 posts

176 months

Saturday 13th October 2012
quotequote all
Leins said:
Petrolhead95 said:
I wonder if I could insure this as my first car scratchchin

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...
Great first car choice IMO. My first two were a Saab 900i and an Audi 80 so I know exactly where you're coming from on this
Yep that could be a good shout, as it's not the kind of thing "youngsters" like to crash into lampposts, so might carry a lower-than-expected insurance bill too...

FWIW I had a 1.6 Peugeot 405 fairly early on in my driving career and that was surprisingly cheap to run. Although you do tend to become default taxi driver of choice for Friday/Saturday/Sunday ...

caraddict

1,092 posts

143 months

Saturday 13th October 2012
quotequote all
Anyone owned or driven these?

2004 Subaru Forester XT 2.0



From what I'm reading online, a nice drive because of low center of gravity, fair punch from the turbo engine, lots of upgrades available, decent offroad-performance and cheaper and more practical compared to the WRX.
Nice to obsess something I can afford, I really think I'm getting one (if it's as nice as I think it is) for trashing around in winter and trying some light offroading next summer. Wouldn't feel bad if it got stone chips on gravel.

Fabric

3,818 posts

191 months

Saturday 13th October 2012
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A dab of unobtainium today.



cloud9

Petrolhead95

7,043 posts

153 months

Saturday 13th October 2012
quotequote all
masermartin said:
Yep that could be a good shout, as it's not the kind of thing "youngsters" like to crash into lampposts, so might carry a lower-than-expected insurance bill too...

FWIW I had a 1.6 Peugeot 405 fairly early on in my driving career and that was surprisingly cheap to run. Although you do tend to become default taxi driver of choice for Friday/Saturday/Sunday ...
That's what I was hoping for, although it will probably still be ridiculous amounts of money.

JayTee94

10,974 posts

156 months

Saturday 13th October 2012
quotequote all
Petrolhead95 said:
masermartin said:
Yep that could be a good shout, as it's not the kind of thing "youngsters" like to crash into lampposts, so might carry a lower-than-expected insurance bill too...

FWIW I had a 1.6 Peugeot 405 fairly early on in my driving career and that was surprisingly cheap to run. Although you do tend to become default taxi driver of choice for Friday/Saturday/Sunday ...
That's what I was hoping for, although it will probably still be ridiculous amounts of money.
Do you like the Vauxhall Astra 1.8 Bertone? If you are looking at the Audi A4, then I doubt the insurance should not be too different and a few people have had decent quotes on them - maybe just something to think about. They look decent aswell in my opinion. smile

Oily Nails

2,932 posts

199 months

Sunday 14th October 2012
quotequote all
I need help.....





1990 Fiat Panda 4x4....its a Panda with Bullbars!!! hehe

MrFrodo

21,535 posts

241 months

Sunday 14th October 2012
quotequote all
Today (not especially unusually, I admit) it's this:


Partly because I think the first paragraph of the advert text is genius:
http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...

Petrolhead95

7,043 posts

153 months

Sunday 14th October 2012
quotequote all
JayTee94 said:
Do you like the Vauxhall Astra 1.8 Bertone? If you are looking at the Audi A4, then I doubt the insurance should not be too different and a few people have had decent quotes on them - maybe just something to think about. They look decent aswell in my opinion. smile
I'm quite fond of those, I'll look into it smile

no effort

224 posts

178 months

Sunday 14th October 2012
quotequote all




But which one?

If you were looking to buy one with the intention of keeping it for 12-18 months which would you choose?
I've always preferred the 360 but the more I compare them on looks the more I sway towards the 355.

caraddict

1,092 posts

143 months

Sunday 14th October 2012
quotequote all
Be aware of the 355's running cost. 12-18 months, 360 is a far safer bet - wouldn't depend on a 355 to run flawlessly for that period of time.

Ex-348 GTS owner and avid Ferrari forum browser.

Edited by caraddict on Sunday 14th October 11:21

no effort

224 posts

178 months

Sunday 14th October 2012
quotequote all
355's are that bad?

I was thinking that 355's won't get any cheaper so over the term I had the car it would only cost me the servicing costs and a shed load of fuel.

Urban Sports

11,321 posts

202 months

Sunday 14th October 2012
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kamilb1998

2,220 posts

176 months

Sunday 14th October 2012
quotequote all
A 500 Abarth, and I could afford the finance & insurance by the time I'm 19 too! party


craigb84

1,493 posts

151 months

Sunday 14th October 2012
quotequote all
Focus RS MK2. For the money I literally can't think of anything that close in terms of age, performance, reliability and the ability to throw an MP350 kit on (which is also manufacturer approved).

I'm just going to do it. F it.

blearyeyedboy

6,252 posts

178 months

Sunday 14th October 2012
quotequote all
kamilb1998 said:
A 500 Abarth, and I could afford the finance & insurance by the time I'm 19 too! party

Do you know, I'm 33 and saw one in a dealer's window this week. I was rather tempted... but I'll wait until yours has depreciated a bit and buy it off you thanks! biggrin

wink

kamilb1998

2,220 posts

176 months

Sunday 14th October 2012
quotequote all
blearyeyedboy said:
kamilb1998 said:
A 500 Abarth, and I could afford the finance & insurance by the time I'm 19 too! party

Do you know, I'm 33 and saw one in a dealer's window this week. I was rather tempted... but I'll wait until yours has depreciated a bit and buy it off you thanks! biggrin

wink
You're in for along wait, I'm only 14. wink

blearyeyedboy

6,252 posts

178 months

Sunday 14th October 2012
quotequote all
kamilb1998 said:
You're in for along wait, I'm only 14. wink
You don't know how long it'll take me to save for one. hehe

kamilb1998

2,220 posts

176 months

Sunday 14th October 2012
quotequote all
blearyeyedboy said:
kamilb1998 said:
You're in for along wait, I'm only 14. wink
You don't know how long it'll take me to save for one. hehe
hehe

blearyeyedboy

6,252 posts

178 months

Sunday 14th October 2012
quotequote all
hehe

Seriously, I won't take *quite* that long but I'm trying to fund a mortgage deposit and a wedding too, so they take priority. smile

When the time comes to replace my trusty FWD hatch, I might go for a... trusty FWD estate?



I think Ford are shrewd with this one. People are still downsizing cars and I think this will become the new Octavia VRS estate, if you get my gist. Fun to punt around on your own when you can, reasonable running costs, civilised and roomy enough to carry an IKEA wardrobe when you're need to.

Order one in black, debadge it and avoid unwanted attention from Yoofs or people who want to race you. (No disrespect to you, Kamil. I mean the reverse baseball cap wearing type.) wink

caraddict

1,092 posts

143 months

Sunday 14th October 2012
quotequote all
no effort said:
355's are that bad?

I was thinking that 355's won't get any cheaper so over the term I had the car it would only cost me the servicing costs and a shed load of fuel.
Can you set aside 6-10.000 £ for unpleasant surprises? This is a almost a must, not all agree, but you need a buffer with these cars.

From what I understand, as with 348's, there is no right answer on maintenance costs for the 355. People get pre inspection by known Ferrari workshops before buying their cars, and still get bad surprises. Engine reliability wise both your alternatives are good ones. Others' owned them for a few years with nothing but recommended servicing, so you will definitely hear from many owners that they're having a good ownership.
The servicing of the 360 Modena will also be cheaper because it doesn't need to get the engine out for a big service (which is the case with the 355).

Anyway, avoid the 355 Spider, their tops are prone to fail far too often. In this case my opinion stands; chose the safest best (and do your job with research before buying the car, it sometimes takes months to find a good one!).

As a side note; it might be of advantage to buy a relative high mileage car:
Ferrari mechanics often underline that the cars that are driven much, are also the ones less prone to unsuspected incidents and failures. smile