Is it worth buying a nice car these days?
Discussion
Baryonyx said:
It's a f
king farce when you consider the state of our roads. Last summer I was cruising down the Autovia Del Mediterraneo in southern Spain, and I could have wept for the state of our roads as I wafted over that smooth tarmac. By comparison, the A1 or M6 is like the surface of the fking moon.
Now everybody sees why I shunned the idea of a huge wheeled, thin tyred, bonebreaking German 'performance car' and opted for the wallowy squishy Rover instead.king farce when you consider the state of our roads. Last summer I was cruising down the Autovia Del Mediterraneo in southern Spain, and I could have wept for the state of our roads as I wafted over that smooth tarmac. By comparison, the A1 or M6 is like the surface of the fking moon.martin84 said:
Now everybody sees why I shunned the idea of a huge wheeled, thin tyred, bonebreaking German 'performance car' and opted for the wallowy squishy Rover instead.
There is logic in this. Take, for instance, my friends A4 S-Line TDi. No real 'performance' to speak of, but a bone crunchingly hard ride in a car that is entirely useless as a B road blaster. So why it needs the super stiff suspension and rock hard ride I do not know.Maybe it's all due to idiotic buyers, who want to appear 'cool' and 'sporty' by being able to boast about the sport credentials of their repmobile whilst needing nothing of the sort as they pound out motorway miles. Consider that the police used to use Rover 6 series with tiny rims and big donut tyres and they were driving those cars far harder and faster than the reps (and they needed the performance as well). There is something to be said for ride.
Baryonyx said:
Maybe it's all due to idiotic buyers, who want to appear 'cool' and 'sporty' by being able to boast about the sport credentials of their repmobile whilst needing nothing of the sort as they pound out motorway miles. Consider that the police used to use Rover 6 series with tiny rims and big donut tyres and they were driving those cars far harder and faster than the reps (and they needed the performance as well). There is something to be said for ride.
People are stupid. They go 'mmm 104inch wheels, lovely!!' then proceed to drive it on British town roads. Dealers arent helpful either, its hard to get a car with all the toys and standard wheels. If you want leather and air con they give you massive wheels. Big alloys are seen as an 'extra' or an 'upgrade' when in reality all they do is make your lovely £60,000 car slightly worse. Some of the tyre choices are bonkers, buying tyres for a 90s 5 series is so much cheaper than the resistance-free nonsense of the new ones.Its even more stupid on vehicles supposedly designed for off road use. I saw a Jeep Grand Cherokee with massive black chav gangster wheels on it. People in big-rimmed X5's get confused when they slide into a hedge in the snow.
'But its a four by four innit!!!'
My Rover may be a Rover, it may be an automatic and it may be a V reg but its 2.5 engine makes it quick enough. You get plebs in their s
tty hatchbacks with tinted windows who think their J reg Fiesta is faster, it isnt. I can get round town with minimal effort, drive for a day without needing a replacement spine and when I put my foot down it does actually go somewhere.midiman said:
We are in hard times.
So where is the sense in buying certain vehicles?
Think about this.
1. The depreciation of the vehicle.
2. The record prices of fuel and duty.
3. Road tax.
4. Congestion charges.
5. Criminal insurance premiums.
6. General running costs.
7. War on the motorist.
Driving has never been cheap but why would anyone want to lose so much money.
Most of the cost is going to the Government and why would you want to line their pockets??
It’s starting to become like smoking. There comes a point where you look to cutting back of giving up.
I have the money for a nice car, but I can't afford to throw it away these days. It makes me angry but you have to be sensible.
So I recently purchased a 52 reg Citroen diesel for around £3000. I figured that if I kept it for five years I wouldn’t have lost much. And it has a better mpg return than most.
The money for the new BMW now sits in the bank earning interest.
Now I have a car that should last over 5yrs, I,ve lowered my fuel costs and it’s cost me less than a year’s depreciation on a new car.
buy a well researched classic and look forward to cheap motoring/ tax and possible appreciation. Alot have been modified and run modern underpinnings so not much difference in economy etc. So where is the sense in buying certain vehicles?
Think about this.
1. The depreciation of the vehicle.
2. The record prices of fuel and duty.
3. Road tax.
4. Congestion charges.
5. Criminal insurance premiums.
6. General running costs.
7. War on the motorist.
Driving has never been cheap but why would anyone want to lose so much money.
Most of the cost is going to the Government and why would you want to line their pockets??
It’s starting to become like smoking. There comes a point where you look to cutting back of giving up.
I have the money for a nice car, but I can't afford to throw it away these days. It makes me angry but you have to be sensible.
So I recently purchased a 52 reg Citroen diesel for around £3000. I figured that if I kept it for five years I wouldn’t have lost much. And it has a better mpg return than most.
The money for the new BMW now sits in the bank earning interest.
Now I have a car that should last over 5yrs, I,ve lowered my fuel costs and it’s cost me less than a year’s depreciation on a new car.
I sympathise but these are many of the reasons I left that festering Anti-car island. In the USA...
1. The depreciation of the vehicle: classic muscle cars don't depreciate and even normal cars dont hit rock bottom like in Europe, this is mainly because the UK MOT is designed to force folks to buy modern pieces of tin and scrap older cars prematurely- hence forcing older car values down
2. The record prices of fuel and duty: Fuel prices here are getting higher, unfortunately, alot due to Green misinformation but we still have some way to go before hitting UK levels
3. Road tax. : Road tax is reasonable here and not done on non sense like engine size , emissions level or age of vehicle (Germany)
4. Congestion charges: No congestion charges here and no red Ken either
5. Criminal insurance premiums: Insurance isn't cheap but most professions get paid alot more and when you insure many cars it doesn't cost alot more
6. General running costs:Fix cars yourself
7. War on the motorist: No war on the motorist- America is in love with the car although the Leftys are trying their damndest to make cars viewed much like Europe with mass transport initiatives and other such non sense
1. The depreciation of the vehicle: classic muscle cars don't depreciate and even normal cars dont hit rock bottom like in Europe, this is mainly because the UK MOT is designed to force folks to buy modern pieces of tin and scrap older cars prematurely- hence forcing older car values down
2. The record prices of fuel and duty: Fuel prices here are getting higher, unfortunately, alot due to Green misinformation but we still have some way to go before hitting UK levels
3. Road tax. : Road tax is reasonable here and not done on non sense like engine size , emissions level or age of vehicle (Germany)
4. Congestion charges: No congestion charges here and no red Ken either
5. Criminal insurance premiums: Insurance isn't cheap but most professions get paid alot more and when you insure many cars it doesn't cost alot more
6. General running costs:Fix cars yourself
7. War on the motorist: No war on the motorist- America is in love with the car although the Leftys are trying their damndest to make cars viewed much like Europe with mass transport initiatives and other such non sense
I doubt I will ever buy another new car, both of my 10+ year old cars are in better condition than the average 3 year old. However there is never an excuse for buying a boring 'cheap' car...so many interesting, well maintained second hand cars out there. I could not bring myself to pilot a boring diesel repmobile, too much imagination and interest in cars for that. It is always worth buying a nice car and if you no longer think that then hand your membership card in at the door on your way out
The answer, friends, is to get rich. Work like a dog at what you love, find a way, any way to become richer than you are now.
I want an M5 ........V10 of course.
Duck
midiman said:
We are in hard times.
So where is the sense in buying certain vehicles?
Think about this.
1. The depreciation of the vehicle.
2. The record prices of fuel and duty.
3. Road tax.
4. Congestion charges.
5. Criminal insurance premiums.
6. General running costs.
7. War on the motorist.
Driving has never been cheap but why would anyone want to lose so much money.
Most of the cost is going to the Government and why would you want to line their pockets??
It’s starting to become like smoking. There comes a point where you look to cutting back of giving up.
I have the money for a nice car, but I can't afford to throw it away these days. It makes me angry but you have to be sensible.
So I recently purchased a 52 reg Citroen diesel for around £3000. I figured that if I kept it for five years I wouldn’t have lost much. And it has a better mpg return than most.
The money for the new BMW now sits in the bank earning interest.
Now I have a car that should last over 5yrs, I,ve lowered my fuel costs and it’s cost me less than a year’s depreciation on a new car.
So where is the sense in buying certain vehicles?
Think about this.
1. The depreciation of the vehicle.
2. The record prices of fuel and duty.
3. Road tax.
4. Congestion charges.
5. Criminal insurance premiums.
6. General running costs.
7. War on the motorist.
Driving has never been cheap but why would anyone want to lose so much money.
Most of the cost is going to the Government and why would you want to line their pockets??
It’s starting to become like smoking. There comes a point where you look to cutting back of giving up.
I have the money for a nice car, but I can't afford to throw it away these days. It makes me angry but you have to be sensible.
So I recently purchased a 52 reg Citroen diesel for around £3000. I figured that if I kept it for five years I wouldn’t have lost much. And it has a better mpg return than most.
The money for the new BMW now sits in the bank earning interest.
Now I have a car that should last over 5yrs, I,ve lowered my fuel costs and it’s cost me less than a year’s depreciation on a new car.
Baryonyx said:
martin84 said:
Now everybody sees why I shunned the idea of a huge wheeled, thin tyred, bonebreaking German 'performance car' and opted for the wallowy squishy Rover instead.
There is logic in this. Take, for instance, my friends A4 S-Line TDi. No real 'performance' to speak of, but a bone crunchingly hard ride in a car that is entirely useless as a B road blaster. So why it needs the super stiff suspension and rock hard ride I do not know.Maybe it's all due to idiotic buyers, who want to appear 'cool' and 'sporty' by being able to boast about the sport credentials of their repmobile whilst needing nothing of the sort as they pound out motorway miles. Consider that the police used to use Rover 6 series with tiny rims and big donut tyres and they were driving those cars far harder and faster than the reps (and they needed the performance as well). There is something to be said for ride.
Was out with a few mates + him one night and he ave me so much s
t for driving at 70.... What's the point of having a 130 etc etc... Floored it in 4th and he asked me to slow down.... Sigh....Don't think it's anywhere near as bad as folk make out.
My girlfriend's old Toyota owes her nothing, has been super reliable over the few years she's had it, does 40 odd to the gallon and costs not a lot to tax and insure as it's below 1.5........gets her to work everyday and generally does what a car is meant to do.............CHEAPLY.
You can now buy new cars that have no VED liability, do around 50mpg are reliable all for circa 10k.
Plus, this must be the best time in the history of motoring to buy a bloody fast car for sod all money!
My girlfriend's old Toyota owes her nothing, has been super reliable over the few years she's had it, does 40 odd to the gallon and costs not a lot to tax and insure as it's below 1.5........gets her to work everyday and generally does what a car is meant to do.............CHEAPLY.
You can now buy new cars that have no VED liability, do around 50mpg are reliable all for circa 10k.
Plus, this must be the best time in the history of motoring to buy a bloody fast car for sod all money!
There's always these sort of threads, isn't there, but they always forget the fundamental fact that most pistonheaders simply like nice cars. Some people like to drink, others smoke, others climb up the side of mountains, going to the gym, taking expensive holidays, playing guitars, etc. None of these 'pass times' make much logical or financial sense, but people do them without worrying about the waste of money or whatever. We like driving and owning nice cars. We derive enjoyment from this that over rides the 'waste of money' question.
What frightens me about new cars is all the technology, like particulate filters, self-destructing flywheels, and so on. Stories of five hours labour to change a light bulb is another. Frankly, I've decided to keep my 12 yr old Merc until it dies - which it shows no sign of doing in the forseeable future and in fact seems to get more economical the more miles I pile on - and it's at 220,000 now. But what to replace it with when it does die? Everyone says not to buy a diesel if you aren't doing lots of miles regularly - which now I am retired I don't - but I still need to be able to tow the toy car from time to time, so i guess it'll be a C180 Se or such like; but definitely second hand and about 3 yrs old.
Baryonyx said:
It's a fking farce when you consider the state of our roads. Last summer I was cruising down the Autovia Del Mediterraneo in southern Spain, and I could have wept for the state of our roads as I wafted over that smooth tarmac. By comparison, the A1 or M6 is like the surface of the fking moon.
Those awesome roads are paid for by EU subsidies. So, in essence they are Britsh roads (well, British, German and Dutch) king farce when you consider the state of our roads. Last summer I was cruising down the Autovia Del Mediterraneo in southern Spain, and I could have wept for the state of our roads as I wafted over that smooth tarmac. By comparison, the A1 or M6 is like the surface of the fking moon.
midiman said:
Is it worth buying a nice car these days?
midiman said:
So I recently purchased a 52 reg Citroen diesel for around £3000. I figured that if I kept it for five years I wouldn’t have lost much. And it has a better mpg return than most.
midiman said:
1. The depreciation of the vehicle.
2. The record prices of fuel and duty.
3. Road tax.
4. Congestion charges.
5. Criminal insurance premiums.
6. General running costs.
7. War on the motorist.
Driving has never been cheap but why would anyone want to lose so much money.
First point - they have worn you down and are winning, you do realise that.2. The record prices of fuel and duty.
3. Road tax.
4. Congestion charges.
5. Criminal insurance premiums.
6. General running costs.
7. War on the motorist.
Driving has never been cheap but why would anyone want to lose so much money.
To address the specifics:
1. Only on the wrong purchase, and this has always been the case, so nothing to do with "hard times"
2. Yes, but in the grand scheme of purchasing a performance car is it that much money? If you do say 7000 miles a year its only costing a few hundred quid a year more than it did 5 years ago.
3. Again, you're only talking increases in the £10s - are you going to let that put you off?
4. Move north, still costs zero (and the roads are WAY more fun).
5. Move north, get older and buy wisely...a £2K impreza would cost me £2K to insure, but a £70K ferrari is only £350.
6. Again, no different from before, just be smarter with where you get your car maintained - it doesn't have to be main dealer, also learn to pick up a spanner.
7. I refer to my opening statement.
lowdrag said:
What frightens me about new cars is all the technology, like particulate filters, self-destructing flywheels, and so on. Stories of five hours labour to change a light bulb is another. Frankly, I've decided to keep my 12 yr old Merc until it dies - which it shows no sign of doing in the forseeable future and in fact seems to get more economical the more miles I pile on - and it's at 220,000 now. But what to replace it with when it does die? Everyone says not to buy a diesel if you aren't doing lots of miles regularly - which now I am retired I don't - but I still need to be able to tow the toy car from time to time, so i guess it'll be a C180 Se or such like; but definitely second hand and about 3 yrs old.
Spot on. I'm doing the same with my 11 year old barge. It's got a nice 2.5 straight six and its all mine. I have been tempted to buy a new ecobox or newer performance for everyday use but it's not worth the outlay, finance and running costs. I get the OP. what I would say though is that you can find something PH worthy on a budget and save for a weekend car classic or something like that if it's difficult to justify the costs. If you do a lot of mileage then I agree there is no point in pissing you hard earned cash down the drain. You only live once so find the best balance and at some point make sure you get something as close your dream car as possible. midiman said:
We are in hard times.
So where is the sense in buying certain vehicles?
Think about this.
1. The depreciation of the vehicle.
2. The record prices of fuel and duty.
3. Road tax.
4. Congestion charges.
5. Criminal insurance premiums.
6. General running costs.
7. War on the motorist.
Driving has never been cheap but why would anyone want to lose so much money.
Most of the cost is going to the Government and why would you want to line their pockets??
It’s starting to become like smoking. There comes a point where you look to cutting back of giving up.
I have the money for a nice car, but I can't afford to throw it away these days. It makes me angry but you have to be sensible.
So I recently purchased a 52 reg Citroen diesel for around £3000. I figured that if I kept it for five years I wouldn’t have lost much. And it has a better mpg return than most.
The money for the new BMW now sits in the bank earning interest.
Now I have a car that should last over 5yrs, I,ve lowered my fuel costs and it’s cost me less than a year’s depreciation on a new car.
So where is the sense in buying certain vehicles?
Think about this.
1. The depreciation of the vehicle.
2. The record prices of fuel and duty.
3. Road tax.
4. Congestion charges.
5. Criminal insurance premiums.
6. General running costs.
7. War on the motorist.
Driving has never been cheap but why would anyone want to lose so much money.
Most of the cost is going to the Government and why would you want to line their pockets??
It’s starting to become like smoking. There comes a point where you look to cutting back of giving up.
I have the money for a nice car, but I can't afford to throw it away these days. It makes me angry but you have to be sensible.
So I recently purchased a 52 reg Citroen diesel for around £3000. I figured that if I kept it for five years I wouldn’t have lost much. And it has a better mpg return than most.
The money for the new BMW now sits in the bank earning interest.
Now I have a car that should last over 5yrs, I,ve lowered my fuel costs and it’s cost me less than a year’s depreciation on a new car.
- Pst*...newsflash...this is how it always *used* to be before the rise of cheap and easy credit in the early 90s. Most people *didnt* have a nice car, they had an ordinary car.
swerni said:
DJRC said:
- Pst*...newsflash...this is how it always *used* to be before the rise of cheap and easy credit in the early 90s. Most people *didnt* have a nice car, they had an ordinary car.
midiman said:
1. The depreciation of the vehicle.
2. The record prices of fuel and duty.
3. Road tax.
4. Congestion charges.
5. Criminal insurance premiums.
6. General running costs.
7. War on the motorist.
1. buy 3+ years old.... reduced depreciation helps offset 2, 3, etc2. The record prices of fuel and duty.
3. Road tax.
4. Congestion charges.
5. Criminal insurance premiums.
6. General running costs.
7. War on the motorist.
2. swallow it
3. moan about it, then swallow it
4. don't go to London ever... win-win.
5. peanuts compared to 1, 2 and 3!
6. moan about it, pay it
7. life is too short, but vote for a fringe party at every available opportunity. I picked ukip. It didn't do any good, but i'm not going to drive some piece of s
t eco box because George Monbiot wants me to. The more i have to spend on motoring, the less i spend elsewhere in the economy - for example Rupert Murdoch desn't get my money any more. I wonder if Monbiot's bosses at GMG have considered why they made a £33m loss last year - people don't buy newspapers and magazines when they need every penny to get to workGassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff