WFH - big car as occasional transport?
Discussion
I am full time WFH, so my travel has reduced to a trip to the train station once every couple of weeks and attending kids sports at weekends. I'm selling our Discovery 4 as it just doesn't get used.
I've been looking for a big car at a much lower cost. I still get a car allowance so it needs to be sensible/respectable and reliable enough to do a cross-country jaunt should the occasion arise. There is no age limit, beyond the respectable note above. I'd love another E39 but that wouldn't wash with my CEO.
As the current price of pretty much all cars is f
king ridiculous, I've landed on the least loved of the lot. A Vauxhall Insignia. The jelly mold shape can be had for £8/9k in new top spec, and the new model for about £11k in mid-spec. This is just about covering the miles/leaving in the station car park and ferrying the kids so I don't care for the dynamics. A 911 is on the cards for that next year.
My issue is I have no idea if they're any good or not, so any input would be gratefully received. Is the new model a world ahead of the old one which was very long in the tooth when it died?
Also, have I missed anything? Superbs and Passats (had a 2017 R-Line on a cheap lease which was brilliant) are expensive, Mondeos too, Mazda 6 looks good but not many about. Not interested in premium badge pricing for this.
I've been looking for a big car at a much lower cost. I still get a car allowance so it needs to be sensible/respectable and reliable enough to do a cross-country jaunt should the occasion arise. There is no age limit, beyond the respectable note above. I'd love another E39 but that wouldn't wash with my CEO.
As the current price of pretty much all cars is f
king ridiculous, I've landed on the least loved of the lot. A Vauxhall Insignia. The jelly mold shape can be had for £8/9k in new top spec, and the new model for about £11k in mid-spec. This is just about covering the miles/leaving in the station car park and ferrying the kids so I don't care for the dynamics. A 911 is on the cards for that next year. My issue is I have no idea if they're any good or not, so any input would be gratefully received. Is the new model a world ahead of the old one which was very long in the tooth when it died?
Also, have I missed anything? Superbs and Passats (had a 2017 R-Line on a cheap lease which was brilliant) are expensive, Mondeos too, Mazda 6 looks good but not many about. Not interested in premium badge pricing for this.
Why wouldn't an E39 wash? I've always loved those, especially in M5 guise!
A year ago I bought an 89k miles 1992 E32 730i as I was no longer commuting and I wanted something big and comfy as I WFH and don't do many miles. I paid £5k for it which sounds like a lot for a 30-year-old car, but it really is a peach and I've already had quite a few people wanting to buy it for more than I paid.
Gratuitous pic:
A year ago I bought an 89k miles 1992 E32 730i as I was no longer commuting and I wanted something big and comfy as I WFH and don't do many miles. I paid £5k for it which sounds like a lot for a 30-year-old car, but it really is a peach and I've already had quite a few people wanting to buy it for more than I paid.
Gratuitous pic:
Because non-car people would see a car that old as banger, which would draw the attention of my boss and the fleet department. Not worth the pain.
Plus, there's a massive 'classic car' tax on good quality E39 Tourings.
Car needs to be an estate as I have a big dog.
Love your 7 series!
Plus, there's a massive 'classic car' tax on good quality E39 Tourings.
Car needs to be an estate as I have a big dog.
Love your 7 series!
I think if it's literally about getting from A to B smoothly, comfortably, safely and relatively anonymously, an Insignia is about as on-brief as you can get. And with those criteria in mind I don't think the new one represents a huge shift from the old one, at least not for a two grand premium.
So if another criteria is to save money, my personal view would be to find the best and latest old-shape Insignia estate you can find in the highest spec — Elite, probably — in a subtle dark colour to go under the radar. They might not be 'classy' as such but they are usefully classless, in the best possible way.
It's not exciting, but it is competent. It won't delight you, but it won't (or shouldn't) give you any nasty surprises either. They're comfortable for both driver and passengers, spacious and well-insulated. They're what Vauxhall has always done best; dully competent mid-level motorway wafters.
My sympathies to you having a boss who is that invested in what kind of car you drive. Someone needs to tell him it's not the 1980s any more. But I guess that isn't my fight, or yours, and sometimes you just have to go 'OK Brian' and just get on with it.
So if another criteria is to save money, my personal view would be to find the best and latest old-shape Insignia estate you can find in the highest spec — Elite, probably — in a subtle dark colour to go under the radar. They might not be 'classy' as such but they are usefully classless, in the best possible way.
It's not exciting, but it is competent. It won't delight you, but it won't (or shouldn't) give you any nasty surprises either. They're comfortable for both driver and passengers, spacious and well-insulated. They're what Vauxhall has always done best; dully competent mid-level motorway wafters.
My sympathies to you having a boss who is that invested in what kind of car you drive. Someone needs to tell him it's not the 1980s any more. But I guess that isn't my fight, or yours, and sometimes you just have to go 'OK Brian' and just get on with it.
The work environment is ok, but they pay me £12k car allowance a year so they probably expect I use some of it for a car!
It is really hard to just treat a car as transport, because if my head rules I really just need a £5k estate from any manufacturer. But yes, I have been looking at used Fivers as that's what my heart says.
It is really hard to just treat a car as transport, because if my head rules I really just need a £5k estate from any manufacturer. But yes, I have been looking at used Fivers as that's what my heart says.
Makes sense, F10 would likely be my choice. That or a mint E61 535d LCI
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202201211...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202201211...
Hitch said:
The work environment is ok, but they pay me £12k car allowance a year so they probably expect I use some of it for a car!
It is really hard to just treat a car as transport, because if my head rules I really just need a £5k estate from any manufacturer. But yes, I have been looking at used Fivers as that's what my heart says.
Have a look at the Q50 S 3.5h:It is really hard to just treat a car as transport, because if my head rules I really just need a £5k estate from any manufacturer. But yes, I have been looking at used Fivers as that's what my heart says.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202204064...
Infiniti M:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206267...
From what you describe the Insignia makes a lot of sense:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206136...
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