A brand new car every 3 years... what would you have bought?

[white_goodman]

I think that people s car buying habits have changed over the years. Cars have improved in general and become longer-lasting, so people either tend to keep them longer (I had my last car for 6 years and 90,000 miles, at which point it was 9 years old), especially if there's nothing newer that really does the job better to justify the expense or they lease, in which case they change their car at probably shorter intervals than 3 years. However for an older generation ie my parent's generation, buying a new car every 3 years was a thing, as that's when your warranty expired and things would tend to start wearing out at 3 years old on an average car. I remember teachers at my secondary school who religiously bought a new car every 3 years (usually the new equivalent to the old one)!

So imagine a scenario when you bought a brand new car when you passed your test and replaced it every 3 years thereafter, what would you have bought? I haven t actually bought many new cars, as 3 year old ones have traditionally been such good value and still had decent life left in them but having owned around 15 cars in 28 years, I have averaged closer to a (new to me) car every 2 years. Every 3 years would only be 10 cars for me but I apologise to those who are a bit older and every 3 years would be quite a few.

I passed my test in 1997 and my first car was a (not new) Fiat Cinquecento Sporting but it was a pretty decent first car actually. Late 90s was probably peak supermini though, so there was a wealth of good choices: mk4 Fiesta, Corsa B, K11 Micra, mk1 Clio, mk1 Punto, mk3 Polo etc. However, I lusted after a Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9 at the time, so for me, 1997 was all about the sporty 106/Saxo. I would have really loved a blue S2 106 Rallye as my first brand new car.



Following on, I was still into fast Peugeots in 2000 but being a student, I had a boring Astra 1.4 but had I been earning decent money already, it would have had to have been a new Peugeot 306 GTi-6 in Diablo Red or China Blue probably (but maybe Blaze Yellow if I was feeling brave).



Then I think that I would have gone...

2003 Toyota MR2 roadster in black with red leather (NB MX5 was what I actually owned)

2006 Nissan 350Z coupe in Sunset Orange (or metallic blue or black) but I actually owned an E30 325i/Corrado VR6

2009 BMW M3 E92 manual in Imola Red (might have been doable on my previous trajectory but a career change meant a sensible Polo TDI)

2012 Audi RS4 Avant (B8) in Sepang Blue (1st child came, we actually had an Impreza WRX Wagon)

2015 Land Rover Discovery 4 DDV6 in Aintree Green (2nd child came, so needed more space for 2 young children, the reality was a Chrysler Grand Voyager)

2018 BMW 530d Touring in Tanzanite Blue with Cognac interior (kids out of prams/pushchairs etc, so not as much space required but in reality still had the Grand Voyager)

2021 Mercedes-Benz E63S AMG Estate in Hyacinth red with silver wheels (still had the Grand Voyager)

2024 Nothing practical that really appeals to me more than the Mercedes, so keep the Mercedes and buy a fun 2nd car. Maybe an ND MX5, Alpine A110, Lotus Emira V6 or Honda Civic Type-R

So starting with a brand new car when you passed your test and subsequently replacing it with a brand new car every 3 years, what new cars would you have bought that would have been in-line with your needs at the time and somewhat attainable?

Edited by white_goodman on Thursday 18th September 19:35

Edited by white_goodman on Thursday 18th September 19:35

Edited by white_goodman on Thursday 18th September 19:35

Edited by white_goodman on Thursday 18th September 19:36

Edited by white_goodman on Thursday 18th September 19:37

Edited by white_goodman on Thursday 18th September 19:38

Edited by white_goodman on Thursday 18th September 19:39

[Crumpet]

Not entirely sure what the question is but I’ve not managed to get past 10 months with my last three cars.

My cars have always fitted in with my life at the time; early career and low pay it was whatever £900 banger I could find, then earning more money and no kids it was two seaters, family comes along and no time for fun so it’s massive SUVs, get bored of not having a performance car so buy a supercharged V8 SUV, kids get older and now fit in the back of a 911 without boosters……get a 911. I guess when the kids get older and don’t fit in the back of a 911 and don’t want anything to do with me it’ll be back to two seaters.

[white_goodman]

Crumpet said:

Not entirely sure what the question is but I ve not managed to get past 10 months with my last three cars.

My cars have always fitted in with my life at the time; early career and low pay it was whatever £900 banger I could find, then earning more money and no kids it was two seaters, family comes along and no time for fun so it s massive SUVs, get bored of not having a performance car so buy a supercharged V8 SUV, kids get older and now fit in the back of a 911 without boosters get a 911. I guess when the kids get older and don t fit in the back of a 911 and don t want anything to do with me it ll be back to two seaters.

Yeah, I can relate to those sentiments. Question was if you could have bought a brand new car every 3 years from when you first started driving, what would you have bought? I appreciate that financial constraints wouldn't necessarily have enabled that at the time but it was just a hypothetical question based on a modicum of realism.