Long term new car purchase Volume 2

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
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Sun 9 Dec 2007 13:36
Long term new car purchase Volume 2 - stunorthants26
I hear what your all saying, but I love my work and it suits my role in the family - I am if anything, likely to be the 'housewife' as I work fairly short hours, esp in winter, which means that ill be effectively earning a reasonable wage for that role. My fiance will also be working fulltime so its not as desparate as it sounds. Honestly, if I work more than 6 hours in a day, thats exceptional. I have trouble with my back and knees from working too many hours in this trade so working the short hours works for me. Oh and id rather kill myself than apply for benefits.

Valeting is indeed badly affected by the immigration issue however I have managed to tap into the upper middle class market who like their cars done at home and have an inclination towards a nice honest family chap who takes pride in his work and pays tax., thus they are willing to pay over the odds compared to the imported valeters.
It takes time to build up a customer base long term but its starting to grow nicely and in the next couple of years it will expand nicely.

No offense taken honestly, its good advice. I have sold my share in a property for £140k ( my nan has bought me out at a generous valuation by her choice ) and am looking at houses around the £120k mark, so my plan is essentially to stick £20k in the bank/premium bonds and spend £10k on the car. I still want to keep the car within a tight operatng budget though as Im not entirely convinced that the country is going down a good path economically, so I want a car that is well within my means, not one that stretches it.

My fiance and I looked at a Subaru Justy today and were very impressed with the interior space and general feel of it. I will have a better look next year, but it does look like a lovely little car.

Volume 1 can be found here

www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=58191&...7

Edited by Pugugly {P} on 11/12/2007 at 22:46

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Sun 9 Dec 2007 17:18
Long term new car purchase - McP
Blimey what a thread!

Stu,
One of my friends bought a Kia Rio diesel to replace his N reg 306 td about 6 months ago.
He bought a year old 56 plate for £6-7K I think.

He is extremely pleased with it and gets about 50 mpg from VERY enthusiastic driving.
I was a passenger in it yesterday and found it very comfortable.

There are no problems getting his 2 year old son in and out.

I bet you don't clean pedals and floor mats with 'dash shine' like my local Eastern European outfit did!

Have you considered the servicing costs of the various cars you are looking at?
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Sun 9 Dec 2007 22:19
Long term new car purchase - stunorthants26
Your right, I dont put that stuff on pedals etc - I even use a matt finish dashboard shine which gives a far less glossy finish. But then, Ive been doing this since I left college ( nearly ten years ) and I consider myself a seasoned professional at it now, something that I doubt all valeters are as few seem to stay in the trade long enough to get properly good at it!

I have thought about servicing costs yes, as even my Suzuki van seems to cost a fortune to service, but once its outta warranty, Ill get my local mechanic at £35 to do the proper servicing with genuine parts. Hes ok if you just give him a list and the right info etc to do the service. Im not especially fond of very long intervals for servicing and I think around 10k is sensible for any car.
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Sun 9 Dec 2007 22:44
Long term new car purchase - hillman1 {p}
Stu,

My initial thoughts when you first wrote were something on the lines of the Cee'd, still a good suggestion I think. Another possibility though would be a Xsara Picasso. I would think you would get a 1.6HDi for close to the £10k mark, and if you are thinking along the lines of a Berlingo Multispace or Doblo this may be worth a look. Slightly smaller boot, though still plenty big enough and more rear seat space than certainly the Multispace, not sure about the Doblo in that respect.

It is also a little better to drive, although having experienced both the Picasso and Multispace in my opinion there isn't much in it. Build quality is similar, and, again IMO, on par with a Cee'd, although that is only based on looking at one several months back in the showroom- not having spent a huge amount of time in one.

I think based on my experience (I have 3 kids all in child seats) this type of car would be a better bet space wise if you are planning to keep it for a while and use it as a family car eventually. Although how well they would stand up over the years is difficult to say. I believe the latter half of the Picasso life ironed out a few reliability/build quality problems.

No doubt there'll be plenty of other suggestions, but good luck with whatever you go for.

Regards,

Nick
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Sun 9 Dec 2007 23:10
Long term new car purchase - stunorthants26
The only problem I have with those cars is the size of them - I think the Xsara is rather bulky although I like the Berlingo as ive said, its just long term durability and the customer service issues ive had with them before.

I still like the Subaru. Im not planning on more than two kids and I know from people I know, that you can get some very clever child kit that folds up very small and fits very well in small cars. It does need some further investigation, but the £35 per year road tax, 56 mpg average, air con, 5 year warranty and japanese engineering are so irresistable. Its really caught my eye I must say. I am aware Daihatsu sell their version as do Perodua.
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Mon 10 Dec 2007 07:29
Long term new car purchase - oilrag
I would be going for something more `bread and butter` from one of the major players Stu, for long term ownership. Parts, (availability and cost) long term would worry me and `aircon` with a projected ownership of 20 yrs..........?

Good luck though :)

Edited by oilrag on 10/12/2007 at 07:30

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Mon 10 Dec 2007 11:15
Long term new car purchase - stunorthants26
The problem with bread and butter is that they dont tend to have much of a lifespan.

The one thing Ive learnt over the years about a proper jap car is that very rarely do you need anything other than service parts, plus on the Subaru front, its twinned with a Daihatsu so its not so much of a niche model as only body panels are different by the looks of it, I think the engine is the same.

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Tue 11 Dec 2007 22:21
Long term new car purchase - Ed V
Is this in fact the longest ever thread?! If you'd bought new at the beginning of this Stu, you'd be 10% down by now!
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Tue 11 Dec 2007 22:28
Long term new car purchase - Pugugly {P}
Probably the most profound thought of the year in the Back Room
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Tue 11 Dec 2007 22:32
Long term new car purchase - rtj70
takes some scrolling down on the iPod when threads get this long.

ok I'll split it then - please hold !

Edited by Pugugly {P} on 11/12/2007 at 22:47

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Tue 11 Dec 2007 23:20
Long term new car purchase - stunorthants26
I never expected it to get this long thats for sure.

Ive had advice on everything from careers to finance and the perils of modern diesels.
It has genuinely helped though as my mind has been changed quite considerably fromwhat I originally wanted.

Im now spending some time looking into all the essential child kit so I know what I need to fit into a car with two kids.

I can see a fair few options as yet although the attraction of low CO2 and long warranty are extremely appealing for long term ownership!
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Wed 12 Dec 2007 17:40
Long term new car purchase - drbe
Is this in fact the longest ever thread?!


What about Murphy the Cat's thread, waxing lyrical about his Chrysler 300D (I think)

Edited by drbe on 12/12/2007 at 17:44

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Wed 12 Dec 2007 17:51
Long term new car purchase - MichaelR
Have you thought about the effect your car will have on your business? If you use a van ignore this but if you turn up in your car it might be relevant.

If I was going to pay somebody proper money to do a job I could otherwise do myself - valet my car - I would want somebody who appreciates cars properly to do that job for me. If you turned up in a Kia Rio, I'd not be confident you had the passion in cars required to give the attention to detail that justifies paying somebody to do such a job.
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Wed 12 Dec 2007 19:38
Long term new car purchase - Big Bad Dave
"If I was going to pay somebody proper money to do a job I could otherwise do myself - valet my car - I would want somebody who appreciates cars properly to do that job for me."

You're usually spot on in most of the threads you contribute to MichaelR but that's pants.

I'm designing a brochure for articulated haulers at the moment and I've done a spiffing job despite never driving one. I've just finished a Tutankhamen book which is the dog's wotsits - although I've never met the guy or even been to Egypt. Did a fantastic F1 coffee table book earlier this year - guess what? - I never even made it onto the podium. I do a lot of cookery books but I've no idea where the kitchen is in my house.

All that Stunorthants would have to do to valet my car is to turn up with a bucket.
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Fri 14 Dec 2007 00:45
Long term new car purchase - nick1975
It was said earlier in this epic thread - for a long term proposition, buy something you love, a car you are passionate about, a car that moves your soul etc etc (revert to Clarkson nonsense blah, blah, blah).

If that car happens to be a Subaru Justy, then so be it.

Not sure I fully agree with you BBD, I don?t think you analogy holds, as your skills are not content specific. But Michael's point is not entirely correct either; IMHO, if the Kia was nice and clean, then it?s an okay advert for a valet in my view. Expectations of a valet are not so high surely.

But much better than that would be a shiny old Rover, still going strong after all these years - that would be an advert for the business, I would say....


Edited by nick1975 on 14/12/2007 at 00:47

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