Speaking personally, higher fuel prices mean that sooner, rather than later, I can finally afford that luxury car I have always wanted. I only drive 6k miles p.a.and working part time make full use of a cheap rail fare to work. Looking at recent auction reports, I may soon be able to purchase that Lexus LS430 once prices hit £10k.
We all know that the major cost of any car is depreciation, and I can afford £1000pa depreciation, and 25mpg with my small annual mileage, so at the risk of sounding dreadfully selfish, bring on the £2 per litre petrol...I may even be able to get a newish Spec B Legacy Tourer.
And yes, I fully appreciate that higher fuel costs mean associated higher costs for just about everything else. but I am a fully paid up member of the 'petrol head' club!
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Keep us posted about the Legacy, my own choice would be the 3 litre saloon, maybe not spec B as i prefer a little more comfortable ride.
I haven't seen prices diminishing greatly yet in the adverts, but the cars for sale seem to be hanging around.
If i change it will probably be next year now, when the really big ved increases start to come through the door, and the general motoring public finally wakes up to whats happened, and starts off loading high band cars very quickly.
My own plan is to get converted to lpg if i get one, my own mileage may not make me a profit, but so long as i break even over my time of ownership, i'd sooner give £2K to a good converter than to dick turpin.
Always a danger dicky turpin could raise the high band tax to a grand if he gets out of bed the wrong side one morning though.
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Such utterly selfish self indulgence is the crux of what is so dreadfully wrong in this country today....:-)
I've got my eye on an Audi S8.
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I've been looking at some Jaguar XJs on Autotrader - low prices and seem to be hanging around. Similar with the S Type but that has also had it's residuals dented by the XF.
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Isn't it brilliant? I had been thinking of a 330i M Sport next but with prices the way they are going I am giving serous consideration to a BMW M5 or a Mercedes E55 AMG.
It's fantastic!
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Being yorkshire I complain bitterly about fuel prices but not having a mortgage does certainly make the prospect of higher prices and less cars on the road more appealing, indeed to the extent it may be worth having a car that does 0-60 in under 6 seconds :-D
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I've been drooling over the Daimler Super V8s on AutoTrader. They seem to be hovering around the 6k - 9k mark for 99 onwards. That's cheap, luxurious 370bhp motoring. If I buy one as a weekend car I'd only be filling it up 6 times a year. Fantastic.
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>I've been drooling over the Daimler Super V8s on AutoTrader.
For Glub's sake keep quiet! Everyone will want one!
I've been looking around for a 2 or 3yo example since last year but I'm being fussy over the spec (individual rear seats, entertainment system etc.) They don't sell in the same numbers as the XJR so they're relatively rare.
Kevin...
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Individual rear seats are a must Kev, as is the LWB otherwise you might as well save few grand and buy the XJR.
Shhhhh...
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Good call on the LS - when I chopped my 99k 53 model a few weeks ago I got a rather painful 8.5k trade in so you're not far off a 10k purchase already. That was the best price I could negotiate with about six different dealers and other contacts so I think it was about right, irrespective of the 11-12k Glasses was saying at the time.
Just remember that the 100k service (which I just avoided) includes a cam belt change and I was getting quotes of £1000 for it, so make sure you're nowhere near needing that one if you can avoid it. I appreciate of course that in my case the trade in price will have reflected that upcoming cost anyway.
Edited by Dipstick on 17/06/2008 at 09:41
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I quite fancy a Mclaren F1.
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Comedy is the tragedy that happens to other people.
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Just check on parts prices and the availability of independent mechanics, so that you are not locked into main-dealer servicing and repair. Those factors may undermine the obvious appeal of a Lexus, for instance. BMW, MB, etc. are better placed in those respects -- plenty of indies and always Euro Car Parts and GSF to turn to if dealer part prices make your eyes water (e.g. fuel pump from Euro for my MB W126 half the price of the identical Bosch item from the MB main dealer).
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As I have said befoe, I'm waiting till early 2009.. by then dealers will have forecourts full and no-one will be buying..
Prices keep falling... trends continue .. another 25% off every year..
C6 please for under £10k...
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Funnily enough, since late April, myself and two other trade contacts have sold the following Mercs: 320 CE (93k reg / £3500 - took Rover 75 in PX), S280 (96N reg / £2500 - took 51 plate 607 HDI in PX!), E430 (R Reg / £3400), S600 (M Reg / £3250).
All cars went to middle aged blokes not doing big mileages, with the CE for use as a weekend car. There will always be a demand for mint examples (which they were) of such vehicles, and I do think that demand is seasonal now with the cars likely to sell late Spring / early summer.
What is quite clear is that the bargain basement carp examples (under £1500) will not sell, as the council estate drug barons can no longer afford to run them (don't need to deal with such folk anyway), and also no one is buying used luxury cars as family transport anymore, wheras about 6-7 yrs ago they were.
If you can afford it, go for it would be my advice.
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I think it's possibly the last hurrah for decent cars so enjoy them while you can. Pity the tax isn't all on the fuel, then you wouldn't be penalised for simply owning them, just on the use.
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"Pity the tax isn't all on the fuel,"
Precisely the point I've made to my Tory MP as one of a few radical ideas that make more administrative, motoring and environmental sense than the farrago of confusing, ill conceived and poorly targeted so-called environmental guff we're facing currently. One byproduct of switching VED income into fuel tax: less disincentive to renew VED and therefore more cars registered and traceable. If it were a genuine "zero-sum" reorganization -- restructuring but with no overall increase in government income -- then people might understand and accept it, and perhaps even welcome it.
There are 30 million motorists with votes . . .
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I think it's possibly the last hurrah for decent cars
Never!!! :-)
Pity the tax isn't all on the fuel then you wouldn't be penalised for simply owning them just on the use.
That's the best bit. Both my current sensible car (for driving all the time) and my current silly car (for driving occasionally) are old enough to be on last century's fixed rate road tax system. But I'm looking forward to the incongruous day when I've changed them for newer models and I get to pay a quarter of the tax for the one I use to generate more CO2. What would life be without its little quirks and curiosities?
There's some nice looking sub-20mpg Maseratis that could do with being on the edge of a precipitous price drop.
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Funnily enough I was looking at Lexus GS - either 300 or 430
A year ago such a model might be £15,000 - today £10,000 and even Lexii dealers inviting offers below the advertised prices.
That would not have happened 12 months ago, they would have held out for the full price - they are now discounting a lower price - so what is the price for a low mileage 4 yr old GS300 with say 50K on the clock?.
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Hush you lot! You'll let the cat out of the bag ;>)
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Before you rush to buy...from today's DT...
RBS issues global stock and credit crash alert
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Last Updated: 11:44pm BST 17/06/2008
The Royal Bank of Scotland has advised clients to brace for a full-fledged crash in global stock and credit markets over the next three months as inflation paralyses the major central banks.
"A very nasty period is soon to be upon us - be prepared," said Bob Janjuah, the bank's credit strategist.
A report by the bank's research team warns that the S&P 500 index of Wall Street equities is likely to fall by more than 300 points to around 1050 by September as "all the chickens come home to roost" from the excesses of the global boom, with contagion spreading across Europe and emerging markets.
Such a slide on world bourses would amount to one of the worst bear markets over the last century.
..........................
tinyurl.com/5qckkp
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Three examples of "cheap" cars from my friend who is a buyer (when allowed to as they are rammed with cars) for a Mercedes main dealer:
1) ML430, 2001, 73K miles full history: £3000 - bid from trader he laid it off to.
2) Saab 9-3, 1 owner, 72K miles, 2003, FSSH: £2000
3) Bid given for an early ML55 AMG - not sure of all the details, but if there was a problem, there would not have been a bid - £3400
But the conundrum for me is that he sees the current shape Range Rover losing £750-£1000 a month in the short term and being worth 6K trade in 18 months....and I want one as previous thread stated.
His argument re all the cars bar the Saab ("price due to overall scheme of things - collateral damage"), is "who am I going to sell them to"?
Edited by Whitney Paine on 19/06/2008 at 21:45
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For someone who does less than 8k miles, these are fantastic times!
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Trade-in offer from Motorpoint on our 2002 FSH Saab 95 estate Linea model, 130k, average condition, was £1400. Thought that was a bit low so looked at Glasses guide on Vauxhall site - £2000. Glad we didn't buy it new at list price....
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"Trade-in offer from Motorpoint on our 2002 FSH Saab 95 estate Linea model, 130k, average condition, was £1400. Thought that was a bit low so looked at Glasses guide on Vauxhall site - £2000. Glad we didn't buy it new at list price...."
That's precisely why I'll be keeping our pair of "gas guzzlers" (2.0T Vectra and a 2.3 Galaxy) instead of buying newer, more fuel efficient cars in the near future.
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