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Very pleased for you - and it's well worth knowing, thanks
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I know I may sound like a Hyundai dealer, but have a look at the Getz. Fantastic amount of room, superb warranty and comfortable.
Otherwise go Japanese for Micra, Jazz, Yaris or new Colt - said to be very good. Anything else and you're asking for trouble.
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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I agree with you Espada III, the Getz is perhaps the best overall package on sale today when you consider the deal you get and the actual quality of the product, it should be one of the best selling cars but to many people judge a book by its cover.
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Well in our area, the cover is interesting. There are loads of 04 Getz's around. I can see no reason to spend over £10,000 on a supermini, when you can get a Getz with decent spec for under £8,000.
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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Good result. Wish I had known it was this easy when my aged mother bought her 'problem Polo' in 2002. Loads of hassle and breakdowns, brush-off from VW 'Customer Services' (oxymoron, if ever there was one). Unfortunately she buckled too easily and p/ex'd it for another new Polo - thus giving the VW dealer chance to make even more money out of her. Thankfully the new one seems to reliable (so far...).
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Thanks for those replies guys, I'm going to do a contract hire for a couple of years, I'm currently torn between a Hyundai Coupe SE [£199 xvat pcm] and a Saab 9-3 Linear Sport 1.9 TDI [£219] either of which should be interesting after the 1.2 Polo
Aprilia, I saw a post of yours on one of the recent 'reliability' threads where you said that European manufacturers recent reliability woes are caused by sourcing dodgy electronics from E Europe, as opposed to the Far Eastern manufacturers who have a long history of manufacturing these items cheaply and reliably, and I have to say I think that is spot on.
One consolation for me is that my car must have cost VW a few quid, £800 worth of parts and 24 days in the workshop.
CF
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One consolation for me is that my car must have cost VW a few quid, £800 worth of parts and 24 days in the workshop. CF
Sadly I don't think that will hit VW too hard - they'll just hike the labour rates a bit more to cover their losses....
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>Sadly I don't think that will hit VW too hard
And frankly, if you ever want another VW, then you should regret their having 'wasted' their money. Not that I'm saying that fixing your problems is a waste of money so far as you're concerned, mind!
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And there are still people out there who buy year old cars from dealers because " they've already had a big depreciation hit and there really can't be much, if anything, wrong with them."
My question: who gets rid of a 1 to 2 year old car that's good? OK, there will be some with changed circumstances - but the majority?
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>Your question
People who like to drive a brand new car. Every year. Just because. I think it's a hangover from early days. But if you've done 30k in your year, then I can see why you might wish to swap - if you like a new car.
It's honestly no different, DE, to your buying a new car every 2 years 11 months to make sure you're always under warranty. Perhaps you now understand why I don't understand what you do!
My parents' plumber buys himself a brand new Mercedes van every year as he reckons he cannot afford (I'm not surprised at his rates) to have it off the road. Ever.
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Mapmaker, I nearly take your point but not quite. I do around 12,000 - 15,000 miles pa and at 3 years I need new tyres, an MOT and run the risk of repair hassles. IMHO a car is to use as and when you want and not having to restrain your use owing to its condition -if I ran an old heap I'd think twice about long journeys, make sure the mobile was charged, take food and blankets, tools and leave 2 hours before strictly necessary.
All the above is hassle that I can do without. I get far too much in my life anyway what with work, family - who'd have one of those? - I just want to get in my car and go. (and preferably get back!).
For me the manufacturers warranty is the key thing - (they even changed my brake light bulb last month). If you've got the benefit of the warranty I don't see much point in getting rid of a car if it's any good.
My new car due in first week of September - 2 years 10 months.
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Forgot this bit.
I might be coming around to your view on old heaps just a teensy weensy little bit. Now that I've got a barn that can hold say 8 cars I really fancy the idea of a elderly Citroen Traction Avant (I think that's its name)on the lines of the Saturday Telegraph article.
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Mapmaker, I nearly take your point but not quite. I do around 12,000 - 15,000 miles pa and at 3 years I need new tyres, an MOT and run the risk of repair hassles. IMHO a car is to use as and when you want and not having to restrain your use owing to its condition -if I ran an old heap I'd think twice about long journeys, make sure the mobile was charged, take food and blankets, tools and leave 2 hours before strictly necessary.
It amuses me how some BR's go on and on about build quality etc. of their chosen car and then seem to think that it will fall apart at 3 years old!
Tyres, MoT etc. actually cost relatively very little and with a bit of foresight can be scheduled into a routine service. The trick is to buy the right car in the first place. As we have witnessed so many times in the BR, it is easy to buy an unreliable new car (as our thread-starter has demonstrated, and my old mum, come to that) - warranty repairs may be free, but that is not much consolation when you need to make repeated trips to the dealer.
I had to chuckle at one post a couple of days back where someone stated that he needed a reliable car and was going to buy a new Renault! For goodness sake, get a five-year old Honda or Toyota instead and save yourself a packet into the bargain.
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It amuses me how some BR's go on and on about build quality etc. of their chosen car and then seem to think that it will fall apart at 3 years old! Tyres, MoT etc. actually cost relatively very little and with a bit of foresight can be scheduled into a routine service. The trick is to buy the right car in the first place. As we have witnessed so many times in the BR, it is easy to buy an unreliable new car (as our thread-starter has demonstrated, and my old mum, come to that) - warranty repairs may be free, but that is not much consolation when you need to make repeated trips to the dealer. I had to chuckle at one post a couple of days back where someone stated that he needed a reliable car and was going to buy a new Renault! For goodness sake, get a five-year old Honda or Toyota instead and save yourself a packet into the bargain.
Tell me you guys who "save a packet", what exactly do you do with this money you have saved?
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Tell me you guys who "save a packet", what exactly do you do with this money you have saved?
Work a lot less, take more holidays and spend more time with the kids. I used to own a new Merc. and a nearly new BMW 7-series and worked a 50+ hour week, for 46 weeks of the year.
I now own a not so new Merc, and two 5-year old Nissans (one for the wife - both very reliable) and I work about 25-30 weeks a year, no more than 35 hours a week, take a min 2x2-week foreign holidays a year. I think its called 'downshifting'. I've had the prestige cars and got the tee-shirt. I've worked pretty much all my life in the car business one way or another, but I have to say that new cars, especially new prestige cars, are largely a waste of money.
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Work a lot less, take more holidays and spend more time with the kids. I used to own a new Merc. and a nearly new BMW 7-series and worked a 50+ hour week, for 46 weeks of the year. I now own a not so new Merc, and two 5-year old Nissans (one for the wife - both very reliable) and I work about 25-30 weeks a year, no more than 35 hours a week, take a min 2x2-week foreign holidays a year. I think its called 'downshifting'. I've had the prestige cars and got the tee-shirt. I've worked pretty much all my life in the car business one way or another, but I have to say that new cars, especially new prestige cars, are largely a waste of money.
Yep! My lifestyle too. In 2 years at 53 I stop this work thing completely. But I still like and can afford a new car. Waste of money? Well, do I spend it or leave it for ungrateful kids and the government to share it between themselves?
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>Tell me you guys who "save a packet", what exactly do you do with this money you have saved?
Pay off my punishingly high mortgage. Buy annual tube ticket. Buy nice furniture & pictures. Eat it. Drink fine claret. Wine & dine pretty girls. Keep a pack of hounds.
Or a new car.
Not much choice in my book! I just don't see why you put up with a 2 year old car when you could run a new one! Or is it because you're trying to save money........ :)
Just because you can afford something doesn't mean you have to have it - if you do, you'll end up with no dosh. It's just not something I choose to spend my money on.
I *really* don't understand your point about leaving 2 hours earlier in case of breaking down. If you're that paranoid about breaking down, then you'd better not drive anywhere. Just to pick on some nearly new cars that have been reported in the BR to have failed completely over the last few months:
Aprilia's Merc. ND's Alfa. Sundry Polos (see above*). Several premium cars in airport carparks.
As for older cars that have failed, the main thing that goes seems to be the cam belt. Which is down to poor/stingy servicing, and is not the fault of the car! The other problem is head gaskets, but that seems to be a problem for LRs & 7-series BMWs (doubtless somebody will point out where I have gone wrong). Otherwise, most problems are servicing parts - exhaust; belts; suspension; steering. Or intermittent electronic starting problems. I've probably done 100k miles in various vehicles that are over 10, 15 & 20 years old over the last 5 years. Now this is tempting fate, so you can expect an entertaining story from me on Tuesday morning, but total failures: broken fan belt on first trip in newly acquired car (servicing fault - my fault, not the car's). It still got me to London (heart in mouth, headlights dimming!). And I'm ashamed to admit to a car that wouldn't start without lots of cranking & some easy start courtesy of the AA on a filthy, filthy wet morning as it needed new plugs (servicing fault - my fault, not the car's).
A very important lesson I've learned. But there's nothing to stop you from running an older car & continuing to pay for it to be serviced properly.
All of which is not to deprive you of the privilege of buying what NW memorably called 'CarNuSmell'!
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* relevance to this thread
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i have never understood why the banger-brigade go on at the brand-new-brigade and vice-versa.
chicken and egg.
thank god there are people who buy brand new.
thank god there are people who buy bangers.
thank god there are people who buy in-between.
otherwise we would all be no-wheels or no-dosh or in-between.
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otherwise we would all be no-wheels or no-dosh or in-between.
Interesting image you present...... ;o)
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