new cars: how do you choose yours?

[Ray Scully]

Maserati won't say anymore.

Ray

[Dark Knight]

Maserati won't say anymore.

Ray

choosing does not mean wandering about looking for unlocked cars Ray

[Quizzical Bob]

Maserati won't say anymore.

Ray

choosing does not mean wandering about looking for unlocked cars Ray

Every year I go to the Southampton boat show and choose a boat. I never buy one.

[Silver_Shiney]

[quote="Dark Knight"}
Every year I go to the Southampton boat show and choose a boat. I never buy one.

So now we know who the police are looking for...

[Capt Black]

I noticed yesterday that Aston Martin are now doing 0% finance on the V8 Vantage.

[Silver_Shiney]

If they did that for a classic DB5, I'd be very interested. Still couldn't afford it though

[david63]

I noticed yesterday that Aston Martin are now doing 0% finance on the V8 Vantage.

If it was -% it is still out of my league - unless the Lottery numbers come up tonight.

[Romig1]

I pick what will suit my needs, with work the overwhelming consideration - being a company car. I went for a 4 wheel drive option with the current car after having problems getting to (and out of) work in the snow in the past. This also gives the opportunity to fetch others into work who otherwise might not make it. Four seats are therefore a minimum -though the rear ones get only occasional use, so I did have a 2-door coupe last time.

Lots of "bells and whistles" and "boy's toys" aren't of much importance - though my current car has plenty, along with huge wheels (=very expensive tyres). I bought it at a very good discount with it being a showroom car; the colour (black) certainly wouldn't have been my choice - but the deal was too good to ignore. Got a bit of a shock when I took it into Charlie Brown's to have a tyre replaced.... where the spare wheel should have been there was wheel-sized super-woofer(?) speaker. Shame I'm not one of those idiots who drive around with their stereos blasting...it would be ideal, I guess.

As I do so few miles (only about 10,000pa) and the current economy, I'll probably keep this one well over 4 years, though I'll be adding winter tyres this year - despite being a 4w drive, there will be better grip and safety with them.

[emjay45]

One of the best cars I have had was a Rover 75. I was really sorry to part with it but as it was on almost 70000 miles I decided I needed a newer model. What a pity they went out of production as I would have had another without any hesitation. I loved the retro look.

I loved that car! My son worked for Jaguar/Landrover then and brought one home for a test drive and gave me a spin in it. It was the retro look I loved too

I've had my car for 4 years now it's a Renault Megane cabriolet in silver (colour is important to me). I've only done 4000 miles because it's never been off the island. I love it so I'll probably keep it until it falls apart.
My husband always had a company car until he retired. He recently bought a Hyundai and so far has been really pleased with it. We managed to get the three of us and 14 suitcases in it for our cruise in Jan.

We had a Fiat 500 in the 60's it was tiny in those days and you had to double de-clutch. The new one looks rather nice.

[Admiral of the Humber]

My boss says..."you are getting a........."

I have a choice over the colour....I can have black...or black.


Mrs AOTH is looking at new cars at the moment.......her main criteria? .......something that will be cheap to insure for Miss AOTH who is 17 in December.

Regards
Rob aka AOTH

[Silver_Shiney]

when I was buying my moped, the dealership had a car that could be driven solo by 16-year olds!

[prefdavid]

We recently replaced the OH's car (a Honda Civic) which we'd had for about 5 years with a shiny new Fiesta, top of the range and with the 1.0 Ecoboost engine.

We'd looked at just about every car in this "small family car" category and whilst we'd shortlisted the Peugeot 208, Renault Clio and Toyota Yaris, the Fiesta was just that bit better on so many counts, that it was ultimately a very easy choice.

As we were also able to get nearly £4k off list price via a friend's leasing company it worked out to be a great deal too.

[towny44]

Just starting to look at options for my next new car and found a couple of links from the Parkers review page to vaious on line agents offering savings of up to £4/5000 on a £20/25000 new car and wondered if anyone has ever used this method to buy their new car?
Link to one such :- https://www.uk-car-discount.co.uk/how-it-works

[Dark Knight]

Towny, what are you thinking of getting?

I have just organsied the first of 4 different test drive
first up a Skoda Superb estate for a week
Next up a C class Merc estate
Then a Mazda SUV
and finaly a Volvo S60 estate
all have a great spec with loads of toys and as it is a company car, the only thing to take into consideration is the tax
I remember when a test drive was a 10 minute run round the block, not a full week

[Dark Knight]

Towny
sounds like any number of discount brokers for cars and like many of the car supermarkets, which appear in car mags and online
as with all of these, do your homework and be careful before you part with your cash but many are genuine and could save you money
Drive the deal, seems to be popular

[Boris+]

We were happy with sticking with the same make, until we decided that what we had was just a bit too big. So we were sort of forced to change make, and now in answer to your question - in our case we go along to the local Audi dealer and they order what we want.

Em

[Silver_Shiney]

Since I started driving, I've had

Ford Corsair
Ford Corsair
Ford Cortina
Mini
Reliant Supervan
Suzuki SC-100
Talbot Alpine
Vauxhall Chevette
BL Allegro
Lada
Proton
Vauxhall Corsa
Hyundai Getz

In terms of build quality, equipment levels and value for money, none of the earlier vehicles have touched the Getz, so we'll be heading back to the Hyundai dealership when it's time to change.

[towny44]

Towny, what are you thinking of getting?

I have just organsied the first of 4 different test drive
first up a Skoda Superb estate for a week
Next up a C class Merc estate
Then a Mazda SUV
and finaly a Volvo S60 estate
all have a great spec with loads of toys and as it is a company car, the only thing to take into consideration is the tax
I remember when a test drive was a 10 minute run round the block, not a full week

Mine will have to be paid for out of my pension, which is why I was interested in these on-line suppliers. My current car is a Golf plus which ticks most of the boxes for me except for the boot size, but the new replacement due out soon does have a bigger boot, so I am waiting for it to hit the showroom before I start looking in earnest.
The others, all 5 seat mini MPV's, on my viewing list in order of preference are, Citroen C4 Picasso, Ford C max, Peugot 2008, Renault Captur, Megane Scenic.
Viewed on line, in brochures and some in showrooms so far, next step once Golf Plus replacement is out will be to test drive the favourites, but I doubt I will get a weeks loan, more likely the 10 mins round the block.

[Susan Watt]

When hubby test drives new cars the first stop is at home to make sure it will fit in garage O.K.

[Frank Manning]

When hubby test drives new cars the first stop is at home to make sure it will fit in garage O.K.

That is my second test. The first is how big is the footwell, and how much leg room has the driver got because I am 6' 3-4" and have size 13 feet!

First car sit up and beg Ford Popular 726 HBH. It smoked more than Stephenson's 'Rocket'.

Best car Mercedes B180, ideal for me in every way.

[Delboy]

I am thinking of replacing mine in the next few weeks, but it will certainly not be a new one, especially as now only have an Annual mileage of between 4/5,000 miles.

Cannot not make up my mind of whether to go for the same model, or to downsize.

May be doing it at the right time, as my daughters Mondeo has just been classed a write off, following an accident, she could then have my present car.

At the moment she is not a happy bunny, it has taken her Insurance company 3 weeks to come to this decision, the garage originally giving her the impression it would not be classed a write off. During this time she has been driving a loan car, from the garage who would have been doing the repairs, as arranged through the Insurance company.

Now the Insurance company have declared the car a right off, the garage have demand the loan car back this Friday, they say it's under their agreement, even although at this time she has no idea of the write off value, or when it will be paid.

She has been onto her Insurance company and asked them to hire her a car and charge to the other drivers Insurance company, until everything is finalized, especially as the other driver has admitted liability in writing. Her Insurance company are saying not their problem, will have to take it up with the other drivers Insurance company, they in turn have said no, it's not up to them, it's up to her Insurance company to arrange a car.


In the meantime from Monday unless something is sorted, she will have no car for the half hour journey from Clacton to Harwich, to get to work or take her 3 children to their different Schools. bus timetable a waste of time.

[royalprincess]

After persuading OH that we didn't need two cars we started our research. Criteria small, economic and large enough to take two or three suitcases. Short listed five. Went to showrooms - salesmen ignored us. The only salesman who bothered to come out got our business. Picking up Skoda Citigo on Sunday. Its got all the bells and whistles on it as well - ex-demo. Well pleased.

[cornmillgirl]

I dont, Popeye does, I annoy him because I take no interest whatsoever unless its the choice of colour!!! which causes problems
because I always want whatever is brightest and he wants something boring like black.

When we had company cars a few years ago I had a Mercedes SLK with the electric roof and I got it in a lovely
bright blue (Lazulite I think it was). Popeye HATED it and said it was a hairdressers car and like riding round in a tumble drier.
I LOVED it.

We currently have an automatic Mercedes C Class Coupe in Black with all the gadgets including In Command Satnav, which I cant use.

Miles per gallon, tork whatever that is, power etc etc is of no interest whatsoever, I dont really drive much you see and Popeye
says if you saw my driving, you would understand why!!!

[kaymar]

Haven't been to a car showroom for 25 years

We have a 1996 Nissan Primera and a 2000 Mercedes E240, both of which were my company cars which we bought at a good price from the supplier at the end of the three-year rental period. They have each done approx. 60k miles and, with luck, will be good for another 60k. The Nissan has never left the Isle of Man and these days does about 2,000 miles a year. Together, I expect that they will be worth less than £5,000 so at least depreciation is not a problem. Cornmillgirl, one is black and the other is silver - boring

Who needs a new car? If we did, it would probably be an Audi - we had six in succession during the 80's and 90's, all second-hand, and they were all great. Looks, comfort and reliability are probably most important.

[Dark Knight]

who needs a new car?

Me, as my current lease deal expires in about 12 weeks, so I need to get on and spend my £30 grand sharpish