The Car thread - The Bear and Badger

GooberTheHat

ZMM wrote:

GooberTheHat wrote:

My MiTo has needed a new heater fan and some suspension strut mounts in 3 years and 20,000 miles, and that's it.

My mazda has needed some new tyres and brake pads in the 5 years and 50,000 miles I've had it.

Yes well, Japanese vs Italian is no contest. We were comparing German with French, earlier, I don't think there's that much of a difference, you'd never pay as much in repair/maintenance costs than the difference in the price of a VW/Audi and its French/Italian equivalent. It's like the value of these big V6/V8 petrol SUVs vs the diesel one. Even after 3 years of fuel bills you'd still pay less overall for the petrol than the diesel.

Fair enough, but holding that up as if it's something to be happy with seemed odd to me.

ZMM

GooberTheHat wrote:

ZMM wrote:

GooberTheHat wrote:

My MiTo has needed a new heater fan and some suspension strut mounts in 3 years and 20,000 miles, and that's it.

My mazda has needed some new tyres and brake pads in the 5 years and 50,000 miles I've had it.

Yes well, Japanese vs Italian is no contest. We were comparing German with French, earlier, I don't think there's that much of a difference, you'd never pay as much in repair/maintenance costs than the difference in the price of a VW/Audi and its French/Italian equivalent. It's like the value of these big V6/V8 petrol SUVs vs the diesel one. Even after 3 years of fuel bills you'd still pay less overall for the petrol than the diesel.

Fair enough, but holding that up as if it's something to be happy with seemed odd to me.

I'm happy that I've got a timelessly stylish quirky little car that has charm and driving appeal, instead of a damn Ford Fiesta. Or worse, Skoda Fabia. I sat in one of those for 5 minutes and it was so aesthetically unappealing I wanted to kill myself. Being inside that cabin for 5 minutes was like spending 5 years in Slough. And I'd be paying more for an equivalent sporty Ford/Skoda/Seat/whatever. And the £300 or so that the heater fan and suspension mounts would not be more money than the amount of money I would have to pay to get that sporty Ford/Skoda/Seat.

Bob

Anyway to sum up
If your spending a grand go Japan

ZMM

Can't argue with that! (As long as it's not a Japanese diesel, not their speciality at all).

cockbeard

poprock wrote:

Now lads, let’s not turn this into the Next Gen thread. These manufacturer pissing contests make as little sense as the Xbox vs Playstation ones.

KazHirai wrote:

The next Alfa doesn't start until we say it does

Dinostar77

Is 99 Ron fuel really worth the extra money? Pretty sure I read something which said it wasn't (probably Which? magazine). After all it's all Brent crude oil that goes through macrodistilation (petrol, diesel, kerosene are separated) and additives are added at the refinery. I recall a discussion not on here that shell and tesco have their Ron 99 fuel come from the same refinery or something.

Unlikely

I've never bothered with it. Always struck me that any increases in performance/economy were likely to be imperceptible and in no way worth the additional cost.

Actually I may have put it in the S2000 once then punched myself in the face for being a moran.

afgavinstan

I like what I've started here.

Head being turned by the Octavia, Mazda 3 and Corolla. But I've doubts about the insurance of the latter two. I think me getting a 2 litre as a first car is just stupid.

Dinostar77

afgavinstan wrote:

I like what I've started here. Head being turned by the Octavia, Mazda 3 and Corolla. But I've doubts about the insurance of the latter two. I think me getting a 2 litre as a first car is just stupid.

Just depends on your insurance costs. You should be fine, my first car was a 2 litre

ZMM

Did you do Pass Plus? I swear that was the most sensible decision I've ever made, it still seems to have an effect on my premiums even now, compared to people at the same address and with more driving experience, being insured on cars with lower insurance groups! Also it will depend whether or not you're over 25, if that's still a thing.

I think on older engines the 99 ron fuel makes little to no difference, but I'm sure I read somewhere that newer engines it does, especially with turbos. I actually tested it myself with the trip computer and it does make a 3 to 4 mpg difference on my particular car, and the engine just revs a lot more freely with it. Whether or not those extra mpg represent a cost saving I don't care anymore because if the engine is running better it will last longer and that will pay dividends in the long run.

poprock

Premium brands of petrol (Shell, BP, etc) do come from the same refinery stock as cheaper brands (Tesco, Sainsbury’s, etc) but that’s not the whole story. Different brands all have their own different additives in the mix, and the premium brands really are worth paying the extra for. In the long run, they’ll keep your engine running better. That’s in the very long run though.

Different RON ratings certainly do make a difference, but again it depends whether you’re putting them into a car/engine combo that lets you appreciate the difference. In a performance car, the higher RON fuels really will gain you a few crucial extra revs. But how often are you pushing the car hard enough to notice? Really? For most people, higher RON fuel is just about additional MPG – slightly more efficient running. If you’re doing a lot of motorway miles, go for it. You’ll notice a small difference in economy.

Dinostar77

Why did we recommend cars from every major European country to livdiv other than blighty? A Ford fiesta or focus could do the trick for him, no?

LivDiv

Gav you mean?

Dinostar77

Yes, Afgav. My brain rarely works nowadays. Not enough sleep in a nightly basis.

GooberTheHat

Dinostar77 wrote:

Why did we recommend cars from every major European country to livdiv other than blighty? A Ford fiesta or focus could do the trick for him, no?

Because ford's are boring as fuck.

LivDiv

My pennies worth anyway.
From experience a grand is an awkward budget to get anything really decent.
You will likely sacrifice size, general quality and reliability or buy a dog.

I was in the same boat a few years back. Moved out of London and had lost all my no claims because I wasnt insured on anything for 3 years.

I lumped it with a 1litre Seat Arosa for about £800. Did about 15 months in that, did nothing but a suspension coil and a service. Sold it in an afternoon for £750.
Then upgraded to mu current BMW 116.

I know you have concerns on size but I am 6'2" and considerably more cuddly and I was fine with the Arosa. Certainly a Polo, Ibiza or Fiesta should be fine.
Thing with really modern cars and especially the Mini is the cabins are bloody small. Partly because of the design, partly because of a multitude of air bags and other chunky features.
It's worth sitting in some cars to really get a feel for them.

My honest advice.
Get a good, solid, low mileage, long MOT Polo or similar for a bit under a grand. Save money on the insurance, save money on it being less likely to go wrong.
In a years time, with some savings and a years no claims either flog it like I did or chop it in somewhere giving generous trade in bonuses or minimum values on trade ins.

GooberTheHat

Bob wrote:

Anyway to sum up
If your spending a grand go Japan

Bob

GooberTheHat wrote:

Bob wrote:

Anyway to sum up If your spending a grand go Japan

Yeah

afgavinstan

Hahaha, cheers Liv.

LivDiv

Of course you could combine my advice and a Jap car.
Trade that in after a year or two then get the car you really want.
Extra bonus, you will have a better idea of what you really want out of a car.

Armitage_Shankburn

Ah be so this is where zmm hangs out these days. Not the brexit thread, quelle surprise

LivDiv

Ah, leave him alone, it's not like he is telling everyone to buy Vauxhalls.

jdanielp

So the Tesla Model 3 is now available for UK reservation holders to order. The UK starting price appears to be £38,900 for the Standard Range Plus version, which is rather more than I was expecting, although it is not entirely clear if that is the cost before or after the £3500 Government grant has been applied. I have emailed to ask if the Standard Range version is available 'off the menu' in the UK, which would bring it down a bit, but I think I would be struggling to justify it even then.

Bob

I thought the Uk
Gov grant was over now?

jdanielp

Bob wrote:

I thought the Uk Gov grant was over now?

It is a lower amount and limited to more efficient vehicles. Up to £3500 for vehicles that have CO2 emissions of less than 50g/km and can travel at least 112km (70 miles) without any emissions at all.

As far as I can tell, the £38,900 for the Standard Range Plus Model 3 does include this discount.

MattyJ

Why is that expensive? Isn't it the equivalent of like a Mercedes C class or BMW 3 series? Aren't they about that much?

afgavinstan

jdanielp

MattyJ wrote:

Why is that expensive? Isn't it the equivalent of like a Mercedes C class or BMW 3 series? Aren't they about that much?

Possibly, but expense is relative. I had been hoping it would come in under £30,000 rather than under £40,000 but lots of factors have made that unrealistic, although Tesla have contributed to the increased pricing as muct as the UK economy...

Bob

Cos people are stupid

Why is a Ferrari more expensive ?

Brand

Bob

Why do people pay more for an Audi or Bentley or Porsche when it’s essentially the same car you can buy with a Skoda badge?

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