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[YZ250]

Not to mention that it's actually wwd with an intermittent rear axle, even though the engine mounting is deceptive. And let's not forget the engine was clearly designed by three people in different rooms. Not that it will split across the front of the rear seat cross member if you're unlucky enough to have a serious prang in it.

I knew I could count on your support for my suggestion.   

[Doctor Gollum]

Not to mention that it's actually wwd with an intermittent rear axle, even though the engine mounting is deceptive. And let's not forget the engine was clearly designed by three people in different rooms. Not that it will split across the front of the rear seat cross member if you're unlucky enough to have a serious prang in it.

I knew I could count on your support for my suggestion.   

You're welcome

[Doctor Gollum]

People forget that there are decent cars out there that aren't almost new.

You may as well set a budget and choose how long you're going to keep the car for (ideally). Say £6k over 2 years.

Set out your criteria and buy something for about £4k that ticks the boxes.

The rules are pretty simple...if the mpg or drivetrain aren't available within the budget, you can't buy it. And if you find a car that ticks the boxes, buy it and then decide that you simply can't stand the way you have to refill the screen wash,. that's fine, but you have to include it in the cost of the next car if it falls within the two years. The whole budget can be used but keeping some back for contingencies isn't a bad idea. But this shouldn't include wear/tear or maintenance costs.

£4k will put you into most anything you can think of.

[TheBoy]

Say £6k over 2 years.

Blimey! I'm clearly not as rich as you .  Not much more than that I think would put me in a new iPace.  Though the range of said item would piss me off.  Could I live with the range when factored against if it breaks a man in a posh garage picks it up, fixes it, and drops it off?


Possibly not.

[Doctor Gollum]

Search Autotrader with £4k as a max price and it will get you into pretty much anything you can think of.

That' number/time frame is a suggestion, obviously keeping the car longer keeps the perceived cost down, and the idea is to pay cash.

Sure you can lease something for £250 a month but you'll throw away the (x thousand £) deposit every time you change car. And if you don't buy an unreliable poorly designed POS, you're unlikely to require the warranty, which is about the only reason to buy/lease a new car.

Let's say your current car is paid for but you spend £80 a week/£345 a month on fuel.

Let's say you find something that uses half the fuel, £172.50 a month, and it costs you £250 a month to lease/buy what have you actually gained?

The answer is obviously nothing.

[TheBoy]

Sure you can lease something for £250 a month but you'll throw away the (x thousand £) deposit every time you change car. And if you don't buy an unreliable poorly designed POS, you're unlikely to require the warranty, which is about the only reason to buy/lease a new car.

The schemes I was (half heartedly) considering have no deposit/initial payment.  That would fast become expensive!

The biggest benefit is not having to worry about fixing the bloody thing

[zirk]

RWD
Auto

Last time I bought a RWD it was only 600cc and and had some cylinders missing, did have Merc written on the tiny engine though. 

On a more serious note, I wouldnt rule out a Lexus model, I ended up by accident driving about in a  run around iS200 for over a year,  and have to admit it did change my views on them, OK, So there's the Name involved, but they are basically a well designed Toyota with all the useful bits added on,  and have bloody good reliability, no experience of the Diesel versions though.

[Doctor Gollum]

Sure you can lease something for £250 a month but you'll throw away the (x thousand £) deposit every time you change car. And if you don't buy an unreliable poorly designed POS, you're unlikely to require the warranty, which is about the only reason to buy/lease a new car.

The schemes I was (half heartedly) considering have no deposit/initial payment.  That would fast become expensive!

The biggest benefit is not having to worry about fixing the bloody thing

Choosing more carefully would solve that issue especially when the mechanical shortcomings are well documented.

But a no lump sum scheme would be so restrictive in mileage caps that they are almost unusable. And you'll be stuck with getting it maintained at a main dealer (right to repair notwithstanding, the contractual stipulation will dictate where it's serviced).

[TheBoy]

RWD
Auto

Last time I bought a RWD it was only 600cc and and had some cylinders missing, did have Merc written on the tiny engine though. 

On a more serious note, I wouldnt rule out a Lexus model, I ended up by accident driving about in a  run around iS200 for over a year,  and have to admit it did change my views on them, OK, So there's the Name involved, but they are basically a well designed Toyota with all the useful bits added on,  and have bloody good reliability, no experience of the Diesel versions though.

I very nearly bought an iS200 several years ago.  I like the look of them, and some of them are pretty rapid, and the handling is not to shabby.  But I found them far too narrow inside, my passenger (the owner) was having to lean against the door so I wasn't doing man-touch every time I chagned gear.

[TheBoy]

But a no lump sum scheme would be so restrictive in mileage caps that they are almost unusable. And you'll be stuck with getting it maintained at a main dealer (right to repair notwithstanding, the contractual stipulation will dictate where it's serviced).

The schemes I'm looking at aren't particularly restrictive on miles - identical in fact to what I tell my insurance.  Also, the schemes are all inclusive, so I only have to fuel the buggers, and on some of them, insure them.

[Doctor Gollum]

But a no lump sum scheme would be so restrictive in mileage caps that they are almost unusable. And you'll be stuck with getting it maintained at a main dealer (right to repair notwithstanding, the contractual stipulation will dictate where it's serviced).

The schemes I'm looking at aren't particularly restrictive on miles - identical in fact to what I tell my insurance.  Also, the schemes are all inclusive, so I only have to fuel the buggers, and on some of them, insure them.

Fair enough, I guess then it boils down to whether you can live with whatever is on offer for those terms and do so for the length of the lease 

[TheBoy]

But a no lump sum scheme would be so restrictive in mileage caps that they are almost unusable. And you'll be stuck with getting it maintained at a main dealer (right to repair notwithstanding, the contractual stipulation will dictate where it's serviced).

The schemes I'm looking at aren't particularly restrictive on miles - identical in fact to what I tell my insurance.  Also, the schemes are all inclusive, so I only have to fuel the buggers, and on some of them, insure them.

Fair enough, I guess then it boils down to whether you can live with whatever is on offer for those terms and do so for the length of the lease 

They aren't bad deals, its just I'm not sure I can get my head around paying £2-3k a year (for the minimum I could tolerate), and not actually owning it.  Obviously a decent proportion of that would come from not paying for bits on mine - I've spent well over a grand on tyres this year for example.

Plus it seems the best deals I can get are on milk floats - because nobody wants them - and neither I or the country are ready for that sort of thing yet.

[Nick W]

RWD
Auto

Last time I bought a RWD it was only 600cc and and had some cylinders missing, did have Merc written on the tiny engine though. 

On a more serious note, I wouldn't rule out a Lexus model, I ended up by accident driving about in a  run around iS200 for over a year,  and have to admit it did change my views on them, OK, So there's the Name involved, but they are basically a well designed Toyota with all the useful bits added on,  and have bloody good reliability, no experience of the Diesel versions though.

I very nearly bought an iS200 several years ago.  I like the look of them, and some of them are pretty rapid, and the handling is not to shabby.  But I found them far too narrow inside, my passenger (the owner) was having to lean against the door so I wasn't doing man-touch every time I chagned gear.

Give it a few more months and you'll be old enough to appreciate the appeal of an LS430(460? 1564748? whatever they are now) Get one in gold with the age-appropriate diarrhea coloured interior for the full effect

[TheBoy]

RWD
Auto

Last time I bought a RWD it was only 600cc and and had some cylinders missing, did have Merc written on the tiny engine though. 

On a more serious note, I wouldn't rule out a Lexus model, I ended up by accident driving about in a  run around iS200 for over a year,  and have to admit it did change my views on them, OK, So there's the Name involved, but they are basically a well designed Toyota with all the useful bits added on,  and have bloody good reliability, no experience of the Diesel versions though.

I very nearly bought an iS200 several years ago.  I like the look of them, and some of them are pretty rapid, and the handling is not to shabby.  But I found them far too narrow inside, my passenger (the owner) was having to lean against the door so I wasn't doing man-touch every time I chagned gear.

Give it a few more months and you'll be old enough to appreciate the appeal of an LS430(460? 1564748? whatever they are now) Get one in gold with the age-appropriate diarrhea coloured interior for the full effect

Thats the trouble with the bigger Lexus - I looked at one (would it have been an LS400?) before I bought my last Omega, and have been scarred for life

The iS200 though, if it were for the cramped interior, I would have had one of those years ago

[Doctor Gollum]

Size wise the IS2/300 is basically a rwd Focus. The LS is a much larger proposition. And their interiors are significantly better than the '90s offerings.

I could never decide which S Class to go for when I started driving (and went with a MK2 Granada because that obviously made sense )... I still really like the W116, traditional old school Merc, but the W126 that followed offered more toys in a more modern body. Then again the W140 offered yet more toys and a significant improvement in drivetrains.

The W220 S280 that I got just before TCV was my first S Class and ticked most boxes.

I think the W221 S Class is probably the perfect generation. Although, if a rust free W116 popped up with knackered Bosch CIS, then it would make a good candidate for dropping the M113 V8 into but I digress

I don't think there's such a thing as the perfect car, but there are those that are the right car at that moment in time for a person's specific needs. Trouble is the Omega was almost too good for its own good and the only genuine alternatives are the 5 Series or E Class, but they're both different in what they offer.

If the XJ is by and large sorted for a couple of years, then you may as well hang onto it. New cars aren't anything like as durable as 200-2010 ones, and unfortunately for JLR, Ford was a strong advocate of the idea of using plastic for anything that could be heatsoaked and the newest stuff is unnecessarily tech heavy and not designed to last. There's a reason you can't get the latest software on an older iPhone and cars are no different.