Be Excellent To Each Other

You serious mate...? I'm the last man on Earth who would criticise anyone for making a bold, amusing car purchase over the usual mind numbing, soul destroying defaults that people seem to insist on - but fuck me.

I dare you to do it mate lol.

I had always heard that you "weren't allowed" to do that sort of thing to Rollers. Presumably that was some sort of urban myth - how the hell are Rolls Royce going to stop you painting it yellow?

DO IT.

I hate buying news cars, so many friggin choices & i have no idea what to buy & how much I want to spend.

The fastest one. All the money. HTH HAND

I'm actually looking for the one that is most economical so it has to be a diesel & does at least 50 MPG.

Some cars I am thinking about are
Honda Civic 2.2 CTDI
Nissan Qashqai either the 1.5 DCI or the 2.0
Other 4x4 types like Toyota Rav4.

I like my Jap cars so won't be comfortable buying anything else unless it is a Honda, Toyota or Nissan.
I do like the Honda Civic's but just think that maybe I am too old (40+) for that type of car.

Budget wise I am looking to spend around 5K for an 05 plate or above but I want the mileage to be below 50K
If I go for a QashQai then I will use the 5K for deposit & get the rest on finance.

Get the Honda Civic. They're really nice to drive. As for too old...wtf? Too old for a diesel powered Honda hatchback? I don't think there's any such thing as too old for that.

If you fancy a qashqai, the 1.6 diesel that replaced the 2.0 is far better, though you are into much newer cars.

Have you considered an Octavia? Not Japanese, but they do great in surveys. I was happy with the two I had (160k in 6 years between them).

Honda or Toyota IMO (a SUV like Rav 4 won't do anything like 50mpg real world though, so Civic prob best bet if you can live with the looks. Make sure you get the newish Honda diesel engine and not the old one, which was as rough as a bear's arse. Quash quai is an absolute horror to drive - heavy, wallowy, rolling - feels 20 years old dynamically avoid at all costs

I heard they used to buy up any old knackered ones to 'keep up appearances'.

I really like the look of the Honda Civic with it's triangle exhaust & red start button. I think I would enjoy it because it just looks like a fun car to drive. I was just stupidly concerned about the image thing of a 40+ year old driving a Honda Civic.

But fuck it !! I'm going to go for a Honda Civic.

In terms of the diesel engines you mention, what year id they use the new engines from?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Civi ... generation)

Looking on Auto Trader a less than 50K model on an 05/06 plate is around £4.5 to 6K - which will do on my price bracket.
I'm also really want to get it in metallic blue

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

I was happy with the 56 plate Civic 2.2 diesel sport that I had.

Look out for signs of clutch and flywheel issues on this age.

I'm going to pop round to a local Honda garage next weekend hopefully to see what they have but I will keep an eye out on AutoTrader & local auctions this week.

I'd probably avoid the auctions if I were you. I've bought a cheap car there and it worked out fine but I think I'd be a bit uneasy about spending £5-6k without a test drive and with no real comeback.

Ok good point !!
Auctions are out & I think also private sales are out.

Will look at buying from a garage just to be safe.

I just bought a civic! It's great I love it. I bought it from my mum though so I got it for a ridiculously good price. It's an 08, has done 40000 miles and has leather interior with heated seats. Potential buyer for my corsa is coming tonight, I hate selling cars. I'm no good at negotiating.

There is one arriving at a local garage soon 1.4 petrol model with very low mileage only 27K


[..getting old & still playing video games..]

http://www.gospvg.com

They must have stopped just before saville got his, if so.

TOTALLY mate. Who gives a toss what other people think about what you drive - or indeed anything at all? I look a berk in my car for sure, but _I_don't_care_.

Civic's a great car IMO, properly good choice.



According to Evo the "new" diesel appeared in Oct 2003 (further back than I'd thought lol), so on that basis you should be fine with an 06 plater mate.

Thanks I like the 2.2 diesel because it comes in at 140 bhp. There is a 1.4 petrol model at a local garage with very low mileage 27K that I will be taking for a test drive later this week when it arrives. Only downside with the 1.4 petrol is 80 bhp.


[..getting old & still playing video games..]

http://www.gospvg.com

On the other hand though, the car will be a lot less nose heavy because it's such a lighter engine - and a more adroit handler as a result. Sure you might hanker for a bit more poke and certainly more torque, but this car will be much cheaper than a diesel (and potentially with less hassle as well, as there's much less to go wrong). Do you really need a diesel, i.e. are you doing at least 13-15k miles/annum? If not, petrol probably fine anyway.

I'd give it a test drive, negotiate a hard bargain with plenty of discount, but I bet you'll think this is nippy enough in the real world mate, as long as you don't do loads of motorway miles.

If that 27k mile figure is deffo genuine and provable (e.g. on MoT certs etc.) then you're laughing, it's virtually a new car in that case.

I think the 1.4 might be a little bit miserable feeling and possibly not that great for cruising motorways. I've driven the 1.8 petrol and that's fine, though. Noticeably down on power from the diesel but a lovely engine. They go for significantly less money than the 2.2 diesels do as well, or you can spend the same and get one with all the toys.

It's got a FSH from the local Honda dealer but will check the paperwork.
Will see how the test drive goes before I negotiate.

I do hardly any motorway driving so the petrol would probably be fine for me.
30 mile round journey to work & home is mainly on single track roads with 50mph limit.

I'm coming from driving a 2.0 MPV for 9 years which I have now passed over to the wife. That was nice for motorway driving but in 9 years I have only driven 50K. The toys is interesting because the 1.8 models I have been looking at do offer a lot more features.

Will test drive the 1.4 first to see what it is like to drive.

I spent ages looking at these before walking onto a forecourt one day and leaving with a BMW instead. I think you want either an ES or an EX, the lowest trim level is the SE and it's pretty basic.

LOL it is a difficult decision I have had my tank (Toyota Picnic) for 9 years now & that was a forced decision on me because I needed an MPV with 7 seats. Now that the wife is driving that I now have free choice to go & spend 5K cash or 5K deposit on buying a car. I have no idea what I want to buy but I do like the design of the Honda Civic with its triangle sharp edges. I do want to buy something with less than 40K on the clock because I will be keeping for a long time, I hate changing cars around.

The only concern about the Honda Civic is the view out of the rear window but I thought it's only fair I test out a Civic first to decide if I like it or not.

If I do then it's an easy decision if I don't then I have a few options to either buy a smaller golf size car possibly Toyota Auris or go for a large 4x4 type vehicle like Rav4/QashQai (If I go for one of these I will be buying a 7 seater model).

I'm in no rush to buy anything although I really do hate driving the micra & the sooner I can get something else the better.

Personally I reckon the 1.4 petrol will be fine for these needs mate. Sure, more power and torque are always welcome, but IMO this will be plenty fine enough for low speed, short rural runs like this. (In fact, 30 miles/day never going over 50mph could lead to diesel DPF issues long term and there's no way you'll ever recoup the cost premium of having to buy a diesel engined car for such a low annual mileage. Petrol all the way mate)

Dealt with the stress of having to show my car to a potential buyer last night by going out for dinner and cocktails.
Got another person coming tonight, all the way from Dundee (2.5hrs away). I really hope they buy it. I have two bottles of wine chilling in the fridge regardless of what happens.

That's pretty much my strategy for everything. I think it was Napoleon who quipped "in defeat you need Champagne. In victory, you deserve it" or some such. Awesome and v true

Get a Twizzy

Or if you don't want to be laughed at quite so much, a Leaf.
The first generation ones are available for about £12k on an 11 plate - still under warranty.
If you have a fossil fuel family car as well that will do you for longer journeys then one of these makes a lot of sense for a commute that it can managed on a single charge.

Quite. The Peugeot Ion / Citroen C1 are also available for around about the 10k mark for the same age, but to be fair the Leaf is a much nicer car.

Yep, it's a proper practical family sized car.
One of the regulars on Briskoda.net has run one for a while and loves it. He's just traded up to a mk2.

Electric cars hmmm not for me yet.
Maybe I'll get to test drive one through my workplace soon.

A motto to live my life by!
The buyer broke down on the way here so didn't make it

So, I am thinking of upgrading my Ford ka to something a bit sportier; although I doubt I will do it, I am seriously tempted by this

That's a radical upgrade !!

DO IT

(Seems like a lot of good car for the money - the market out here isn't so good, cars and the cost of living are actually a bit pricey....)

Indeed! Girl after my own heart Gilly.
A large sign saying "Drink Champagne and dance on the table" looms large in my dining room Life's too short to have any other mindset?



Bummer
Sorry to hear that, selling a car is a pain but I'm sure you'll get a buyer over the next few days (and you can have a glass or two of bubbly to celebrate! )

Oh my word, how many times can you use the



Sir Taxalot speaketh the truth mate, do it.
£15k and you have the finest handling and driving car this side of £200k. If you even remotely like driving, your soul will leap for joy behind the wheel of one of these. It's an utter, utter motoring masterpiece; a simply fabulous, exquisite machine.

The only thing I would say is:

(a) Insist on FPSH. ANY sign of engine health issues, walk away - there are plenty more to choose from.

(b) Any sign of a misfire could indicate coil pack issue - £100 parts, £2000 labour to fix as engine has to come out

(c) Carefully inspect brakes for pitting/salt corrosion. Despite what the mags say Cayman/Boxster brakes are a bit shit (though they have lovely feedback/feel thru pedal), but if the car doesn't stop on a sixpence with a good stamp of foot, walk (or knock £2k off the price for new discs/pads)

(d) Notchy gearchange could be duff clutch (these are weak and fail between 30-50k, £900 to replace at Porsche garage), or could indicate gearbox issues (££££). Again there are plenty to choose from, walk.

May have just put in a lowball offer on this

Meh!

Love it mate! Is it an Oldsmobile Cutlass?
I *adore* these huge Yank 60s/early 70s cars.

Is that the same car that played "Christine" in the seminal classic, "The Car" ?

Christine's a '58 Plymouth Fury mate, I'd give my right arm for one of those.
Coolest car EVER.

Fury's are impossible to get hold of. They just don't exist any more.

That's a '71 Pontiac Grand Prix.

Nah, very difficult but not impossible, if pockets are deep enough. Check this out for example:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1959-PLY ... 620wt_1165

Ah, I meant in this country. There's a few around you can import, but yeah they're pricey.

Don't think I've ever seen one of those in real life. Would be most excellent in that Christine Red.

There's a big old black Chevy Impala round this way, it's a cool looking car for sure.

If after all this Craster ends up just buying a fucking Ford Focus or something he should be perma-banned.