Car Options - Advice/Input Welcome

[squarepeg]

If you're buying a new MX-5, you're going to be past 25k for one that you'd really want. Plenty of good second hand stuff out there that won't drop over 10 grand in the first two years that you own it. Each to their own though.

Not buying anything, just leasing for a couple of years as a daily driver. I have a few days free between contracts so I'm using that opportunity to do as many test drives as I can. So far drove a Focus ST, a Fiesta, Citroen Cactus, Mazda MX-5, Volkswagen GTI... as you can see I'm hardly into annoying permies, just looking for something that will get me to the client site and back. Cactus is tulip. The others are OK.

[quackhandle]

Not a great fan of Audis however apparently COTY for 2016 (A4 3.0 TDI)

qh

[greenlake]

Isn't a bend the Achilles heel of all American cars until shown otherwise.

Indian cars too....

[eek]

Not a great fan of Audis however apparently COTY for 2016 (A4 3.0 TDI)

qh

Given that the 2l diesel can do 198bhp the 3.0 isn't dong anything to get to 218bhp no wonder they call it refined

[Wilmslow]

Not buying anything, just leasing for a couple of years as a daily driver. I have a few days free between contracts so I'm using that opportunity to do as many test drives as I can. So far drove a Focus ST, a Fiesta, Citroen Cactus, Mazda MX-5, Volkswagen GTI... as you can see I'm hardly into annoying permies, just looking for something that will get me to the client site and back. Cactus is tulip. The others are OK.

Cactus is a stage worse than the Captur - Had both as hired cars, they are designed for mum's and nannies cars.

There are some steals with Alfas just now - leases, PCP are rock bottom - the build quality is surprisingly good, and they drive sublimely well. My new Giulietta was just 16K - 6 speed TCT, pre-reg, and around 180 horses, 2.0 diesel. All Alfas come with adaptable handling for going faster, and kind of like a 4X4 all-weather safety mode. Cheaper than the diesel fiesta and a barrowfull of laughs.

EDIT: Mangoletsi are peddling a brand new diesel Distinctive trim with 15 delivery miles for just 13K.

[squarepeg]

Cactus is a stage worse than the Captur - Had both as hired cars, they are designed for mum's and nannies cars.

There are some steals with Alfas just now - leases, PCP are rock bottom - the build quality is surprisingly good, and they drive sublimely well. My new Giulietta was just 16K - 6 speed TCT, pre-reg, and around 180 horses, 2.0 diesel. All Alfas come with adaptable handling for going faster, and kind of like a 4X4 all-weather safety mode. Cheaper than the diesel fiesta and a barrowfull of laughs.

EDIT: Mangoletsi are peddling a brand new diesel Distinctive trim with 15 delivery miles for just 13K.

I can cross out VW (all VAG, really) after today's bizarre experience with their dealer. Had a test drive booked for today, but was not allowed anywhere near the car. Instead I had to do over an hour of financing exercises that consisted of the dealer not listening to me and picking his own options. He thought that auto air con is something I cannot afford but kept picking metallic paint instead. The Mazda guy keeps calling me and sending me deals sweeter than independent leasing companies.

[scooterscot]

This is exactly what i thought and have done for the last 8 years.

That's just not living a full life.

[northernladuk]

That's just not living a full life.

Didn't say it was only car. That was my workhorse while I was doing big mileage

[scooterscot]

Didn't say it was only car. That was my workhorse while I was doing big mileage

Oh well I take it back. That makes sense. Don't commute myself, and we do keep a nice car, once it hooks you you're caught.

[squarepeg]

If you are leasing it's usually cheaper to have metalic as non-metalic paint cars depreciate more, upping the lease cost. You will never get a decent quote from a dealer, unless they are one of the few that are going for volume.

Leasing is strange, so right now VW Tiguans are very cheap, but you need to take an in stock vehicle, and one with the 150 bhp diesel. Looking at the on-line reviews, they all hated this engine as not having enough poke, so that may be the reason.

My approach to leasing is to get a general requirement, i.e. four wheel drive, 7 seats. Then search for the cheapest deals around the brands that you would be ok with. Then lease that. I tend to go for a 24 month contract so if I hate the car I know I won't have to live with it for 10 years. I've leased VW's / Skoda's and Volvo's. It's been a very cheap way to run a new car.

That's pretty much what I'm doing. Only looking at cars in stock, 20K annual mileage, 24-month contract, and a pre-set deposit and monthly payment. That filters out a lot of noise. I went in ready to be seduced and had a second (higher) set of limits for the deposit and the monthly payment in case they are nice to me and can do a decent deal for a Golf GTI or Golf R, but the guy just wasn't interested in taking my money. What he did tell me though was how much I'd pay for maintenance and "extras". Those would be the extra bobbins I'd have to pay for if the car they had for immediate delivery was not the spec I wanted. Considering the fact that he didn't listed and picked his own options, I'm sure I'd pay way over what I was prepared to spend. You'd think that VAG would want to fight for customers after getting slapped with some pretty hefty fines, but they just don't give a tulip.

I agree that a 15-min drive is not enough, but the Mazda guy let me drive the car for 1.5hrs and offered to bring a 2.0-litre and an Abarth 124 models to compare.