Buying a car

Emp_Fab

2.0L petrol.  My last car was a 116d (not a convertible and with the 1.5L 3 cylinder engine).  I'm going off this a bit now....  the more I look at it, the more I think I would need to be wearing some bling and having Mr Boombastic blasting out of the stereo.

Electro_Ham

Emp_Fab said:

OK - I'm still looking....  but I've just seen this locally.  It's not very efficient at a real mpg of 37 average, and the tax is £200 a year but......  it looks lovely to me...

Perhaps an MX5 is the answer?

Emp_Fab

Mmmm.... I have considered them but they really are just two seats.  Now and again it might be nice to take a passenger.

What would everyone say is the best looking car they’ve seen? (Bonkers supercars excluded)!

ICBM

Emp_Fab said:

What would everyone say is the best looking car they’ve seen? (Bonkers supercars excluded)!

Best-looking modern car... some sort of big Tesla I saw the other day. Really very impressive - as was its acceleration.

I suspect out of your price range though.

FastEddie

A question on buying a car......

We're looking at either getting a loan or using the PCP payment method.
I'm not getting PCP as the condition and mileage may pinch us at the end. A loan is a lot more predictable.

If anyone here is in that space can they help shed some value.

Oh, the amount.....£20k BMW 3 or 4 series, 335d or 330d 4 wheel drive. 

iseverynamegone

You can get a PCP then pay the o/s amount immediately afterwards with a loan. This can work but mainly if you buying new - eg 

Skoda 280 L&K Superb List new £38k - best carwow price new assuming PCP (which attracted a £3.5k despot contribution from Skoda plus dealer discount ) £31k 

So buy car on PCP for £31k then get a £31K loan and pay the PCP off in the first week of ownership. No need to pay the £3.5k back to Skoda as you have bought a car from the dealer rather than Skoda UK (who have actually given the dealer the £3.5k) 

i dont like PCP as the interest really
mounts up as you are only paying down 50% of the principal. 

In the end I went one year old/4K miles for £25k on straight loan as I didnt rate the £6k depreciation for the first yr of ownership. (And unless you are set on a BMW or need 50mpg have a look at the 280bhp 4wd Superb as alternative to BMW 3/4 series - more room, cheaper, better equipped and faster - clearly more conservative looks)

 
I reckon I’ll be looking for a new a motor in 2 yrs and EMP still won’t have decided what to get by then

Modellista

Emp_Fab said:

OK - I'm still looking....  but I've just seen this locally.  It's not very efficient at a real mpg of 37 average, and the tax is £200 a year but......  it looks lovely to me...

If it was just personal transport I wanted, that sort of thing would be ideal. Drop tops hold their value as well. Look after it and it’ll look after you. 37mpg and 2.0 petrol? Yes please! 

Emp_Fab

Right - I've finally decided on what car I'm looking for.

It's the Volvo V40 D2.

Possibly in white...



..or.. 




*IF* I can get one with the two -tone interior......



At least it makes the searching easier - now that I know exactly which make and model I'm going for !

breakstuff

I was recently looking at getting a V40 too Emp, though in the R Design spec as I think they're much better looking than the standard models. 

Popped to the local Volvo dealer, and they'd had an S60 arrive that morning as a part exchange. Took it for a test drive and bought it on the spot. Lovely car and the dealer was great. If the V40s are anything like the S60s you not going to go wrong there.

Here's a pic of mine. 

https://imgur.com/a/f59wAZA

Nitefly

I'm thinking my next (and likely my last!) car will probably be a V40, such a good-looking car.

BigBearKris

Emp is buying a car...

So - you went from 'some kind of estate' through BMW convertible to end up with your mind set on Volvo? 

stickyfiddle

Am I the only one who sees a cross between a Ford Focus and a slug?  

p90fool

stickyfiddle said:

Am I the only one who sees a cross between a Ford Focus and a slug?  

No. 

EricTheWeary

Emp_Fab said:

Right - I've finally decided on what car I'm looking for.

It's the Volvo V40 D2.

Possibly in white...



..or.. 




*IF* I can get one with the two -tone interior......



At least it makes the searching easier - now that I know exactly which make and model I'm going for !

Good luck with that in your budget. 

You still see some beautiful condition Volvo C30s around, bit more sporty/ characterful looking and on budget. 

RaymondLin

Volvo V40 D2...

The only cheap ones, and by cheap, about £6k are ones with over 100k on the clock.  Whats your budget again?

octatonic

I've owned 3 Volvo's in my time (two C70s convertibles and one S80 sedan).
Never again.
Torque steering under acceleration was a real issue.

I prefer RWD anyway so BMW or Mercedes for me.

When we are back in the UK I'll probably just get a 3 series estate for lugging drums about.

Emp_Fab

RaymondLin said:

Volvo V40 D2...

The only cheap ones, and by cheap, about £6k are ones with over 100k on the clock.  Whats your budget again?

Having looked at loads, I’d agree, but there are several under 100K too.  However, these days, the sweet spot in terms of depreciation vs likely useful life without major work is between 100 and 130K.  If a modern car has FSH, it will very likely last a hell of a lot longer than the previously popular ‘100k and it’s scrap’ notion.

Either way, although I have the money, I’m not spending more than £6K on a car, and in order to get something with lower miles, I have to either start looking at much older cars (there are plenty that get used for short trips - which is disaster for an engine) or switch to a little noddy car.

I’m doing neither so a £6K V40 Diesel (yes) it is!

RaymondLin

Emp_Fab said:

RaymondLin said:

Volvo V40 D2...

The only cheap ones, and by cheap, about £6k are ones with over 100k on the clock.  Whats your budget again?

Having looked at loads, I’d agree, but there are several under 100K too.  However, these days, the sweet spot in terms of depreciation vs likely useful life without major work is between 100 and 130K.  If a modern car has FSH, it will very likely last a hell of a lot longer than the previously popular ‘100k and it’s scrap’ notion.

Either way, although I have the money, I’m not spending more than £6K on a car, and in order to get something with lower miles, I have to either start looking at much older cars (there are plenty that get used for short trips - which is disaster for an engine) or switch to a little noddy car.

I’m doing neither so a £6K V40 Diesel (yes) it is!

I agree that diesel (or petrol), if serviced properly can last much longer than 100k.  100k is just an arbitrary number really.  As long as you go in eyes wide open and knows that then it's fine. 

Make sure you do all the usual checks, i.e. seat wear (if its lots of motoway miles then the drive would have gone in and out less times meaning better for the engine for the miles).  Check passenger seats in comparison, if used for commuting then they should be like new as opposed to family vehicle.  

FastEddie

Emp_Fab said:

Right - I've finally decided on what car I'm looking for.

It's the Volvo V40 D2.

Possibly in white...



..or.. 




*IF* I can get one with the two -tone interior......



At least it makes the searching easier - now that I know exactly which make and model I'm going for !

We are just getting out of a 2016 XC60. Same cabin as your V40. They are awesome. 2nd best car I've ever had.
The D4 powerplant works really well. If you can get cruise control do it. I drive most places using two buttons on the steering wheel. Really nice.

The SE Nav Lux spec gets you everything. We didn't like the R as it was just a few badges. We went for the highest spec and didn't regret it. 

monofin

Recently bought a 64 plate v40 d2 r design . I absolutely love it.
There's loads of spec difference so shop around