But isn't that one of the advantages. It helps to separate the snobs from the people you will like..

Yes, you're spot-on.  But I don't do the parental schmoozing thing.  I'm happy for the kids to get on with who THEY want to get on with and not engineer friendships for lifts etc.  I try and be civil to everyone and not pick and choose who I say "morning" to.  Perhaps I'm out of touch...

 

This place is rammed with Aston Martins, Range Rovers, Porches, RS4s, M3s (new and old ones), Maseratis, Bentleys the lot. The badge snobbery is probably in this order:

 

Bentley

Aston Martin

Maserati

Range Rover

Jaguar

BMW/Audi

and so on.

 

You should see people's faces when I turn up in a Citigo one day (S model at that) and an M3 the next :-)

 

Respect.

 

Even my own mother-in-law hangs her head in shame so as not to be recognised when in the passenger seat of our 6 month old Skoda but boasts at every opportunity about our garden (forgetting to mention all the weeds and brambles) and our slightly newer car because of its prestige badge.  To me they're just different cars for different jobs!  People just like to pidgeon-hole you so that they can see if they're doing better than you.

Even my own mother-in-law hangs her head in shame so as not to be recognised when in the passenger seat of our 6 month old Skoda but boasts at every opportunity about our garden (forgetting to mention all the weeds and brambles) and our slightly newer car because of its prestige badge.  To me they're just different cars for different jobs!  People just like to pidgeon-hole you so that they can see if they're doing better than you.

 

Material goods aren't always a sign a wealth, and even if you can afford something more expensive doesn't really mean you have to buy it. I put my order in for my Octavia because it was better value for money than the competition, not because I couldn't afford the other cars but because why waste money on an Audi / Jag when the Octavia ticks all the boxes for a lot less?

 

I think some people just live in this bizarre fantasy land where they just waste money because they care what others think of them.

Shermo, couldn't agree more. Spot on.

All this talk of beemers, no intention of buying one but you can get a 320d m sport for about 26k from drive the deal, not that more expensive than a well specced vrs really.

I keep mentioning this (sorry), but if you keep your eyes peeled, you can pick up a bargain. My 350CDI AMG Sport thingummy was teeny deposit and £350 a month The current 3 series has been spotted undergoing it's facelift tests, so the current car may be discounted even further in the near future. The 335D X-Drive (a very quick car) is currently discounted by almost £10K by some brokers!

 

I do like the 330D though. The Xdrive version doesn't seem to get as good a write up as the RWD version sadly :(

Tim, I work for Partridge and from what i have heard it has moved on leaps and bounds since the Scotthall days in tearms of customer service (especially from the service dept). Drop me a PM with your contact details if you like and give us a chance to impress you. Weather you are looking to buy or not lets get one of the cars out on the road and compare notes

JH 

..If you can get anywhere near the £10k discount for a new 335d touring X-Drive mentioned by Lady Elanore above in this thread - call me!

This place is rammed with Aston Martins, Range Rovers, Porches, RS4s, M3s (new and old ones), Maseratis, Bentleys the lot. The badge snobbery is probably in this order:

 

Bentley

Aston Martin

Maserati

Range Rover

Jaguar

BMW/Audi

and so on.

 

You should see people's faces when I turn up in a Citigo one day (S model at that) and an M3 the next :-)

 

Ah, that's inverted snobbery - isn't it?

Edited 2 April, 201412 yr by Timoctav

I don't have a problem with either in my vRS.

 

The point I was making is that not all the latest auto's/DSGs are better than manuals, the VAG DSG with a diesel is significantly worse on fuel and minutely slower on acceleration and has much higher CO2.

I don't have a problem with either in my vRS.

Go drive one of the latest BMW diesel automatics, the difference is chalk and cheese, DSG just doesn't suit diesel characteristics very well  but brilliant with petrol engines

Ah, that's inverted snobbery - isn't it?

 

No, it's exploiting the "does not compute" bug in people with classic snobbery :-)

 

I love driving BMW's because of how they perform and handle (in the right conditions...) but probably the best value car I've ever owned was a second hand 2003 Fabia 1.2 Silverline which I kept for nearly 8 years. It only lost £3900 in depreciation in that time. Bargain.

I think some people just live in this bizarre fantasy land where they just waste money because they care what others think of them.

 

Spot on there - even applies to people who don't have much money to start with, let alone those who do and want to flash it becasue of what others might thnk of them.

..If you can get anywhere near the £10k discount for a new 335d touring X-Drive mentioned by Lady Elanore above in this thread - call me!

 

 

Drivethedeal were showing nearly 10K off, but they have stopped showing any BMW models all of a sudden (again!). I assume they get in bother with BMW or more likely get their preferred BMW dealers in trouble with head office, as they have done this vanishing act before :( . Broadspeed are showing £8K off. Buyacar are showing £8.7K on the Proff media version of the M Sport  I'm sure there will be others out there with similar or even better offers

Spot on there - even applies to people who don't have much money to start with, let alone those who do and want to flash it becasue of what others might thnk of them.

 

I find that too, my friends who earn the least tend to be swapping cars all the time just so they have something flashy and new... I just do a ton of research, find the best car for my needs at the time and what I will need going forward and then I'm sorted for a good long while, had my Peugeot 107 for 8 years since I graduated, certainly had my £4000 out of it (bought for £5500, PX it for £1500). Hoping this Octavia should give me at least 8 - 10 years of good quality driving, by which point I hopefully can get an electric car with a real range so I can drive to Scotland etc with it.

 

Strangely my friend who earns the most (about 2 - 3x what I do) is driving around in an old banged up Ford Focus, he could easily afford some mental sports car but doesn't give a crap about what people think of him or his car. Although I keep prodding him to buy something new soon because I don't want to get a call when it dies!

I have a very nice MB and an equally nice (older and slightly tired) Suzuki GV. I am not ashamed to be seen in either and find I don't get any different reaction if I turn up in either vehicle. My best friend drives her Mini, her husbands BMW (company car) and her sons battered Corsa, again, nobody cares. My best male friend has the choice of  Bentley Continental Speed, a Disco or one of several Tranny vans. He usually turns up in the van.

 

I think if you look hard enough at something, you see what you want to see.

 

But honestly guys, there are plenty of people out there who buy cars because they like them and want them, not because of image. I know some people do buy on the 'image' but there are probably an awful lot more who buy slightly pricier cars because of some other reason. I bought my MB as it was a deal of a lifetime and the car is rather quick Did I get a slight buzz out of buying a MB? Yes, I can't deny that when I was growing up, that I thought I would never own one, but that's part of buying anything pricey. I got a similar buzz when I bought my first Carbon fibre bicycle, my first posh Italian purse and my house. Even though the purse could be said to be a vanity object, it was beautifully made and felt sublime ot the touch, so I got more from it than just producing it in my local Burger King in order to 'impress' some teenager working behind the counter.

 

BMWs are very nice cars and at least to me, a better drivers car on average, compared to a Skoda. Value for money? perhaps not as good, but there aging why don't we all drive Dacias?

 

Do Dacia owners have a forum where they go on about Skoda owners wasting money on their prestige cars?

 

Not trying to start a flaming war, but I think that wanting a BMW is a natural thing for a car lover.

Edited 2 April, 201412 yr by Lady Elanore

@ Lady Elanore - excellent reply. If you are a car enthusiast, enjoy fast driving and cars are a passion then maybe Skodas won't float your boat. Believe it or not there are enthusiasts out there who drive Ferraris, Porsches, Aston Martins etc not out of snobbery but because they can afford these cars and they get pleasure from owning them. Of course there are also the Hyacinth Buckets out there who would buy a pretige marque as a status symbol.

 

A good BMW be it a 335d, or an M Car as an example is better than any Skoda knows how to be as an enthusiasts car - but you pay for that privilege. In pure black and white they don't represent good value against an Octavia  but you can't put a price on emotion. If you can afford a good BMW (I exclude the 1 series with the exception of the M135i from that) then what's the problem?

a good BMW (I exclude the 1 series with the exception of the M135i from that)

 

Oi!  I resent that remark!  My 120d M Sport is perfectly... acceptable.  To be honest, lack of choice (company car) meant is was either that or an Audi A3.  I will have had a good 2 years out of it when it goes back in October, and it's an accomplished motorway cruiser (>70mpg) as well as awesome fun on B roads.  I did take an M135i out for a test drive a month or so ago as I was considering one, but too thirsty and quite frankly not as special as I was hoping it would be.  So have plumped for an Octavia estate instead - practical for the kids, cheap (well, it was until I was done with the options list), and almost as quick as the 120d.

 

Having had a potted car history, I'd say the BMW is pretty good for quality, not so much for value.  You (obviously) get a lot more for your buck with Skoda, but the interior isn't quite as nice, although to be fair it really isn't far off.  Really looking forward to (eventually) getting my hands on my Octavia...

@WiggoSidsburns : Whilst the 1 Series is far from a bad car (I had the previous generation 123d myself) it isn't as outstanding as the 3 series in its class and the point I'm trying to make is it would be harder to make case for paying more money for one than you would the latest 3 series.

Edited 2 April, 201412 yr by Timoctav

BMWs are very nice cars and at least to me, a better drivers car on average, compared to a Skoda. Value for money? perhaps not as good, but there aging why don't we all drive Dacias?

 

Do Dacia owners have a forum where they go on about Skoda owners wasting money on their prestige cars?

Tried to interest my wife in a Dacia but she wouldn't entertain it. Snob!  I really wanted to torment her Mum.  I actually think the with its high clearance the Sandero Stepway on winter tyres would be very good despite being FWD. (And YES - I'm occasionally on that forum too).

 

Anyway we effectively got our Fabia free with the DTD saving on the Audi, and even the kids aren't embarassed - except in the Fun (just trying to live the Baywatch dream)...

it isn't as outstanding as the 3 series in its class

 

I'm evidently missing something, as I'm not convinced that the 3 series is outstanding in its class.  It's almost identical to the 1 series inside, doesn't have that much more rear legroom than the 1 series, and the boot isn't exactly massive either.  Yes, it looks nice, and drives nice, but I'm not convinced it's better vs. rivals than the 1 series is vs. rivals in that respect (if you see what I mean).

 

And if you want a decent one with a decent amount of kit, they're not half expensive.  The main advantage I see of getting a 320d (for example) over the Octavia vRS is you don't have to wait 6-7 months for the BMW 

For me it isn't just FWD versus RWD, I know which I prefer and which I think is the more practical. It's more to do with the depth of the engineering. When I bought my 123D in 2007, it came with regenerative braking and an electric blind that covered the radiator to improve warm-up etc, it also had an excellent stop-start system. None of these things where shouted about at the time, other than BMW said the car had efficient dynamics and then gave you some links to read more. I suspect more BMW drivers would read up on this technical stuff than say Ford owners.

 

Anyhoo, not only was this 7 years ago, but the car also had a built in sim car allowing WEB searching to be done through the cars SatNav screen, Google in a little car like the 1 series 7 years ago! pretty good. It also meant I could go on Google maps and send a destination directly to my car over the airwaves (now sure which phone provider they used). Oh, plus twin turbos and the first small production all aluminium diesel engine. Now things are more common now and if you buy a top end Qashqai the amount of kit you get is astonishing. If you were to spec all that kit onto a BMW it would raises the price of the car £10-15K or perhaps even more. But when you read between the lines you see things like the Qashqai's lane departure warning is a pain and most owners turn it off,  and so on. The depth of my little cars engineering was superb and never left me thinking it was a half hearted effort to add spec, as well as being a hoot to drive and of course RWD

 

OK you can argue SKODA's have a lot of tech inherited from the VAG group in general, but there will always be differences that can only be accessed through more money. My A4 had what I call proper Quattro and also had the Sports Diff, a crucial item if you want to help your car handle better. I'm sure a Haldex 4x4 VAG car could be as grippy and probably more efficient, but if you want that little bit more (fun) you have to pay for it. As it turned out the Diff went......er ............'poorly' and the replacement was fitted under warranty. The cost would have been just overt £7,000 if the car had been out of warranty! It was a £500 extra when I ordered the car.

 

No, for me, if I can afford the car I want, I will get it and it has nothing to do with image (my MB looks like a drug dealers car ) When I retire I will probably buy a basic shopping trolley and be happy with that too

Yet another post which I entirely agree with Lady Elanore.... As you say the depth of engineering, the thoroughness of development , the painstaking attention to detail is what separates the good from the great. That's what I love and respect with my 997.

Edited 2 April, 201412 yr by Timoctav

I'm taking delivery of a 320d M-sport manual touring tomorrow while I wait for my VRS Tdi with DSG box. It's a long story but the car coming tomorrow is 3 months old and will be interesting to compare back to back when I eventually get the VRS.

Having just got rid of the latest 520d with auto I can confirm it is by far and away the best auto box around, I've driven Merc's , Audi's et al and the BMW 8 speed is incredibly smooth. I've got it in the 116d hire car at the moment and even in that it's good.

I'm looking forward to seeing how the DSG compares but I'm expecting compromise. The Octavia wins hands down on value and space which is why I opted for it, have a growing young family. I still find it bizarre that the boot is bigger than an A6 and 5 series estate and yet it's a smaller car, clever Skoda.

In dynamic terms I know the BMW will be better, pre 5 series I had the previous model 320d M-sport which was fantastic to drive so I guess the latest one is even better, time will tell.

Yet another post which I entirely agree with Lady Elanore.... As you say the depth of engineering, the thoroughness of development , the painstaking attention to detail is what separates the good from the great. That's what I love and respect with my 997.

One day I hope to be able to get a 911. I don't care which model, as long as I can drive it regularly. Although one of the 4S would be nice

I dont know I think most petrolheads are a little image concious about what they drive.

I really like Skodas and am on my third new one in less than three years but with possibly the exception of the Fabia vRS which I saw as a budget Polo GTI and was for the wife primarily; the other two have pretty much been head over heart purchases. Simple logic that they are essentially nigh on as good as their VAG stable-mates but way more accommodating and cheaper to buy.

Would love a 330d xDrive Touring, a 335d particularly so but as lovely as they are I just could not bring myself (and not sure my back balance could either) to spend 40-odd K on one even on a PCP. Money aside though I know what id rather have on my driveway....think youve really got to be quite the Skoda diehard to think any other way, or perhaps dislike BMW's for some reason or not be as into cars as you perhaps think you are. Whilst a 316d or 318d M Sport might be a dream repmobile and ultimately a bit dull a 330 or 335d is actually a very nice sports saloon/estate and in my book highly desirable.

Edited 2 April, 201412 yr by pipsyp

One day I hope to be able to get a 911. I don't care which model, as long as I can drive it regularly. Although one of the 4S would be nice

Wealth warning : once bitten by the 911 bug there is no escape! An almost impossible act to replace. I have frequently tried and always failed!