Tom watch out mate if Kelly caves in and lets you have the car you'll be forever in her debt. She will take every opportunity to remind you and you'll have absolutely no control over future handbags, shoes and dresses.

It's a trap - don't fall in!!

You got it

I think the thinking is that if I spend all my money on cars, thats money I'm not spending on a house

My feeling is, if I don't do it now, I won't be able to do it for many many years. Atleast the Beemer should prove to be durable. Won't be long before I won't be able to keep chopping and changing cars due to pending house purchase and the like.

And Loz, of course we are financially independant. Nice to involve a long term partner in important descions though, imho.

from what I gather your fairly young still so you might aswell go for it whilst you can.

If it was me I'd go for a slightly older 330 Sport, been looking myself and you can get them at a fairly good price now.

Hope it went well and your the new owner.

A guy near me was selling a nice M5 1995, and i'm thinking "why not" junt need to convince the bank manager (SWMBO ) that we need a 5th car. ROLF.

The good bits:

Well, the interior is AMAZING!!!! The cockpit feels sooo driver orientated, very nice materials throughout. The seats were absolutely stunning, the best I've ever sat in - the pictures don't do them justice. Lots of nice ambient lighting, climate, cruise etc...

The power is nice and smooth, felt strong and pulled well. Didn't have any horrible power spikes, just nice and refined. Hence it didn't feel fast, but certainly as good as the Fabia vRS...

Awesome planted, very neutral handling, nice solid feel, smooth ride yet still sporty. Faultless imho!

The car looked the part, nice alloys, nice presence, classy yet not brash. I liked it alot.

So yes, a silver 320D SE in silver with sport seats is the car for me. I want one, lots.

The bad bits:

When I called in advance, I spent quite a bit of time on the phone. I was offered £6250 in part ex, even though I told them there was a small dent on the tailgate. I was totally honest in my description.

I was also told the car was one private owner from new, always serviced on the button, "immaculate condition, one of the best we've seen". I asked about a cd player, and was told there was cd changer preparation, so for £100 I could slot a changer straight in. Lovely. They said they could do it for £9500, so £3,250 to change.

When I got there, I was shocked. The back seats of the car were pretty scruffy, stickers on the door cards, lots of scuffs, the nets on the back of the seats were hanging off. The passenger wing mirror was gaffer taped on, and there was a dent in the front wing. No cd prep in the boot at all, and it was a lease car.

After a drive, we sat down to sign the paperwork, and I was given a run down of £5000 part ex, no movement on the screen price of £9,999 and a whopping 12.9% APR. :eek: So £1250 more to pay, for a car that wasn't as described.

After feeling very angry, explaining what I had been offered, he only budged to £5500 on the part ex, and that was it. So £118 a month for 4 years.

And the warranty - does it cover air con, no. Clutch, no. Turbo? Think again.

The car looked like it had come straight from the auction, I was totally ****ed off, and have now PROMISED Kelly I won't be looking at anything else. I AM going to get an ST170 interior for mine, and spend £500 on the bodywork sorting the dent, colour coding the bumper rubbing strips and tailgate handle, and putting a little spoiler on it.

Overall, pretty miffed. I know I would like one though, a very nice car indeed.

Tom, you amaze me!!

If I hadn't read your trials and tribulations on here I wouldn't have believed it.

@ this thread & Kelly's responses :D

Tom, you amaze me!!

If I hadn't read your trials and tribulations on here I wouldn't have believed it.

I'm still fuming.

Stebbings of Kings Lynn were rated 2nd best car supermarket in the UK by WhatCar in 2006... :eek: They can Foxtrot Oscar

I've decided its not worth the stress. The Focus has warranty, MOT and tax till October, great tyres and the like, so I can save til then and avoid comedy finance at least. That means I may just sell mine private and not have to worry about finance.

Its a good job in a way that it was the only one with sport seats in my budget within 100 miles, otherwise I'd still be looking!

Tom, I don't know if I have missed something here beacause there are so many posts about what you might or might not do but for my 'two penneth' worth, save up and get what you REALLY want!.

Tom, I don't know if I have missed something here beacause there are so many posts about what you might or might not do but for my 'two penneth' worth, save up and get what you REALLY want!.

Yep, will do just that mate.

Sounds like a classic rouse to get you in the door, many people would have still signed even after having their pants pulled down over the price.

Tom, FFS go and order a petrol Mk2 Octy vRS you know it makes sense!

You're young like me, so enjoy a nice motor before you have to worry about a mortgage and such. Enjoy these things whilst you can.

Sounds like a classic rouse to get you in the door, many people would have still signed even after having their pants pulled down over the price.

Yep, absolutely disgraceful. TBH if the prices had of stayed the same, I would probably have signed despite the damage to the mirror and the stone chips.

I had plenty of similar experiences when buying my Fabia, I travelled all over the place and I would say only 1 in 5 adverts were accurate. One car was described as an elegance, 35k miles and everything working, turned up it was a comfort, 80k miles and the aircon wasn't working, neither was the PAS, paint was a different colour . . . . bit of a minefield the used car market. :(

Still think A.G. Morley's Fabia is your best bet for a reasonable outlay.

:sofahide:

Yep, will do just that mate.

That'll be the M3 then?

Chris

That'll be the M3 then?

Chris

Nah. I'm happy with the performance of the Focus, and thus I know I'd be happy with the 320d. However, i think I'd end up saving for the 330d.

I did get a voicemail left by the sales guy at Stebbings saying to give him a bell about an error with the part ex price! Did give them a bell this morning, but he's not in today.

Nice choice, believe it's a different engine to mine, but getting on well with the BMW 2.0 diesel, very very smooth and very quiet.

I like the way the '3 handles, although I've only driven the newest shape M-sport, but it's most fun on a wet roundabout

Nice choice, believe it's a different engine to mine, but getting on well with the BMW 2.0 diesel, very very smooth and very quiet.

I like the way the '3 handles, although I've only driven the newest shape M-sport, but it's most fun on a wet roundabout

Yep. The 320d is only 150bhp, your 120d is 160bhp.

0-60 of 320d is 8.6s, the 120d is 7.6.

Flat out in the 320d is 134mph, the 120d 137mph.

The 320d is 150kgs heavier, but only 10Nm less torques...

I bet the M-Sport adds a new level to the handling, but tbh with the roads around here, the SE was just spot on. Comfy yet still very nimble and sporty feeling indeed!

UPDATE

The dealer has called, and offered much more on the part ex , apologised for the bad deal, blaming poor communication between colleagues too. There is a promise of a perfect repair to the front wing, a replacement mirror housing and a service. They will give it a FULL proper valet, engine bay, spare wheel well, the works, and if they can't get all the scuffs off the back of the seats etc they will either reduce the price or replace trim. Looking through the lease company print out, its had 4 tyres and an exhaust in the last couple of months, and it has been serviced on the button. There will be a 3 month warranty, and I will get an aftermarket warranty elsewhere to top it up.

I've been offered finance elsewhere. I still think the car is a grand under book, and my trade in is now more realisitic, especially when considering the dent in the boot.

Getting closer to doing the deal, although I've refused to commit until seeing it after its been prepared. Saying that, I may but a £50 deposit on it tomorrow incase anyone else beats me to it! I feel like they are working a bit harder for the deal now, and I'm feeling like I might just end up with a 320d after all!

Watch this space!

Are you absolutely sure now Tom?.

Are you absolutely sure now Tom?.

I used to be indecisive, but now I'm not so sure! :P

Classic Partridge Tom, classic Partridge

Steve

Looks nice, Tom, but what you really want is the 330d in Sport trim ;

:rofl:

Chris

335d is nicer

335d is nicer

Very true! And if Tom can find one in his budget, I'll be buying it

Chris

Be prepared to be branded a t.o.s.s.e.r