i am thinking of changing as well, looking at a brand new fiesta st which i can get brand new on a 07 plate for £11,000, going for a test drive on Saturday.

How about spending say £3-4k on a Renault Clio Sport 172 - very low depreciation at these price levels.

Or what about a VW Golf Mk4 TDi 130 or TDI 150?

Or a 330i BMW these are going very cheap these days as most people opt for the 330d however this means they are much cheaper to buy 2nd hand and they are very quick.

Of course you could go for the fantastic S8 £5-6k or a S600 6ltr V12 for 3-5k which has double glazing windows, or Jag XJR 370hp for £3.5k

So many options please dont throw your money away to depreciation who cares if your car averages 20-25mpg when you only do 10k a year the saving on depreciation alone will keep you smiling + when you bury the right foot you will be smiling all the way home and want to go ut again after the evening meal.

I saw an old B reg M5 a few days ago which was std and driven with vigour 276hp std and very light in comparison to todays cars it looked very chic 6 seconds to 60 & 150+mph. Its a family car too.

Or if you really want to spend £11k on a car (depreciating asset) why not buy one of the slowest depreciating cars out there the Lotus Carlton thats just about in budget and 377bho with 180+mph vast boot and macho looks you cannot lose.

Oh yes in 6th gear at 70mph you are doing 1,100rpm.... so thats your economy if you want it.

So a brand new Fiesta ST (or whatever it is for £11k) or a Lotus Cartlon or a BMW M5 um... the choice is clearly already made.

Someone's been reading Pistonheads

I've been hankering after S8's and Supercharged Daimlers after reading that article.

Does get you thinking doesn't it? If only someone else was paying for the fuel

Steve

and the insurance!! :eek:

doesnt matter about the fuel & insurance as the total annual car cost:

Fuel+tax+depreciation+servicing+ins will be cheaper / the same as a little city run about.

I think my age and the fact I've not held a licence for very long goes against me on the insurance side, but I see your point and it's very interesting

Someone's been reading Pistonheads

I've been hankering after S8's and Supercharged Daimlers after reading that article.

I very much fancy the old E55 5.5 V8 AMG as an estate - 360bhp.

And for around the

Or if you really want to spend

I was in the same dilemma, however there are two prams, which fit in the boot of a Fabia, seats up. Quinny Buzz and Bugaboo chameleon, however they are pricey.

I went for the Bugaboo because you can sell them after 6 months use for approx

I sold my Fabia vRS

and bought a Felicia Fun pick up!

Modded it

Not much room for the little un though so sold that.

Pushchair wise we bought a Mothercare Atlan travel system, everything you need for £140 and it has been brilliant, folds up small and will last up to 3 yrs. Cant see the point in spending anymore on these poncy three wheeled efforts, but each to thier own I suppose.

£140 bargain included the pushchair, car seat, seat base (ISO fix kinda thing, uses the belt) a change bag and rain cover.

Evie likes the car seat

Priorities spot on there mate - we get a pic of little Evie instead of your latest vehicle . Quite right too, she's better looking than a Polo!

Oh, and you missed the Primera out too :P

Steve

We have a Graco travel system similar in all but name to Ross's which is great, but for when we need maximum boot space we also have a Quinny Zapp.. we bought it shortly before we went on our hols in Wales last year and it really takes up very little boot space.

It's not the best looking thing but it came with it's own bag and is very easy to push about... oh and we got it for a bargain price

Oh, and you missed the Primera out too :P

That was after the pick up

Just for you though

Sold my 185 BHP Furby VRs 2 weeks ago and miss it dearly. However, with a new ankle-biter inbound soon I went and bought a :

VW Touran 1.9 Tdi, 54 plate. Unfortunatley, it is extremely uncomfortable ( I have some issues with my back and legs so after less than 2 weeks, it's gotta go!

I'm after an Ovty VRS estate, so if anyone fancies a swap for a 'sensible car'.......

Can't believe it's going so soon.

' Regrets, I've had a few...........................' :singer:

i swapped my vrs for a rover 200! got a house so car had to go.

lol - do you know how much those cars cost to maintain?

If you want a performance bargain with reliability, you are far better off buying Audi, for instance and RS2. M5's are also a good buy, but neither are exactly economical on fuel.

Well the Carlton is going to be in the 15-25mpg range the M5 3.8ltr similar while the M5 V8 will probably be at best 20mpg.

Servicing well oil changes + filter will cost you no more than

Welshy, if only that was true, mate!

Sadly, they are pretty much a bespoke engine (plus bespoke lots of other bits!) and an unreliable one at that. Think more Lotus Esprit in terms of servicing costs ie. £1,000's a year. I know that as my local Lotus dealership sees a lot of them.

XJR - well a friend had £10,000 of warranty work done on his plus the brakes seized on him once, throwing the car into the ditch - a not uncommon problem, apparently. He went back to Aero Saabs and has been as happy as Larry ever since.

E34 M5 is a much more sensible bet as they don't go wrong and a lot cheaper to buy. Mate had a really tidy one, which cost him 6 grand.

Also, RS2's are good value and again, reliable motors.

Just depends what you want, really as although the above won't depreciate like a Fabia VRS, they are way more likely to shock you with a big bill at some point plus insurance and fuel bills are likely to be way higher.

I'd suggest that if you want a change from a Fabia VRS, you could do a lot worse than an Octavia VRS or a PD130 Octavia. Both of which I am currently considering as an alternative to the Focus!

A Mondeo ST TDCI for

...The only problem items I'd envisage are Lotus Carlton Clutches rare. Everything else is totally servicable & if you envisage the job is beyond your abilities do an evening course in Mechanical engineering this will allow you to perform all the basics of maintaining a car then anything else find a specialist.

not 100% true, some of the proper-bo lotus bushes are rarer than a very rare thing, and the lotus carlton destroys standard items :thumbdwn:

It does look a little long in the tooth now though. When the new car comes out soon it will look like a Cortina and will be two a penny. Don't get me wrong though, I've driven the ST tdci and it is very good but the look is average and the new cars look will make it even less. IMHO.

looking "average" will be a major upgrade from a Fabia though

looking "average" will be a major upgrade from a Fabia though

:fence3d: