07-07-2014, 04:30 PM
Not being funny Tom but you just seem to buy dogs really. Looking at that list, they are all old cars that just haven't been looked after like they should.
Your expecting to buy a car and not have to work on it. Even brand new cars require work Tom. Anything mechanical WILL fail at some point. You can extend its life by looking after it but also rather than always working with reactive maintenance, why not also carry out preventive maintenance? So many people who service their cars them selves do the simple oil, filters etc but miss the fact that a service is also the time to give the car a bloody good going over and look for things that may need repair soon. Thats why if you look at the manufacturers service list for all cars, its huge. Most items you can see when they are getting a bit tired and can say "That drive shaft probably has 5k in it before it lets go, ill replace it next month"
If i was you, take a look at the cars on the road on a daily basis. Also, look at what company car drivers/typical lease company cars are at the moment. These will generally be relatively reliable and cheap to service and repair. DONT buy an ex lease car because although it might be cheap and its only 3 years old, you get pricks like me that drive them to their death every day.
Choose a car you like from this list of cars you've built up and ticks most of your boxes (not all because your just living in a dream world quite frankly with what you want) and go out and have a look at one. Spend a lot of time looking at it and don't feel like your wasting the sellers time. They want your money so aren't afraid to let you look around unless theres something wrong with it. Don't just walk around it going saying it looks tidy enough, open the bonnet and go yep its got an engine and then hand over the cash and drive away. Take it for a long drive on a variety of roads. If the seller won't let you do this, tell him your going to walk away.
If it makes your life easier (i know your not the best person for speaking to people
) write your self a list before hand of everything to check over (I'm sure we could write up a list for you) and tick it off as you go round the car checking. Don't be afraid to take your time and if in doubt instead of going "oh its convenient because its close and cheap", walk away and find the next one.
In your position, i wouldn't be worried about what colour it is or what interior it has. You can't be that picky. You need to find a car thats been cared for and will fill you with confidence when you drive it so look for the condition of the car. Silly things like the make of the tyres are a good indicator as to its previous life. If its a 3 year old car and its running on Linglongs, its clearly a lease bitch which hasn't had any care.
Finally, don't rely on it too much and don't expect it not to break down! I can't stress this enough. I spend so much time on the roads and the funny thing is, the cars i see broken down the most are your typical 1-5 year old cars owned/leased by middle management guys who expect it to just work because its brand new and that just isn't the case. Brand new parts will fail from time to time. Bearing in mind all of our cars at work are no more than 3 years old, the break down rate is quite high because although they are a new eco car, they get the very minimum care needed and when you expect as much as we do from the cars, its not going to last or, the new owner will buy it from an auction and break down 5 minutes down the road because something has finally given up!
Finally, don't buy an new Audi because its mostly them i see with the bonnet up at the side of the road lol
Sorry for the essay but i hope you will listen to just a bit of this. Im sure most will agree here that your looking for too much from a car but you can happily compromise if you just listen to everyone!
Your expecting to buy a car and not have to work on it. Even brand new cars require work Tom. Anything mechanical WILL fail at some point. You can extend its life by looking after it but also rather than always working with reactive maintenance, why not also carry out preventive maintenance? So many people who service their cars them selves do the simple oil, filters etc but miss the fact that a service is also the time to give the car a bloody good going over and look for things that may need repair soon. Thats why if you look at the manufacturers service list for all cars, its huge. Most items you can see when they are getting a bit tired and can say "That drive shaft probably has 5k in it before it lets go, ill replace it next month"
If i was you, take a look at the cars on the road on a daily basis. Also, look at what company car drivers/typical lease company cars are at the moment. These will generally be relatively reliable and cheap to service and repair. DONT buy an ex lease car because although it might be cheap and its only 3 years old, you get pricks like me that drive them to their death every day.
Choose a car you like from this list of cars you've built up and ticks most of your boxes (not all because your just living in a dream world quite frankly with what you want) and go out and have a look at one. Spend a lot of time looking at it and don't feel like your wasting the sellers time. They want your money so aren't afraid to let you look around unless theres something wrong with it. Don't just walk around it going saying it looks tidy enough, open the bonnet and go yep its got an engine and then hand over the cash and drive away. Take it for a long drive on a variety of roads. If the seller won't let you do this, tell him your going to walk away.
If it makes your life easier (i know your not the best person for speaking to people
) write your self a list before hand of everything to check over (I'm sure we could write up a list for you) and tick it off as you go round the car checking. Don't be afraid to take your time and if in doubt instead of going "oh its convenient because its close and cheap", walk away and find the next one.In your position, i wouldn't be worried about what colour it is or what interior it has. You can't be that picky. You need to find a car thats been cared for and will fill you with confidence when you drive it so look for the condition of the car. Silly things like the make of the tyres are a good indicator as to its previous life. If its a 3 year old car and its running on Linglongs, its clearly a lease bitch which hasn't had any care.
Finally, don't rely on it too much and don't expect it not to break down! I can't stress this enough. I spend so much time on the roads and the funny thing is, the cars i see broken down the most are your typical 1-5 year old cars owned/leased by middle management guys who expect it to just work because its brand new and that just isn't the case. Brand new parts will fail from time to time. Bearing in mind all of our cars at work are no more than 3 years old, the break down rate is quite high because although they are a new eco car, they get the very minimum care needed and when you expect as much as we do from the cars, its not going to last or, the new owner will buy it from an auction and break down 5 minutes down the road because something has finally given up!
Finally, don't buy an new Audi because its mostly them i see with the bonnet up at the side of the road lol
Sorry for the essay but i hope you will listen to just a bit of this. Im sure most will agree here that your looking for too much from a car but you can happily compromise if you just listen to everyone!
Team Eaton
1999 China Blue 306 GTi6 - Eaton Supercharged - 214.5bhp 181lbft
1999 China Blue 306 GTi6 - Eaton Supercharged - 214.5bhp 181lbft