Info On Which Car To Buy, Please.

carwow | The better way to buy a new car
The CarWow site is a good place to start . Put your Make model and variant in ( best to swot up on the different variants for your model first ) and the offers will flow in from the main dealers, showing the price for cash and the price with finance. You do not need to reply or talk to anyone until you are ready.
The new 17 plate has just started , so there may be some good pre registration deals going on a 66 plate.

 

That's what I said about the 66 Plate on my post @HarryS

 

Many thanks all. I am a slightly happier bunny as have sourced a good 2nd hand shock from specialist breakers and it is only costing me £50 delivered which I can easily live with. Fitting the garage reckoned was going to be about £80 so all in all A LOT better than I was expecting. Good old internet, I'd never have found what I wanted without it.
I like the wee Mini @Kandy, very smart, it's just a bit small for what I would want bootspace wise. Sure you'll have loads of fun in her.
My current car can actually carry a fair doze with the seats down even tho she isn't that big.
I think you might be right @Sandy Ground re keeping to the same brand. Daughter has a Impreza 330s which is seriously quick. Too quick for me to feel comfortable with altho it does have a granny mode button which I use when driving it and it's still QUICK. In sports mode I'd wrap it round a tree I reckon. Even Jeremy Clarkson had a big grin on his face when he drove one and uttered his famous "SPPEEED" comment.We've had Subarus for a long time now as most of the money goes into the engine and much less on smart interiors with lots of "toys".
That said I really am getting a bit passed having a car with a "nostril" I feel! My car is pretty hellish on fuel and the road fund tax is but at the same time she is such fun to bizz about in. I think once my car is fixed I will go and have a look at some less gutsy Subarus and see what they are like. Are you more or less likely to get a fair deal part xing with a garage that sells your make of car rather than not?
Certainly will have a look at Carwow @Harry many thanks hadn't thought of that. Did have a quick squint on Autotrader and virtually all the cars I looked at were being sold by garages not private individuals which surprised me? Photo is NOT of my car (exactly the same as mine but is left hand drive clean and no slight bumps on it) Also doesn't have it's bottom virtually on the ground as mine currently does!
I did have a look at trying to get a Defender 90 to use as a workhorse and then borrow daughter's if I needed something a bit more comfy/quicker for a long journey. Now they are no longer being manufactured their price has rocketed even for old ones and the long wheel based are too big for what I want.
I have actually been in a Nissan Qashqai @fat controller. It seemed a nice car so might try out one of those as a possibility.
Now I know I won't need to scrap my car I can take my time and try to get what I'll be happy with. We certainly are a family that tend to keep cars for a long time rather than change them regularly. My favourite car of all time was a Volvo 740 GLT. It looked like a normal 740 but oh boy it wasn't. It had a BIG exhaust and was super quick for a big car...not that I went that fast in her....well not often anyway. I had her for nearly 14 years and now wish I had bitten the bullet and paid out megga bucks for a new catalytic converter that she needed.
Are there others who wish they'd kept their old cars?

 

Ooooh Kandy....that's just what I want only with doors at the back (a clubman - think countryman is a very chunky hatch?) My reason - justification - is that I'm prone to banging my head as straighten up when loading a hatchback.....

 

@JJ28 We could have had the five door version but as there are only the two of us and the back seats are often down to give us more boot space then the two door is ok for us.There are so many combinations of the Mini now and they can configure the car to exactly what you are looking for and what you want the car for

We went to do our fortnightly shop today and we did struggle to get all the bags in even with the back seats down,but as I can no longer get the same Ka as my old ladybird shaped one and I don't like the new Ka's then have had to compromise. I did say to Mr Kandy that we shall have to start going grocery shopping every week like we used to when we first got married

The countrymans are nice but for us as a second car are slightly too big.I also read last year that Minis tend to hold their second hand car value,more so than other makes of car

@silu love that photo of the car.Is that the sort you have? and I so love the Silver colour

 

JJ28 , Kandy , this is the Mini we got 18 months ago , the Cooper convertible Sidewalk . This is Mrs H showing it too the grand-kids - they loved it as well
Not very good for shopping , you can just get 3 french loaves in the boot

 

@HarryS I like the convertibles but Mr Kandy isn't keen on them in any make of car so that was out.I wish in a way that we had a silver one but the pepper white is starting to grow on me It looks like your wife and grand kids are impressed with the purchase

I like the fact that there is a bit in the middle that lights up and you can choose your own mood colour so I like the purple colour

When we approached Katie late this afternoon at the end of our walk it was starting to get a bit dark and was impressed that the door handles had a little light on them on the outside as well as the inside and when he turned on the engine the headlights moved like magic until they were in the right driving position And to think I was upset when I had to say goodbye to Myrtle when we parted company

 

Yes @Kandy mine is just like this 1 except it's right hand drive and a lot dirtier!
Thanks @fat controller. I had a feeling it's not ideal to only replace 1 so won't push her even if I get pushed by some idiot driving a rollerskate who thinks he'll race me (this happens quite a lot!).Agree internally my car is pretty basic but that doesn't bother me. It has leather seats and steering wheel cover which I do like however and good for being hard wearing and not ruined by what she has carried like material would have been.
Glad you agree about the 740 GLT, we also had a GL which was quite boring in comparison! We are pretty well off for dealerships luckily. Most common makes have dealerships in Perth which is only 12 miles away from where I live but good point to mention. I am going to have a visit to "The motor mile" as it is called on Monday to see if anything takes my fancy.
Yes I know I have to accept "toys" I won't use. It's a bit like modern washing machines which have about 30 different washing options when all I use is hot medium and cool!
It's good to know there aren't any really bad cars these days, been spoilt with reliability with all the cars I've had over the past 30 years, even the Discovery I didn't like much hardly caused any problems. I'd hope to be lucky again with whatever I get.

 

@fat controller As you may have guessed, I've never had any car in a workshop. An engineer allowing someone else to work on their car is tantamount to treason...

The thing abut FCA cars is that quite often, they are so much fun to drive...

 

I've been offered over £4000 off the list price of a new small car. It's pre reg, so is 66, with single digit mileage. Does this sound like a good deal to you experts?

 

@Redwing , Let FC have the make , model , variant ( equipment level ) , and he may be able to advise.
To get an idea of the car value - use this site - just needs the car Reg , and does not ask you for to much personal info - just an email.
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