dessiato
4 years and I still cry sometimes
She finds that due to her back injury the Merc and Audi are not comfortable enough.
Mrs D wants a car
- Thread starter dessiato
- Start date
geminisnake
a complex mass of conflicting ideas
Well she needs to test them them both then. For a decent amount of time if comfort is one of the main buying points. A friend spent money on a bike he hadn't test drove then moaned about this, that and the next thing. We ripped him rotten
spanglechick
High Empress of Dressing Up
she works and has her own money, right? can she not just buy herself the car she wants? then it will definitely be the right one because she'll have chosen it, test driven it and so on.
can't imagine someone buying my car for me.
can't imagine someone buying my car for me.
blairsh
pale knuckle grip on this steering wheel
I love my Saab, even though it has been an expensive car thus far.
spanglechick
High Empress of Dressing Up
btw, my 'small car' recommendation is the dull but reliable kia picanto.
spanglechick
High Empress of Dressing Up
btw - i LOVE your avatar!
blairsh
pale knuckle grip on this steering wheel
Bakunin
I am Noodle's bitch.
spanglechick
High Empress of Dressing Up
ok, if you don't know the "always sunny..." episode it is referencing, i might need to walk slowly away from you.i love rum and ham tbf
blairsh
pale knuckle grip on this steering wheel
dessiato
4 years and I still cry sometimes
She chooses, I buy. I have more money spare than she.
Thanks, found it by chance.
kebabking
Not a Girly Swot, but I like them....
give her the money, help her choose, but flatly refuse to 'buy it for her'. it must be her choice, and her choice must be her responsibility.
(marriage guidance is free...)
like others i'd recomend the jazz - the Mrs and the MIL have got them, very reliable, fine to drive, pretty practical. don't go for a decent size estate - petrol ones get appalling mileage (35/40mpg if you're lucky) and diesel ones get very expensively fucked if they aren't driven long distances fairly regularly.
mauvais
on reddit or something
The Honda Jazz is a fine car. If you're a hundred years old and recently deceased. Also, 40mpg is excellent economy.
I've said it before but if you're having to ask Urban what car to buy, especially with these two weird, barely-specified examples as the menu, you're already in deep trouble.
Put up a poll with one of the answers as an actual potato.
I've said it before but if you're having to ask Urban what car to buy, especially with these two weird, barely-specified examples as the menu, you're already in deep trouble.
Put up a poll with one of the answers as an actual potato.
mauvais
on reddit or something
If you want decent ride quality, primarily look for something that's specified with smaller wheels and bigger tyres. The overall wheel size of any car remains a constant but you can often choose between 17" wheels and low profile tyres, and 15" wheels with big fat tyres. The latter looks worse but rides much better. Avoid anything with sporty pretensions, e.g. Audi S Line, as the suspension tends to be firm and crashy. To go the other way you can look for luxury or comfort spec packages, or just a manufacturer that's traditionally been inclined towards better ride, e.g. Citroen.
If it's not driven much, then for cost and reliability reasons, you should get a petrol, probably normally aspirated rather than turbo, or possibly a hybrid but not likely at that age/price. Since it's low mileage, who really cares about fuel economy.
At that age of car, reliability mostly comes from two things: knowing and possibly avoiding model-specific faults and foibles, and getting good support from a local mechanic who ideally specialises in that marque or model. IMO peak reliability and durability was at about the age you're looking at, early 2000s, where the mechanicals and rustproofing etc were pretty sorted but electronic and environmental complexity hadn't got so serious yet. As ever there are exceptions, so e.g. don't buy a Mercedes from that time.
If it's not driven much, then for cost and reliability reasons, you should get a petrol, probably normally aspirated rather than turbo, or possibly a hybrid but not likely at that age/price. Since it's low mileage, who really cares about fuel economy.
At that age of car, reliability mostly comes from two things: knowing and possibly avoiding model-specific faults and foibles, and getting good support from a local mechanic who ideally specialises in that marque or model. IMO peak reliability and durability was at about the age you're looking at, early 2000s, where the mechanicals and rustproofing etc were pretty sorted but electronic and environmental complexity hadn't got so serious yet. As ever there are exceptions, so e.g. don't buy a Mercedes from that time.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
I'd go for a Honda Civic or a VW Polo. Neither are overlong, and both have good-sized luggage areas with the rear seats folded. They also both have ultra-reliable mechanicals that are a bit cheaper than BMW's ultra-reliable mechanicals.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
Especially when most modern hatchbacks are designed to give plenty of luggage area.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
Possibly a bit cheaper to buy, too, as UK prices for European cars are almost always "premium" (hence the large grey market on imports here) even for bottom-of-the-range models.
Chz
Stark Raving Sane
My only comment is that if reliability is an important consideration, you'd probably be best to avoid anything French. German cars can be reliable, but they have a strict maintenance regime that has to be stuck to or you'll pay for it. Japanese is generally the best bet.
If you've got a bad back, I'd think any Bimmer below the 7-Series is going to feel a bit harsh. They have a sporty reputation for a reason.
Never buy a diesel if you're doing under ~12k miles a year. (And I'd probably not consider one until I was doing well over 15k)
If you've got a bad back, I'd think any Bimmer below the 7-Series is going to feel a bit harsh. They have a sporty reputation for a reason.
Never buy a diesel if you're doing under ~12k miles a year. (And I'd probably not consider one until I was doing well over 15k)
Looby
Well-Known Member
My boot is pretty big but we could really do with a bigger car. At the moment I can't fit the dogs in there so they're strapped in on the back seats. My car is disgusting. [emoji20]
Maybe dessiato will buy me an estate. [emoji6]
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
For me, the only reason for people to own estates is if they have a dog or dogs. I mean, I can understand people driving estate cars 30-40 years ago, before hatchbacks became popular - in fact they were pretty much a (dangerous if you were relegated to the rear compartment!) necessity for my family when I was a kid - but nowadays I'm a bit more sceptical of passenger utility, especially as there are so many people carriers and mini-people carriers on the market.
Looby
Well-Known Member
Or kids. A large travel system would pretty much fill my boot so I wouldn't have room for anything else. I couldn't fit luggage in too if the back seats were in use.
We like camping so add in a baby and we'd need a much bigger car to hold dogs, baby and camping stuff.
I don't like estates personally but you can fit a lot of crap in one.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
My dad has quite bad spinal damage in his upper lumbar and lower thoracic region (three totally fucked discs, worn vertebrae riddled with osteophytes, and stenoses on the spinal canal, and on the nerve routes feeding the legs), and after a lot of test-driving he found the Honda C-RV had the best ride, given he's driving on some crappy b roads and twisty country lanes. He's able to get straight out of the C-RV, whereas with his previous saloon (a Mondeo) he had to slowly "unfold" himself out of the car over the course of about 3 minutes.
el-ahrairah
forward communism, forward gerbils!
is your missus a cunt? if not, don't let her drive around in a fucking beemer, it's a cunt's car.
Ax^
Silly Rabbit
