ot car special editions

well, a) a Xsara won't fit in my garage
b) selling the Jeep for a reasonable sum is proving impossible; the
"cost to change" to the new C2 is not a lot more than the "cost to
change" of selling it privately and buying something else that I'd want
2nd hand.

 

this is the same new job as before, or a different one?

 

ah - I hadn't thought of that; I haven't bought a vehicle on a dealer's
finance scheme for about 15 years. To me, the 1200 quid "cashback" is a
simple discount over the list price.

 

yeah - I gaffer-taped a numberplate from another bike to it and took it
a couple of miles up the A10, round the M25/J25 roundabout and back
down again. Very silly. I'll do a track-day on it in the spring.

 

I can just see you in a 2CV: the LE one with the stick-on bullet
holes.

 

nah, but a two-tone baby-blue/yellow Diane 6 with 12" "Mickey and
Minnie" cartoons painted on the doors[1], on the other hand...

I've owned a Citroen before, actually - a crappy AX "Jive" 1.0.

[1] when I was at Grammar school, a mate's dad used to have one - it
was the single gayest vehicle I've ever seen.

 

Oh aye it's not a fast car by any stretch of the imagination, however,
it's not a painfully slow car either[1]. In fact it's quicker that a
1.8 turbo Golf GTI according to the specs which is as quick as I need
a car to buy.

Basically my budget will be around 12 grand and I would prefer a new
car. That seems to fit the bill nicely and with the years free
insurance makes insuring Anya (new driver) a lot easier. Even without
the years free I'm only looking at 600 quid FC for both of us. Couple
that with 572 quid servicing costs over 3 years and it looks like a
bargain[2]

My preference would be for an L200 Warrior but there's no way I can
insurance Anya on it, or that she'd even drive something like that
having only just passed her test.


[1] It's got 65 bhp more than my current 1.3 Civic.
[2] http://www.whatcar.co.uk/RoadTest_Summary.asp?DL=0&RT=210802

 

Not Accenture, no - but possibly almost as evil. It's in Osterley. I
believe you've already worked there...

 

on your own head be it.
On the plus side, it's a fucking short commute for you...

 

Aye, and *why* exactly do you think they are offering such a good deal?

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

 

Quality wise, as I said to darsy, I haven't test driven yet so not had
an opportunity to have a good poke around to see the quality.

I think I'm likely to keep it at lest 2 years and at most 5.

Exactly, so I won't find a sh one[1]. Plus the free insurance will
probably be worth what I'd save.

The C2 VTS will sell itself when I want to get rid. The Saxo VTS was
an incredibly popular car and by all accounts the C2 will be the same.

I'll be buying cash so should be in a pretty strong position to
negotiate. What it really comes down to is there isn't another car in
the price bracket that I could buy new. The Focus, Civic and Golf are
more expensive for that level of kit/'performance' so I'd have to buy
sh and I don't really fancy a Ka or a Polo.

Sounds silly, but I really want to buy a new car.

[1] Actually this isn't quite true. I'll be buying early next year
(want to wait till the insurance is up on the Civic) so there may be a
few examples around by then, but they'll probably not be much cheaper
than buying new and I won't get the free insurance.

 

no, I understand completely - chances are at this stage that I'll just
abandon the plan to change cars and run the Jeep into the ground.

 

Indeed a helluva car - I was sorely, sorely tempted.

Downside - the cabin is still a Polo-size cabin, when all's said and
done, and it may not fit the large of limb, especially in the back. This
may not be a problem if one doesn't often carry passengers.

Also, the TD is only 100bhp. Have a look at the performance spex - it
isn't wildly rapid. I used to run a ZX 1.9TD, and IIRC from the Fabia
brochures I took home with me, performance is of that order. Loadsa
torque, of course.

But the diesel Fabia to have is the new 130bhp hot hatch. If *only* they
put the same lump in other versions. They will, I bet, but for now they
don't, so you've only got the choice of 100bhp in all trim levels, plus
estate and saloon (and the saloon is ugly) or 130bhp in boy-racer trim
and nothing else.

Kit - the higher-specced Fabias are excellent, and right now they've
added some more extras for free. Parking sensors, I think, among them.

 

If you like the car, and really want it, then don't stop. But if you're
looking to change for practical reasons, then you're on a loser.

Over the years I've been in the trade I've come to observe that a good
second hand car is better than a bad new one.

 

Well I went into a roundabout today behind one in a new model 911. Approach
speed high but equal, exit speed - I was 15-20mph higher and scraping his
bumper. So what I hear you say, hardly surprising. Well this roundabout
takes you into our industrial estate, a mile straight with regular and
vicious speed bumps. I saw his car rise subtly on it's pins and he fucked
right off over them at 70 per into the sunrise while we crunched and scraped
over at 30 )
Citroens have God's own suspension system.

 

The Older Gentleman emerged from their own little world to say

Likewise, consider the Seat Ibiza. Also part of the VW family.

I've had one since 2000. It was reasonable VFM back then.

The small size has not been a problem as I'm a short arse. However, my 14
year old lad, now over 6 foot, has decided that I have to get a bigger car.
There is not enough adjustment in the front seat to accommodate his massive
femurs.

 

That'll be the hydropneumatic ones, not the crap little Peugeot hatchbacks
like darsy wants.

 

I gather the Xantia Activa does the sporty bit quite well, though. Just
a shame there was never an Activa V6 manual in this country.

 

It's not hard to work out really. I owned a 1989 Honda Concerto for the
last 6 years. In that time it never let us down, and it only cost us for
some wear and tear bits - tyres, brake pads & exhaust. It basically owed
us nothing.

A three year old Fiat Punto, for example, is highly likely to have cost
you for at least a new head gasket, rear suspension arm bushes and
possibly an ECU as well, and has a double figure chance of a ride on a
recovery truck.

AFAIK Citroens are not much better.

Actually there are two other guides to use as well. Workshop lead times,
and warranty claims.

We have four Honda branches in our group, all with no more than 1 day
lead time, and we do have very good turnover. Our two Citroen branches
are two weeks ahead, as is our Peugeot branch, and have crap turnover.

As a warranty administrator I also get to see what goes wrong, and how
much it costs. Calculating to take into account volumes, the following
is the number of claims and cost per week for a single technician.

Fiat/Alfa = 5
£512

Ford = 6.6
£555

Hyundai = 4
£365

Honda = 2
£153

These are based on actual figures I obtained while working at each
franchise.

I know what I will be owning in future.

 

It's supposed to be "much better" now. They've "got" "architecture", and
everything.

Particularly in an Impreza WRX.

The real fucker is that there's nowhere to go after work or for lunch. All
there is for lunchtime entertainment is the next-door branch of PC World,
and the nearest sushi is literally miles away