Another One Bites the Dust!

[speedbird591]

After all that exhausting work in trying to ensure my salvation, I think it's time to turn to more practical matters that crop up when you have limited time left to do stuff.

This is this week's conundrum and I'm sure there'll be some input from the forum over this one.

So, I replaced my car a couple of weeks back. Cyberbrat is back from Uni and his focus is to pass his driving test asap and get a car. As a bonding thing, we chose a suitable car together and went through the buying process so he understood how it works - a rite of passage. So we bought a Toyota Yaris which I can drive until he passes his test and it will then become his. Hopefully in about six weeks time.

Assuming I haven't had any setbacks that restrict my driving, I'll then be looking at a car for me. Now this is the big question - what shall I get? Obviously it's going to be my last so perhaps it's time to throw common sense out of the window and really indulge myself.

Browsing through the Autotrader app on my iPad, I can see a crazy niche which only an old retired person with some savings who covers a low mileage could possibly consider. What appeals is a luxury car with lots of leather, an automatic with a big petrol engine. Something like that can be cheap to buy because it's hugely expensive to run. However, if you know you are only going to have it for let's say one year, then you can budget for a one year total cost. I doubt I'll be driving after that so I don't have to consider renewing tax, insurance etc. I can just scrap it or give it away. Just the one year, one off deal.

Here's an example. A beautiful Mercedes CLK240 coupe which is right up my street for just under £5k. But when you factor in 15 mpg, £475 tax and Group 17 insurance it's not quite so attractive. And what would tyres and/or a service cost on one of those? Well, if you were only buying for a year then maybe you'd make sure the tyres were OK, you'd definitely need a full MOT before you pay your money and definitely skip a service. I know how many miles I do so I can budget the petrol costs over the year. So on top of the cost of the car it will cost me another £2.5k to run it for a year. A total of £7,500 for a last year of glorious motoring in spectacular style.

If I decide I can afford it, the downside is how to dispose of it when I can't drive any more! I couldn't give it away to anybody I know as they couldn't afford to drive it to the filling station! I'd either have to scrap it or contact webuyanycar.com to take it away for me!

So what do you think? I can't buy one yet because he might fail his test and I'm stuck with the Yaris. But if he cracks it and I'm free, I'd be looking at something like this:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... 8138292176

Are the drugs finally getting to me or is this crazy idea a possibility. Advice please

What would you do, guys?

Ian

[cstorey]

Ian : when I retired 7 years ago I bought a 12 month old CLK320 Cabriolet which has given me very good service. Petrol consumption really is not an issue - mine does about 27 mpg if just knocking about locally, ( it is cold starts which cost ) and more like 31-32 mpg on a long run . I do tend to keep broadly to speed limits and cruise at 75 mph however . Also, if you buy a car registered before 2006, the tax is only in the region of £260 as it was not emissions related at that stage . The one aspect of the car that I advise should be thoroughly checked is the electrics - particularly the key/recognition/ immobiliser system which is notorious for causing problems as indeed I am suffering at present. For your purposes perhaps a warranty direct or similar warranty would be a good idea. As a car they are nice to drive, not too large, and if you get the Elegance rather then Avant Garde you get leather/wood worthy of Jaguars of old. I would advise the 320 rather than the 240 which perhaps is a little short of go ( but I was used to 5 litres before so everything is relative )

[dodger]

Hi Ian,

Well mate "what floats your boat" or car as they say but that particular model you put the link to looks awesome for the money i would say, the mileage for 11yrs is great and having full service history is there,

Go on spoil yourself and enjoy some luxury,

I keep doing those Dam numbers as i'm waiting for my Range Rover but in the meantime i will enjoy my old Peugeot

Let us know what you buy [with pics please]

Cheers,

Roger.

[TSR2]

Nice motor Ian. There's lots to choose from with big engines that are really good motors. Personally i'd choose a big XJ older shape, with the diesel v6 if mpg was an issue, if not, i'd have the supercharged v8 in a heartbeat. I'm not sure if you watched it but a few years back Top Gear did one of their races from Geneva to Blackpool, with some so called super efficient diesels. Of course Clarkson took the big jag, had the aircon on etc and was the only one to complete the journey on a single tank, 40+ mpg

[speedbird591]

Thanks for the input. Some interesting points there. It's not a clear-cut decision by any means. Thanks, Chris, for the reminder about the warranty. That would be a very important factor if budgeting for a one year blast. A problem with the Engine Management Computer or a sensor would destroy the budget in an instant in a car like this.

The other thing I won't have is the luxury of choice. There's no point in buying one now in case he doesn't pass his test and has another two months, on top of the existing 6 week, wait. During which time I've still got the Yaris. So I'm going to be stuck with what's available during a couple of weeks gap when I hand it over. I don't want to travel far to get it due to pain in driving very far. So I'll be limited to local sellers. In fact my brother has also pointed out that I may not find the Merc comfortable enough for me as I deteriorate and may need something more 'luxurious'. Typically, this Jaguar S type. It's a cracking price when you consider the mileage and the fact that it has a new MOT and service and 6 month warranty. It also has all the luxury you could wish for. It's not exciting by any means - a real 'old fat cat's car' - but it's probably what I need. It won't be there when I need it, though, will it? I'll probably end up with another Yaris!

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... 3125731969

Still, I want to have all the decisions made ready for when the time comes so I don't miss an opportunity if there's one there!

Ian

[TSR2]

That's rather nice too Ian, I always liked the grill on the S-Type, but I think I'm one of the few. I just always liked Jags, this is the one I'd have if money was no object...

[GHD]

This is my all-time favourite

[TSR2]

Now that's a really classic beauty George, excellent choice!

[Jon.M]

Very nice George, but does it fit Ian's needs?

Ian needs a high degree of comfort and ease of driving to go with the desirability. I'm not a fan of SUVs but I quite like Range Rovers. Probably because they were invented before the terms SUV and Chelsea tractor came into vogue. Having said that I'm not fond of the Sport and hate the new Evoque.
They're fairly common and as they've been around for ever price isn't a problem. £5,000 should get a late MkII or early MkIII.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

The air suspension is really comfortable on the road but do check it's working properly.

We could turn this into a "my dream car is" thread (make mine an early Porsche 911 )which would be interesting but not much use to Ian.

Jon

[Airspeed]

I'm in no position to advise about cars, mine is a 1982 Mitsubishi L300. Was a people mover till I removed all the seats to make room for hay bales and bags of animal feed.


This is just an update on my "life" post: it was AMINO ACID they were talking about. That's what is bumbling around the Universe in large lumps, and is formed by that underwater process I mentioned.
Amino acid is the building block of life, and it seems to have an in-built "desire" to form itself into basic life. Apologies for misquoting.