Do motoring journalists actually drive the cars they review?

scooby088

I can honestly say that I have driven nearly every car on the market and there are only a few that really impress me that people wouldnt necessarily think of as a first choice buy, i really rate seat, skoda, hyundai, but the more prestigious marques like bmw, mercedes leave me disappointed especially for the amount of money you are asked to pay for them.

thescouselander

scooby088 wrote: »

I can honestly say that I have driven nearly every car on the market and there are only a few that really impress me that people wouldnt necessarily think of as a first choice buy, i really rate seat, skoda, hyundai, but the more prestigious marques like bmw, mercedes leave me disappointed especially for the amount of money you are asked to pay for them.

Costs aren't always what they seem. My Audi A4 was one of the cheapest to run cars I've ever owned because it held its value very well so I didn't do too badly on depreciation.

That said I know a guy who buys one of the cheaper brands with a 7 year warranty on the assumption he'll scrap the car when it runs out. If he manages to get anything back for it then that's a bonus. The costs end up being very reasonable and there's also a good amount of equipment on those sorts of cars for the money.

HornetSaver

Stoke wrote: »

I'm surprised at how much positivity BMW gets.

To be fair, most BMWs are superbly designed and built cars with one common flaw.

The driver.

prowla

HornetSaver wrote: »

To be fair, most BMWs are superbly designed and built cars with one common flaw.

The driver.

Fortunately, neither of my BMWs suffers from that flaw.

iolanthe07

HornetSaver wrote: »

To be fair, most BMWs are superbly designed and built cars with one common flaw.

The driver.

And the fact that BMW have yet to fit indicators to their products.

poppasmurf_bewdley

iolanthe07 wrote: »

And the fact that BMW have yet to fit indicators to their products.

BMW's latest device is a module which automatically switches the fog lights on when it detects that all brain activity has ceased!

Iceweasel

There is a world of difference between those who actually buy a BMW and those who have the use of a BMW company car.

One will look after it carefully and enjoy it for what it is, possibly keeping it for several years. They pay for everything themselves.

The other doesn't give a monkey's as it's 99% to show how successful they are and to lord it over lesser mortals.

They pay nothing for fuel or any other running costs and get a new one every 2 or 3 years - so fuel consumption and tyre wear etc. is is on no consequence.

Don't tar every BMW driver with the same brush.

There are a$$holes driving all makes of car.

AdrianC

Iceweasel wrote: »

...those who have the use of a BMW company car.

They pay nothing for fuel or any other running costs and get a new one every 2 or 3 years - so fuel consumption and tyre wear etc. is is on no consequence.

Depends...

Most companies provide company cars based on lease cost - and high running costs means high lease cost, so an expensive car to run would be less likely to be available (or less "desirable", as it would "appear cheap" compared to other choices on the list).

Then, of course, there's BiK taxation, which is based on the official CO2 figure and the list price.

prowla

iolanthe07 wrote: »

And the fact that BMW have yet to fit indicators to their products.

My beemers indicators work perfectly; however, a lot of other makes seem to have them wired all wrong, based on the randomness of indicating at local roundabouts.

Joe_Horner

iolanthe07 wrote: »

And the fact that BMW have yet to fit indicators to their products.

Absolutely not true.

Our 525 has the optional indicator pack, and I used to use them (correctly). I had to stop because everywhere I went people were crashing as they tried to take photos / videos of "the Beemer with indicators". It was carnage, especially on motorway trips!