Not money saving but couldn't keep these to myself

AdrianHi

anewman wrote: »

The New Insignia looks not so dissimilar to the the new Skoda Superb.... Oh and BMW stole an idea off the new Skoda Superb's tailgate design apparently

That will be the split tail gate "hatchback". It is on the cards for the next generation 5 series (the F10) coming out in 2010 and is on the Skoda Superb pictured above now. Very clever.
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/autoexpressnews/222096/5series_ready_to_hatch.html
Skoda Superb is er.... superb if you want a limousine like comfortable ride. It will never appeal to the driving enthusiast though.

vikingaero

AdrianHi wrote: »

Better value for money? Yes.
More sensible choice? Yes, it's all the car you'll ever need and then some.
Equal to Merc. or BMW? The only people who might think this are those that have never lived with a BMW or Merc. or in most cases even driven one.

The Insignia will of course be wrong wheel drive which is money saving. Right wheel drive would be 4 wheel drive or rear wheel drive. One of the defining characteristics of a BMW or Merc. is rear wheel drive. Some people will never notice the difference, most who do find themselves very unwilling to go back to front wheel drive.

Before my dad retired his cars always consisted of Mercs or Beemers. They used to have an impractical Merc each and my dad would also have a BMW saloon or Touring as his main car. Well just after he retired it was time to change the BMW Touring for something else. The latest BMWs were £35k plus. He's 67 now and not interested in RWD handling characteristics etc. Comfort and practicality were the main priority. So his main runaround now is a Vauxhall Vectra 1.9 CDTi automatic estate. :eek: Everyone harps on about depreciation on Vauxhalls v premium marques but if he had bought a £35k BMW, three years down the line with a high mileage it would be worth £15k. With the Vauxhall the list price was £24k, he bought it for £14k pre-registered and in three years it will be worth £3k. :money:

AdrianHi

vikingaero wrote: »

Before my dad retired his cars always consisted of Mercs or Beemers. They used to have an impractical Merc each and my dad would also have a BMW saloon or Touring as his main car. Well just after he retired it was time to change the BMW Touring for something else. The latest BMWs were £35k plus. He's 67 now and not interested in RWD handling characteristics etc. Comfort and practicality were the main priority. So his main runaround now is a Vauxhall Vectra 1.9 CDTi automatic estate. :eek: Everyone harps on about depreciation on Vauxhalls v premium marques but if he had bought a £35k BMW, three years down the line with a high mileage it would be worth £15k. With the Vauxhall the list price was £24k, he bought it for £14k pre-registered and in three years it will be worth £3k. :money:

Your Dad has avoided the worst of the depreciation with his buying strategy. Depreciation can work for or against you depending on how and when in the cars life you put it on your drive. If your really careful about when to buy and sell you can put a £35K BMW on your drive for 6 to 12 months loosing the same or less money on a monthly basis than the £14K pre-registered Vectra. It's a lot of hassle and you really need to know what your doing though.
Your Dads Vectra sounds like an excellent and wise buy and much more sensible than what I did - a brand new £28K BMW. I won't be doing that again though, I'll do up to 6 months and a few thousand miles old and 20%-25% off list price and not be so fussy about the specification.... or buy a four wheel drive Vauxhall Insignia if it has the right qualities (I care not about the bonnet badge)