What do you consider when buying?

congo_90

what is your priority?
obvsiouly body shape is number one for many being saloon, hatch, estate, coupé.

Do you choose make and model next? Colour? Engine size? Why. What are your reasons?

Does speed win over economy?
Rear leg room?
are you looking for max luxury in the car? e.g alloys and a/c etc over steel wheels and mannual windows?

Apply the above to new or old as you see fit.

I see myself opting towards something like a skoda but then again I find they try too hard to be something I don't really like when it's just the engine and vag I like. Perhaps your conditions are different?

Personally I don't like red cars, I don't like eco over power otherwise i'd opt for a bus (within reasonable levels).
I like a few extras but some I'll do without. seat warmers and elec folding mirrors to name but a few..

What is the ideal car for you? let's be practicle. So unless you're a millionare then the aston martins and ferrari's stay outta it!

Gary ITR

The last two cars I bought were both Mk2 Golf GTI's

Once they ran and started I was happy

When buying a daily driver previously to share with my OH it went in this order

Engine Size - 1.4
Body Type - Wanted a hatch
Make/Model - We had a shortlist
Creature Comforts - E/W etc etc

The most important thing though was engine size for insurance reasons

congo_90

Does that include the golfs? Are the mk2's the 98 ish model? (google isn't giving a good answer).

I'm just curious if others here would pay a lil more for things like leather, climate control, lower mileage, badge snobbery etc.

I am guilty of wanting some badge snobbery to be honest but in my own money...

Back to my point though that if it was your own cash (no problem). What does the eye desire? It's the skoda superb estate ad on tv that has me thinking of profiling differing driving age brackets and gender etc.

the mark 2 golf was sold till about 1992 i think. When i buy a car the main consideration is price and condition and how easy i think it will be to flog a few months down the line without too much trouble, i dont spend much on cars so if i f up i wont be too bothered.

Gary ITR

congo_90 wrote: »

Does that include the golfs? Are the mk2's the 98 ish model? (google isn't giving a good answer).

I'm just curious if others here would pay a lil more for things like leather, climate control, lower mileage, badge snobbery etc.

I am guilty of wanting some badge snobbery to be honest but in my own money...

Back to my point though that if it was your own cash (no problem). What does the eye desire? It's the skoda superb estate ad on tv that has me thinking of profiling differing driving age brackets and gender etc.

The mk2 is the 84-92 model. With those Golf's The GTI is 1.8 in either 8v or 16v. Insurance wasn't an issue on those for me because I was the only person on the policy and I wanted them so bad I didn't care about insurance costs. Things like leather(rare) would have been nice but wouldn't be a deciding factor. E/W only came on them when they were coming towards the end of production and I wanted an earlier one for the K-Jet engine but that's all very specific because I had a specific type of car in mind.

If I was going out tomorrow to buy a daily driver for myself things like leather, a/c, e/w would all be a priority along. I try to not let tax/insurance cost bother me because if I buy some small car to keep those costs down I'll never be happy. In a way I was spoiled by having company cars since I was 19 and used to always have something nice (don't have anything nice now mind ) so I couldn't go to a small engined plasticy car

Seweryn

congo_90 wrote: »

what is your priority?
obvsiouly body shape is number one for many being saloon, hatch, estate, coupé.

Do you choose make and model next? Colour? Engine size? Why. What are your reasons?

Does speed win over economy?
Rear leg room?
are you looking for max luxury in the car? e.g alloys and a/c etc over steel wheels and mannual windows?

Priority for me is the reliability, longevity, build quality, as much proper engineering as possible without technological nonsense, some character in the car, good comfort, rear wheel drive preferable, estate preferable, simple mechanics, chain driven camshaft preferable, normally aspirated Diesel engine preferable with good fuel economy, low service requirements and as easy to do service as possible, cheap and easy to source parts if ever needed, different that all cars around, dog friendly... That's about it.

Anan1

For my last car, I was looking for (in this order):

The ability to cross a muddy field

Handling

Performance

Practicality

Visibility (out of the car)

Certain extras - I wouldn't have bought without automatic, ESP, xenons and a/c - anything else was nice to have but not a deal-breaker.

Given that I sometimes exceed posted speed limits, I also wanted something as unassuming-looking as possible.

_Kaiser_

My last prerequisites were as follows (coming from a 02 Passat):

- Auto
- Diesel
- Decently-sized saloon (interior cabin space and boot as I often have equipment with me)
- Extras (climate control, cruise control.. fog lights would have been nice )
- Price (of course!) and trade-in value for the old one

.. in the end it came down to a 06 2.0 TDI A4 and same engined Passat (with DSG) and I went with the Passat as it was bigger (especially in the rear seat area), and had a modern feel inside (which is where I spend most of my working week).


As it happens, my other half may be in the market for a new(er) car soon - currently has a 05 1.3 Auto Honda Jazz/Fit - and has the following wants:

- Auto
- Diesel (petrol costs are wayyy too high for the commuting she's now doing)
- Saloon (I'm trying to talk her out of the idea of a yummy-mummy RAV4 style jeep )
- Built for/safe at high cruising speeds (it'll spend most of it's life on the N3 and motorways). I personally don't think her current car is stable at much above 80/90 km/h
- Decent equipment.. she really misses her radio which her current car - being a japanese import - doesn't have because of the frequency differences), but cruise control, climate control etc all a must.

She likes the look of a 05 (facelift year I think?) 3-series, like this one?

Seweryn

Seweryn wrote: »

Priority for me is the reliability, longevity, build quality, as much proper engineering as possible without technological nonsense, some character in the car, good comfort, rear wheel drive preferable, estate preferable, simple mechanics, chain driven camshaft preferable, normally aspirated Diesel engine preferable with good fuel economy, low service requirements and as easy to do service as possible, cheap and easy to source parts if ever needed, different that all cars around, dog friendly... That's about it.

w124 ?

Kaiser2000

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

she really misses her radio which her current car - being a japanese import - doesn't have because of the frequency differences),

Neither expensive or difficult to rectify

_Kaiser_

RoverJames wrote: »

Neither expensive or difficult to rectify

No I know, and I got her a "band expander" from ebay but from searching the web, pulling the dash apart on this car is tricky as the radio/aircon unit seems to be integrated.

Anyone fancy a nixer?

Atomic Pineapple

Most important thing is that when I drive the car that it doesn't just feel like a mechanical way of getting from A to B but that it has the ability to mkae getting from A to B enjoyable, not comfortable or safe but enjoyable!

Of course all other factors come into play then but I hope I never have to buy a car that just "gets me from A to B"

Seweryn

RoverJames wrote: »

w124 ?

Yes . And I can't believe myself, as I am just back from a journey. I was looking at the car mentioned, and it happened that we came back in two cars .
So, there she is:



Not bad condition, new tyres, new brake lines, new NCT, drives very well, just some miscellaneous faults here and there, but something to do during the spring time...

MetzgerMeister

My considerations in order:

RWD
Power
Power
Year
Quirks
Style
Tax
Insurance
Reliability
Creature comforts
Price

GTE

Comfort (only for me, peeps in the back can go jump in a lake )
Reliability
Economy
Boot
Insurance costs
performance.




Golf Estate and that Merc estate is a pretty nice car. I was looking at one of those for the craic to scare the mother. Her 18 year old coming home with a barge!
Love it haha

Reginald P. DuM

I have one golden rule to begin with. I will not buy a car without an electric sunroof...

teednab-el

{1} mileage.

I will not buy a car that has in excess of 80,000 miles done even if it comes with full service records.

{2} engine size

I will go for a car with decent power.

{3} Must be in mint condition. No damage to paintwork etc.

Guy:Incognito

I consider 2 things. Is it the car I want and is it in good nick (FSH + the rest if the checks).

I dont consider resale value at all. I really dont care what the next owner is paying and what options he'd like, I buy the car for me, end of.

Stoolbend

I used to consider reliability.

But my next car it's all about creature comforts and a bit of power!

Max_Damage

I'm probably a bit different here, I look for a car that's DIY friendly to fix (hence why I drive a '95 Escort). Modern cars have too much electronic nonsense in them, so I prefer to stick to older cars.

Running costs is a close second, followed by the fact it HAS to have a manual gearbox.

Captain Slow IRL

Something that's not been in a heavy accident.
Something that makes me
Bodywork is also important, especially if one side of the car is made of filler.

EPM

Badge doesn't matter to me in the least little bit. So long as it's not a Toyota.

Once I pick the make/model I want...

First thing is spec - must have air con, cruise, arm rest and multi function wheel.

Next is looks - has to stand out slightly from similar models. I has to have some option or extra that is a little rare or unusual.

It has to be mint or else I'll pass. It'd cost me more to get it sorted to my liking afterwards.

Then I look at service history - complete or a no go.

If all that checks out that's me happy.

SV

Fun, speed and reliability.


In that order.
don't really care about anything else!

Mc Love

Wanted more power than my current car, coupled with being faster and having better fuel economy and cheaper tax - should have a new focus soon

congo_90

Some interesting feedback to say the least!
Ease of repair is a good one for those who like a bit of a diy job. Personally I find with Fiats it's all too covered up. I like the engine exposed but not exactly a deal breaker.

Reliability
Insurance and tax (as i'm still a wee lad)
semi powerful
diesel would be nice (love the torque in em).
Handling
Running costs
creature comforts. Electric windows and radio is enough for me, although i like the climate control to be simple too. none of this computer nonsense which is harder to repair
Bottom of the line but just as important is colour and body condition! I don't want a washed up pos red fading to pink!