decisions decisions....

[wilko]

I now have to buy a sensible car. Work are giving me an annual pay rise of 5 grand, thinly disguised as a "car allowance" - however, this means I must take out insurance covering business use, & can only claim 14p a mile when on business, can no longer use / abuse hire cars. I will do around 2000 miles a year for work and about another 8000 privately. I have a budget of up to about £7k for a secondhand motor, got to be reliable, able to do the miles quoted without fuss (so no 70's BL suggestions please!), be half respectable looking & something I can keep for 3 years or so.Trouble is, I can't decide at all what I want, I'm so used to picking up cheap shite and having low-cost fun with that, I can't get out of the mindset of the shite-er - I have never spent more than £1250 on a car in my life! SO, what to buy now? No kids to transport, missus has a 206 HDi for the long hauls, so my day to day running costs are a trade off of pleasure VS spend - a modern car with 16mpg is a bit of a non-starter - I know I'd resent it in short order, but I don't NEED to be getting 50mpg either.Looking about I could afford anything from a 5 year old 2.7 diesel S-type that will go quickly AND do 40mpg and be a "proper" Jaguar (the X-type can fuck off and die), to a decade old Porsche Boxster that will provide me with top down motoring and Porsche ownership before 35 and the accusation of midlife crisis issues, or, should I opt for something like a £4k focus/mondeo diesel or similar and gradually spunk the rest of my budget owning improbable shite?!? Fire away!

[wuvvum]

If I had a budget of £7K I'd end up with a fleet of about 10 motors. I'd buy a decent low mileage 406 2.1 TD for daily hack use, a nice '60s classic saloon of some description to take to shows, and spunk the rest on whatever obscure old shite I could find on the Bay. But then I'm not like normal people.

[Guest]

I reckon you should get this!

 

2000 Lincoln Town Car

 

Imagine how important you'd feel turning up in a big Lincoln.

[ChinaTom]

I'd be spending the 7k on the ones I've already got - may be able to keep one of them on the road!!A mate of mine has a similar deal going with his job. He runs about in an auction sourced £350 Proton Wira and spends the rest on his Datsun 240ZG.

[Cavcraft]

Spending four grand you'd get something decent and reliable no danger and you could trouser the rest.The world's your oyster as they say, I'd be looking at something like an Astra H (2004 on) personally, or something Japanese if you're going reliable and sturdy.Or get a Focus or Mongdeo and spend every moment driving it wishing you hadn't. All down to personal choice of course but maybe that older sportier car is the answer? At least you'd enjoy driving it and be able to get about quickly.

[Mr Lobster]

Does your allowance come with any limits on what you can have - age, number of doors etc?If not then personally I'd have a late Mk1 (2004) Focus, 2004ish Seat Leon / Toledo (just like a Golf etc), or if you want something purely as a tool to get from A-B then late as possible Kia Rio, Toyota Corolla or similar. And then spend the change on shite obviously.

[r.welfare]

The S-Type diesel is a lovely car - my old boss had one for 3 years from new (54 plate). As I recall, the autobox went (under warranty) - I think I'd look for one with the ZF 6-speed manual if I were in your shoes. 40mpg is right on the money, too.

 

The cheapest manual I could find on eBay was £6,995:

 

 

I must admit that these seem like good value at the moment, and due to the "Flipper" styling hit the shite button - I should have posted it in the "post 2000" shite thread really:

 

 

I'd be surprised if your company imposes restrictions on what you buy, practicality-wise, if they are giving you an allowance - they usually suggest 4 doors/seats if they force you into a new lease car (at least, that's what my old employer did). They might have a maximum age limit, though.

[dollywobbler]

Gawd those Primeras are a pain in the proverbial. Any car that has a menu system for the heater controls deserves to just be binned.

[r.welfare]

Yeah, but you get a rear view camera on the top-spec ones!

[Lukas]

Go for the Lincoln!

[Pete-M]

S-type? Proper Jag? It's a Lincoln LS with a better engine

 

 

That's an LS. They did make a tiny number of top spec RHD ones for the Jap market, I know a chap who's got one which is producing about 550 bhp. Sounds brilliant as its the same motor as in the ZT-T V8. True Autoshite spec interior as well, Jap spec smell free leather, cheap plastics, carpets that give electric shocks not experienced since someone wore a shell-suit in a Mk1 XR2, the works.

 

I think they're better looking than the S-type, but I'm not sure I'd actually buy one.

[lancashireclamper]

May regret suggesting this but considering your leanings towards a decade old botoxer what about a mazda mx5? I ended up covering quite a few miles in a T reg example last year and found it excellent........ (alright alright I was just thinking aloud )

[Electric Leyland]

[Pillock]

WHS.Looks class, filthy cheap, practical yet fun. I really want one of these at some point.Edit: The Avantime that is. Damn pagebreak made me look a FOOL.