How do YOU choose your next car?

[garcon]

What resources do you use to help you choose your next car? Do you rely on your own knowledge, that of friends, the motoring media (tv and/or press), or do you just browse around then say "I'll have that green one" ??

Inspired by some off-topic discussion in the "Top Gear's back!" thread in Parc Ferme...

http://tentenths.com/forum/showthrea...5&pagenumber=2

in which oily oaf said:

If I feel the inclination to buy a car I'll rely on my 25 years experience as a diesel fitter,motor vehicle technician and engineer to help formulate my decision. I think I can struggle through without the need to consult over priced car mags or listen to the ramblings of a bunch of public school tv presenters who lets face it wouldn't know a torque wrench from a 3 legged puller, and if they did would shy away from using 'em for fear of breaking a nail bless their little autocues.

Good point well made. I'm afraid I must count myself amongst the technical ignoramouses who think compression ratio is something to do with canned beer. But I do seem to have collected a truly encyclopaedic, anorak-worthy knowledge of the range of new and used cars for sale and their specification, rough value and so on. If I had the faintest idea how to sell anything, I would have been a decent car dealer.

I watch Top Gear (and 5th Gear when I remember, I avoid that on Channel 4), and read Top Gear and evo, mainly for fun, mainly as an enthusiast. Though if I am seriously looking at a car, I'll probably sift through back issues to check spec and read any road tests - just for any additional tidbits rather than real influence.

As for the full selection process, it invariably starts about 6 months after I've bought a car and takes around eighteen months to complete. It involves great pain (for my friends ), infinite decisions, u-turns, much pondering, sifting through magazines etc., followed by a couple of test drives and then a snap decision on something entirely different that comes completely out of the blue.

What about you?

[Truckosaurus]

Originally posted by garcon
As for the full selection process, it invariably starts about 6 months after I've bought a car and takes around eighteen months to complete. It involves great pain (for my friends ), infinite decisions, u-turns, much pondering, sifting through magazines etc., followed by a couple of test drives and then a snap decision on something entirely different that comes completely out of the blue.

That sounds very familiar. My current shortlist (for a summer '04 change) involves vehicles from Land Rover, Jeep, Skoda, Subaru and Porsche. The Favourite changes from day to day.

[TimD]

I had to think about this and I've come to a hideous realisation. When choosing a car, my number one criterion is that it doesn't go with the flow! That's it. I don't want it to be the obvious one.

That's why I'm actively looking for an Alfa 156 when possibly a Ford or a Peugeot would be more reliable or more practical. I chose a Rover 216 because it was a handy drivers' car lurking under the skin of a blue-rinsed badge-engineered Honda Ballade.

Then it has to have a reputation for rewarding handling and good road-manners. This does not equate, however, to outright speed. It's got to be either extremely chuckable or extremely comfortable. I don't mind driving on a Rolls Royce cushion of air, but I wouldn't play with a Rolls on twisty roads. I wouldn't expect it to perform. The worst has to be the adequately competent car, which is just comfy enough to let you drift away and is utterly unengaging. Astras do that to me. So did my old Volvo 240. You get the picture.

So there you have it. It has to have a strong image, and it has to be superlative at something to attract my attention.

Sorry, Toyota.

[woodyracing]

theres 2 important things to consider; what do you need it for and price.

If i was in the market for a sports car then price would directly affect the options. Then I could narrow it down by looks, performance etc. Availability, reliability and running costs might be important too.

I hate buying cars, it takes me forever to find what i want.. (it would be much easier buying a new car).

[paul c]

I think I'm somewhere near garcon on this. It takes me forever to choose the right car, which drives my wife up the wall. Before the current tank we had a Saab 9000 cse for a short while. Because of my drum kit, our caravan and the desire both of us have for a fun drive I spent forever trawling web pages trying to get the low-down on the experiences of different drivers with different cars and the Saab looked like it could do all three.

The unfortunate post-script to this was that we got that one absolutely wrong. Despite all the research the Saab fulfilled only one of the criteria in the end, and that was that it was fun. What it couldn't do was tow a caravan or fit all of my drums in! Having blown the budget we discovered how hard they are to sell on and were left with enough dosh to buy a cheap old Volvo 740, which fulfils all the other criteria, but is most definitely not fun. Sometimes, with all the best knowledge and intentions, all we can do is compromise. (And save up for the second car, which I've already started trawling the web sites for!)

[Woolley]

Rear wheel drive.
Can tow the caravan
Will last a long time.

That's it.
Current car 1996 BMW 316i, hope it will be for 10 years.

[Mattracer]

Various bits of info from magazines, consumer related reports, own knowledge and familiarity with a certain make.

Things like reliability, build quality, servicing and parts availiability, roominess and performance all count for me.

[Hybrid]

Whatever catches my imagination at the time.
This is a method to be avoided as it has caused me to buy some of the worst junk ever put on this planet. I have come home with everything from a moped to a bus.
Luckily my job has now taken away personal choise and this has saved my marriage and also saved me countless hours working on the bombs.

[evo]

If the dealer won't give me a 24 hour test drive, I probably won't buy the car. Need to have a general idea how it'll fit into my real life.

[Mattracer]

Depending on the type of car, hiring one for a weekend if possible helped enormously when it came to decision time. That way, I lived with the car for a few days and drove it in a variety of situations that a restricted test drive with a dealer in the back around a few back streets could never show up. Of course, it helps if you're buying something fairly mainstream and new, as rental companies are restrictive on the makes and models generally rented.

[Airhead]

On the car front I'm fairly staid. I have had a succession of nice plain transport before we hit out and bought a Falcon XR6 Turbo.

The bike front is another matter, all emotion, no brand loyalty and heaps of money down the drain in search of the knife for the perfect curve. Even thinking (as I write) of trading the Ducati on a new Daytona (no, not the 600!).

[Bluebottle]

How do I choose my next car? Simple- I think about it for a few seconds and decide to keep what I've got

[garcon]

I'd be a much richer man if I could do that...

[Mattracer]

Originally posted by Bluebottle
How do I choose my next car? Simple- I think about it for a few seconds and decide to keep what I've got

Me too.

[touringlegend]

Go for a known quantity - for me I changed from Ford, to Ford.

There's not much money to splash around so I'm afraid a Fords reliabilty (touch wood...) and the availability and cheapness of spare parts is the biggest player. Looks don't really come into it when the cars under 1k.

[neilwaynesmith]

I receive the latest list from the lease company, collect all of the relevant brochures and arrange for test drives.

I like to test a car over at least 100 miles, if I'm going to be driving 40,000 miles a year, I think that's not unreasonable. Some manufacturers disagree, hence the rapid exit of BMW and Lexus. Audi were more accommodating last time, but Volvo were great. The rep gave me the keys to the car and just walked off! When asked when he wanted it back he replied "When you've finished"!

[Bluebottle]

Originally posted by garcon
I'd be a much richer man if I could do that...

I wouldn't be too sure of that.... We're looking at getting the bodywork of our 1983 Granada sorted out and then it'll be time for a new engine, possibly a 2 litre Zetec (should fit the existing gearbox and have about the same, if not better, performance than the 2.3 V6 in there now...) followed by an LPG conversion.
Thing is, I decided I'd rather spend thousands sorting out an old friend than buy another machine and have mine clog up a landfill site!
Make sense?
OK, I know it dosn't ....

[Maisie]

Up until now, it's been:

"Is it a Maestro?" "Yes, I'll buy it."

[woodyracing]

thats why you've got about 50 of them

[Bluebottle]

I know people who do the same with Duttons!

[Peter Mallett]

I have no brand loyalty as such. My Jeep is mine because I couldn't get the seats comfortable in the Explorer I test drove.

The Mondoe came along because I could get all the bells and whistles in a car that goes like a train.

Had a Rver 218 SLD. Great car but not the most comfortable.

I do look at the mags to start with then when I've narrowed my choice down I go see the dealer.

[peteconnors]

As my current car (20 year old Mazda) is about to die, and I need a car to do my delivery job, I have been looking around for a car. I could probably afford something around the £700 mark without worrying about loan payments, but have found a good alternative. My job pays me a petrol allowance for each delivery I do, and by keeping a note of what mileage I do each day, I have figured out that if I took out a £7,500 loan I could get an almost new Honda Insight, and the money I'd make each week on the petrol allowance would more than cover the loan payment. In effect, I'd increase my income AND get a newish car! If I didn't get a petrol allowance, I'd probably get something that has done most of it's depreciation, big, comfortable, powerful with lots of toys. Probably a BMW 7 series.

[garcon]

If you're thinking in terms of hte Insight, have a look at the Toyota Prius too - a friend at work has recently swapped his Insight for one. Depends on how much space you need (there's very little luggage space in the Insight and it's a 2 seater). Prius is newer too, so may be beyond budget. You'll get 80+ mpg extra-urban with the Insight!

I like the big old stuff too - and the 7 series is one of the best, another friend has just got a '91 H reg 730i to do his weekly commute from Wilmslow to London village. It's white, huge miles, decent condition though, cost well under a grand! Just be sure to factor in running costs - low 20s mpg and big bills on wear and tear items.

Interesting and cheap alternative for the big luxury car - Nissan Maxima/QX 3.0 SE. All the toys, utterly reliable, absolute pennies to buy.