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Hi everyone after not being on here much or riding much due to my missus off 23 years leaving me and what I thought was our dream home going up for sale.
I now find my self in need of a car as using the van daily for short journeys is just not going to work.
So what would you buy ?
Petrol, probably estate the rest I am open too really.
Oh and with that said if anyone is after a really nice vito lwb, lots of extras and fsh in vgc let me know, will be going in classifieds this weekend.
Sorry to hear about your marriage. Depends on your definition of newish but I’ve just got a 5 year old (G31) 540i tourer and it’s a superb car. Powerful, refined, big, 4WD, etc. I mean it’s shocking round the doors on the juice but we have an ID3 for those journeys, and it’s actually rather frugal on a run.. drove it 300 miles home on half a tank.
I’ve bought at a terrible time as prices are still strong especially for the car/spec I wanted but new job and company EV going back meant I needed to replace our main family car in short order. I’m hoping to keep it for a loooooong time.
On the boringly practical end of things you could pick up a near new Focus for the lower end of that money with all the toys in either Vignale or ST flavour. Active gives you 30mm extra ride height and they all have multi link suspension on the back.
Easy. Honda Civic Type R FK8.
One of the best cars ever made. Just go and check any review you like. Fairly easy to pick up for £26k-£27k although you have to be pretty quick on the trigger to get a decent one below £25k, they're getting snapped up quickly. Massive boot space if you need it. 40mpg motorway drives. Comfort mode for local journeys, Sport mode for some B road action, R+ mode for weekend track days.
Yeah it looks like an 11 yr old designed it... blah blah blah. 😀
Jesus, they're still running K Series engines? 320 sounds like a hoot but sounds even more hilarious swapping a C1 into an EP3.
My wife left me two years ago….when we were married I always wanted either a Mini Cooper or a Seat Cupra, she hated both of them and I was we always overruled at car buying time (wasn’t a Merc or a BMW)….since the separation I’ve had both and moving the SEAT.
Is there anything similar you could get that would make you feel better about the situation?
Something like this….
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202212142513382
I've neither a petrol nor an estate but I'm currently in my 5th year with a fully loaded 320d xDrive saloon auto.
Comfy, fast, secure, economical and as it's a saloon, very quiet.
It'll also take a 29 XL with just the front wheel out - drop down seats.
Nothing's cheap anymore though and amazingly mine is currently valued only a couple of thousand less than I paid for it as a 5 month old ex-BMW-finance car.
Honestly I would spend £20k on a Skoda Octavia 1.5tsi DSG Estate and keep the other £10k for legal bills. I don't know your situation but breakups after that length of time can be complicated (read expensive).
If you end up not needing all of it you take yourself away on a nice holiday once the dust settles.
New Renault Zoé is in budget I think. The planet and prospective future partners will approve.
^^^ That!
Being newly single a Renault Zoe isn't going to cut it on a first date! Louise won't be impressed. 🙂
I'd probably buy a nearly new Seat Leon petrol estate (not Cupra) but get it re-mapped. It should be fairly frugal but more fun with a little power bump.
I’d probably buy a nearly new Seat Leon petrol estate (not Cupra) but get it re-mapped. It should be fairly frugal but more fun with a little power bump.
Nah - the Cupra just looks a million times better than the standard car.
Lots of low mileage 2020 onwards BWW 5 series tourers or Volvo V90s available for that money.
Nice cabins, well spec’d as standard – leather, electric heated seats, digital dash, adaptive cruise etc. Loads of room in the back for bikes, reasonable MPG, euro 6...
5 series and v90 are incredibly peaceful places to be. I believe the 5 (non M sport) is one of the quietest cars on the market (Bentley etc level)
Louise won’t be impressed.
Exactly. But Mary might think a Fiat 500 electric is sexy, especially if you get in the passenger side saying "I assume you can drive and you've still got some points left on your licence". It's the ultimate act of faith.
This is much easier in France where it's the car that's insured not the driver so all you have to ask people is if they've got a valid driving licence and they're not disqualified before letting them drive. In modern cars you don't even need to give them the keys, that stays in your pocket.
without knowing a few more requirements....
Mk7.5 VW Golf R estate.
What's wrong with the Vito as a daily driver? I run a Transit as my only vehicle and it's fine. Well, apart from the rust obviously
Sure Mary would get by fine with her bus pass and tartan trolley.
Bought my GF a Suzuki Swace recently, just over a year old, 8k miles on the clock, £22k... It's a Toyota Corolla Touring Sport hybrid underneath, with a different badge on. Absolutely brilliant family car, averaging 52mpg currently in the cold conditions, promise of over 60mpg in the warmer months, it's comfortable, has all the toys etc, pretty big boot for getting a bike in etc...
But with the 2 of us, 2 adult children and a big labrador, it makes a lot of sense...
Suspect you can afford to be a little more selfish with your purchasing decisions... In which case, a Mk7.5 Golf R estate (mk8 supposedly nowhere near as good) would be right at the top of my list...
Thinking about selling my '69 plate Leon Cupra ST 4-Drive. Would fit your requirements.
If I can't get my act together, have a look at them, bang in your price bracket and a hell of a car. Not many around and below the radar too.
I’d also be looking at a 2018-2020 BMW 540i Touring.
Not sure how much of this is joking or not, but there seems to be quite a lot of 'peacocking' suggestions. Just so you all know, loud fast cars make everyone think you are a bell. Almost without fail. Get a Kia Soul or E-Niro, take the money saved on fuel and servicing to go on some adventures.
Not sure how much of this is joking or not, but there seems to be quite a lot of ‘peacocking’ suggestions. Just so you all know, loud fast cars make everyone think you are a bell.
😄😄😄😄😄
Bought my GF a Suzuki Swace recently, just over a year old, 8k miles on the clock, £22k…
Well done you alpha!!
...the Leon ST 2.0TSi (190) non-Cupra model (FR) is also worth a look. Not sure how many are available as that didn't come out long before C-19.
Yeah what's with all the boy racer suggestions? Even if the OP was looking to attract a partner, which is possibly a bit of a tactless thing to suggest at this point, I'm not sure a chav mobile would be that effective.
I'd be looking at something like a Passat estate with a TSI engine or something like a C class Merc. Or E because I like big cars.
Actually, I'd be getting an EV if I had that kind of cash but that's just me. Not a Zoe though!
Well done you alpha!!
Eh?
Are you secretly Andrew Tate or have I entered an alternative reality right now?!?! 🤷🏻♂️🤯
It was the car that jointly we felt best fitted the family car requirements, and after she test drove it and overcame her fears of driving an automatic, we were both sold on it... So I bought it...
I’m not sure a chav mobile would be that effective
I'm not sure that anybody has yet suggested a Chav mobile... A corsa with a foot deep sun strip, baked bean tin exhaust and some TSW wheels isn't likely to fit the OP's requirements 🤷🏻♂️
OK so I'm with you that some people are reading too much into his being newly single, and I wholeheartedly agree that if you are using a vehicle to stimulate interest in members of the opposite sex then you have probably got it all wrong in the first place... However... Why can't the OP buy a fun car if he wants one? 🤷🏻♂️
I did suggest a 1.5ltr Skoda!
Maybe people are thinking the potentially newly single OP needs to be drifting roundabouts to impress the ladies. But after a 23yr relationship I don't think he is 18.
Admittedly there are some people who judge others based on their car, and others who get pleasure out of speed and power. Neither of which are me but I do understand cars matter to some people.
However… Why can’t the OP buy a fun car if he wants one?
He can, of course (except for the impact on the environment, but hey, who gives a shit about that?) but it seemed strange that most of the suggestions were so when he didn't specifically ask for one.
.....
it seemed strange that most of the suggestions
......
Most folk have suggested 'nearly new petrol estate cars between 20-30k' as per the brief...🤷🏼♂️
However, there is one diesel suggestion; is that the offender??
I do find it strange that the STW Skoda brigade get all shirty calling out a fun car suggestion as peacocking, and yet those same people wouldn't think twice about putting some Hope purple anodized disc brakes on their bike!! 😀
I drive a Skoda estate and my bikes have different coloured Hope seatclamps.
Bennyboy1 your comment is like a dagger straight through my heart.
However… Why can’t the OP buy a fun car if he wants one?
nothing quite says mid-life crisis like a mustang...
these days I'm more concerned with how comfy the seats are...
I reckon a Skoda will be fine for our OP
Not sure DONKEY Dave needs a penis extension
Well done you alpha!!
If it was me, I'd keep the Vito and convert it into a campervan and buy a nice bike with some of that money. Get out and about and do a lot of sight seeing, mtb rides and some walking. Get out there and try and meet some like minded people. Invest that money in yourself and have a good time. No need for a sports estate when you have a campervan.
Will be messaging back tonight to everyone thank you for your replies.
Mike message sent
Interesting fact @flannol re the 5 series being Bentley levels of quiet. I was a bit worried about my 5 wagon being a hatchback, M sport trim on 19s with RFTs but it is nice and quiet in the cabin sat at 70 on the motorway so I imagine an SE saloon will be just lovely on a cruise. It’s also barely ticking over at that speed, almost exactly 1500rpm.
Mine does have the adaptive drive option though (adaptive dampers + active anti roll bars) which I think is helping a lot with the refinement/quiet when in comfort mode. It’s a LOT quieter than the Tesla M3P saloon I’ve just given back even with the hatch which I was not expecting.
those same people wouldn’t think twice about putting some Hope purple anodized disc brakes on their bike!!
I can assure you I wouldn't think twice, the first big fat no would be plenty.
So what would you buy ?
Petrol, probably estate the rest I am open too really.
RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid or RAV4 Prime (fastest in Toyota hybrid range).
When I eventually replace the BMW E91 330i Touring, it might be time to try a Volvo V60 T5. Would like more comfort, but still a decent petrol engine, though I am not convinced I will like the handling after so long in rear drive BMW's.
In my head, a newish car is up to 5 years old!
all the boy racer suggestions
Can someone cleverer than me explain what cars this includes? So far I've only managed to count a serious Civic Type R and tongue in cheek Mustang. The rest are boring estates by any other name, not one Subaru or anything else that ticks that particular box.
Or has this place morphed into Barry ****ing Boys?
The rest are boring estates
My boring, generic auto estate has lowered suspension, flat bottomed steering wheel, flappy paddles and (worth at least 5mph more) red badges and red stitching... 😎😉
Get the bus + £30k of coke and hookers
My boring, generic auto estate
I don't see your name before now.
Point being nothing suggested so far (barring noted exceptions) is remotely "peacock" like or sporty (the Corolla although named as such definitely isn't, still a nice car though).
If you want a nice big estate car then probably a Mazda 6, Passat or Octavia
If you want some thing a bit flasher then an A4 Avant or Volvo V70 are very nice places to sit.
Prices are very high at the moment though
Not sure that needs a 20/30k investment. You can pick something decent up for less than 10k. Keep say 3k in a Bork fund and save / spend the rest on something memorable or non depreciating
My vote would be to go and have a look at the Subaru Outback.
The Mustang was indeed tongue in cheek - love a V8, but scratched that itch with the RS5 and not a fan of Mustangs per se.
I will have a C7 RS6 at some point though (4l V8 twin turbo), but anything that I want is still knocking on the door of £50k
Keeping the boy racer theme alive though and completely ignoring the OP's request for an estate - if I had £30k to spend on a car right now, there's one place it would be going (or maybe an M2 😉)
I’m sure that’s a fun place to be, but I’d have to budget for a house with a garage too so I didn’t have to look at it.
I’m sure that’s a fun place to be, but I’d have to budget for a house with a garage too so I didn’t have to look at it.
They certainly aren't one to look back at whilst walking away, but by all accounts one of THE best drivers cars out there right now
Still no understanding of 'newish' but...there's an Audi A8 W12 6.3 with only 25k miles for £28k on autotrader.
Definitely a wolf in sheep's clothing!
2k car and 28k ****ing bitches in far flung countries
???