My Car Has Stolen Money From Me...

[longbridge]

Worst I ever did was buy a brand new 2004 Toyota Avalon V6 sedan for $30,000 kept it for 15 months and traded it on a Toyota Four Runner V6  Limited 4x4, the 4x4 was $18,000 and had everything that opened and shut  on it, I got $20,000 for the Avalon. (good riddence).

Hated both of the Toyota's, the Avalon was to quiet, to smooth and just about drove its bloody self, the 4x4 was OK but cost a fortune to run, in just over 2 years it cost me over $3,000 in repairs and tyres and when I sold it it needed more tyres and the Auto was on its way out.

After just over 2 years I traded the 4x4 on a 1999 model 4 Litre 6 cylinder Ford Falcon Utility, the ute was immaculate with only a few Kms on the clock, I got $7,000 for the 4x4 and the ute cost me $14,000, never looked back since as I love the ute which I have now had for 5 years and I intend keeping it until I am pushing up the Daisy's.

Should never have bought Toyotas in the first place and stuck with the Fords like I always used to.

[Greybeema]

I am right with you FM.
On my 5th Beema. 2 four doors and three 325 Coupes. Once a petrol head, always a petrol head.  Funny thing is that I too am considering a Jag XF diesel as the next car (fuel of Satan). Though I do think it has a Hyundai grill 😠.  I do understand that the mid range is a little dull though.

Just don't think of the money - its the only way...

[Pengi]

And its not only the car itself, it is all the rest e.g. new tyres, servicing, fuel, tax and then there is insurance. I advised my insurance company that I was doing less miles and they told me my insurance would cost more!! This is because drivers are more likely to have an accident because they are more nervous because they are doing less miles!! So if you try to be 'green' and save money on fuel, then you are stuffed on the insurance. Needless to say I argued till I was blue in the face with my insurance company about their logic, which assumes that their driver is always going to be at fault for an accident. Similarly, a friend of mine was told their insurance would be going up because they were unemployed and would be more likely to have an accident through hurrying for work appointments!!

Rip off Britain!!

[point blank]

Depreciation doesnt pi$$ me off too much, what does is paying £1.40 a litre for diesel and £450 a year for road tax paid out my wages that they have already took a massive chunk out of before I even see it.

And what do they do with this money, simple, give it too some low life type who appears on Jeremy Kyle esc shows to keep him in comfort while he does his suspended sentance for the mugging/burgling/car theft etc off people like us..... sorry rant over.

[steamerdave]

Morning all

I would'nt even think about how much I have spent on cars over the 35 years I have been on the road, In my early years I was involved in short circuit racing ( Bangers and Stock cars ). Looking back I invested stupid amounts in other peoples rust buckets just to go out and destroy them in demolition derbies and the like, these were normally Austin A60. Wolsely 1660, Triumph 2000 and the like, back in the '80s we would be paying up tp £50 for a car for a Sunday afternoons entertainment.
Then I start thinking about my road cars, for 35 years I have always driven Ford, living in Dagenham at the time you just had to, the best of these being a 2.3 Diesel Sierra Saphire, this I used as a Taxi and its life took it around the clock some six times. My last Ford was a Fusion which I had from new in 2003 and covered 100,000 miles until last November when the cam belt snapped, 2 days before it was booked in for replacement. I can only assume the engine is scrap now as I would need to invest a further £100 minimum to replace this belt only to find out that it may also have bent valves or even a cracked piston plus only 5 minutes prior to the belt letting go I filled up with Petrol so there is another £45 invested in this pile of scrap that is still parked outside where the RAC left it, still taxed and tested.
I have now moved on, took a gamble, and bought a Jaguar X Type 2.0 Diesel and I am in love again, this car is fantastic and no matter what it costs in servicing and other running costs it will be a long time before we part company. Alright this may have a Mondeo engine under the bonnet but it also has what I remember as the clasic lines of a good old fashioned British car ( even though the Indians own Jaguar these days ).
So again I am a few grand out of pocket but thats life these days

Dave

[EddieA]

I decided many years ago that trading in a car was a waste of money. My recent history has been a secondhand Volvo 340 (absolutely rubbish handling in snow and ice as it was rear-wheel drive!) but kept it for 6 years until it was only fit for the scrappy, got I think £60 for it.

Next was an 3 year old Astra, L reg - cost £5000. Brilliant car, only one breakdown (waterpump) and when I inherited my late Father's car (Ford Escort) in 2003 my partner was needing a run-around so she took the Astra, or Asterix as she christened it (that could be another thread about pet names for cars...). The Astra is still on the go, 116,000 miles on the clock, and still got some oomph if you put your right foot down! However, no power steering and the clutch/gearshift is h-e-a-v-y.

The Ford went to the scrapyard in 2010 with only 76,000 on the clock as it had developed several electrical faults, including a faulty engine management system which were going to cost more than it was worth to put right. £170 in my pocket.

Present car is a 05 plate 1 Litre Corsa, nippy despite the engine size, good mpg and handled well in the snow last winter. Looks like it might live up to the same standards as the Astra, only snag is the boot size, even with the back seats down you would be hard pushed to get a 4 foot baseboard in!

Probably the worst car I have had for stealing money, both for breakdowns/faults and also mpg, was the Escort. But I suppose with a 1.6L engine driving in an urban environment (ie the Edinburgh orbital carpark , sorry bypass) in rush hour where you are lucky if you get into 3rd gear 35mpg wasn't too bad. 

           

[moogle]

Similarly, a friend of mine was told their insurance would be going up because they were unemployed and would be more likely to have an accident through hurrying for work appointments!!

Well, I feel your friends pain. Passed my test in April and I've only been a car owner since last June.
Not many cheap autos around but I found one for £500.
Was SHOCKED at the price when I put unemployed into the quote.
So I tried it with putting in voluntary for a job, which I do.
Came down by over £200! Rip off merchants indeed.

I've spent about what I paid for her on much needed parts but she's worth it!
She's a 20 year old 2L auto, does 30 mpg and has just passed 199000 miles. 

If you want to know what 'she' is and what 'she' is called, click here:

http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=3824.msg43300;topicseen#msg43300

[tim-pelican]

My 8-year-old 206, which I'd had from new, went to the garage for a lot of various bits and pieces last year.  It was pushing £2k in bills before I decided it really wasn't worth keeping going any more.  Nice shiny new Golf Plus 2.0 TDI.  Repairs are Someone Else's Problem for three years again, and a shade over 60 to the gallon on a long run is lovely

[4x2]

My 8-year-old 206, which I'd had from new, went to the garage for a lot of various bits and pieces last year.  It was pushing £2k in bills before I decided it really wasn't worth keeping going any more.  Nice shiny new Golf Plus 2.0 TDI.  Repairs are Someone Else's Problem for three years again, and a shade over 60 to the gallon on a long run is lovely

£2k in repairs   I'd change the garage, not the car !

You did make a good choice though, as the Golf is a thousand times better than a 206 or any other french car !!!

[polo2k]

Agreed,
Ive got one, on some TDI`s the turbos can get a bit fragile if they have been babied.

Apart from that I wouldnt know cos mine has been toyed with significantly, so the higher than usual maintenance and repair bill are expected.

Must admit 50+ MPG and 15 sec 1/4 mile is hard to beat!

[tim-pelican]

4x2, it was somewhere around 7 or 8 hundred to change the head gasket as the big bill, then just a lot of a hundred for this, two hundred for that, fifty for the other.  All added up.  But yes, the Golf is *much* nicer.

[Mustermark]

Mine just ate a big chunk out of my credit card... 600 quid for a service and two tyres.

Think of the trains you can get for that! :'(

[Flakmunky]

Yep, they certainly steal from you, and yep you could buy a lot of trains...

But for me, nothing can beat the sound of a big naturally aspirated engine being given some beans! TDIs are great, I've had a few, but I love big naturally aspirated engines.

My favourite engine being the 4.2 V8 in the XK, closely followed by the inline 6 in my current car with the V6 in a 350Z coming 3rd.

[Mustermark]

My favourite car engine sound is the Aston Martin, I think it was a 6L in a DB9.  Makes your neck hairs stand up.

I love the sound of mine too.  Between about 3000 and 4000 rpm the grunt turns into a roar.

[Flakmunky]

What car is that, MM?

Agreed Astons sound good... Trouble is you just don't get to hear them that often!