It's time to let the Salon go

[Benner]

I say go British.

Bentley, Lotus, Aston Martin, Noble, Trident

Whatever.  They all seem to be pretty well respected. 

Might be a little hopefull with those. 

[thebullfrog]

An Exige is a good small car 

[DaveK]

I say go British.

Bentley, Lotus, Aston Martin, Noble, Trident

Whatever.  They all seem to be pretty well respected. 

Might be a little hopefull with those. 

Bentley: German
Lotus: American now I think via GM (?)
Aston Martin: American (Ford)

Even Rolls Royce is German now.

Should be OK with a Noble though

[yud]

I say go British.

Bentley, Lotus, Aston Martin, Noble, Trident

Whatever.  They all seem to be pretty well respected. 

Might be a little hopefull with those. 

Bentley: German
Lotus: American now I think via GM (?)
Aston Martin: American (Ford)

Even Rolls Royce is German now.

Should be OK with a Noble though

I thought Ford sold it off

[DaveK]

I know they were trying to - not sure if they found a buyer. You could be right!

[thebullfrog]

Not sure if Ford sold Astom yet or not. And Lotus is technically Malaysian not American. They are currently owned by Proton.

[NutSAK]

Not sure if Ford sold Astom yet or not. And Lotus is technically Malaysian not American. They are currently owned by Proton.

Ford sold Aston to a Kuwaiti shareholding company (Investment Dar) in 2007.

[Benner]

Ok, I am looking into non-dealer options just to get an idea.  What are people's thoughts on these car supermarket thingies? I have found a really nice diesel Scenic with just over 40K miles well within my budget and they offer an extra 3 year warranty from the AA.  It will be gutless I am sure, but I would get twice as many MPG and the tax and insurance is newt to nothing.

[Mr. Whippy]

In the US, Carmax is very well thought of.  Not the cheapest (private sale is), but the car will be what they say it is.

[DaveK]

Ok, I am looking into non-dealer options just to get an idea.  What are people's thoughts on these car supermarket thingies? I have found a really nice diesel Scenic with just over 40K miles well within my budget and they offer an extra 3 year warranty from the AA.  It will be gutless I am sure, but I would get twice as many MPG and the tax and insurance is newt to nothing.

It's the only place I go now, but try to find one that doesn't pay it's sales people commission. Sounds daft, but I used Available Car to buy the Freelander and they were so different to some of the others that it was refreshing. Noone was desperate to sell me anything, prices are non-negotiable, but were the cheapest I could find anywhere.

Their maintenance people and facilities were fantastic, and they really check the cars out before selling them and they do various warranty and insurance packages ranging from 6 months to 3 years. Because the guy that serves you isn't on commission, they don't pressure you to take loads of addons or anything either.

I'd recommend giving them a try if you have a branch near you.

EDIT: Looks like they're only in the Midlands: http://www.availablecar.com/

[Benner]

I want to find out a ball park 3 year warranty figure for say a Scenic, but can't find the info. 

[DaveK]

Try this:

http://www.availablecar.com/Products/Warranties/MAPFRE-ABRAXAS-Warranty.aspx

[Benner]

Cool thanks.  Gives me an idea at least.

[Benner]

Ok final shortlist that I'll be looking at next week...

Kia Carens
Renault Scenic
Citroen Picasso
Vauxhall Zafira.

Any thoughts on any of those would be appreciated.

[Whoey]

both my nephew and niece bought Opel Astras recently (within the last year or so) which I believe the Vauxhall uses the same engine/other parts. They're both very happy with theirs and have had no issues afaik.

[DaveK]

Ok final shortlist that I'll be looking at next week...

Kia Carens
Renault Scenic
Citroen Picasso
Vauxhall Zafira.

Any thoughts on any of those would be appreciated.

I've been very happy with the value we've had from our Scenic, not much experience of the others though

[Benner]

The diesel Scenic's offer great MPG.  Can get a lot of toys for the money as well.

[DaveK]

Ours is a petrol, and quite a basic model, but it's been a great family car

It's on it's last legs now - it'll soon be in the Salon's status group I reckon, but 10 years from 10 grand ain't bad (used cars are cheaper now than they were in 2000  )

[Benner]

Petrol is what I have always owned, but with the cost of fuel diesels are looking like good options.  The 1.5 diesel Scenic for example does twice as many MPG as my Vitara.  As I have been spending about £120 a month on petrol, I could save a lot of money with a diesel.

[DaveK]

Yup - I hear you!

The Freelander is a diesel because the MPG looked better (although the petrol version being well known for blowing head gaskets, was a factor too)!