Half-price heroes

Deals: Cut-price performance diesels

Ian Tonkin — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:51:27 GMT

With the cost of fuel still taking its toll on the residual values of high-powered machinery, now is a great time to take advantage the effortless pace and good economy of sporty diesels.

Just look at what you can find for less than £15k.

Our pick is the pre-facelift BMW 330d saloon. The 155mph compact exec can hit 60mph in 6.5sec and still return over 40mpg. This 55-plater looks like an ex- company car if we ever saw one, but it’s great value at £15k, especially as it has only covered 32,000 miles since new.

If you want a bit of French hot hatch flair, there’s the current-gen Renault Megane 175 Renaultsport. The diesel-powered Renaultsport will do 600 miles between fill-ups and is now turning up in classifieds at attractive prices. This 57-plate, 26,000-mile example has shed £6000 in just one year and can be snapped up for a very reasonable £13,000.

The 330d’s arch rival, the Mercedes C320 CDI, is also a cracking second-hand buy, with examples of the previous model now selling at family hatch prices. The seller of this previous-gen C-class is asking a mere £13,500. It’s on an 06-plate with 36,000 miles and there’s even the remaining balance of the manufacturer’s warranty. Wunderbar.

The 170bhp Skoda Octavia VRS is an even cheaper offering. It might lack the brand kudos of the BMW and Merc, but it’s still a solid performer. Running costs are low (expect around 45mpg) and so are used values, so have a look at this 56-plater with 34,000 miles, which is on offer with air conditioning and Skoda service history for just £11,000.

The safe money is with another one of the VW Group’s products, the Seat Leon 2.0 TDI FR. It hasn’t been savaged by depreciation, having lost just £7000 of its £18k list price in two years. We managed to track down a current-model FR, a 41,000-mile 2006 example on an 06 plate selling for £11,000.

Technorati Tags: BMW 330d,Renault Megane 175 Renaultsport,Mercedes C320 CDI,Skoda Octavia VRS,Seat Leon FR

Deals: Power is getting seriously cheap

Ian Tonkin — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:45:02 GMT

This week our trawl through the classifieds is focused on bringing the maximum amount of bang for the minimum amount of buck.

The ‘E39’ BMW M5 is a genuine all-rounder, combining supercar performance with saloon versatility. Values have been falling hard recently, and although bad ones can quickly turn into money pits, we reckon it’s worth taking a punt on this 2000 X-reg example, selling for £9000 with 87K on the odo. The price includes xenon headlights and sat-nav.

Something more modern? Well if you can afford the fuel bills then the Vauxhall Monaro is a storming buy. Picking the 5.7-litre V8 version means that you have to make do with ‘only’ 349bhp, compared to the VXR’s 400bhp, but depreciation has really got its teeth into the big Vauxhall and we managed to find this 05-plate minter with just 38,000 miles showing for £10,995.

There are lots of AMG Mercs out there and earlier, less fashionable examples are getting attractively cheap. The C32 AMG uses a supercharged V6 engine instead of the later V8 power, but it’s still got 354bhp, and we dug out this 52-plate example with 58,000 miles for £11,000.

The Jaguar S-Type always struggled to be taken seriously as a rival to the 5-series and E-class, with the upshot that secondhand versions are becoming exceptionally keen buys. The supercharged ‘R’ version uses the same 4.2-litre V8 and transmission as the XKR, with the blower delivering massive performance. Not only is it more discreet than an AMG E-class or M5, it’s massively cheaper, too – this 03-reg example is on offer for £10,000, with just 60,000 miles showing and a full history.

Getting slightly silly now – how about a Bentley? A bit of digging unearthed this 1993 K-reg Bentley Turbo R for just £10,000. it’s done 102,000, but that comes backed with a fully-stamped service history - and all the toys still work.

Technorati Tags: Bentley Turbo R,Vauxhall Monaro,Mercedes C32 AMG,BMW M5,Jaguar S-Type R

Don’t get depressed by depreciation

James Ruppert — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:17:12 GMT

One of the first victims of the economic downturn was the depreciation-free car. It’s not long since the heady days when city boys sold their places on the DB9 waiting list to each other for 20 per cent more than list.

Now supercar values are suffering harder than pretty much anything else as values slide. So is there still a foolproof way to keep your automotive investment safe?

You can always go classic. At the top of the market you have Chris Evans paying £5m too much for a Ferrari, and at the other there are some perky values among small-engined Brit classics that are easy to park and cheap to look after.

So while the E-Type is going to hold its own in the longer term, increasingly buyers are seeing the appeal of something cheap and family-friendly like a Morris Minor.

There are still plenty of Moggies around, parts availability is superb and those registered before 1971 qualify for free road tax. They’ll manage over 40mpg too – so a well-chosen £2500 Minor will always get you your money back.

Of course, most people can’t trust the business of getting to work or ferrying the kids to school to something in its mid-forties. Fortunately there are some modern cars that have pretty much lost all the value they’re going to. How about getting Smart – literally.

Small is beautiful these days, and despite the teetering handling and anaemic performance, the Smart is tough and reasonably cheap to run. Early examples stopped depreciating some time ago, and that includes the left-hookers. Spend £1500 on one and you should get most of it back in two years’ time.

Or, getting more sensible, a middle-aged diesel supermini is about the best way to reduce your running costs to an absolute minimum. Yes, you’ll still be shedding a few hundred quid a year in depreciation, but you’ll make most of that back through ultra-low fuel and insurance costs.

Many are only just beginning to realise that one of the most economical superminis of recent times was the previous-generation Renault Clio dCi 65. It can manage comfortably over 60mpg, road tax is £35 a year and it’s actually pretty decent to drive.

Or finally, be daft. Knowing which Porsche 911 to buy when has been a proven way to hedge pretty much every economic downturn of the last three decades. So sell the late models, which are falling in value, but still aren’t cheap enough, and concentrate instead on a decent ‘80s Carrera – or a tidy, late air-cooled 993. Recession or not, these are always going to make sensible mid-term investments.

Technorati Tags: Smart ForTwo,Chris Evans,Ferrari,Jaguar E-Type,supermini

Deals: Bargain supercars

Ian Tonkin — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 12:43:58 GMT

The economic downturn has been playing havoc with supercar values, with an abundance of sellers and a shortage of buyers translating into some seriously tempting prices.

Let’s kick off with the footballer’s favourite – the Aston Martin DB9. For a while, these were residually bombproof, but values have taken a real kicking in the last year. We found this cracking 05-plate DB9 Touchtronic with just 20,000 miles showing for a whisker under £50,000. That’s under half what it’s first owner paid for it, and it comes with backed up with a fully stamped history.

The BMW M6 isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but plunging prices mean it’s become a major performance bargain. You can have this 55-plate M6 Coupe on your driveway tomorrow for £31,000 without haggling. It’s shed a walloping £50K – or the price of a new M3 Coupe –in just three years and 43,000 miles. Even better, it comes with every extra, including a TV/ DVD system and an extended BMW warranty.

Fancy a Fezza? Despite the crunch, early Ferrari 360 prices are still holding up respectably well, but you can now go fishing for a decent example with a budget that starts with a ‘4’. This 2000 X-reg Coupe has covered just 26,000 miles and is up at £45,000. It’s got a manual gearbox instead of the more fashionable F1 robo-box, but that makes it a purer driver’s car.

911 Turbos always shed value quickly, and the previous-generation ‘996’ is no exception. After a bit of digging we found this 46,000-mile 03-plate manual for just £40,000. With near 200mph performance, easy driving manners and generous standard kit, this really is the everyday supercar.

Finally, something a bit sillier. Nobody should buy a Lamborghini Murcielago without giving serious consideration to its intrinsic impracticality, ludicrous servicing bills and massive running costs, but it’s hard not to be tempted into remortgaging the house by this 02-plate Coupe. It’s covered just 26,000 miles and it could be yours for £80,000, under half what it cost new.

Technorati Tags: Aston Martin DB9,BMW M6 Coupe,Ferrari 360 Modena,Porsche 996 Turbo,Lamborghini Murcielago

Time to downsize?

Ian Tonkin — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:48:14 GMT

This week we’re being sensible, with a round-up of some of the best supermini deals out there.

Fuel prices may be waning, but for sensible punters looking to downsize the best modern ‘minis combine low running costs with the sort of safety and kit previously associated with big execs.

The new Fiesta is fresh in the showrooms, but the previous generation has always been a solid secondhand buy.

Behind the dull design it’s great to drive, running costs are low and it’s mechanically tough. We found an 05-reg 1.4 Flame 3dr with air-con, a full service history and 33,000 miles for £4300.

If you’ve got a bigger budget then buying nearly-new is a great way to save a few quid. The current Renault Clio is a cracking car, but used values are weakening as more come onto the market.

After a bit of digging we tracked down this 57-plate 1.2 Dynamique 5dr with 14,500 miles on the clock. It’s wearing an £8K pricetag, a £3300 saving on its new price, with two years warranty remaining.

The Peugeot 207 isn’t the sportiest of drives, but it’s popularity as a new buy means that values of used versions are starting to slide. We found this 07-plate 1.4-litre Sport 3dr with 8000 miles and aircon - a bargain at just £6500.

There are fewer toys on this 15,000-mile 57-plate Skoda Fabia 1.2 ‘1’ 5-dr, but at £5800 it looks like spectacularly good value, especially as that’s buying the (slightly) more powerful 70bhp version of the 1.2-litre engine and it comes with air-con.

Or, if you want the latest reg plate, it’s still possible to carve a chunk off one of the best superminis out there, the new Vauxhall Corsa.

Going through a broker trims £1800 from the list price of this 58-plate 1.4-litre Design Auto, backed with three years of manufacturer warranty.

Technorati Tags: Ford Fiesta,Renault Clio 182,Skoda Fabia,Peugeot 207,Vauxhall Corsa,Supermini

Time to make an executive decision?

Ian Tonkin — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 09:57:37 GMT

Big saloons have always shed value faster than shares in a high street bank, but that’s no bad thing if you’re on the prowl for a used bargain.

And the better news is that the more popular diesel versions are suffering from the same savage depreciation.

The current ‘E60’ BMW 530d is a cracking choice, and early examples are now touching the £10K barrier. Between £3000 and £4000 more is enough to land a mint, early low-miler. Like this 04-reg auto with just 36,500 miles showing, full leather and a full service history. All for £13,500, the price of a new 1.4 TDI Polo.

The current Audi A6 is slightly less desirable, both new and used, and values reflect that. We found this 05-reg 2.7 TDI with 35,000 miles on offer for just £11K.

Or how about a Merc? Pre-facelift versions of the current E-class have been falling hard in recent months and we dug up this gleaming 53-reg E320CDI Avantgarde with 39,000 miles for £13,850. If all else fails, you can always become a Stuttgart taxi driver.

Behind the bling, the diesel Chrysler 300C is a thoroughly sensible mile-muncher, and remember that it’s based on the previous-generation Mercedes E-Class. A dealer is asking just over £13,500 for this 06-reg CRD diesel auto, which is still under manufacturer warranty.

Or, a final suggestion, why not buy British? Time has not been kind to the Jaguar S-Type’s residuals, and even the excellent twin-turbocharged diesel version hasn’t been spared the savaging. This 54-reg example is on for just £9950 despite only 44,000 miles, satnav and a full service history.

Technorati Tags: Jaguar S-Type,Mercedes E320 CDI,BMW 5-Series,Chrysler 300C,used cars

Hot hatches, cooling prices

Ian Tonkin — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:33:59 GMT

For the maximum amount of bang for the minimum amount of buck, you can’t do better than a nearly new hot hatch.

A hotted-up version of an everyday family car combines practicality with everyday performance. And, with over-supply of some popular models, values are falling nicely.

RenaultSport makes our current favourite hot hatches, but the division’s earlier offerings are getting attractively cheap.

Around £2000 is enough to get into an early, previous-generation Renault Clio 172, but if the budget can stretch then we’d suggest something a bit more recent. How about this mint 55-plate Renault Clio 182. It’s showing 49,000 miles, backed by a full service history, and all with change from £6000.

Values for the first-gen BMW-era Mini Cooper S held solid for years, but now they are starting to slide. The supercharged 1.6-litre engine has a character that the new, turbocharged Cooper S can’t match, and Mini’s ‘tlc’ servicing means there are lots of well looked-after middle-aged cars to choose from. We found this 52,000-mile 03-plater for £7590.

Need something bigger? The Ford Focus ST is becoming compellingly cheap – if you can afford its sub-25mpg fuel habit. We found this 45,000-mile ST2 on a 55-plate for £9995 – a tidy eight grand less than it cost its first owner.

Or, how about something a bit rarer? The Vauxhall Astra VXR is a classic old-school hot hatch, with supremely chuckable handling and rocketship performance from its 237bhp 2.0-litre turbocharged motor. We found this low mileage 06-plater for £11,495. It’s got just 35K on the odometer, plus extras like keyless entry and Bluetooth.

Finally, our current favourite hot hatch – the (deep breath) Renault Megane RenaultSport 230 F1 Team R26. It’s got one of the most sorted front-drive chassis ever, but it’s also shed a king’s ransom in depreciation. We tracked down this 7000 mile ’57 plater for £12,995, complete with two years of manufacturer warranty. That’s £7500 less than it cost new a year ago.

Technorati Tags: Renault Clio 182,Ford Focus ST,Vauxhall Astra VXR,Renault Megnae R26,Renaultsport,hot hatch,Mini Cooper S

The £16k Audi R8

Jamie Corstorphine — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 10:02:06 GMT

Driving to work today, stuck in the usual traffic jam, I glanced across to find the bloke in the lane next to me was driving an immaculate Honda NSX.

These days the NSX is a rare sight indeed. Few enough were sold in the first place, mostly because people couldn’t quite fathom the idea of spending £70,000 on a Honda, regardless of Ayrton Senna’s role in its chassis development. And nowadays most of the survivors have gone into the deep hibernation that comes with quasi-classic status.

But it’s still a hell of a car. Back in the day it was good enough to win our Handling Test for two years on the trot. And now – thanks to its rarity and unarguably well-executed design – it still looks fresh and arresting.

This one was wearing a tasteful private plate, and it occurred to me that you could park it next to its nearest modern equivalent, the Audi R8, without shame. Once I got to the office a quick scan of the net showed several for sale under the £20K barrier, and one particularly sweet-looking example up for just £16,000.

Admit it, you’re tempted.

Deals: Credit-crunched SUVs

Ian Tonkin — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:48:23 GMT

Welcome to our new round-up of the most compelling bargains in the car market at the moment.

This week we’re talking SUVs, which have been losing value hand over fist in the last year.

With the credit crunch biting, fuel prices soaring and road tax going through the roof, there’s never been a better time for the brave to jump into owning a fully fledged gas-guzzler.

If you can live with the social stigma – and the fuel costs – then there are some really sweet deals out there.

Take the controversial Cayenne. At these prices, somebody has to. It’s currently the cheapest way into a recent Porsche, and we managed to find a 2003 Cayenne Tiptronic S for just £14,495.

With 68,000 miles showing, a full service history and full leather interior that’s compelling value –and it’s actually £5000 less than its ‘official’ retail price in one well-known trade guide.

Next, the Range Rover. The current version still possesses indisputable country club kudos, and prices of early versions are now plummeting like depressed lemmings.

We were shocked (and delighted) to find a pre-facelift version selling for supermini money: this 02-reg TD6 HSE is being offered for just £12,950, complete with sat-nav. Stick a private plate on it and people will think you spent the thick end of £30K on it.

Next to the residual carnage, the previous-generation X5 is holding up reasonably well - £14,000 for a 05-reg 4.8iS with 47,000 miles looks strong in this market.

What if you need genuine off-road ability? How about the Toyota Land Cruiser? The previous-generation Amazon is an unpretentious alternative to the Range Rover, will get you to Cape Town without complaining and – in diesel guise – should manage 25mpg if driven gently. This 02-plate 4.2 VX looks like a snip at £12,000.

Technorati Tags: Porsche Cayenne,Range Rover,BMW X5,Mercedes ML,Cape Town,Toyota Land Cruiser

A secondhand dog could be for life

James Ruppert — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 15:09:19 GMT

Your life savings seem set to disappear into some global black hole, and the high street Bungling Bank is about to merge with the local butchers – so you’d be right in thinking that things aren’t too clever down your local car showroom.

Even so, I heard from a friend of mine who works at such a place that they’d managed to shift sixteen new cars last month, which he thought was pretty decent considering the present circumstances.

Unfortunately for him, he also admitted the franchise has to flog sixty new motors a month just to break even.

I’m sure you’ve seen the stats – car sales down 18.6 percent in August year-on-year – and even the previously imperious BMW has taken a hit. But what you won’t see, because nobody bothers collating the data, is the boom in knackered £300 Nissan Micra sales (up, let’s say, 15.2 percent) and the strong run on MOT borderline Cavaliers, which must be at least 23.2 percent up on last year. Yes, dogs are most definitely in.

My local bombsite has always insisted that any Herbert can sell a banger – if it’s cheap enough, someone will always buy. Even in good times the turnover can be quite spectacular with even a modest frontage shifting over 20 a week. Obviously if you’re selling at under £500 you’re looking to buy ‘em in at less than £100 – so it’s lowest-bidder auction fodder that gets hoovered up.

After a spring clean, bangers move quickly to those in search of wheels but nothing else. The combination of what passes for a forecourt and the implication that there may be a warranty of sorts is enough to reassure most buyers. In reality these cars only have to last a few months, but actually they tend to go on a lot longer than that.

The truth is that Bangers have never been better and there’s never been a better time to get into the credit crunch car business. For the trade, it’s time to drop the pinstripe and don the sheepskin: sub-prime Primera, anyone?

Technorati Tags: Nissan Primera,Vauxhall Cavaliers,Nissan Micra

A grand day out at the auction

James Ruppert — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:35:11 GMT

I just spent a truly splendid day at a car auction. This was a proper Brit one with surly blokes and exhaust smoke and sarnies and not remotely like the cabaret show that Editor Hallett recently attended.

Actually, a British Car Auction Top Marques sale is not remotely downmarket and it’s the best entertainment anyone who loves great value posh cars, can legally have.

I was there in a professional capacity focusing on the really high end stuff, but I can confirm that stories of deserted auction houses and cars selling for 20p have been widely exaggerated. Despite it being the season that most of the car trade goes on a well-earned holiday, there was an impressively large turn out and lots of sexy cars for them to scrap over.

Never has it been more important to listen to what the auctioneer actually said as a glut of 911s came into view. Some were imports, others didn’t have V5s, the occasional one was sans history.

But then again, wouldn’t you be tempted to take a chance on a 2003 GT3 with a warranted 16K mileage for £34,300? Or, despite the girly gearbox, how about a 2003 Carrera 2 Tiptronic with satnav and everything for £25K? An identical import went for £22,900: 996s have never been cheaper.

The economic chill has been cooling convertible values, too. A 2001 XK8 ragtop with a warranted 27K miles went for £15,000 and a 2006 BMW 650i cabrio – still in warranty – was amazing value at £25K, less than half its new price. There were a whole slew of SLs too, with a 2003 SL500 with 19K miles fetching £24K being a typical example of how the mighty have fallen.

Okay, I’ll stop there. Much as I’d love to list them all, it may make you feel a bit quesy if you have just paid rather more retail money for something that’s not much better. And one word of warning, for all the appeal of prestige brand auctions, I recently had a conversation with a main dealer sales manager which went along the lines of “problem part exchanges? We always send them to auction, sold as seen.”

In the meantime, I still prefer to wallow in the cheap stuff. An S-plate BMW 525i with a towbar caught my eye for £1300, but I already had something in the carpark that starts first time.

Technorati Tags: Auction,Porsche 911,BMW650i,BMW525i,Porsche GT3,Jaguar XK8

‘Bye bye Bimmer

James Ruppert — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:55:07 GMT

In case you haven’t been paying attention I have recently suffered a sort of mid-life madness. Sadly it didn’t involve a Ronnie Wood style ‘lost week’ with a Russian cocktail waitress, it’s rather more serious than that. I actually gave away a car.

Not just any car either, but German one from the era when they used to build them properly. My lovely BMW (the ‘E34’ generation for the nomenclature anoraks out there), a 525iA SE to be even more precise.

It wasn’t a dog either, the grey leather was immaculate and the six cylinder was super smooth. In two years it had never even hinted at missing a beat. It had a full year’s ticket, four new rubber rings of confidence on the recently replaced imperial alloys, which means something to those who know about the great metric run flat vs imperial tyre debate. Not only that there was a recent ramp and stamp service. Mind you I actually drew the line a cleaning the thing, what would be the point of that?

Anyway, after organising a silly competition to get the great British Banger buying public to tell me what Bangernomics meant to them. Whilst I was waiting for everyone to upload their cinematic epics, I didn’t use the girl for a few weeks, so the battery went flat. Never mind, I bought another and by that time Mr Dunstan Rickard had convinced me that he was not only the most deserving cause, but also knew his Bangernomics from his elbow. Indeed he’d used a packet of genuine sausage to make his point, along with a couple of old Pugs.

I didn’t really know I’d made the right decision until he came to my gaff to collect his prize Banger. Along with his son Ben, who I suspect knows rather more about cars than his dad, they seemed unduly unexcited about the sprightly thirteen year old. At least they have plans for her and that involves a whole bunch of charity runs over the coming year in aid of Ben’s school and the Autistic Society.

Much better than having some teenagers who could never afford the insurance trying to part exchange their Saxo for it, or letting some bullet headed ex-con kick the tyres and offer you 10p before using it in a botched sub post office heist. Or is that me being just a little bit mad?

Next up, anyone want a slightly dented 1997 Saab 9000?

Technorati Tags: BMW 525i Ronnie Wood Saab Citroen Saxo

The thinking man's MPV

James Ruppert — Wed, 14 May 2008 17:15:06 GMT

First of all I would like to thank all of you for posting your super clever suggestions for getting my backside into an interesting seven-seater.

Grateful as I am for the input – I must confess to having completely ignored it. Which is why I’m now the proud owner of a 112,000 mile Volvo V70, 2000 on the “W” and powered by the 2.4-litre petrol engine.

It does fulfil the basic criteria of seating seven, although with two of those rear-facing pop-up seats in the boot. That’s right, sometime before everybody got excited by Vauxhall’s ‘Flex 7’ seating system, various other manufacturers had already had a very similar idea.

The rearmost seats are suitable only for children of course. Which is no bad thing: I’ve discovered they actually can’t wait to climb aboard, hide from parental oversight and then make rude gestures at following motorists.

Before we got to the idea of a rear-facing Swede, I persuaded Mrs. R to have a drive in a Zafira. Which she reckoned was really rather downmarket. We then spent an hour of our lives that we will never get back in a Toyota showroom, looking at a completely underwhelming Verso that was priced so optimistically I couldn’t speak for several days afterwards.

I have to admit that, when you’re actually facing the prospect of putting your name on the V5, it’s the boxy shape of a typical people-carrier that serves as the biggest turn-off. Just the thought of having a lump like that on the drive, blocking out the sun, was enough to make me shudder. Estates are just so much more lifestyle. Plus we – and that’s the royal ‘we’ of HRH Mrs. R – has minimal requirements that include leather, climate and an autobox.

Plan “A” was to find a Merc W124 estate with pop-up seats in the boot, but that one bit the dust when Mrs. R kicked up a fuss about driving a vehicle that was older than the 11-year old Saab she currently pilots. I find more modern Mercedes scary to look at and not entirely reliable.

So we ended up with the Ovlov. I bought it utterly blind – which was stupid, but exciting. Fortunately the old girl seems to be in decent enough fettle and – so far – has cost nothing more than petrol to run.

That said, if I had to do the whole exercise again I think I’d probably just chuck some old foam into the back the Land Rover and tell the kids to make a den there. Next time I’ll think thing through better.

Dealers play recession roulette

Mike Duff — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:39:29 GMT

If you’re calling about the car, it’s already gone. Selling my 2001 Seat Toledo TDI has delivered a fascinating insight into the dynamics of the modern car market. Main dealers might be filled with tumbleweed and racks of yellowing brochures, but demand for sub-£3000 diesels invokes an analogy concerning hot cakes.

Indeed, despite 93,000 miles and a reasonable crop of stone chips, my Toledo sold to the first punter to come and see it – for just £150 less than the keen price I was asking for it. I’m not surprised: soaring fuel prices mean that a realistic 48mpg is hugely compelling at the bottom end of the market.

But, before it departed, the Toledo also delivered an insight into just why the modern car showroom is echoing to little more than the sound of glum-looking sales executives’ shuffling feet.

Like most punters at car-change time, my first thought was to offload the trusty Seat as a part-ex. And, to cut a long story short, my local Honda dealership offered me just £1100 for it: considerably less than half of what I eventually got, and barely 50 per cent of it’s official trade value according to the industry-standard CAP price guide.

I can only presume that the logic was that, having spent two hours in the dealership getting as far as the derisory offer, I’d meekly roll over and accept it. Of course, I walked: turning the whole thing into a waste of everyone’s time.

Granted, the dealership might not want to have been lumbered with a car it couldn’t sell through its own used approved scheme. But a mate who knows these things assures me there’s no problem getting older diesels “underwritten” for their trade value these days.

In short, a very odd way to (not) do business. And now I’m in the happy position of being a cash-only purchaser, I won’t be heading back to this dealership any time soon.

Technorati Tags: toledo,seat,dealer,honda,sell,mike,duff

The seven-seat itch

James Ruppert — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 11:04:06 GMT

I think that I’m about to do something rather distasteful and quite painful. No, I won’t be joining Sir Max for one of his weekly dungeon sessions – this is far worse. You see, I’ve come to the conclusion that I have to go out and buy myself a seven-seater. My actual circumstances haven’t changed – Mrs. R isn’t in the family way again – but for all kinds of reasons my clan needs a minibus.

On principle, I won’t get a full-sized version – I don’t want to look like I’ve started a child-minding service. I did seriously consider an XC90 on the grounds that it only looks like an evil off-roader, and not the devil-spawn that is a XXL seven-seat people-carrier, which would do my social reputation far more damage. But perhaps fortunately, even the earliest and shabbiest versions of the big Ovlov fall well outside by budget.

So I’m thinking compact: Zafira, Megane Scenic or Touran. And before I get too excited with thoughts of a fire-spitting Zafira GSI turbo with a 300bhp chip in the ECU – whatever I end up with has to have an automatic gearbox. Oh, joy.

All this has put me into a quandary that I’m sure will be familiar to many of you with multi-car families. With something new (or newish) arriving, something else has to go. On the Ruppert rotation basis that means my E34 BMW 5-series is for the chop, meaning that – to obey the first rule of Bangernomics – I have to drive the second-in-line Saab 9000 until it blows up.

The problem is that, in the back of my head, I’ve decided that I really want a Rover 800 Coupe before they all get thrown away. And I haven’t given up on a Porsche 944 yet, either. I mean, now we’re going to have a gross surplus at seats at one end of the garage, why can’t I cut back a bit on doors and chairs elsewhere? A Caterham would be a hoot, wouldn’t it? And if I get one in bits I’ll even have an excuse to live in the garage for a few months while I screw it together.

So there you go, I’m in deep trouble and any suggestions – wise or stupid – are welcome as a distraction from the impending doom of an MPV purchase.

Technorati Tags: vauxhall,zafira,renault,scenic,megane,volkswagen,touran,banger,porsche 944