Help me spend some money.

[TW]Fox;15983480 said:
Just.. wow. Why bother with a 172? Its hardly 3 times the car yet its 3 times the price..
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No actually, why SHOULD he bother with the 172 (Personal opinions such as 'It's ugly!' and "My lord, the interior!" aside)?
 
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[TW]Fox;15983480 said:
Just.. wow. Why bother with a 172? Its hardly 3 times the car yet its 3 times the price..
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Because Xsara VTS's aren't very good. I drove a couple a few years ago as for the price they sounded great. The interior is utter crap and they don't feel like they've got 169bhp. They felt slower than the Volvo 940 I had at the time (this gives an idea quite how bad the interior is as well as they felt like a step down) and not much better than a 2.0 Mondeo. I've never driven a 172 but if a VTS is as good then the magazine reviews were just lies.
 
peterattheboro said:
Start saving now and keep the Z4. Then sell the Z4 when it comes to handing over the deposit. It's a BMW Z4. It's not going to plummit below £7000 in the next 12-18 months I don't think :)
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I have been saving for the last couple of months now while paying off my loan as quick as possible. Its just not quickly enough.

[TW]Fox;15983391 said:
Are you sure you didnt just overstretch with the Z in the first place? If you can comfortably afford it, keep it, you'll be happier than in a little Clio or something.

Surely if the Z4 is financed anyway the £5k you 'save' will go towards paying off the loan so you'll gain nothing but not having to pay a few hundred quid a month on a loan :confused:

Just dont see what this acheives unless you couldnt afford the Z4 in the first place. Keep it until you need the cash, selling it to have cash you might perhaps maybe need in 2 years time seems weird.
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I certainly didn't overstretch for the Z4. I put in quite a bit of cash. I bought it when the house prices were crashing so figured that I'd have my fun first then buy a house afterwards. My plan was always to save for a house but with the market being like it was it wasn't the right time.

I dont owe an awful lot on the Z4 so I wont lose a lot of what I get out of selling the car. Im just cutting back on a lot of things I've been wasteful with, Gym memberships (been about 3 times in 6 months), phone contracts, spending £60-£70 on nights out etc etc. Im just really keen on saving as much money as possible, as quickly as possible so that my hands aren't tied.

I have a possible venture planned with parents which I'd be better off having a few £££ to throw into when the time comes.

I understand everyones opinions and I won't ask anybody not to give them as its an internet forum but I aren't prepared to divulge more information. I've thought about this for a couple of months now and thought it through very well with parents etc so its not some sort of rash decision.

Now, back to the OP... :o

Joshy said:
You can get (fairly) reliable and Fun for around that sort of money.

Something along the lines of the Xstra VTS suggestion earlier would be ideal.
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I haven't really paid much notice to the lower end of the market. I had my heart set on a 182 but if I can get a car thats fundamentally the same for £1500-£2000 less then it seems daft to spend the extra on the looks of anthracite alloys and twin exhausts.
 
I agree with you the 172 cup looks like a normal clio but... that's prolly where my moola would go.

Unless, £5300 gets you a 182 with the leather recaros.
 
Apart the the Xsara being particularly ugly it would be a sensible buy. I don't NEED to be THAT sensible though. Spending around £4000 would be ideal to be honest. If the Clio sports werent around no doubt I would be looking to spend a lot less. They are however, cars that I've always admired and wanted to own.

EDIT : Can someone answer my No air-con question? I don't remember it ever being too hot that it was unbearable in my first car (VW Polo) but that was a long time ago!
 
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First house?

If it was me (which it was 2 years ago) I'd be saving every penny I could. Sell the Z4, get a dirty cheap runaround for £500 and save on fuel, tax and insurance. That way you'd save a lot more a lot faster and you'd have a buffer for anything you missed when you move.

That way there's 2 scenarios when you move -

1) You've calculated correctly and you've got money left over. Great, buy a better car with the money you've saved.

2) You've missed something out/bills go up etc. That's fine too 'cuz you saved a fortune trading the car
 
mr tommo said:
EDIT : Can someone answer my No air-con question? I don't remember it ever being too hot that it was unbearable in my first car (VW Polo) but that was a long time ago!
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3 years ago sat for 5 hours on the M25 in a non-AC car in the middle of summer. Never driven one without since.
 
fonzee said:
EDIT : Can someone answer my No air-con question? I don't remember it ever being too hot that it was unbearable in my first car (VW Polo) but that was a long time ago!
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Let's be realistic here, this is going to be a deal killer for a lot of people. That's why they brought out the 172 Cup CC.
 
I dont see anything wrong with it, £4000 is a fair whack of money, yes it's 2 months wages but I certainly havent come across that in my bank account so far.

Get a good 172, even if it looks too much like a normal clio, its 80% of what you'd like and extra money in the pocket.
 
Cyanide said:
First house?

If it was me (which it was 2 years ago) I'd be saving every penny I could. Sell the Z4, get a dirty cheap runaround for £500 and save on fuel, tax and insurance. That way you'd save a lot more a lot faster and you'd have a buffer for anything you missed when you move.

That way there's 2 scenarios when you move -

1) You've calculated correctly and you've got money left over. Great, buy a better car with the money you've saved.

2) You've missed something out/bills go up etc. That's fine too 'cuz you saved a fortune trading the car
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In the long run yes. Maybe something on the side as an investment this summer which is why it would be handy to have £6-7k spare. If it doesn't happen then thats cool, I just carry on saving for my first house.

Cyanide said:
3 years ago sat for 5 hours on the M25 in a non-AC car in the middle of summer. Never driven one without since.
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Sounds like an experience! What was it like day to day?
 
s0ck said:
Let's be realistic here, this is going to be a deal killer for a lot of people. That's why they brought out the 172 Cup CC.
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I didn't even know they existed!

Kappa said:
I dont see anything wrong with it, £4000 is a fair whack of money, yes it's 2 months wages but I certainly havent come across that in my bank account so far.

Get a good 172, even if it looks too much like a normal clio, its 80% of what you'd like and extra money in the pocket.
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I like you :p

I don't really agree with the all or nothing sentiments either but I can see the logic in it though totally.

I think Im leaning towards the 172/cup end of the market.

mjt said:
An MX5 would be great as a direct replacement.
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Agreed and I looked into them quite a bit actually after my last thread. I fancy a change of direction as it would just never feel as good as the Z4 IMO. I fancy the idea of having some extra seats too :)
 
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