I went ahead with the Insignia VXR
- Thread starter no_1_dave
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People use the same reasoning for buying ex police cars and it just doesn't fly with me.
The car has been ragged to the hilt. No ifs, no buts, it just has.
I've got my doubts that anyone would really choose to buy a high performance car from a young lad regardless of if it's got a decent history or is slightly below average price. You wouldn't want to buy it because you'd be worried that it'd been ragged.
And don't try lie and say it doesn't matter! You read it all the time, people bragging about how the previous owner was a Doctor/Lawyer/A pensioner who's car was his pride and joy, etc.
I just don't see how it's "acceptable" in some people's eyes to buy an ex-police car, or in even some cases an ex-demo but they'll run for the hills as soon as a seller starts saying "innit" on the phone a lot.
Soldato
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I do like the look of this car, but the depreciation on them is horrendous - but who buys a car for it's resale price anyway?
As long as you enjoy driving it (I've never driven one myself) then you've made the right decision.
As long as you enjoy driving it (I've never driven one myself) then you've made the right decision.
Lots of people, how many silver, blue and black cars do you see? How many have leather and black interior? People add things and spec cars with resale values in mind.
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
It's a pretty major factor that has a huge bearing on the affordability of the car.
The issue for the OP is that he said himself he'd never have that amount of money again as he doesnt have the ability to save it. So this will be his one and only £20k car because by the time he changes his will not be worth enough to enable him to replace it with a similar value car.
Soldato
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That is a good point; but I don't buy a car for it's resale value; I just buy a cheap runabout and run it into the ground until it's not worth keeping with the view that I'll get £60 or less for it when I scrap it.
[TW]Fox;17690923 said:
That's a good point - in those circumstances, I wouldn't have spent £20k on a car.
Car companies don't care for you. You'll get any work done at local garages, or by friends for cheap etc. You're not giving them any money.
The people that are giving them money will spec on what will hold value.
thats fine
you've not lost 10k when it comes to trading in / moving in 2 years time. Or more if he leaves it longer.
Saddest thing is, this is money which he says he'll never have again. Presumbly due to a will / lottery win or something and he's blown it all on a quickly depreciating asset.
I can think of several fun cars for 20k that due to their classic status, just wouldnt loose any money.
I'd rather buy a car that has been ragged but looked after properly, over and above service schedules than one that receives no care or attention apart from a trip to the dealer so they can rush a service through as quickly as possible once a year.
One that has been ragged only on track is even better, as the surface is pretty decent.
Looked after properly? People were crashing them into cones, getting them airbone over curbs, the tyres were literally coming apart!
they were driven with warped brake discs however. If the brakes started to fade they didnt change them till the end of the session.
I managed to get the MPG down on my astra to about 3mpg average.
They were driven to within an inch of their lives, all day for several weeks cumulative driving time.
Yes they wanted for nothing, but the engine internals will be worn well beyond their miles would have you believe.
I managed to get the MPG down on my astra to about 3mpg average.
They were driven to within an inch of their lives, all day for several weeks cumulative driving time.
Yes they wanted for nothing, but the engine internals will be worn well beyond their miles would have you believe.
They wanted for loads of stuff. They were letting us take them out with warped brakes, bits hanging off, etc etc. I did about 6 laps in one of the Insignias the guy said 'watch the brakes, they are ******* mate' and sure enough they really were.
[TW]Fox;17691127 said:
its a double edged sword
yes they had warped brakes, but they went through a set of discs + pads every day. They were nice and fresh at the start of the session, and if they werent and thought could carry over to the day after, they didnt ususally make it past lunch time.
You act like track work is going to kill these engines? Providing there is sufficient cooling, Engines that are worked hard, see a good variable range of revs over short track distances all day are going to be healthier than ones that sit at a constant 3000RPM for 2 hours every day, run from cold every morning and evening etc.
Are you trying to argue that being hammered around a race track is less harsh on a car than sitting on the Motorway for 2 hours a day?
Ding Ding, is that Round 783 beginning?
dont start
i specificly said prematurely age - not kill them.
Which being driven at 10/10ths all the time, with ***** who mis shift / over rev / ride the clutch etc.. will do.
Soldato
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I remember reading somewhere that a mile on track was equivalent to ten driven rapidly accross country - so cars that are primarly used on track 'age' much faster than road-driven equivalents.
But you knew that anyway, as it's obvious.
But you knew that anyway, as it's obvious.
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