Brand Spanking New Cars

PMKeates

PMKeates

PMKeates

Soldato
Joined
16 Jul 2004
Posts
14,075
In my quest for a car, I've turned to look at the brand-new car segment.

I'm in to power, performance and handling and can stretch to about £25,000 "all-in" (OTR price plus options and accessories).

Unfortunately I can't get insured for anything under £6k on a Focus ST or Astra VXR, and I'm not fond at all of the Civic Type-R.

Cars currently in the basket are a top of the range 2.0 Sport MX-5 with climate control, BOSE audio system, hard top and Eibach lowering kit. This weighs in at a rather respectable £20,400.

Another being considered is an RX-8 231 with optional leather upholstery and the lowering kit. This comes in at £24,400.

While it seems like £4k to go from a top MX-5 to a top RX-8, after 3 years the RX is likely to stand me £1k more than the MX.

Over 3 years, on pure purchase minus sale value, the MX-5 is likely to cost £10k, and the RX8 £13k.

So, anyone have any opinions on what I'm currently looking at, or care to throw another car in the mix? I'm partial to anything that I can insure, and basically, the faster the better!

(I'm already tempted to wait till later this year to consider the Mazda3 MPS, btw :p )
 
BMW e90 325i se? That should just fit into the price bracket. You could get a 330i/d M-Sport nearly new for that money though...
 
Hi there

Go for something different and get a Ford Mustang GT. :D

Insurance is not as bad as you may think been American and the handling is better than one would think, as long as you can get used to left hand drive. :)
 
=Mac= said:
Why does that matter?
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Becuase if he's suddenly been given £5m, then our advice is going to be utterly different to if he's decided that now he's on £11k a year at McDonalds he's going to take out a 25k car finance over 10 years*

*Extreme examples to illustrate a point.

IMHO, buying new makes sense only in a few occasions:

a) When its somebody elses money
b) When the residual value's are exceptional - for example Mercedes SLK and BMW Mini.

None of the cars you are looking at fall into this category so I would not be buying new.

I mean, £24k for the RX8? You can buy a used one for about £16k now. What does the extra £8k give you? If you've got money to burn then go for it but given your age and previous posts on the forum I'd wager it's mostly going to be financed anyway.

Why do you care so much about a £6k insurance premium but you don't mind spanking £24k on a new car which will be worth £8k less than that a year later? I also find it difficult to understand how you cannot insure a Focus ST but can insure things like RX8 231's.
 
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I would personally at this moment in time, look for a Nissan 350Z. They are £26,300 all in, but you could possibly discuss this figure. They have just been updated and all come with the 296 bhp engine and the forged alloys along with other extras thrown in.
 
Gibbo said:
Hi there

Go for something different and get a Ford Mustang GT. :D

Insurance is not as bad as you may think been American and the handling is better than one would think, as long as you can get used to left hand drive. :)
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£11.5k for a brand new V6 or £14.8k for the GT, hmmm decisions :D
 
The way the world is heading in the next few years the last thing you will want is £25k debt (if your going that route of course). I my opinion save up the money and pay for it in one go are try and spend a little less so if you go the debt route you can pay it off a lot faster.
 
Thanks for all the replies so far and prepare for a fractured reply to a bit of all of them :)

Insurance is a crazy crazy thing. Admiral are nodding their heads with relatively small premium increases for a 2.0 MX-5 or an RX-8 231, yet just said "No" to a Focus ST or an Astra VXR - odd considering the FWD/RWD difference :confused:

For all interested the £25k would be financed and not paid for straight off. I've got quite a nice job, but it's not good enough to allow me to save £25k cash without a couple of years passing. I'd be looking at paying around a 20% deposit.

To Mad old tory: This is purely a consideration. The second-hand car route is definitely also in mind - I just want to consider ALL the available options and see how they balance up at the end of the day.

Gibbo, a Ford Mustang GT? Insurance not too bad? I'm pushing the boundaries finding insurance at ~200HP @ 19, RWD+300HP+19 is going to be far too expensive, I'm sure! :p

I also take offence to Fox's comments about working at McDonalds. Without the loyal troops of Maccy D's, I'd have to cook/fry/microwave/mutilate the burger myself!

I'm glad you've mentioned the MINI. The Cooper S JCW is another car I can consider - I'm quite partial to the small hatch, and don't personally see the high trims as at all girly, but in fact rather true to MINI and quite menacing.

If I can get insured with a "mainstream" insurer, the premium never really goes that high. As soon as I have to swap to something less reputable, the cost skyrockets to around £6k for a high performance hot hatch. Over 3 years, even allowing the premium to halve each year, it's over £10,000 for insurance - simply the pleasure of being able to legally drive the car on public roads. I'd much rather put the ~£6k I'd save on insurance over 3 years in to the car, whether I'd lose it all or not.

Nissan 350Z is out of the question, as is the BMW 325/330. Just too expensive.

Gilly: Yeah, it's quite silly really - £10k for 3 years motoring. That's why all this is a consideration that I'd appreciate people's opinions on :)

teaboy5: Well, I'd rather not wholly base my decisions now on the potential state of global economics in three years time, but again it's something to think about. The idea of saving the money is again something I'm considering, but it'll take some incredible patience to save £25k on my wage, although the money could be invested while saving to increase the building rate.

As I mentioned earlier, thanks for the replies so far. This is JUST a possible option that I'm looking in to, so no immediate concern from anyone is necessary :)

Another car that is starting to feature more in my mind is the Mazda3 MPS. Due for launch this Autumn, it's set to be one of the fastest hot hatches ever made. Sporting over 250HP and 380Nm of torque, a 0-100 km/h time of 6.1 seconds and a top speed of 155mph, it's set to be quite the nifty little car.

I'll have a think.
 
You've got the rest of your life to buy £25k cars.

Is a £25k car with massive loan really going to give you twice the enjoyment of a £12.5k car with half the loan? Have you seen the sort of quality metal you can get for about 10kish at the moment?

You had your heart set on a 328i E36 not so long ago - how about an E46 version for miles, miles less than you plan to blow on something that'll be worth half what you paid for it in 3 years time?

I mean, £10k in depreciation alone to own something like an MX5 over 3 years?

Letting the heart rule the head is fine up to a point, but there comes a time when the head must take charge. Shortly before you spank £25,000 of a finance companies money on a car at 19 is one of these times.

Another car that is starting to feature more in my mind is the Mazda3 MPS. Due for launch this Autumn, it's set to be one of the fastest hot hatches ever made. Sporting over 250HP and 380Nm of torque, a 0-100 km/h time of 6.1 seconds and a top speed of 155mph, it's set to be quite the nifty little car.
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Effectivly a Focus ST - so what makes you think you'll get insured on it?
 
I know, I know. I'll start having a look around at the higher value second hand market and see what I like.

On the issue of the 3MPS, I did think about the insurance quandary as it happens. It's no dead cert, but the 6MPS is insurable for "cheap" (Read: not £6k) and that features the higher output version of the same engine, albeit in a bigger chassis with a 4WD drivetrain - although has very similar performance. I'd have to wait and see on the matter, really.

I'd also take a hard look at yourself in the mirror Fox. You seem to keep mentioning the spanking of money, which I assume is in some absurdly sexual manner - this needs to be resolved by a medical professional :p
 
PMKeates said:
I'd also take a hard look at yourself in the mirror Fox. You seem to keep mentioning the spanking of money, which I assume is in some absurdly sexual manner
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Well given you used it in the topic I thought I'd use your natural lingo :p
 
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