Civic Type-R ...

DAvE18 said:
Think your going to love the ep3 :D
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I'd better bloody do :D Would save some cash! lol

Gaygle, no idea about test drives and the trouble you're having, I jjust called them, said can I come in an hour, they said yes and the rest is history, with Honda they didn't ask my age, didn't ask for license or any kind of ID, which is strange, as although I'm 27, I do get ID'd buying anything like Beer, Wine, Superglue etc.. I have a Fox face..I look 15 years younger than I am! :p
 
Gaygle said:
Jeez, how are u gettin all these test drives? I just literally went to the Honda garage to test drive a Type R, they clearly weren't keen, but said to come bk on saturday and i could go out in one.

Renault weren't keen to let me try a Clio 197 and came out with the "you have to be 24 to drive it" BS, but once i got talking to the guy and he saw i knew what i was talking about, he said "ok, well come back on tuesday and you can go out in it then".

Ford weren't hugely happy about letting me test a Focus ST, but again said it'd be ok if i came back on saturday, provided they hadn't sold it (they only had one at the dealer, all the sales people were with other customers and the manager was currently out in the only ST).

I don't understand. I composed myself properly - i didn't go in there like a retard saying "y0 mate, letz av a go in ur Focus mate, yeh?". But none of the dealers seemed THAT happy about even giving me a ride in one. Admittedly they were very busy (surprisingly?) and had no sales staff in...
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I phoned all the dealers first. Just "Hi do you have any used Type R's in stock I'm looking to get myself a hot hatch and want to have a look round one". They say come in and ask for whoever you spoke to.

Helps I think that I turn up in a newish car. Just say you've driven another car (Ie Focus ST) and you liked it. Honda didn't even give me any sales bull**** they just said well only thing to do is get you behind the wheel of one. I've been saying I've still got another car or two to test so won't be buying or even looking at prices today and they seem pretty happy to let me rip one about for half an hour and walk away.

WV were shocking though, got there and they'd said on the phone they had 3 GTi's, yet they didn't. They didn't tell me this for about 35minutes, which they spent checking over my car for P/E! I made it clear I wasn't buying that day and simply wanted to have a look. They kept walking off and talking about me, obviously not wanting to give me a drive.

Ask questions you know the answers too and suck up to the car a little bit (but constantly remind them of another car you still have to drive).

Both Ford & Honda didn't ask to see any ID or DL, despite the fact I'm only 19 and do look 19.

I've been wondering how easy would it be for me to walk into a more upmarket brand (BMW) and get a test drive of 120i or something like that, or something more exotic (MX5 etc)?

Hot hatches are what you'd expect a 19 year old to look at so I'm wondering how i'll get treated looking at these cars.
 
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Peerzy, what you said is exactly what i did. Asked questions i knew the answer to, sucked up to the car, said how nice it looked and how comfortable the seats were etc. I've been for test drives before and the dealers i went to then, were really accommodating.

But i didn't phone up to begin with, i walked in and had a look around at some of the cars and talked about them for a while and said i'm in the market for a hot hatch kind of car, i've looked at *insert other hot hatches* but i've heard a lot of good things about this one and was just wondering if there was any chance of seeing how it felt on the road.


Ford said they want to see my full licence (paper copy and photocard) because a few months back some guy was nearly disqualified and went for a test drive in a Focus ST and crashed it.... don't know if i bought that story though.
 
Gaygle said:
Peerzy, what you said is exactly what i did. Asked questions i knew the answer to, sucked up to the car, said how nice it looked and how comfortable the seats were etc. I've been for test drives before and the dealers i went to then, were really accommodating.

But i didn't phone up to begin with, i walked in and had a look around at some of the cars and talked about them for a while and said i'm in the market for a hot hatch kind of car, i've looked at *insert other hot hatches* but i've heard a lot of good things about this one and was just wondering if there was any chance of seeing how it felt on the road.
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No idea then, some dealers and just not worth the bother. Won't be going back to that VW dealer again even if I need a VW car or anything, I'll drive further just cause they were really bad.

Try calling up and 'booking' a slot with a sales bloke to look at a car, they seem to realise that means your after a test drive.

Anyone got any ideas on getting drives in cars above what we should be aiming for?

Ford did ask if I was over 21, I said no and then he said "Want a go then?, he had to drive it out the dealership and back in again but as soon as we were out of sight we swapped over.
 
Yeah, my local Audi & VW were absolutely terrible, obnoxious and about as un-courteous as you could get when I called about A3/S3/Tt/GTi's, Mazda were great, sent me on my way with an RX8 for the day, Mini pretty much just threw me the keys to the new Clubman and said be back by 4, as did Volvo when I checked out a V50 for my Dad.

Honda, Mazda and Mini have been amazing with being courteous and helping with test drives, as well as the local Vauxhall garage last year, had a Celice RED Limited Edition in, called up about 2:30 on a Saturday, got there for 3, out with a salesman about 3:15, got back there about 4:30 :D Nice guy who just seem to want to waste the rest of his day in a Celica's passenger seat...worked for me! :)
 
TimBrad said:
Yeah, my local Audi & VW were absolutely terrible, obnoxious and about as un-courteous as you could get when I called about A3/S3/Tt/GTi's, Mazda were great, sent me on my way with an RX8 for the day, Mini pretty much just threw me the keys to the new Clubman and said be back by 4, as did Volvo when I checked out a V50 for my Dad.

Honda, Mazda and Mini have been amazing with being courteous and helping with test drives, as well as the local Vauxhall garage last year, had a Celice RED Limited Edition in, called up about 2:30 on a Saturday, got there for 3, out with a salesman about 3:15, got back there about 4:30 :D Nice guy who just seem to want to waste the rest of his day in a Celica's passenger seat...worked for me! :)
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Shame, no chance of me getting the keys to an RX8 or CooperS without a salesman within 4 feet of me. When I was with the OH looking at superminis for her we got the keys to a Grande Punto and 2 Kia's (her idea not mine) which I was suprised at.

Being 19 I doubt anyone would take me seriously looking at fast 1 series', S3's, TT's, RX8's etc... despite the fact I could quite easily afford one.

Cannot fault Ford or Honda. No pressure, let me do whatever in the car, gave me tips and told me how to get the best out of it and then let me walk away.

Waiting for Vauxhall to get a Astra VXR in, should be within 2 weeks, shame I cannot find one Vauxhall dealer within about 40 miles that has one now!
 
Gaygle said:
I don't understand. I composed myself properly - i didn't go in there like a retard saying "y0 mate, letz av a go in ur Focus mate, yeh?". But none of the dealers seemed THAT happy about even giving me a ride in one. Admittedly they were very busy (surprisingly?) and had no sales staff in...
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Test driving cars that people have no intention of buying is becoming more popular as a national passtime every day. With the sales people struggling to secure sales at it is I'm sure they would rather be picking up the easy sales in the showroom than geting blasted down the road by Kev in their current "hot" demonstrator.

I can understand the frustration from a perspective buyer but can see their reasoning.
 
lordrobs said:
Test driving cars that people have no intention of buying is becoming more popular as a national passtime every day. With the sales people struggling to secure sales at it is I'm sure they would rather be picking up the easy sales in the showroom than geting blasted down the road by Kev in their current "hot" demonstrator.

I can understand the frustration from a perspective buyer but can see their reasoning.
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I'm not going to buy a car now, not for at least another 12 months. But having had great service from Ford and Honda and liked both cars I've driven those will be the first two dealers I visit when I want a car.
 
merlin said:
1) Registered as PLG, no emission levels recorded on Registration Certificate = cheapest TAX currently £185 (12 months) rising to £190 in March 2009.

2) Registered using later model report stating CO2 emissions of 223g/km = currently Band F £210 (12 months), changing to Band K and rising on the 13th March 2009 to £215, then to £245 in March 2010.

3) Registered using early model report stating CO2 emissions of 234g/km = currently Band G £400 (12 months), changing to Band L and rising on the 13th March 2009 to £415, then to £425 in March 2010.

That nasty......!
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I'm option 1), whoop! :cool::D

Its just one of those things you need to keep an eye out for when buying really.
 
lordrobs said:
Test driving cars that people have no intention of buying is becoming more popular as a national passtime every day. With the sales people struggling to secure sales at it is I'm sure they would rather be picking up the easy sales in the showroom than geting blasted down the road by Kev in their current "hot" demonstrator.

I can understand the frustration from a perspective buyer but can see their reasoning.
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Yeah, I can totally see that, and going from test drive to test drive myself, I actually feel guilty about that, but its a case of I'm indecisive at the best of times, my car right now has no problems so as much as I want to do this, I'll wait until the right time and find THE right car, all my test drives have been taken with intetion on 2 levels, that the car I'm testing IS one that really appeals to me, and also to get a comparison of this versus the others that relate to point #1!

Only exception was the Volvo V50 but (allowed within the insurance terms for the day with Vovlo) I let my Dad take it out for a run for a bit, and he ended up buying one from the salesperson I dealt with to get the test drive, so my only nonintentional test drive has resulted in a sale, ironic eh? :)
 
Cheers for the advice on that :p

Right, the EP3 felt pretty nice, granted it felt like my car but more mental and a bit of a rabid dog on a leash compared to my car :)

The car itself felt pretty much as expected compared between mine and the FN2, looser, highr revving, good handling, responsive, the clutch on this felt stiff as a board though, which resulted in me pulling off on a hump back bridge in the wet and spinning the tyres up a bit :eek:

All in all, it did feel nice but I really do prefer the FN2, the sound was nicer, nicer place to be, and a different surrounding to my current car!

Overall, I can see the appeal of the EP3, its got lovely handling, feels nice, looks nice, but at the same time, I guess I am looking for a different look as well as different engine really, but all in all, lovely car :)

On a plus side, the tootlthless wierd, bearded 60 year old with the dealership (read old guy with the EP3, Fiesta ST and a few bangers outside an industrialish garage!) was nice enough, wouldn't stop banging on about irrelevant stuff, but chucked me the keys and just said "if you crash it you buy it" Was treated respectfully considering the rain, but definitely felt good, but I dunno, just something about the FN2 really appeals, maybe just cause it is newer? Maybe? Maybe cause its different? Maybe, but all in all the EP3 is a fantastic car, but the FN2 just really seemed to be the one for me, nicer creature comforts and just a pleasant experience, still with the Type-R edge :)
 
melchy said:
It may be worth tying the RenaultSport Clio 197 if you liked the new Civic Type R. Try one with the Cup pack fitted.
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There is a revamped engine uped to 200 coming out about now. Might be worth looking at that.

Remember if buying now drive a hard deal and dont take any crap from the dealer.
 
As much as I feel sold on the FN2, I'll give any suggestions a shot, as I've said before, Renault Leicester have http://www.renaultretail.co.uk/usedvehicles.aspx?vehicle=HY08ZGH in right now, so might see if I can go check that out tomorrow sometime as am heading into town anyways :)

If the interior is anything like the 182/Megane 225 I might end up wretching all over the place, though :D

Ideally looking to buy (with the FN2) around 57 plate, ideally 20k/less miles, but I know its gonna come in at a premium, which is why it may have to wait a while, I'll have to see how finances look, its annoying, I have enough on me that I could go out now, no part ex and buy it outright, but that would pretty much eat up all of the "saved, post deposit" money for buying a house, and would really like to keep 7k+ aside for when myself and my gf get somewhere incase anything needs doing with our house, which would, of course take priority.

Will have to keep my eyes on prices of '07 onwards FN2's, if i could find one private or trade for under 12k, i'd be more sold than possible :)
 
Thats a 197 Cup, rather than a 197 with Cup packs so it'll be missing some of the goodies. The interior won't be as good as even the normal 197, which is similar to what you have seen in the Megane 225 (just noticed that the one in the link has the optional Recaro seats). You can pick up new 197 Cups's for that price, and new FF197'2 for little more.
 
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