Diesel, the devils fuel and a ...scenario I would like to outline regarding the relative merits of r

Peerzy said:
Sounds like you are going to have to either pay up front through finance a fair wack to get something equal to your Jag, go much smaller in size and not pay out as much (diesel Mondeo for £5k) or buy something that will be a potential money pit without a warranty (old 5/7 series, Merc, Audi for £5k-£10k).

I've no idea what I'd do because I know you won't be keen to drop down car classes.

BTW just think how much worse this situation would be if you'd got that Porsche!
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I know, it's a headache isn't it, like you can see something good that you want ...but you have ended up creating your own quite compelling reason not too, i.e. a car like I have now. Or perhaps you get married and then meet someone you like more :p ...don't ask me why that should occure to me, I know it's not the same really, but the thought of it made me smile.

Oh I am glad I never got that Porsche, wasn't really 'me' anyway ...I just saw it and had a bit of a crisis for some reason, luckily you lot talked some sense into me.

This isn't the same at all, infact I'm not even 100% open to it, I'm not looking for a new car tbh, hadn't planned to be until probably the Autumn or so, it's just an interesting opportunity and I am of course thinking about it.

DRZ said:
Sorry mate, my point wasn't to come at it from another angle just that if you took the payrise but not the fuel card you would be just as well off but could keep your petrol car (or even upgrade!), which would be the best outcome to my mind.

I wouldn't take any finance out against a company-provided benefit at the moment because you just never know when things are going to go pear shaped. Having the cash is almost always better!
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That's ok mate, it's just frustrating sometimes to keep things on the track you want here, I know you were trying to be helpful and I appreciate that.


Don't get me wrong either, I am not hurting for money now, I also don't have money to waste though either mind, the Jag actually costing me exactly nothing so far other than fuel has helped with that too, this is also another reason I an reluctant to send it on it's way just yet, it's proving to be a good car so far and I don't feel that it will let me down like I was convinced the 540i would, I trust it so to speak. I think I could use some new rear brakes but otherwise it's all in order, engine is quiet and purs nicely, just coming up on 97k miles too.

I think Peerzy hit the nail on the head, it's a tricky situation tbh, and doesn't have an easy answer, at least not easy for me.
 
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Well yea maybe, I probably should have made it clear from the start though, this wasn't so much about saving money, I know exactly how I could do that, I could buy a diesel Honda Accord and go on my merry way or something it was more about could I get something as nice as what I have but in diesel, without spending much money ...and start to see savings come my way before long, I'm not sure I can tbh but it's certainly worth examining the options.

If I could get something as nice without spending more than say a few grand over what I could expect for my car, I'd probably do it, but this is easier said than done, to get really nice, it's more than a few grand extra it seems.

I guess http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif.../postcode/******/page/1/radius/1501?logcode=p could start to qualify ...I dunno, I would just as soon as stick with what I have though right now.
 
Well after spending a good deal of time looking around, at least based on what's out there right now, I don't think I take advantage of this without either downgrading or spending loads of money, neither are especially attractive options, so I guess that's that then eh.

All I can say about it now, and I guess one of the driving forces in this thread was that I hate (as do all of us I imagine) spending so much on fuel though, I would rather spend that same money on more metal, on something with inherent and longer lasting value than fuel ...which you just burn. Saving money isn't necessarily the goal, but not burning money is.
 
The XJ diesels involve spending quite a bit of money though, and to what end ? ...they would offer me the same experience I already have and would cost far more than they would save.

The S Type could be done, but I just don't like them as much as XJ's, it's a downgrade although a graceful maybe, but not something I feel the need to do. I think I'll stay where I am for the time being. If I was going to have a German car it'd be either an A8 or a 7 series in all liklihood.

I know that when I next buy a car, unless I get some pressing desire to do something different, I'll need a good 16-20k to get what I want. Probably a Jaguar XF, then again ...every time I look at the XF, I always end up looking an XJ's again ...you just can't do better this side of 20k really, one way or another. Better than mine in particular yea sure, but generally not. And whichever way you look at it, any X350 XJ is going to mostly offer the same experience as mine, but for a lot more money.
 
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That A8 on autotrader.

130k means you're not going to get any sort of warranty worth the paper it is written on, which means selling you're lovely petrol Jag, getting a diesel Audi, having to pay 3k to do it and easily expect 4 figure bills at any point.
 
Have no fear, I'm not going to, it was just a quick look with a 10k limit what similar sort of cars are around with diesel engines really, and that one stood out as looking like one of the better ones tbh. Running without a warranty is something I am used to (they have to give you a 3 month warranty by law anyway, that's always the minimum, a traders obligations do last a bit longer than that though with regards to the car failing on you) and miles don't worry me really, to a point, more condition and history.

As already concluded, I don't think I can do better or even as well without spending a lot more money. When I do buy another car, it'll be from a main dealer with a warranty most likely, and will necessarily cost a lot more. As I said, this wasn't an, I want to change my car thread at all, nor had I planned to anytime soon, it was more of an 'I've got the chance to do this, should I?' thread, and I think the answer is not now at least. Besides I want something a bit more modern next, with modern toys and such.
 
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Moeks said:
The XJ diesels involve spending quite a bit of money though, and to what end ? ...they would offer me the same experience I already have and would cost far more than they would save.

The S Type could be done, but I just don't like them as much as XJ's, it's a downgrade although a graceful maybe, but not something I feel the need to do. I think I'll stay where I am for the time being. If I was going to have a German car it'd be either an A8 or a 7 series in all liklihood.

I know that when I next buy a car, unless I get some pressing desire to do something different, I'll need a good 16-20k to get what I want. Probably a Jaguar XF, then again ...every time I look at the XF, I always end up looking an XJ's again ...you just can't do better this side of 20k really, one way or another. Better than mine in particular yea sure, but generally not. And whichever way you look at it, any X350 XJ is going to mostly offer the same experience as mine, but for a lot more money.
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My brother just give 75k for a brand new XJ and take my word for it, its not 50k worth in front of the outgoing last of the line XJ's, its just modern, which is what it boils down too.

Same as an XF in my opinion is not an upgrade from what you have now, its just modern.

Me personally i dont give a toss if petrol hits 12 quid a gallon i wont ever buy a diesel for my daily drive but thats just me, needs must and all that.

If i was your age again this would be my game plan.

Keep yours couple years then a late Jag, then bang a Bentley like your dads if you were cracking on with the money. Sod diesel who wants it.
 
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I can't help but think that your saving per month equates to around £2k/annum. If you feel that you're comfortable planning for this role to last a couple of years, that gives you the value of your existing car +£4k to play with. Would that bag an XJ 2.7D? I know that by that logic that you won't be any better off from a "money in the bank" point of view, but surely you'd end up with a higher value asset at the end of the 2 year period?

One other thought. £2k a year is enough for a decent holiday, some serious hi-fi kit or a good deal towards whatever hobby takes your fancy. Do you really want to blow it on something with 4 wheels?
I have to say that the older I get, and the more congested our roads become, that I think of a car more as an appliance than a pleasure.
 
Mr_Sukebe said:
I can't help but think that your saving per month equates to around £2k/annum. If you feel that you're comfortable planning for this role to last a couple of years, that gives you the value of your existing car +£4k to play with. Would that bag an XJ 2.7D? I know that by that logic that you won't be any better off from a "money in the bank" point of view, but surely you'd end up with a higher value asset at the end of the 2 year period?

One other thought. £2k a year is enough for a decent holiday, some serious hi-fi kit or a good deal towards whatever hobby takes your fancy. Do you really want to blow it on something with 4 wheels?
I have to say that the older I get, and the more congested our roads become, that I think of a car more as an appliance than a pleasure.
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I'd rather save it and figure out how to start a new life in Canda and spend it doing that tbh :p ...so I kind of agree with you there. I've 'wasted' enough money on cars in the last decade tbh.
 
Moeks said:
I'd rather save it and figure out how to start a new life in Canda and spend it doing that tbh :p ...so I kind of agree with you there. I've 'wasted' enough money on cars in the last decade tbh.
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Why are you so keen on Canada, you can still crack it here you just need to be a bit inventive.
 
Because I love being in the country, the feel of it, the landscape ...the vastness of it, the way of life ...I don't know exactly, I just love Western Canada, it felt right, felt like I belonged there.

This country is getting too claustrophobic for my tastes, and there are many things happening to it that I don't like but am more or less powerless to stop/put right. Don't get me wrong, I love my country, but this is part of the reason I want to leave now I think, because it's hard to watch it get ruined day after day.

I know Canada has it's issues, but I'm not Canadian and I doubt I'd ever feel quite the same way about it (the Canadian national anthem doesn't make the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end and send a surge of pride through me), I might love to live there but I don't think I would care as much and take it as personally when I don't like the direction things are going as it's not my true home so to speak. Besides it's got so much space that you can easily get away from it all there anyway if you so desire.

I love Britain like I could love no other country, I am British, more specifically English after all, and my heart will be forever England where-ever I may be. But I do like the life style and the feel of Western Canada, more than I do over crowded and over taxed Britiain.
 
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Moeks said:
Because I love being in the country, the feel of it, the landscape ...the vastness of it, the way of life ...I don't know exactly, I just love Western Canada, it felt right, felt like I belonged there.

This country is getting too claustrophobic for my tastes, and there are many things happening to it that I don't like but am more or less powerless to stop/put right. Don't get me wrong, I love my country, but this is part of the reason I want to leave now I think, because it's hard to watch it get ruined day after day.

I know Canada has it's issues, but I'm not Canadian and I doubt I'd ever feel quite the same way about it (the Canadian national anthem doesn't make the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end and send a surge of pride through me), I might love to live there but I don't think I would care as much and take it as personally when I don't like the direction things are going as it's not my true home so to speak. Besides it's got so much space that you can easily get away from it all there anyway if you so desire.

I love Britain like I could love no other country, I am British, more specifically English after all, and my heart will be forever England where-ever I may be. But I do like the life style and the feel of Western Canada, more than I do over crowded and over taxed Britiain.
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You can get round the tax, but the rest, yea this country is still going to ****.

Its still the best place to make a lump of money though in my opinion.
 
So, I went and drove an an XJ diesel the other day, well I was quite impressed with it really ...for a diesel. But, that's it really isn't it, 'for a diesel' ...it's a fairly impressive job of making a diesel engine something approaching refined, actually at speed it was perfectly refined and the car had a bit more soundproofing than mine anyway so it was quieter at speed period, but at idle or at very low speeds it wasn't, you can't hear the engine in my car in traffic when just idling along ...and when you put your foot down a bit it makes a rather pleasant little growl and I'm sorry but no amount of active engine mounts or black magic can hide the fact that under the bonnet of the svelte beauty I drove, lay the heart of a transit van (actually that's not fair at all, but we all like a bit of comedic exaggeration around here), as for the performance, well what can I say really, it was fine, I think all in all it was about the same as the V6 petrol in mine, but it had a good deal more torque, which was nice ...but, it did feel a bit slow to respond and generally typically diesel like when you wanted to drive it a bit harder, so not very intereting or soulful. It's good, really good ...but it's just not cricket I'm afraid.

All in all, I want more fun not less and diesel is certainly less.
 
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