My current thinking with cars. Am I being a moron?

[Jez]

This is a silly idea. The reason you bought a 7-series and not a Mondeo is because you wanted a nice car.

I own a couple of rep type cars, and an S-Class. There is not a cat in hells chance that i would do that kind of mileage in a Mondeo. It will feel like such a downgrade to you, it will make you feel rock bottom. Arent the gearbox's in these (i assume you would not tolerate a manual, i certainly wouldnt) also a bit suspect?

My opinion is to write the value of the 7-series off and just drive it until it no longer works. It will go for years and years, and will be one of the best cars you could possibly have for the task.

My S is what...12 years old nearly(!), its STILL an amazing car which is not bettered by anything really for what its used for. It still looks absolutely king of the carpark in every boring corporate car park i ever park in. Your 7 will be too regardless of how long you keep it.

 

[Rilot]

I suppose, the 7 doesn't really owe me anything (paid cash for it). It's under warranty until September next year too. Hopefully, I can break all the fragile stuff between now and then and get it done under warranty.

I've just had the gearbox done which was £1k of warranty work.

I dunno. I just get these crazy thoughts from time to time.

 

[Jez]

I often get the same thoughts too when i spend £90 to fill my S up and then another £90 when it runs out 350 miles later. Then i have a stupid failure which on a Mondeo would be ebay+an afternoon to fix, wheras for the S its £500+a specialist, that kind of thing.

I then snap out of it and realise that i can afford this, and that money is there to be spent, right? When its not broken i am driving around in a totally smooth double glazed 8cyl auto, while everybody around me slums it out in a little 3-series or mondeo or something.

Driving around in a Mondeo is obviously cheaper, but then do you really need the money? I am going to assume you dont save money by taking spanish package holidays, and staying in a 1 bed flat, so why drive around in a rock bottom car.

Same thing

 

[Trifid]

With depreciation there are 2 options that you will need to weigh up:
1) Keep the 7 until it is no longer serviceable and scrap it
2) Keep it until the warranty runs out, sell it and buy another comfortable car with a years warranty. Repeat.

 

[Giddy]

Ignore the 25,000 boring miles in the Mondy and focus on the 10,000 fun ones you'll have in the 350Z!

 

[Hedge]

Maybe theres a classier alternative to the mondeo about. Volvos or Saabs etc.. I dont know much about them, but they are comfy places to be long distance.

Dunno if they come into the similar price brackets though

 

[godinman]

Keep the 7 and get a fun weekend car. Screw the expense.

 

[Scania]

Your being a complete moron!

Take it from a confirmed one!

I went from a 7 Series to a Mondeo and regret it to this day.

Ok the 7 was an e38 and the Mondeo a Mk2 but the drop was still awful, I detested the Mondeo after the e38 and its hardly surprising. The Mk 2 Mondeo is a fine car but its no 7 series.

I only average about 5k miles per annum in my car and it was hateful after the e38.

I used the money from the sale of the 7 to fund a holiday in my own case, which I don't regret, but I do wish I'd just gone along to the bank & kept the car.

35k p/a in a Mondeo? after a 7 series? - Not a chance.

Stop being a moron!

Keep the 7 and get a fun weekend car. Screw the expense.

This is best.

 

[pcoltrane]

How about an elise instead of a 350Z? That might change the fun factor in the weekend car

 

[Adz]

Doing 25k a year in a Mondeo so you can spend 10k/year in a 350Z is madness. You've just got itchy feet. You've already proved that the financial benefits are negligible.

However, if you do sell the 7, I'll have it .

 

[volospian]

Only if you cheap out with ... or Falkens...

Yeah, or Goodyear or Dunlop...

 

[volospian]

I currently own a 2007 BMW 730d which I'm very happy with. The problem is that I'm actually doing an awful lot more miles for business than I thought I would. I'm heading for 35k miles this year with my personal mileage on there.
This isn't a thread about changing cars due to the price of fuel mind.

The 7 is currently on 82k miles. As well you know, once a BMW hits 100k it's no longer able to be covered by a sensible warranty. The 7 is also capable of generating some enormous bills as the mileage goes up.

Because of the above, I'm seriously considering selling the 7 which I should get about £14k for and buying a diesel Mondeo for business use. I'd spend a maximum of £6k on one and so end up with a MK3. This car would be used exclusively for commuting and business miles.

With the change, I would buy something fun like a 350z that I would only drive at the weekend, never for business.

Is this crazy talk?

It's not so crazy... at your mileage you have 6 months or so before the 7 hits 100k and the potential for big bills. However, you said it's not really about fuel prices, and I presume that would also cover the occasional expense of parts, so what is this about?

I imagine that you are spending so much time in the car that you're getting a bit of "cabin fever". While the 7 is a comfortable, refined, quiet cruiser, you just want to be able to just shred some rubber and hoon around like a teenager now and again to relieve the boredom and reduce the stress. The 7 does its job brilliantly, but it's not really going to get the blood flowing like hanging the backside out round a sweeping bend on a cold spring morning...

I'm thinking the same thing myself. The Jag is quiet, refined, comfortable and bloody fast, and while it is more than capable of behaving like a loon, I miss the noise and excitement of the TVR. I'm going to be getting rid of the Jag at some stage and go for two cars. One to get me to work, and one to get the adrenaline flowing. Although for the work run I'd probably go for a Saab myself. There's an independant across the road from work and while I've not owned a Beemer, I've owned a few Jags and Mercs, plus various other cars, and nothing has been as comfy for long distance cruising as the Saabs.

 

[[TW]Fox]

Yeah, or Goodyear or Dunlop...

4 18 inch Goodyear fitted for under 400 quid?
Where?

 

[volospian]

4 18 inch Goodyear fitted for under 400 quid?
Where?

By buying Falken you're getting tyres on a par with Goodyear or Dunlop. Falken are in a manufacturing partnership with Goodyear, they have shares in each other and both companies jointly own Dunlop (75% goodyear, 25% Sumitomo (Falken)). Their R&D is shared. They even manufacture under license for each other. If you buy Goodyear in Japan, they are made by Sumitomo and if you buy Falkens, they come from the same factories as those eastern Goodyears. The compounds and tread patterns may be different, as they are between different models from the same brand, but the manufacturing quality is the same.

There's nothing wrong with spending less on tyres if they are good quality and meet the needs of the vehicle.

 

[Dandle]

The compounds and tread patterns may be different, as they are between different models from the same brand, but the manufacturing quality is the same.

The same as many tyre companies they have fingers in many pies. They don't make Falkens as their premium brand rubber. They are made in the same factory probably on the same machines but they arent the same tyre as the Goodyears. Dunlop and Goodyear are the premium brands and they will always invest more in R&D and production materials than a mid or budget range tyre they produce because thats where the money will come back from. Theres no money selling a budget tyre that offers the same performance as your premium UHP tyre.

 

[neocon]

You could sell the BM and get a new Fabia vRS, which is completely different , but it's cheaper to run, insure, service and you get the warranty. They're quick to 60 , too.

Just a thought.

 

[hurfdurf]

There is not a cat in hells chance that i would do that kind of mileage in a Mondeo. It will feel like such a downgrade to you, it will make you feel rock bottom. .

Rock bottom, not having your wife leave you, your son get addicted to crack or getting AID's after being stabbed by a homeless persons needle during a mugging, but from having to downgrade from a 7 series to a Mondeo...

Makes absolute perfect sense to me if you have the space to keep both.

Indeed, if your a fan of actual driving rather than having the ability to look down at the poors from a slightly more comfortable car then having a comfy car for motorway driving and a genuinely entertaining car like an Exige for the non fun days is where I would be.

 

[volospian]

They don't make Falkens as their premium brand rubber. They are made in the same factory probably on the same machines but they arent the same tyre as the Goodyears. Dunlop and Goodyear are the premium brands and they will always invest more in R&D and production materials than a mid or budget range tyre they produce because thats where the money will come back from. Theres no money selling a budget tyre that offers the same performance as your premium UHP tyre.

Actually Falken DO consider themselves a UHP tyre manufacturer.

Falken Tire Corporation, a subsidiary of Sumitomo Rubber Industries, launched its brand in its native country of Japan in 1983 and was introduced to the North American market two years later. At its inception, Falken was created as the flagship high performance radial brand under Ohtsu Tire and Rubber. Now, over two and a half decades later, Falken has become a well-known, stand-alone brand that focuses on UHP (Ultra High Performance) products while utilizing professional motorsports racing to further develop and improve passenger vehicle products for worldwide distribution.

Falken are simply not targetted at the UK market. Goodyear are expensive here because they are a well recognised brand that has historically been well marketed in this country. Falken are not as well known, and so cannot command the premium prices that Goodyear charge

 

[Shimmy]

Definitely keep the 7 series especially when doing 35k p/a, you'd truly regret it otherwise.

 

[Jez]

...

And meanwhile in the real world it will feel like an absolutely massive downgrade to somebody who is used to driving a nice cars, and picked a nice car at a significant premium for a reason.