New Top Gear (2011) BBC 2 8PM!

jellybeard999 · 10 Jul 2011 at 23:11

Great episode. The alternative cars were a bit unrealistic though, just look at the kind of money Jez has thrown at his S class to see the potential for bills. doubt the average Pixo (or whatever) owner is willing to spend thousands on suspension parts when that money could be wisely invested in WaterAid or tree planting in Outer Mongolia. It wouldn't have been as entertaining, but a Ford Focus or similar would be the more realistic choice.

This series has been qiuite good. Fewer or better placed setups and more focus on cars than jokes/acting.

Kenai · 10 Jul 2011 at 23:11

To be fair, all of the cars in that segment were a bit silly (as one would expect from Top Gear), singling out the Impreza seems a bit pointless, none of them were really a serious alternative but the segment would have boring as sin if Clarkson bought a second hand Focus and Hammond rolled up in a Polo or something.

Raymond Lin · 10 Jul 2011 at 23:13

sigma said:
The whole idea of that segment was to show just how much car you can get for relatively little £.

£7k car with a running cost of a £160k car (which is almost the same price as that McLaren !)

GarethSouthgate · 10 Jul 2011 at 23:24

Raymond Lin said:
£7k car with a running cost of a £160k car (which is almost the same price as that McLaren !)

Your point being?

[TW]Fox · 10 Jul 2011 at 23:26

sigma said:
Your point being?

Car ownership is about more than the initial purchase price, depending on the car you go for, the purchase price is almost irrelevent.

Vita · 10 Jul 2011 at 23:26

sigma said:
Your point being?

People who will buy a £7k car, may not be able to afford it's initial £160k car running costs, if speaking about the CL600.

GarethSouthgate · 10 Jul 2011 at 23:28

That whole segment wasn't really supposed to be realistic was it though? They started off with a Bentley ffs!

I saw it as more of a case of how far your £ can go.

Raymond Lin · 10 Jul 2011 at 23:29

sigma said:
Your point being?

I had £7k for a new car, I bought a Yaris, which had a Full Service for £150 ish.

I would be scared to find out how much a full service for that Merc costs!

Then again, if you get lucky, get the CL600, and lets for the sake of argument, nothing breaks in 12 months and you drive it only at the weekend so say 3k miles a year.

It could be fun.

Then again, it would be a hell of a risk. That 120k miles sample he's got, if the clutch goes....$$$ surely!

Vita · 10 Jul 2011 at 23:30

Raymond Lin said:
I had £7k for a new car, I bought a Yaris, which had a Full Service for £150 ish.

I would be scared to find out how much a full service for that Merc costs!

Full service for £150? From the Toyota dealer?

I was quoted £290 for the 40k miles/full service.

[TW]Fox · 10 Jul 2011 at 23:32

I suspect it was a 'full service' in local garage speak, ie oil, filter and spark plugs, rather than the actual biggest service in the Toyota service schedule.

GarethSouthgate · 10 Jul 2011 at 23:32

Raymond Lin said:
I had £7k for a new car, I bought a Yaris, which had a Full Service for £150 ish.

I would be scared to find out how much a full service for that Merc costs!

Do you really think that they would expect people who want a brand new city box to buy an 8 series?

[TW]Fox;19557384 said:
Car ownership is about more than the initial purchase price, depending on the car you go for, the purchase price is almost irrelevent.

The whole scene was based purely on purchase price though, no mention of MPG or anything, they couldn't be too serious, that's just not how they work. Not sure why people are surprised by this?

Raymond Lin · 10 Jul 2011 at 23:32

Vita said:
Full service for £150? From the Toyota dealer?

I was quoted £290 for the 40k miles/full service.

Mine was a Full 20k service and yup, Toyota Dealer. For that price there was no point going to an Indy.

Raymond Lin · 10 Jul 2011 at 23:33

sigma said:
Do you really think that they would expect people who want a brand new city box to buy an 8 series?

No, but it shows what you can buy for £7k.

Vita · 10 Jul 2011 at 23:34

Raymond Lin said:
Mine was a Full 20k service and yup, Toyota Dealer. For that price there was no point going to an Indy.

Great price, that.

GarethSouthgate · 10 Jul 2011 at 23:35

Raymond Lin said:
No, but it shows what you can buy for £7k.

Vita · 10 Jul 2011 at 23:36

sigma said:

Why are you confused?

Raymond speaks sense, it shows what car's can be bought for £7k. All be it their running costs are high, the car themselves can be had for that amount of money.

Begbie · 10 Jul 2011 at 23:38

Really liked that episode, and glad it isn't just OcUK that thinks buying brand new can be damn stupid.

GarethSouthgate · 10 Jul 2011 at 23:39

Vita said:
Why are you confused?

Raymond speaks sense, it shows what car's can be bought for £7k. All be it their running costs are high, the car themselves can be had for that amount of money.

That's exactly what I said many posts ago:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=19557244&postcount=1461

:confused:

Vita · 10 Jul 2011 at 23:40

sigma said:
That's exactly what I said many posts ago:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=19557244&postcount=1461

Then why are you :confused:

?

Raymond Lin · 10 Jul 2011 at 23:41

I suppose if you look at it this way.

Rather than think what car you can buy for £7k...

Think if you are in a position say..."I want to buy a New Merc with a big ass engine and lots of toys." as Clarkson puts it.

Rather than spend £160k at a new one.

Buy one at £7k, put that spare £153,000 for repair bills. I highly doubt it will cost £150,000 to run that thing over say 9 years.