Conference terri::cars_uk

> Its time to get my wife a new car.  She doesnt do any miles per year,so fuel 
                                                    ^^^
> economy is not of overriding importance.

Nor, presumably, is whether it goes or not.

:-)

Jon

    Oops - I meant she doesnt do MANY miles per year.  The car we get must 
    also be cheap to ensure.
    
    John

	� also be cheap to ensure.

	To ensure that it does what?

I knew of someone who recently brought a brand new Pug 205 GTi, he
actually got 2,000 pounds off LIST price.

I suggest you go talk to a few garages, especially about discounts etc!

Greg

    What do the panel think of buying a second hand vehicle that has been
    used as a hire car (Avis, Hertz etc)?  Prices are lower - are there any
    disadvantages ?
    
    
    John

    I guess you'd have no clue as to have many previous DRIVERS the car had
    had ?
    

    First reaction would be "don't touch it with a barge-pole", but on
    consideration if the price was so low that you could afford to replace
    the major items if they failed shortly after purchase then go for it.
    
    This is based on the principle that the car will be reasonably new,
    therefore you've got a fairly good condition base for hanging new parts
    on.
    
    AmS
    
    p.s. I'm ashamed to admit it, but if I've been one of the renters -
    steer well clear of it.

I've only ever driven one hire car, a six month old Rover 213.  Can't remember
the mileage, but the clutch was on its way out, the brakes left a lot to be
desired, the throttle was dodgey, the steering very poor, and so on.

The drivers don't care as they don't own the car and aren't driving it long.
The owner (ie Hire Company) probably don't check cars as often as they should,
and the impression I got was that they don't really care about the condition
of their vehicles anyway.

Unless you give it a thorough inspection and road test, and know exactly
what to look for, and it's a really low price, don't touch it...

But then that's just my opinion...

Scott

    This is what I've found with Avis car's (yes i've told them). Hertz
    I've found to be in an 'as new' condition even after several K miles.
    
    I thnik an ex Hertz would be a good buy.
    
    Richard

    The Car(s) I referred to in .7 are 6 months old, have about 8,000-10,000
    miles on the clock, and are being offered with whats left of the
    manufacturers warranty plus free a free 3 year "Insurance policy" type
    of warranty covering parts and labour.
    
    I know a fair bit about buying older (3 years plus) second hand cars,
    I'm looking for anything specific to the 6 month to 18 month old
    sector.
    
    Would the fact that a car was owned by a hire company for the first six
    months of its life make it harder for me to sell it in 3 years time ??
    
    The campaign starts this weekend, I've 3 test drives arranged.
    
    
    John

    
    Re .12
    
    If you wonder what the reaction of people buying this car in 3 years
    time will be when you tell them it was a hire car before you had it,
    just read the preceding notes. Prejudice against hire cars is high
    (often due to the way those very people drive them!), but if you
    can get one of these cars with a USEFUL guarantee it's probably not
    as bad as buying many company cars (eg High mileage commercial
    travellers' cars).
    
    Resale value will be affected, but really it should be YOU who benefits
    from that most. In 3 years time the age of the car and its condition
    will probably have more bearing on the cars price than its history.
    
    Mark

>                -< VW Polo - Cheap, Economical and Reliable ! >-

Not so...only fairly cheap to run....until anything goes wrong...then they are
a bottomless money pit !    

Re: .7

A friend of mine bought an ex-hire VW Polo about 7 years ago.  She was
very pleased with it.

jb

    The decision has been made...
    
    Its to be a Pug 205 GR.  1.4, so it has a modicum of zip to it.  It has
    5 doors so effecting the ingress/egress of the tiny Lindley is
    simplified.  The Nova didnt drive as well, the AX wasnt as well put
    together.  In the end, the Metro wasnt considered, since it "wasnt
    nice".
    
    The Polo was not considered, since it is apparently the wrong shape.
    I should, of course, have realised that the new shape Fiesta is a silly
    car.
    
    I think she chose the Pug since it reminds her of the 1.9, now sadly
    departed.
    
    Now, all I have to do is find a 1989 or 1990 model on a "G" at a good
    price.  This will be difficult, since this particular car seems about
    as common as hens teeth on the second hand market at the moment.
    
    
    
    John

    
    You can usually get a good bargain by phoning around the dealers to
    see what low-mileage ex-demo cars they've got.
    
    These are usually up to 6 months old with less than 2000 miles and in
    excellent condition. You tend to get the remainder of the manufacturers
    warranty plus a low price 3 year warranty option.
    
    This is what we did when my wife wanted a Renault 5 earlier this year.
    We got the model required in the preferred colour, all the extras
    (sunshine roof etc.) with only 400 miles on the clock (2 months old)
    and saved �1800 on the new price. The garage also had an "untouched" new
    one of the same spec sat next to the one we bought but I couldn't see
    the point in spending the extra money just to keep the tax man happy.
    
    They even gave my wife a tour of the garage facilities and service and
    a nice pot plant and bottle of wine when she went to collect the car.
    So there was no difference in the level of service.
    
    Happy hunting,
    
    Gary.