Pimping your own ride?

So with a budget of £40k-£70k, he'd buy a £25-30k car!

That's a cultural opinion, not a fact. In the Middle East, white cars are at a premium, and their used values reflect this. Having been here a while I think that a large number of cars look good in white.

And Nikasility (TM).

But if you know what to look for, it's either affected or it isn't. And if it is, you don't buy it. If not, then you've got a nice motor.

White cars should be illegal and their owners should be shot.

The only colour for cars is Aegean Blue :-)

One has to imagine, if it was affected, it would be dead by now, or its fine with it, 'cos it's got to 172k miles.

I'd expect the temperature to have something to do with that , and with the lack of rain it'll be easier to keep a white car clean as well

I quite fancy this one:

Wonder what effect a whiteV70 would have on motorway traffic ;o) Despite their protestationsabout it not being ex-plod, you have to wonder...

I do try :)

There's a brand new white 5-series near me - I kid you not.

It looks absolutely *terrible* :)

It's good enough for me :)

Isn't that a temperature thing ?

Ew :)

Yes. I changed from a black car to a white one, for exactly that reason.

Not really. Like most people here, my car is cleaned daily.

Really. To include Porsche 911, BMW 7-series and Cadillac Escalade. Many others, too.

You just need to remove your cultural prejudices.

Are you sure about that? I beg to differ with you... see below :)

I'm not looking for a new car. I will probably cover 15k at year.

I know that there is no way I could afford the insurance on a BMW. I also know that there would be a great difference in the cost of fuel for say a BMW compared with a small hatchback with only a 1.4 litre petrol engine, or a Tdi engine.

In a BMW averaging 25 MPG over the course of a year (15,000 miles) I would pay approximately £2456 in fuel alone.

With a 1.4 petrol car like a Toyota Corolla Hatch, averaging 42 MPG I would pay £1455 in fuel. That is over £1000 less! And that is just for a petrol car.

In the same Toyota with a 1.4 D-4D Diesel engine I would average 59 MPG. That would equate to £1042 over the course of a year. That is over £1400 less than the cost of running a BMW in fuel alone.

Bearing in mind that I am not an senior manager or exec. I think some of you guys in here must be if you can afford to run a BMW? Either that or Lottery winners?

Even if I only did 10,000 miles a year the differences in the cost of fuel alone would still be huge. And you also have to remember that fuel prices will increase, they wont decrease or remain static.

I agree. I see a lot of Audis on the road especially A4. I don't tend to see as many of the bigger VWs as I do Mercs, BMWs and Audis. Saab apparently have nice seats, I don't think I'd ever consider one though if I had the money, I don't like the style of their cars. Volvo, they have a bad rep. If safety is your thing, as well as driving at 70 in the fast lane, then perhaps it is the right car for you?

Think it was the A6 I meant to say.

Nothing wrong with those.

I like the Lexus.

Doesn't anyone in here find BMWs to be a bit drab on the outside? They might be great on the inside and have a lot of power under the bonnet, but they aren't exactly going to win design awards are they? Clarkson always says as much as well about BMWs.

John

I'd go for an Audi or Jag over a BMW. The S or RS6 Quattro, or any of the XJ series.

That is just dreaming though and not reality :)

John

That's unrealistic for the day to day consumption of the Corolla.

35mpg at best, I'd say.

Yes. I don't want something that is too common.

Mazdas, Mitsubishis, Toyotas, Seats, they all make decent cars that are not as common but still good. The Seat Leon is just the same as a Golf (same parts) but outperforms it, and looks better. I'd probably pick a Megane or Stilo over a Focus, and I really don't like either Meganes or Stilos. Megane's are just butt ugly (and French) and Stilos, well they are just complete pants. They are less common though so I'd still choose them before a Focus.

It is a completely dire and diabolical colour. Every car you see is Silver. That colour is a sight for sore eyes.

Agreed on that. Though I also think Silver is an unfinished colour :)

I only have a problem with Golfs in Black. Certain other cars look okay in Black.

I'd personally completely avoid silver. I'd steer clear off greys, and definitely steer clear of the bluey-grey colours.

Blue is a nice colour for a car but it needs to be vibrant. Certain Greens are okay, and Red is okay as well, if you're a red person.

You can get BBC Freeview card can't you? They cost nothing. Also you can get a subscription? If you could just pay an extra £10 on top of your home set up that would be good. If you had to pay for a full subscription then freeview would probably be best. I'm not too sure what the Sky rules are concerning Sky in a car? There must be a couple of people in the UK who have had it done.

The trouble with Freeview though is that they have a limited range of channels. I don't suppose you can pay to add extra channels to freeview can you?

I think everyone has probably worked out by now that I am a very fussy/picky person :)

John

Someone with taste at last :)

John

So you'd save £1400 per year by running a 59mpg car over a 25mpg car, but what actually is this in proportion to all your other costs? Servicing, running repairs, insurance, tax, tyres, etc etc. Don't get me wrong, £1400 is £1400. You consider £1000 to be a "massive amount" to save for a year's motoring. In the grand scheme of things it isn't *that* much really. If a grand is such a huge amount, how are you going to cope with the odd unexpected bill of a few hundred that may crop up from time to time. Hint: if you can't, then you shouldn't be running a car.

I would. I'd waste the rest on wine and women.