Lexus LS400? Luxury everyday or money pit waiting to happen?

Hahaha. Great car.

I don't *need* an excuse.

You write "pussy" above like it's a bad thing...

Why *should* I be master? Where does it say that?

Says the gentleman who was whipped into running a Passat because he didn't want to pay to run an Alfa Romeo.

You should be master of your own kingdom.

Not some pussy whipped wimp.

Because you're a man. Or maybe you're not. Not a real one anyway. You may have a c*ck, but you don't behave like one.

Point of order here.

1. The Passat was my choice. I know you don't understand choice, 'cos you only ever do what the missus tells you. Yes, it was a bit of a cop-out, but they're a very capable car and it certainly did it's job for a while.

1. Although I'd have loved to have had a 156, they were lots more expensive than a Passat. Sometimes life is a balance - I couldn't have 3 Alfas and 2 bikes. Two Alfas and a Passat was an acceptable compromise. Especially when, at 32, I'm on the verge of paying off the mortgage because I compromised.

Oh I'm sorry, yes of course. Real men drink real ale, drive real cars and command their wife.

Not that one, the current one. I don't mean the one that's "almost as good as a hot hatch" (your opinion).

And the current machine is only a very capable car when compared to older stuff, either. They're adequate. They're bettered in many respects by lots of similar configuration, similar size, diesel peers.

That's great. You stuff how wonderful and brilliant Alfa Romeos and Fiats are in general, but, not good enough to pay for.

Hurrah for you.

I'm 25 and I've payed off my mortgage. I've got 2 cars and a motorbike and I am considerably taller than you.

I know Dervy's pooing his keks now that I have revealed these facts.

In your case it appears to be the other way round, but you seem to get the idea.

Yes, the current one, the one that's provided by the business to do a job. It's not my weekend toy, it's a business tool that happens to be just about the best tool for the job - refined, lots of space for all my kit in the boot, big enough to take people out on client visits, most importantly, it costs me f*ck all other than the tax bill.

You wouldn't buy your own laptop for work, just because you preferred something other than what you're given, so why spend the extra wedge on a business car?

Someone who was involved in fleet management can surely understand this?

But you haven't had to run a company car, so you probably don't fully appreciate the thinking behind choices.

Which is not what the press have to say, or what my experience tells me. Either that, or the Ford stuff I've driven recently is even worse than I make it out to be.

Mortgage free in my mid 30s is more than an acceptable compromise in my eyes. Especially when I already have 2 Alfas.

Heh. But you live in Scotland, which, in the grand scheme of things, comes even lower than Wales.

Besides, I have 3 cars and 2 motorbikes, you pauper :-P

So you seem to think. Depends what your benchmark is I suppose.

Oh we're working on a per household basis are we?

(c:

I like bigger cars. I don't feel safe and protected in a small car. The Favorit was smaller than the Estelle but had more room inside. But it felt wrong.

Even though the Saabs were narrow, they were long and had lots of metal at each end.

When I was made redundant, my duties were passed to another member of staff. I sent a mail to one of the other guys, who mentioned that while, 50% of my time would have been waiting for work, the other 50% of the time was mind numbing for someone even skilled anything above reception. And I had to deal with sales. The bloke I mailed said he had found a new respect for me after seeing Phil breakdown.

I quite like this one, but I reckon the reserve might be a bit higher.

I'm 6'6", I do need the sunroof.

Jesus! What do you do for a living? I've got one car and a pair of shoes. I bet I'm taller than you though ;-)

Oh man, you know what the best thing about big cars like that are: Auto boxes and cruise control. Makes long drives so easy.

Someone else mentioned this earlier on, but Audi A6. Loads of room inside. I quite fancy an estate, they are vast. My mate had one, 2.5 turodiesel automatic. Brilliant car. I'd deffinately have one as my next car come to think of it.

Hmm. I'm not very wealthy or successful, just quite tall and reasonably fortunate. My life's just getting started. Seemingly by SteveH's measures I am a real pistol-totin' old fashioned hairy chested man's man though.

I'm about 6'4 or so. He's short so height isn't a measure of happyness as far as he's concerned. (c:

Ahhh! Rich parents?!

Blimey, I wonder what he'd make of me then - I had a stint as a lumberjack (not Monty Python style) and a cowboy (not Brokeback mountain style) with horses, pistols, rifles, wild bears and everything!

Dwarf :-)

Do they also discuss hair styling on the internet with each other ? :)

If he did what the missus told him, he would had a hummer not a Ka. Remember Charlie hates small cars.