OT: WOOHOO

hehe I do like escorts, but you would think a brand new car would have the edge over a 6 yr old car,

Ask astravanman how his A6 is. They go on for ever

Ron

I wasn't denying it wasn't still a good car :) Just saying, with that kind of mileage, even with the best engineering in the world, things are going to wear out :)

People do it cos there's no alternative. I can think of zero ways to come up with X thousand quid tomorrow, other than selling something(s) I own :)

But people don't have cash-reserves for buying cars. I could raid all my savings, and go and buy a fancy car, but it would be loonacy. 2 years down the line, I'd have no savings, and I'd want a new car !

Yep - same in my case. If you want to change the car before the loan is up, you simply have to take the hit. Just factor it in to your "I want to change my car" decision. I agree with you that 4 years is too long a repayment period - you WILL want to change before then, and you may HAVE to change before then.

I agree. On the whole though, it IS better than the 405, and the same applies to most "normal" cars.

Agreed. But the the 406 V6 Coupe obviously is some amount better than the

405 SRi - you're never gonna get X times better for X times the money.

Modern Fords and Vauxhalls are actually very good - Ford more so than Vauxhall. Bear in mind we're in a car group here, populated by people that are "into cars". Most people here will buy "good" cars for their budgets.

Joe Public, yes. Car-nut people, no.

Yep. But as above, you usually get less "reliability, comfort, ride, standard equipment levels, build quality, etc. etc." - these are all things that advance with car development.

Which shows that Alfa don't do enough R&D !

Think Ford Sierra to Ford Mondeo, Vauxhall's old Vectra to new Vectra, Volvo

340 to Volvo Whatever, Ford Escort to Ford Focus, Pug 309 to Pug 306 (Sedan) etc. etc.

Generally (although not always !) the-newer-the-better applies.

Once you start buying "decent" cars though, you can't really do this.

If you spend X thousand quid on a car, and change it every year, it'll cost you serious money !

That's not really an issue though - the cambelt will only need doing once or twice in the life of the car. Depending on the mileage of the buyer, it wouldn't need doing at all if you bought one that had just been changed.

Hmmm, you implied that finance was bad full stop. I agree that 4 years for a £5000 Pug V6 isn't the best idea, but the same car over, say, a two year period, would be fine. It would be plenty cheaper cos there'd only be two years of interest (instead of four) and it'd still have "some" value when the loan was complete.

Nope. The older ones have the 200bhp V6, and the newer ones (2000 onwards I think) have the 210bhp V6. Same engine, no VVT or anything else - it's just a plain old V6 lump.

Latest incarnation, to be found in the 407, makes 250bhp ! IIRC, this does have VVT.

But you need another £5k for when it goes wrong, so that's not really an option :)

Actually, I agree - I think the MG-style Rover 75s look rather nice - certainly MUCH better than the equivalent Beemers and the like.

Its an auto :o( Sooner have a manual :)

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Suggestions then, but tbh, its a rare car, looks great, and goes pretty well :)

`-'\_)Morticia

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I drive a 406 salloon at the moment and cant fault it.; I i love the looks of the coupe, tbh i dont recon i would find a better car.

1400kg?

Ive never heard one bad comment on the coupe.

My favourite car, still gonna get one :)

`-'\_)Morticia

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Yeah, but how many BMW;s do u see everywhere??

And im in a situation where my turbo is going on my currant car.

My choice, lol, not theos :op

They are very beautiful, I'll admit that. But they aren't made by Peugeot, they're made by Pininfarina.

Like my 306 Cabrio. Which has required one replacement roof, the door trims replaced, one window replaced and it still doesn't work, the dashboard replaced due to it being in km before, the seat belt clips have worn through, the paint in the boot (admittedly inside, but still) is peeling off, the seats are already looking worn after 31,000 miles, the gearshift aluminium has peeled off and cuts you...

But I've heard of the 406 coupe suffering the same sort of problems, before you say 'That's a 306'.

It is fun to drive, and handles well for a convertible, but I wouldn't have another one if it was given to me free. I've done less than 1/2 the expected mileage in it; but I still do the sort of mileage I anticipated. I'd just rather do it in something else.

Richard

From what ive seen of the coupe though, it does seem a good well built car. Ill admit, my 406 salloon aint been perfect, but its nothing major that i couldnt sort out. And would be happy to put up with a few glitches.

`-'\_)Morticia

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