Saab 9-5 HOT Aero

Faberoo.

I still think the Vectra is better :-) You've always done nothing but mock Saab for all their "stupid gimmicks they throw at cars loading them up with kit so people buy them, like the night instrument panel thing, the funny key placement" - obviously that's not an exact quote, but I'm so not googling to find quotes heh, I'll leave that to the stalkers.

This was of course, until a week ago when you realised they were good value heh, which to be fair, is something I would do. I hated the Mk3 Clio and the 197 when they came out, but they grew on me and I did a U-turn - nothing wrong with that, just don't try and hide it by saying you still think they're shit! That just makes you look weird, as what kinda dude buys a car they think is shit heh :-)

But Saabs aside, you love your Passats! You loved the 1.8T and you've had nothing but praise for this one, especially when compared to a Saab. It's just baffling to me that you're not buying something you actually like, seen as though you're using you own cash this time, and you get to keep it at the end.

Although at the end of the day, I'd just take the Beemer, it's a nice spec, there's no hassle, no worries, no unexpected costs - it's just the easy way :-) Sure it should cost you a few more quid, but what if say, the turbo goes on the Saab? That's a big repair, and what if they don't have a courtesy car for you as well? Carnage could quickly ensue... I cerntainly think having a turbo'd petrol motor for your company car, if you're buying it, is a bit of a bad idea as from the experience of people I know, they do seem to have proportionally more problems than the NA ones... That might be just coincidence or something.

Random new thought, have you considered a new type Honda Accord? I got taken in one of them from a half-upmarket pre-book taxi place, it was organised by the hospital, and it was very, very nice. I sat in the front and it was so comfy, and there appeared to be toys galore, and it was almost like a spaceship! All very solid and well made, and you know it's a Honda, so it'll be fine.

I know this kinda discussion is banned so I'll just add, the Accord can take

Read my post I just put up there somewhere ^^ New shape Accord? Everywhere seems to agree they're awesome.

And extend what I said about turbo petrols, to be even more relevent to tuned ones, although these dealer upgrades are no doubt well within max stress levels on things.

Someone I know has recently just got a new Z4 3.0 heh, that's pretty cool, black, red leather, optional bigger wheels, optional upgrade stereo (£800!), and it sounds awesome too. It's really super comfy to sit in and looks cool on the big wheels. I'd not be able to have a BMW Z4 though that wasn't a Z4M coupe. Although a couple of places thing the 3.0 is the better of the roadsters. But the Z4M Coupe just looks so flapping awesome...

The dash is odd, and despite the Vectra derived torque steering handling, they're a very comfortable place to sit. Don't forget that we're talking about a 3 year old car, with a 30k list price, for £8k.... I can forgive a fair bit for that kind of VFM.

Mostly because I can get a lot more for my money elsewhere. I've looked at Passats - I could pick up a low-ish mileage Passat 2.0TDI SE with DSG for £13k - but ultimately, they're a bit pikey spec. compared with what else you can get for similar money.

New Accords are *way* above budget and I've heard some really bad stuff about the reliability of the last shape diesels.

Are you sure? That sounds amazingly good value... What are the exclusions like?

What about the 2.4 Petrol? That engine is mean to be as smooth as double cream isn't it? Haven't even glanced at the prices recently, but I remember looking once for my parents when they were shopping, before they bought the Mondeo, and thinking they held their value like nothing else in the market.

Haven't looked in particular - main one is a £1k limit per claim. But that should take care of most stuff at £30 / hour with my local man.

Even the 2.4 needs revving, in typical Honda style, to make it go properly.

For me, it has to be a turbo, either diesel or petrol.

Surely, if it's a Saab approved warranty, you have to have the work done at a Saab dealer...?

Nah, this is a 3rd party, well, AA, warranty.

I'm looking at possibly buying from a main dealer, taking their approved used warranty for a year, maybe getting a 2nd year as part of the deal, though. However, if I buy outside of the main dealer network, then 3rd party warranties are reasonably priced and my local man deals directly with most of the big warranty companies.

They required about 150k and 15 years to keep them going ;) Mine didn't get the god option, so I might need to look for an aftermarket Thor.