Lons
Established Member
It occurs to me that buying a car is akin to choosing a partner / wife:
* Some of us like to have a sporty model, fast, flashy and a spirited ride :wink:
* Maybe one that's large and comfortable, roomy, something you can sink into and relax for a long slow drive.
* Or luxurious type, all bells and whistles model that's costs the earth to run.
* Perhaps an old banger, unwashed, unloved, smokes like a chimney but carries the kids / grandkids, junk and tools with ease and no complaints.
* What about some exotic, possibly of Italian origin forever needing facelifts and touch ups to stop bits drooping or falling off?
Some things most of us want:
* Starts first time in the morning every time, without protest.
* Doesn't break down too often, is economical to keep and run and doesn't require new shoes and boots every week.
* Doesn't moan about the heat, cold, wet, snow or ice or worry that its ar*e is too big.
and
* We all want a Rolls Royce ( Aston Martin in my case) for the price of a Mini do we not?
In reality if we achieve 75% of those attributes we've done well and maybe a "keeper" but whereas a partner is hopefully for life we can change our car as often as we wish or funds allow without retribution.
My first "car" at 17 was a 3 year old beat up ex Radio Rentals Minivan which like a typical teenager, I tarted up to look like mutton dressed as lamb and still remember the reg which was 261 FYG I was lucky enough to have company cars for 30 years before having to resort again to buying my own and those ranged from a Ford Anglia estate (anyone remember those?) to top of the range BMW 5 series with all sorts in between so in 50 years of driving at a rough calculation I've had the use of or owned upwards of 30 cars and rented hundreds,some for several weeks at a time. My wife has owned 12 in the 45 years we've been married so personal experience of a lot of cars.
Lets be honest though, anyone who goes far enough back will appreciate just how reliable modern cars really are. No longer do we need to charge batteries overnight, put a tarp or blanket over the engine and a lamp or heater under to keep it warm so it will start in the morning. How often do we get a puncture, need to push start a car, have it serviced every 6 months or change the CV joints on a Mini every few thousand miles or constantly have to clean the carburettor, distributor or spark plugs?
A modern car has more computing power than that needed to send the first rocket into space, (allegedly ) so it's packed with circuit boards which are subjected to dust, heat, cold, moisture and vibration which is not exactly what computer systems are designed for and add to that the fact it needs sophisticated software to run it's a mystery how they manage at all.
Try any of those conditions on your laptop and it will end up in the bin, not to mention the software and program issues we all encounter.
My first brand new company car in 1972, a jellymould Cortina cost about £900 so depending on which info you use that's around £13500 in todays money. It was pretty basic, not even a radio and certainly not reliable whereas that sum today will buy a very decent, well equipped car
Just my take on it, not quoting articles or anyone else but agree or not, it's surely food for thought.
cheers
Bob
* Some of us like to have a sporty model, fast, flashy and a spirited ride :wink:
* Maybe one that's large and comfortable, roomy, something you can sink into and relax for a long slow drive.
* Or luxurious type, all bells and whistles model that's costs the earth to run.
* Perhaps an old banger, unwashed, unloved, smokes like a chimney but carries the kids / grandkids, junk and tools with ease and no complaints.
* What about some exotic, possibly of Italian origin forever needing facelifts and touch ups to stop bits drooping or falling off?
Some things most of us want:
* Starts first time in the morning every time, without protest.
* Doesn't break down too often, is economical to keep and run and doesn't require new shoes and boots every week.
* Doesn't moan about the heat, cold, wet, snow or ice or worry that its ar*e is too big.
and
* We all want a Rolls Royce ( Aston Martin in my case) for the price of a Mini do we not?
In reality if we achieve 75% of those attributes we've done well and maybe a "keeper" but whereas a partner is hopefully for life we can change our car as often as we wish or funds allow without retribution.
My first "car" at 17 was a 3 year old beat up ex Radio Rentals Minivan which like a typical teenager, I tarted up to look like mutton dressed as lamb and still remember the reg which was 261 FYG
I was lucky enough to have company cars for 30 years before having to resort again to buying my own and those ranged from a Ford Anglia estate (anyone remember those?) to top of the range BMW 5 series with all sorts in between so in 50 years of driving at a rough calculation I've had the use of or owned upwards of 30 cars and rented hundreds,some for several weeks at a time. My wife has owned 12 in the 45 years we've been married so personal experience of a lot of cars.Lets be honest though, anyone who goes far enough back will appreciate just how reliable modern cars really are. No longer do we need to charge batteries overnight, put a tarp or blanket over the engine and a lamp or heater under to keep it warm so it will start in the morning. How often do we get a puncture, need to push start a car, have it serviced every 6 months or change the CV joints on a Mini every few thousand miles or constantly have to clean the carburettor, distributor or spark plugs?
A modern car has more computing power than that needed to send the first rocket into space, (allegedly ) so it's packed with circuit boards which are subjected to dust, heat, cold, moisture and vibration which is not exactly what computer systems are designed for and add to that the fact it needs sophisticated software to run it's a mystery how they manage at all.
Try any of those conditions on your laptop and it will end up in the bin, not to mention the software and program issues we all encounter.
My first brand new company car in 1972, a jellymould Cortina cost about £900 so depending on which info you use that's around £13500 in todays money. It was pretty basic, not even a radio and certainly not reliable whereas that sum today will buy a very decent, well equipped car
Just my take on it, not quoting articles or anyone else but agree or not, it's surely food for thought.
cheers
Bob
