what new car?

[mick]

so much for being "out of here",can i ask page why is it you have a problem with this thread i thought it would be pretty simple if you dont like the look of a thread dont read it,are you driving round in a beat up old motor and there is a tinge of jealousy?,or are you just a crank?

 

[vig]

this thread has certainly livened up
If you're going 4x4 then go for the range rover.
Beamers ok (idon't like the looks)
Merc has the prestige (just don't like the ML range, I have a CLK so not knocking Mercs)
I like the Mits Warrior, nice interior and plenty of room in the back for HID's shopping bonanza's.

Just a word of warning... I know a fireman who bought his wife a 4x4 and she was the victim of 4 road rage incidents in 2 years AND a lady that works for me has had a couple of incidents So... if you do plump for a 4x4 get her a night stick from e bay or some pepper spray.

 

[MVP]

rangerover sports look too plasticky get the X5 if its on the shortlist!

 

[madandra]

Mick, will any comment made on this thread have any influence on your decision?

 

[mick]

definately mandara i'm not in the habbit of posting for posting's sake lol,have asked my mates oppinions aswell as yours,and although HID has picked them if there was a certain thing i totally hated about them i would vito them ie the porsche.i thought if i asked on here someone may own or have owned one of them,and may have been able to give me the pro's and con's of the vehicle,like my brother with the freelander.vig i do also like the warrior but all three on the list have a shorter wheelbase than the absolutely huge warrior,better for HID parking although to be honest she isn't that bad of a driver.mvp the silver rr sport we have looked at looks pretty good to be honest,i think better looking than the x5 it's reliability that i'm worried about land rover don't have the best record among my mates.

 

[Nico]

Mick,as a past owner of a Range Rover (bother but loved it) and a current owner of a Merc, please push her towards the Merc!

If it were me I would buy an E320cdi and get a Carlsson/Brabus kit on it for when I drive it. Can you not get her to test the Merc estate,everyone I know who has driven one has bought it.

 

[John_Findlay]

Not that I know anything about these things, Mick, but my mate is a mechanic who specialises in 4x4's. Basically he has told me many times to avoid anything in the LandRover or RangeRover range, especially the Disco's. They have inherent engineering flaws and provide 95% of his work. He's very happy. Their owners aren't

 

[Page]

so jealous it bleeds from every pore.

 

[medwayjon]

Yeah discos are a nightmare and freelanders, those babies love a head gasket as do all k-series rover lumps (except in 200brm and lotus elise cos of ally engine parts) and it int cheap to fix properly.

As for LPG, just don't do it. LPG delivers only 70% of the efficiency of petrol, when the systems fail (as they do commonly) repair and servicing is nearly impossible, LPG conversions will dramatically shorten the life-span of your engine which is also bad.

I ask a question...... If LPG was so good, why haven't the cabbies, delivery companies and other fleet operators gone over to it???? The answer is that in the short-term yes it is cheaper to buy the car and convert it and indeed the fuel is cheaper. However reliability is compromised and MPG is reduced by atleast 30% as is performance. Resale values of LPG cars is also much lower than diesels as people are more aware of the severe pitfalls of LPG converted vehicles.

 

[MVP]

Yeah discos are a nightmare and freelanders, those babies love a head gasket as do all k-series rover lumps (except in 200brm and lotus elise cos of ally engine parts) and it int cheap to fix properly.

As for LPG, just don't do it. LPG delivers only 70% of the efficiency of petrol, when the systems fail (as they do commonly) repair and servicing is nearly impossible, LPG conversions will dramatically shorten the life-span of your engine which is also bad.

I ask a question...... If LPG was so good, why haven't the cabbies, delivery companies and other fleet operators gone over to it???? The answer is that in the short-term yes it is cheaper to buy the car and convert it and indeed the fuel is cheaper. However reliability is compromised and MPG is reduced by atleast 30% as is performance. Resale values of LPG cars is also much lower than diesels as people are more aware of the severe pitfalls of LPG converted vehicles.

furth to that jon theres only about 1 pump in a garage that does LPG if it had 'taken off' there would be as many as diesel/petrol!

 

[mick]

good point well made jon i never kept the fronterra long enough to see how the conversion went,it was the head gasket that went on both my brothers freelanders good knows why he bought the second,nico we can definately test drive the merc,i'm pretty conscientious when buying motors so will try a few out,personally i've never been a fan of estate cars but will keep an open mind,when i first passed my test my mums car was a 3 series bmw estate,i always used it till i could afford my own car,and i hated it think that might have clouded my judgement abit.car shopping on saturday so will keep everyone posted.


page just a crank then?

 

[haplesshacker]

Friend had an X5, and we actually found the boot to be quite small (front to back depth), which meant that everything had to be stacked on top of each other, a real pain when you have a sprog.

I have an 18 month old son, with Jane Slalom pushchair, it's really good, but the good pushchairs all weigh quite a lot. This does need to be considered when buying a car for 'family' reasons. All 4x4s have high boots, which means more lifting of prams, toys, bikes etc. I've not seen you even consider this yet, I guess that this is your first child then?

Forget the image but there is a reason why MPVs are popular, seat heights are not to high or to low to carry a child into. Have higher rooflines than an estate, so you don't bash your or the nippers head when loading them into the car. Boot sizes are good, and aren't too high. Leg room is great, seats are often removeable for vesatility, parking is easier than a 4x4 etc, etc.

And I'm afraid that road rage towards women in 4x4s is on the up as these cars become less acceptable to society as a whole, but more importantly because they can't drive, park or otherwise have no spatial awareness of the space the vehicles take, and the I'm bigger therefore I'm right attitude.

Personnally if I wanted to transport my kid as safely on the roads as I could because of all the 4x4s I would have a tank, a real one! With gun still in use.

It would appear from your comments that you (and the Mrs) are more interested in the 'image' of the vehicle rather than the practicalities. Believe me the image will wear off, when all is said and done, and the practicalities of having a child hit home.

Current car line up, Renault Scenic and Mazda MX5, (I still get to have my rear wheel drive fun!!).

Just my 2 cents (few dollars) worth.

Good luck with the new arrival.

 

[mick]

hapless it is our first child yes,you have a point about the image i will not deny it myself and the missus are both posuers and have designer clothes addiction so this has probably ran over into the cars we drive.as for lifting stuff into the boot well her indoors is 26 and a gym regular,im 28 ex boxer/rugby player who goes to the gym so can't see any problem lifting stuff into the boot.i myself would not entertain a mpv,so thats definately out,will try the merc estate though so as i said will keep everyone posted.

 

[haplesshacker]

Mick

Guess that you've got as much as an aversion to MPVs as Page has to 4x4s!! Just for different reasons, mabye not (image etc).

But I will just mention the whole boot space thing again, simply because it was something that we were advised about. We were looking at getting a Freelander (god knows why after all the reports), and were warned about boot space. Tall narrow boots are useless for prams, shopping etc.

Other things to consider are door lengths. ie. can you open them wide enough in a car park to get the kid and seat in. With longer doors access is severly limited unless you can open them fully. Sorry if I'm preaching, but I've just been through all this and I wish that I had someone sat on my shoulder giving some practical advise rather than just sales pitches.

Leather seats may seem ridiculous considering, however they are wipe clean and don't stain as easily as upholstered seats.

I'm sure that I'll think of more as the thread progresses.

Or if you prefer, I'll just shut up!!

 

[mick]

hapless dont think your preaching at all mate it was for this exact reason i posted on the forum,to gage peoples oppinions as long as they are in a constructive manner i am all ears,i think we will be going for leather seats.

 

[haplesshacker]

Okay, so I've been talking to the Mrs (I do occasionally), and she's asked me to mention kiddie seats.

If you can go isofix, it's so much quicker, so make sure that your 'posuers' car has that fitted. Whether the car has isofix or not I would highly recommend the Maxi Cosi first stage rear facing car seat, but get the base unit for it. Reason being is that the base unit stays fixed in the car and the chair just clicks in and out of place. No seat belts to feed round, no waking the nipper etc. We discovered this by mistake simply because the seat belts weren't long enough to go around the car seat itself, which meant we had to buy the base. A case of good luck. The wifes baby group friends were very jealous at the speed my wife could get the baby in and out of the car.

Bearing that in mind buy the baby seat after you've bought the new car. Also for getting the pushchair in. As for that I think that you might be tempted by the bug a boo pushchair, it's designed for folks just like you (none meant), but everyone I know that's had one has ended up disappointed with it, so don't waste your money.

BTW whens the first one due?

 

[mick]

october getting the last holiday in next week,thank the missus for me mate,and cheers for the advice,her mother and her have been taking care of most things as women tend to do,i basically have been walking around in a daze wondering if it's a dream,there's been a lot of changes and i usually(i think like most men)like things to just tick along nicely.however i am happy we have a little one on the way we were trying for quite a while,i think marriage will be on the horizon once the baby is born,where do the years go lol

 

[haplesshacker]

Cool.

Don't let her take over completely though as they get a little cooey, and aren't the most practical buyers. I did a lot of research of the big expensive stuff, pram, car seat etc before buying and told HID what I was getting, she only had the choice of colour, even though we didn't know what we were getting child wise!

 

[viscount17]

cool their buying down a bit - you don't need the pram on day one, you won't need a push chair for a while, same with a lot of the gear - absolutely untrue of the scalectrix/train set/radio controlled car/aircraft etc of course.
pick the model that you want then you can go out and buy it in the right colour after the event (though it's usually best in neutral 'cos there's a 50/50 chance that the second will be different).

 

[mick]

hoping of getting the pram,pushchair,and car seat bought as presents from generous family members after the baby is born,still got plenty to buy ourselves though,hoping for a boy as the scalectrix has been calling me for a while,didn't fancy the grown man with toys tag slapped on me though.