Patently - you'll give yourself much more choice - and have more fun in the car-choosing process - if you put your association-with-lesser-variants logic on one side: otherwise you'll have to settle for a BMW or a German taxi.
A Saab would be a possibility, but you'd associate it with Vauxhall / Opel.
Volvo / Jaguar / Aston Martin / Land Rover - all big Fords. They say JAGUAR means Just A Granada Under A Reskin.
Lexus - just a Toyota
Let's face it, most cars are made by manufacturers who are part of big conglomerates. All the above, including Audi, are good cars which would make a good, but not over-the-top, impression on your clients. I'd say that BMW and Mercedes are too much "look at me, I've made it": Audi and Saab are probably the best for understated respectability.
I don't know what your line of business is, Patently, but I'd guess you are successful in a service industry, e.g. accountancy or law, where your clients want sound advice, good work for a fair fee, and above all trust. Personally I think my A4 gives the right impression - nothing too strong. At £25K you could save on your budget and keep £5-10K for your pension and / or gift to charity.
If you still think I'm talking rubbish, then go for a top-of-the-range Honda Accord.
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>>- At present trends, the 3 series will be two a penny by the time I need to replace (2007ish!). >>
Patently I agree saloon versions will be plentiful, but coupes are much rarer and hence not only retain their value better but are a superb looking vehicle.
By the time your stated change date in "2007ish", the new 3 Series Coupe will be newly launched and whether in 3 litre petrol form or the brilliant new 3 litre diesel engine with 218bhp and 500 Nm torque, smiles per mile are guaranteed along with fulfilling all the other criteria you require.
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Dude - you've pretty well summed up why I bought the 330Ci thus year.
No-one has mentioned a used Maserati Quattroporte. I do think this looks absolutely stunning, and it is very "different". The problem is that new, it is M5 money but probably not as good*. I wonder what the early ones will sell for at 3 years old? Based on their coupe, 50p should pick up a nice one. Anyone know what its s/h values are looking like?
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*Seems a Maserati trademark - the coupe is 911 money but a pale comparison.
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Patently,
My mate has a used BMW M5 and I have to say the phrase 'understated elegance' fair sums it up.
It is an awesome machine in all senses of the word.
He bought from a guy in Reading who deals in nothing else. Can you get you his details if your interested and Reading is close to you.
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He bought from a guy in Reading who deals in nothing else. Can you get you his details if your interested and Reading is close to you.
Yes please - email address is in the profile. TVM!
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No-one has mentioned a used Maserati Quattroporte
I refer the Hon Member to his own comments about Alfas at the start of this thread. That's why we dinna mention Maseratis.
My cousin had one in the 80s. Gorgeous car, in the garage ... which was just as well, cos that's where it spent most of its time.
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I refer the Hon Member to his own comments about Alfas at the start of this thread.
Ah but they were TIC...
Honourable?! Moi?
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>> I refer the Hon Member to his own comments about Alfas >> at the start of this thread. Ah but they were TIC... Honourable?! Moi?
If they truly were only TIC, then for pure presence I don't think you could do much better than an Alfa 166.
Georgeous car, rare as hen's teeth and (if you hold this in any store) got a very favourable review from Top Gear.
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Maseratis are gorgeous but be prepared to pay a fortune for parts. Ball joints are £600 each and the car has lots of them! The garage owner where I take my lancia to has a W reg 2300 I think it is. 2 ball joints have gone (no warning, distintegrated when he took them off) in the short time he has had it. The car also blew a top hose in the outside lane of a dual carriage at naughty miles an hour which was a serious brown trouser moment. If you don't mind spending £3k a year perhaps on repairs and servicing then a maseriti certainly has the rarity you're looking for.
I still think you'd have just as much fun in a monaro ;-)
If you wouldn't mind a left hooker then perhaps importing one of the larger lancias might be something completely different? Italian Mercedes and all that...
teabelly
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Don't let one Jaguar dealer put you off. My local dealer (Webbers in Basingstoke) have been very good so far. E-mail me through the mods if you are within a reasonable distance and want the name of the salesman I dealt with.
If you widen the scope to include petrol autos, check out:
Jaguar S Type-R.
Jaguar XJR (despite the 'old man' image it's a very quick car).
BMW M5 (if you don't mind the styling and BMW-driver stereotype).
Merc. CLK500.
Kevin...
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The Legacy 3.0R Spec B would get my vote too. The Monaro VXR at £35k would be very tempting too (but I would say that considering my name) as well as the Jaguar XJR.
Also it might be worth considering a
Volvo S60R AWD,
Saab 9-3 Aero,
new Honda Legend (not sure if it is sporty but isn't it the Japanese Car of the Year at the mo?),
Mazda RX-8,
MG ZT V8 260 SE,
Chrysler 300C,
or a final odd ball - imported new Mustang V8.
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Patently,
Email should be with you.
Regards,
Thommo.
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>>No VAG group cars (see the thread which started this)>>
In fairness I have to point out that a well known motoring journalist has been compiling his Cars of 2004 and in his verdict today picks the new Golf GTI as one of them; furthermore, another journalist has described the new Skoda Octavia as great value for money and featuring "exceptional build quality."
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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the new Golf GTI the new Skoda Octavia as
Both of which I have a great respect for, but:
We need to find a motor which will impress clients - give them the feeling that this guy is doing well
So they don't qualify for the entirely artificial criteria set at the start of this exercise!
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If you're in the car that's the one for you then nothing else will manage to pass you by
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so wots your current favourite then?
having thought about it a little more if i wos in your position id be going for a sporty volve estate, estate mainly cos the saloons look rubbish and dont handle much better or hold their value as well
volve estate is fairly snob neutral, and the sportier ones are good Q cars in that they are much quicker than anyone would expect
its always hard to know what would be more impressive from your customers point of view
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so wots your current favourite then?
Difficult to say!
I'm really pleased that favourable comment was made re the 3 series coupe as that's what I'm currently in :-)). But, as for the future, things get harder.
I already had in mind a used M5 or a used Quattroporte. The latter got on the shortlist because although I have little nagging worries about its Italian-ness, it looks absolutely drop-dead gorgeous and there are hardly any about. Of course, the flip side of the last factor is that no-one seems to know about them. I guess I'll have to spend a while getting to know them. Ho hum, more hard work ;-)
Monaro ... seems to be a good car from what I read and watch, but my clients are after someone who shows a bit of spark, a bit of lateral thinking. So, Vauxhalls and Volvos are not really 'it', are they?
Saab - loved the 900. At one point I wanted one so much it hurt. Then my chance came - and I loved it. Right up until the moment when it and I reached the first corner. Then the affair ended, as (sadly) I had tested a BMW 323i the week before and the 900 really couldn't compare. And thus began many years of attachment to Munich. Tried them again last year - the website took my details and promised brochures pronto and a test drive soon after. The brochures took a month and first contact from a dealer was several months later, after my order for a 530d had been placed. Oh dear.
Loks like an older M5...
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An M5 would be a great drive. My problem with BMW's is an irrational negative view of the image. I've had two colleagues in the past with beemers, one in IT and the other a successful accountant. Both were arrogant twits who knew it all. If you had a black cat, they had a blacker one. So they've ruined the marque for me unfortunately and I miss out on some good cars. Daft isn't it?
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and I miss out on some good cars. >>
Why not get one anyway and prove to the world that not all BMW owners are arrogant twits?
But please turn off the fog lights unless, of course, it is actually misty...:-)
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Why not get one anyway and prove to the world that not all BMW owners are arrogant twits? But please turn off the fog lights unless, of course, it is actually misty...:-) - - - - - - - - - - -
I'd rather have a Subaru, much prefer AWD. And anyway, how do you know I'm not an arrogant twit? ;-)
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P
Having just got a Subaru Forester Turbo Auto, I would strongly recommend a visit to the Scooby dealers. I test drive the legacy outback as well, superb vehicle, but I don't need the size as SWMBO has a 7 seater.
The beauty of the Forester is its slightly high, giving great comfort and easy ingress/egress, highish profile tyres for a good ride, small enough for zooming around urban/suburban streets quickly and large enough to take out four people for lunch. PS its fast!!
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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