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I must be tired. I shall learn to read today, promise.
Edited by Webmaster on 25/09/2008 at 01:44
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Hi Cheddar and Humph - thanks for the quick replies.
It does have a full service history C. So I guess that will help.
Humph - I was afraid you were going to say that - about it being difficult to sell. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending how you look at it) I will need to sell it privately. If I part ex it, that will mean taking out MORE money to get another car and effectively having three loans which is not very appealing. One's bad enough - two make me cry myself to sleep every night. So selling it would leave me carless but, hopefully, loan...less too.
Saying that, I am not averse to the idea of part exing it against a car of equivalent value just so I can get something a bit more interesting. I know I'd need to go older (not something that bothers me) but would many dealers be happy part exing like for like and not making any money on the deal? Although I guess they'd be screwing me out of money on the part ex value...
I know you have the 2.2 and if I hadn't been in such a rush, maybe I'd have ended up in one of those and I'd be fine. As it is, the 1.8 is far too small for a car of that size. I just wish I'd have thought about it a bit longer before rushing in.
If you want to know anything else, just ask!
Thanks for your help and advice guys,
Adam
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I know where there's a very nice T plate Alfa Romeo 156, V6 with a Momo cream leather interior - probably yours for a grand. Interesting it will be, and yours for a grand - boring never !
Edited by Pugugly on 15/09/2008 at 09:50
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Thought you'd have bought that by now PU ?
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I couldn't possibly deprive you of your dream car PU!
That's what I'm thinking of...something like an Alfa but...not an Alfa. After all, it still has to get me to work!
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>>and yours for a grand>>
>> Thought you'd have bought that by now PU ?
Perhaps he has H, for £750 ;-)
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At the risk of sounding like a tooth sucking old gti and indeed suggesting the the locking of stable doors after horses have long disappeared over the horizon....
I have long taken the stance that I will not borrow money against anything which depreciates. I would rather have a cheaper car for cash. The only times I have broken this rule have been where I had the opportunity to obtain cheap finance but could have paid off the loan in full had I chosen to.
If you can get yourself into that situation in due course I would recommend it.
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>>If you can get yourself into that situation in due course I would recommend it
I fully agree, and although austerity advice probably isn't what you want to hear, whilst your finances are not altogether robust, you need to make you satisfy your *needs*, and make your *wants* take a back seat for a while.
In that respect, the car you already have is probably the cheapest way to satisfy your needs.
Edited by Number_Cruncher on 15/09/2008 at 10:18
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Tell you what Cheddar, if it was a Sportwagon, I'd be up fot it. Might have a bit of trouble explaining it to Mrs B though as I still haven't quite got round to reducing the "fleet" to an acceptable level.
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Tell you what Cheddar if it was a Sportwagon I'd be up fot it. >>
Tiny boot though, less practical than the saloon in many ways.
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Yeah...... but no....... but yeah....... but............
;-)
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With price of new vectras being slashed and the car supermarkets selling almost new for giveaway prices I would be surprised if a 2004 would fetch anything like book I would put it at the low end of 2 to 3k,only one way to find out try a few traders you could always buy the Alfa above what a driving experience for so little money.
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Adam, it seems to me that you have two issues here: the loans which disrupt your sleep, and your boredom with the Vectra.
I think you will probably find that unless you can substantially increase your income, you can solve one problem at a time but not both.
e.g. Big economy drive to pay off loans, and keep the Vectra
or
Sell Vectra, buy a banger and pay off most of the loan upfront.
From what you've said so far, it looks like the loans are causing you more distress than the car, so they ought to be the priority. (That's if I understand your post properly).
Once you're out of the current mess, there may be merit in considering the advice above not to borrow against a depreciating asset ... and also in considering the bigger question of whether the expected joy from owning an expensive object actually turns out to be big enough to offset the pain of paying for it. Only you can answer that latter question, which I suspect is really about what you want out of life.
Personally, I reckon that the joy of owning objects is nearly always much less than expected, and that most purchases ultimately disappoint. Different ppl have different priorities in life, and age changes perspectives too, but FWIW I suspect that the underlying issues here are not really about a car (no offence intended, just a thought)
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Stick with the Vectra you know it makes sense
As they down here - Suffer baby - Suffer.
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Alfa - Alfa - Windermere - just down the road from the Corner Shop. Crrrrreeeeeammmm leather interior...........sexiest engine note known to man.
Edited by Pugugly on 15/09/2008 at 19:47
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Stop it now PU. This is becoming automotive porn !
Alternatively, will someone please buy it and put the poor man out of his misery !
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Friend has the same model, only a late 2005 one. He got his from a dealer about 12 months ago, and only paid 5.5K then, so I'm afraid that I dont hold out much hope of you getting 4K
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"the only purpose of this exercise is to clear most of my debt"
But then you will be car-less and I assume you will still need a car. Or have I missed something?
If you intend to buy something cheaper then I wouldn't bother. The Vectra is now cheap enough (worth around 2.5-3k??) and a known quantity to you.
Something I was told years ago - "the cheapest car is the one you have"
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Adam is it your intention to have no car? Surely not. If so then holding out for maximum private sale possible. But if not limits options if you're trying to clear debt. Can you try for a company car somehow?
You don't half pick cars.... gold coloured Focus saloon (hope I remembered right) and now a Vectra ;-)
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Hi everyone,
Sorry for this very belated reply; I've been quite busy.
After looking at everyone's replies, it's perfectly obvious that the thing I should do is to keep hold of it. At the back of my mind I always thought that but sometimes I need a lot of sensible people to tell me before I listen!
I did actually have a company car for a while. A very short while but unfortunately, being a very small company (it was a spare car too), some (very unreasonable) expectations came with it. Without going into the full specifics, I was stitched up so gave the car back. But anyway, financially, sensibly and any other kind of y, I need to keep the Vectra.
I've implemented a saving plan and for the first time in a LONG time, I might actually have a bit of money left over this month to put into a savings plan. In around 18 months when I've cleared both loans, I'm hoping to have a nice wedge of money plus whatever part ex value of my car so that I can buy my next car outright.
Thanks very much for all your help everyone - you've told me what I needed to be told.
As always, greatly appreciated.
Adam
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Good decision Adam. The strange thing is you will probably grow to quite like your car now having reached that conclusion. I think we can all find fault in a possesion or person if it suits us to do so.
I felt the same way about a Mondeo estate I bought nearly four years ago. at first I was keen to replace it. Now that it has served its tour of duty and its replacement has been bought and I have a buyer for it, I am oddly reluctant to sell it as I have become irrationally fond of it. It will have to go, but I shall miss it.
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I think I know what you mean Humph - I might actually wash it at the weekend!
Thanks again for your help.
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Adam
buy yourself a white shirt, black tie, hi-viz jacket, stick a few dummy aerials and a spare rear view mirror on it and see what sort of mayhem you can cause amongst the more observant mimsers.
(oh, if only they knew....)
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Humph wrote: ...we can all find fault in a possesion or person....
Too right, and not possessing the ability to spell is one of those faults. :)
Yours in grammatical perfection,
ifithelps.
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You may remember the line from "Local Hero" ?
"How" many Gs in ****** off ?! "
;-)
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I had a Vectra a while ago. Bought it on a 'sensible' impluse and then later decided I wasn't that keen on it. Swapped the standard alloys for a bigger second hand aftermarket set (for not alot of money off eBay).
Improved the look of the car and helped the handling a bit too.
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>>"How" many Gs in ****** off ?! "
Two, or should that be "too", or possibly "to"? :)
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Be very very careful. One slip, one typo, one comma out of place and you're dead meat......!
In the meanwhile, may I re-refer you to film script above!
;-)
Not bovvered mind........
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Two get it back on track, is it a won-point-ate or a too-point-too?
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Well, if it's a flyer, it's bound to be a petrel.
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1.8 according to the OP. (Sniffs haughtily / self-righteously and departs for work........)
;-)
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