Thanks for the update SS, and all the best with your new car, well done for holding your ground over the payment timing.
I didn't realise you were a new driver, just assumed that you had driven company/shared cars before, as said a big step up from a Corsa to a new Mondeo.
We'll be interested to hear some real life (brim to brim , not what the display says) fuel consumption reports etc as time goes by if you wouldn't mind, there's more than a few of us standing back a little from modern Diesels and their complexities that would like know average normal use fuel usage for larger petrol engined cars.
Edit, just seen your insurance quotes...not bad.
Edited by gordonbennet on 20/09/2009 at 12:11
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We'll be interested to hear some real life (brim to brim not what the display says) fuel consumption reports etc as time goes by if you wouldn't mind there's more than a few of us standing back a little from modern Diesels and their complexities that would like know average normal use fuel usage for larger petrol engined cars.
Sure, no probs, happy to help, I will start keeping track and report back.
Incidentally, a little more detail on my buying experience, I turned down the GAP insurance offered by the dealership (it was £399 for 3 years). I reasoned that although I am a new driver, in a fairly large and powerful car (relative to my experience), my risk of a "total loss" (either in a write-off or a theft) is hopefully fairly small. I guess time will tell.
Thanks again for all your help.
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I turned down the GAP insuranceoffered by the dealership (
Good that was overpriced anyway, but it might be worth investing in much cheaper GAP from another source...i daresay one of our fold will know where to go.
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When did you pass your test and when did you last drive? As this is a very expensive car and you don't want to start making claims on your insurance if you have not driven for a while I would recomend some refresher lessons you will probably only need a couple and it will help get rid of any bad habbits and clear up anything you're not sure on.
If you have been driving other cars a lot since you passed then its probably not a problem. I know from my learning days I would often have years breaks and I would be so rusty.
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When did you pass your test and when did you last drive? As this is a very expensive car and you don't want to start making claims on your insurance if you have not driven for a while I would recomend some refresher lessons you will probably only need a couple and it will help get rid of any bad habbits and clear up anything you're not sure on.
I passed my test about 10 years ago (which probably helped to knock the insurance down too), but had not driven since then. However, I did do as you suggest and took some refresher lessons in the last few weeks (did about 10 hours in total, including some motorway driving). The basics came back pretty quick, but it would have been a disaster if I had just gotten back into a car without them.
I would much rather have started in a smaller, less powerful and cheaper car, but as I mentioned I have a family to transport around so I had to go for something bigger.
I feel OK now, and am trying to strike the balance between being cautious and not being too scared to get out there and gain some actual experience.
The one thing that concerns me is driving in bad weather and the risk of skidding etc, so I am currently trying to look for some training (skid pan training etc) in that area. Any suggestions would be warmly welcomed.
Thanks.
Edited by SteelSpark on 20/09/2009 at 14:03
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move up to yorkshire we get loads of skidpan training when the council doesnt grit our roads
glad your purchase went smoothly
do consider the gap by the way
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move up to yorkshire we get loads of skidpan training when the council doesnt grit our roads
Funny you mention that. My parents live up that way, and we will likely go to stay there over Christmas, which is part of the reason that I would prefer to have a bit of training on skids.
do consider the gap by the way
Will do. Any chance that you recommend which provider(s) I should consider, please? When the dealer said that I had to take it there and then, I guessed that the price probably wasn't competitive.
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You have bought probably one of the safest cars in the road in terms of its road holding ability so if you do get stuck in bad weather you have the right car for the job. You sound sensible so I am sure you will be ok. I guess it would probably take you a while to get used to the length, I would love a Mondeo but round my way most of them have duck tape covering up bumber cracks due to bad parking so it puts me off a bit!
As for the skidding well if I my dad managed to take a Lada across the snake pass to Sheffield on a foggy icy boxing day I am sure with a bit of training you will be more than fine in the Mondeo.
Edited by Rattle on 20/09/2009 at 14:39
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You have bought probably one of the safest cars in the road in terms of its road holding ability so if you do get stuck in bad weather you have the right car for the job.
Good to know. I could have gone for an older car as a first car, but because of my inexperience I tried to pick what seemed to be the safest car, that was still big enough for the family.
In terms of safety it seemed to come down to the Mondeo, Passat, BMW 3 series or a Lexus IS. I ruled out the BMW because it seemed too powerful a car (plus it seems a lot more expensive in terms of upkeep - servicing etc). I ruled out the Passat because everything that I read seemed to pan it for reliability (plus it had a few minutes points for child passengers). The boot on the Lexus was too small, so I was left with the Mondeo.
I was considering going for a Mark 3 but it seems that the safety is much better on the Mark 4. If, god forbid, I am ever in a bad accident with my family in the car, the few thousand more that I paid for a Mark 4 than a Mark 3 could be the best I ever spent, so no regrets there.
Perhaps I could have gone for a Mark 4 that was a couple of years older, but I reckoned that in terms of depreciation over the next few years, I probably actually won't be too far behind.
Still I would prefer to avoid testing any of the collision safety feature, so I hope that I can find a decent adverse weather/skid course.
Thanks for your help.
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GAP insurance is well worth it whatever you have to pay. My year old jaguar sport was written of in a serious accident that I had never anticipated ( hadn't had a scrape in 30+ years) & the GAP was £500 at the dealer but it paid out over 9K to bridge the gap to enable me to buy another brandnew one!
You never know whats round the corner! take the advice ftom Bell boy just buy it & hopefully you will never need it.
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Sounds like a lovely car, - we get them as hire car quite often and they are lovely to drive
i find them huge cars though quite a step up from the Corsa
as a earlier post mentions - just come to Yorkshire when its Snowy/ICY esp where i live the council dont grit the roads so you will get as much skid training as you will need :-)
Happy Motoring!
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