What do you look for in a new or new to you car?

Have your pre/post kids requirements or wants changed over the years?

Before I had kids I liked cars that weren't run of the mill family cars.

I liked the Escort Mexico/RS 2000's.
The Lotus Sunbeam and so on.

Now my kids are older I'm back to buying similar cars I bought before. Hot hatch/performance orientated but with a degree of comfort once rarely found in the pre-kids days.

I never grew up, just acted sensibly.

So what do you look at when changing your car,


Colour?
Economy?
Performance?
Looks?
Price?

Do you like a bit of fun and excitement out of driving or mundane and boring A to B type of drive?

Are you a motoring snob and refuse to buy certain makes?

I suppose I am as I'd never buy a Jag or Volvo.

Re: What do you look for in a new or new to you car?

Four wheels and a body that get me from A to B safely without breaking down .

I had a Volvo 440 for 16 years, a real workhorse built like a tank.
It had a design feature with trim that formed a reservoir allowing water to collect and rust to develop otherwise I would never have let it go.

Now I have a little tin box with bits of plastic attached, a gift from my son and it does the job .

Re: What do you look for in a new or new to you car?

Benefitting from a manufacturer discount, we have owned, 30+ plus new cars, the decision was always based on financial benefit, not colour, spec etc, but I always enjoyed the performance models, it was good to make the would be "Boy Racers" sick.

Re: What do you look for in a new or new to you car?

In my opinion, the best fun was a 1990 RS Fiesta, better by far than the RS2000, we have a Turbo Charged Ford now, but somehow it isn't the same.

Re: What do you look for in a new or new to you car?

I've always had small cars, mainly because my wife is small and feels more comfortable driving them , my current car is a ford fiesta bought new 3 years ago, I did have a brief flirtation with an Alfa romeo alfasud about 30 years ago but got rid before it was consumed by rust, I guess nowadays I look for comfort, refinement and safety in a car rather than performance

Re: What do you look for in a new or new to you car?

My dream car would have to be an Audi R8 thats if I lived in my perfect world lol...(I can dream cant I?)
My other car is a lovely little runabout economical and reliable and I enjoy driving her no end...
This is my little car ...same colour too..

Re: What do you look for in a new or new to you car?

Lets face it it is all down to how deep are your pockets isn't it? I was making a mint not so long ago but Google decided that my way was the wrong way and my income collapsed practically overnight (thankfully I had banked a fair bit ). If my income had continued at the level it was I would be able to buy anything I wanted and sod the mpg etc; now though I have a Rover 75 which I'm delighted with - great performance, comfort, economy and on-road presence believe it or not from a car costing less than a grand in some cases. Mind you I love the fact 'stuff' is so cheap - front disc pads for just £13!

If I turn things around again (done it a few times now) I would really like something such as the Lexus RX450h - a hybrid motor with great economy, performance, reliablity and comfort.

Re: What do you look for in a new or new to you car?

The Mk11 RS2000 is an iconic car and should never be compared to an RS Fiesta or later MK111 Escorts.

Re: What do you look for in a new or new to you car?

No, it's about perception, in 94 we had a Maverik, it should have been retail about 18k, we got 25% off, so it cost us 13.5k, we then got a retail incentive of 3k cashback and free insurance, the 3k paid the payments for the 9 months we owned it, free motoring.

Re: What do you look for in a new or new to you car?

You're like me in your choice of car....I think the Ford performance Models are great value.

I've just(within last 3 weeks) bought an AMG A45 Mercedes, love the performance and driving experience. Gonna hate depreciation and fuel economy.

@MKJ
The 75 is an excellent car as is reliability