My current car is a black BMW 325Ci Sport and I always wanted a car like it. It’s got a 2.5 litre 6 cylinder engine that sounds beautiful. It accelerates like a jet. It corners like it’s on rails. The tyres are about twice as wide as a normal car’s (and are 18 inch rims – no need to pimp my ride!). It’s got a leather interior and all the gadgets you could dream of. So I’m happy right?
Well no. You see, there’s a downside. I need an oil tanker to follow me around because it drinks petrol like a teenager drinks cider (it cost around £50 to fill it and I’m lucky if it covers 300 miles). Those super-wide tyres cost around £200 each and don’t last a year (the rear ones are wider and so cost more than the fronts). An oil service (that’s the cheap one) can easily cost £500 – just like the one it had today. And in less than 12 months of ownership the thing’s lost around £6000 in value!
I should have learned by now. My previous car was also a BMW and I eventually traded it in when I had to cough up nearly £1000 for a service (that wasn’t a pleasant day). Unfortunately I was seduced by my current one as it looks great and is an animal to drive. Well no more. I’m going to downgrade.
I’ve had enough of BMW’s. They’re very good cars but I just don’t think they’re worth the money and the running costs. My mate Neil says that all cars under £70,000 are much the same whether they’re a Kia or a BMW and I’m beginning to think he’s right. For the same money that mine’s worth I can get a brand new car that’s quicker, smaller, has most of the same gadgets as mine and has far lower running costs. Can you guess what it is?
You’re selling your Beemer? :-O …it drinks petrol like a teenager drinks cider LOL, great metaphor!
Is it a Ford Ka? I think it would suit you.
Well, tempting though a Ford Ka is, I doubt I’d be able to fit my bike in the back of it! Plus, they’re too cool for me. 😉
Since tyres are so expensive these days, perhaps you need something with less wheels. A nice three wheel van would be ideal – plenty of room for the bike, and stylish as well!
Yeah, and if it was made of some super-light material – say fibre glass – it would be very fuel efficient too. You might be on to something! Now I wonder if they come in yellow…
My guess is Subaru or the new Honda Civic.
Well, you’re pretty close Anne! The subaru impreza (which I considered) drinks more fuel than my current car and it’s so fast that I’d probably crash it on the first day. And it just so happens that the honda civic type-r is on my to-test-drive list…
Are you going to buy a new car then? That’s a great way to lose money, isn’t it? Anyway, I hear the new Golf GTI is very good.
Ha ha! Yes John, you’re absolutely right. Buying a new car is a stupid thing to do and I haven’t decided if it’ll be brand new or not, but it might be because I’m prone to acts of stupidity…
The new Golf is pretty good but it’s kinda expensive. It’s 20 grand and is no faster than the car I’m thinking of, which is £5000 cheaper (in fact, with the same extras as the car I’m thinking of, the golf weighs in at £23175 which is £8000 more!).