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PaperclipPerfector  19d ago (text post)   2770 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for April 12, 2024

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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While this might be jumping the gun a bit, since my last two learners licenses expired as I was simply too busy with exams to sit for my driving exam, I need a car in the UK.

Semi-urban Scotland isn't really renowned for its public transport as far as I'm aware, and the NHS expects me to show up promptly in the unlikely event a CT1 shrink is needed for an emergency.

I'll be earning about £44k for the first year, and given that I so far have been rather scrupulous about not dipping into the bank of Mom and Dad, and have some piddling savings myself, I'm looking for a decent second hand car in the 10-15k pound range. That will require guilt tripping my dad into paying for most of it, but hey, he loves me, I've made him proud, and my brother already de-facto owns the one nice car we've got.

Requirements?

  1. Automatic. I might know how to drive stick, but I don't want to.
  2. Ideally a sedan. I think they look cooler.
  3. Something that looks half decent. Not because I particularly care, but I'm single and don't want to roll up in a broken down Lada.
  4. Basic creature comforts. I mean, you have to go really down market to find a car in India that doesn't have air conditioning or heating, but my ass would appreciate heated seats. Consider this optional.
  5. Decent fuel economy. It's a low COL area, and I'm not one to travel much, but every penny saved helps when the NHS is so stingy.

I'd appreciate all the insight you can provide. I'm very much a novice at this, I'm going to have to learn to do things like change tyres or replace the oil, and other essentials like topping up blinker fluid. But youtube will suffice for that. I want brands, models, and years. I'm not very picky, so have at it.

Edit:

  1. Decent infotainment system by default would be nice, you know, from after Bluetooth codecs became decent. Phones these days don't come with auxes, and while I could replace it, that would probably be relatively expensive.
  2. Remote start and rear view camera. I've only tested my parallel parking skills in GTA, not that I'm an elderly Asian woman.

Also, do BMWs deserve their bad rep? In terms of servicing that is.

As others have said--Honda Civic, assuming they're as readily available there as they are in the U.S. Remote start has been available since 2008 models, rear view cameras have been standard in the U.S. since the 2013, and the infotainment system is competent. Heated seats available on some models since 2020, which is probably newer than you can get in the price range you're talking--but they do exist. If you want to shave the price a little further, Toyota Corollas are similarly reliable and equipped. Given my own life experience, I doubt I'll ever buy a non-Japanese model again.

It has been decades since I heard anyone seriously praise a BMW, and in the price range you're talking, I can't imagine you'll see many comfortable BMWs unless the UK has a very different used car market than the US right now.

I can't imagine you'll see many comfortable BMWs unless the UK has a very different used car market than the US right now.

There actually are even under 10k BMWs with under 15,000 miles on the market online right now. Autotrader is very good for this sort of searching.

And what are the odds they're going to breakdown on me and require the same sum in servicing? I don't know how much of that is a meme, or how expensive it'll get.

BMWs are rather expensive here, like, you know someone in India has broken out of the UMC if they drive one. Most cars not manufactured here have their prices literally doubled because of import tariffs. So even a brand new one is far more expensive and it's a far poorer country. It's why Musk never launched Tesla here, he couldn't get the government to budge, and probably realized that the market willing to pay those prices for an EV would probably be picking up a Porsche, leaving aside the difficulty and cost of making supercharge stations.

My family could definitely afford one new, here, but we couldn't when I was growing up, and we have nothing to prove in that regard. Our money is mostly tied up in sensible things like investments or real estate.

Man, y'all are old, recommending safe, boring and respectable choices like Hondas, Toyota and Volvos (not that I don't appreciate them nonetheless, maybe I should also consider practicality too haha).

And yeah, a BMW secondhand is probably a touch outside my ideal price range, but I could get one. I'm just financially responsible enough that I don't think that's a good idea anytime soon.

To be fair, your price range (which is what, 15-25k USD or something?) is nicely lined up with the safe/boring/respectable market segment. Not saying you can't get fun cars in that range, but the practical cars dominate.

Isn't the median car price in the US like $35k? But you lot are certainly fond of overpriced pickups and massive SUVs used to ferry the kids to school and pick up groceries.

I guess I don't know statistically what the median is, but to me (and I think to most people I know) $35k is kind of expensive. Not like hella expensive, but enough that it would be out of reach for a lot of people.

https://www.moneygeek.com/insurance/auto/average-price-of-a-new-car/#:~:text=Data%20from%20Kelley%20Blue%20Book,in%20the%20last%2012%20months

This place claims $48k as the average price as of March 2023, which is as ludicrous to me as it is to you I'd bet. Other sources claim $47k.

Wow... that is mind blowing to me. I realize that I'm an outlier (I have only ever owned used cars, never spending more than $6k). But I didn't realize I was that much of an outlier.

I guess the people bitching on Reddit about people with unnecessary pickups and overlarge SUVs weren't entirely wrong eh?

Or it could be Marines fresh out of boot with a dependa and a 2023 Mustang at 30% APR.

In India, a good new car costs about $18k or maybe $15k. I'm talking a respectable model with modern amenities from a decent brand, if we're talking luxury models that make other guys look, that's in the $35k range. Never was my thing myself. Something that isn't an utter embarrassment might be $5k new.

But you lot are certainly fond of overpriced pickups and massive SUVs used to ferry the kids to school and pick up groceries.

Small trucks are functionally illegal to sell in the US, so that's a gimme. As far as the SUVs (and the jacked-up station wagons we call "crossovers") go, I believe the reason people want them is sure, for utilitarian reasons, but there are a bunch of usability things that SUVs have over normal station wagons:

  • Way easier to climb up than down, especially in tight parking spaces, or for people who are fat and/or old
  • HID/LED headlights mean vehicle height is an arms race for visibility
  • Extreme standards for rollover and crash protection mean you need all the height (for visibility) you can get

I will point out that it can be a viable strategy to get something older for cheaper and pay for preventative maintenance; your TCO may be less in that instance though after some years (15-20 in drier climates, but being close to the ocean brings salt in the air) you need to also start worrying about rust. I'm not sure if it's functionally illegal to have an older car in Scotland.

You want something fun that's also going to last... why not a Subaru WRX? Fuel economy with them could be better but isn't bad; just avoid the naturally-aspirated models older than 2012 or so because their head gaskets are wear items in ways not true for the turbos. Available in a sedan, practical enough, good for the occasional snowfall.

I understand that there are people who do buy them for utilitarian reasons, but the majority of drivers seem to be suburban soccer moms, or at least that's what other Americans online like to claim. I haven't been in the States since before the NYC skyline looked very different.

Hmm, the WRX sedan variant doesn't look bad at all, I'll look into it too, though I don't know what the fuck a head gasket is (I know what a gasket is).

I know what a gasket is

The head gasket is a special kind of gasket that goes between the engine block and the cover (where the valves are). The reason it's there is because there are passages for oil and coolant that are shared between those two halves.

Some of the older Subarus that didn't have turbos (specifically, the 2.5L models) until around... 2011ish? used a substandard head gasket that would eventually fail (it is an expensive repair). The turbocharged ones used a better one that don't have that problem.

I would have googled that later, but I do appreciate you taking the time to break it down in detail!

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