Retirement car

['CHARD]

 

an old oak tree fell on it one day and they all got out without a scratch.

 

The moral of that story seems to be to stay away from West London depots. 

[jjb1970]

If you do low mileage how about a 5.0 Mustang? OK the fuel bill will be high but they are cheap to buy (well, compared to anything else like it) and you will have that engine note..... A near neighbour has one and the engine note is to die for, it is like a small earthquake when it fires up, tremendous!!

[New Haven Neil]

Really - Hyundai.  You may well be surprised.  i40 Estate, reliable, roomy etc.  I have an i30, not big enough for the OP, but it has so far been a revelation after several Fords, especially ride quality and reliability.  Top class auto box, economical diesel. Or the Kia equivalent - same cars under the skin.  These aren't cheapo brand cars any more, they are a real alternative.  The 'Korean' i30 was designed in Germany and built in Hungary, BTW!

[MJI]

If you do low mileage how about a 5.0 Mustang? OK the fuel bill will be high but they are cheap to buy (well, compared to anything else like it) and you will have that engine note..... A near neighbour has one and the engine note is to die for, it is like a small earthquake when it fires up, tremendous!!

 

Just keep away from corners.

 

Owner wanted a race, other colleague offered a twisty route, I offered a route part on a BOAT.

 

He still wants a simple boot it along a dual carriageway. Not good for a light good handling coupe or a heavy Diesel powered off roader.

 

Other owner (father and son) prefers his old Boxster.

[MJI]

My parents have a Korean car of some form I THINK Hyundai.

 

They like it.

 

They are retired

[jjb1970]

Really - Hyundai.  You may well be surprised.  i40 Estate, reliable, roomy etc.  I have an i30, not big enough for the OP, but it has so far been a revelation after several Fords, especially ride quality and reliability.  Top class auto box, economical diesel. Or the Kia equivalent - same cars under the skin.  These aren't cheapo brand cars any more, they are a real alternative.  The 'Korean' i30 was designed in Germany and built in Hungary, BTW!

 

Most of my colleagues thought I was being wilfully contrarian when I told them that I thought the KIA Stinger was a much nicer car than the Audi A6 and that if given the choice I'd take the Stinger.

[brianusa]

If you do low mileage how about a 5.0 Mustang? OK the fuel bill will be high but they are cheap to buy (well, compared to anything else like it) and you will have that engine note..... A near neighbour has one and the engine note is to die for, it is like a small earthquake when it fires up, tremendous!!

 

Interesting!  How about a 5.0 Mustang?  Why not?  Small, cramped dated even!  So it goes fast; if you are retiring, you surely need something with more room and as your interest in competition is possibly moving over to model trains and fitting the grandkids in for the trip to McDonalds.  But the 'retirement' car, why not keep the one you have, all bought and paid for, low insurance, etc, which means less running cost.  I'm keeping my '95 Lincoln as its got less than 80K on the clock, is comfortable and has been reliable all these years. It has a similar size V8 as the Mustang which moves it satisfactorily; sure it only gets about 18mpg around town but if one doesn't do high mileage, its not a concern and right now petrol is cheap enough.  Also as we age, familiarity is a concern; how often to you get in another car only to find you don't know what knob does what or how the sat-nav works or where the light switches are?

But, if you are still in the mood for stop light racing, rubber burning or any other boy racer fun, go buy a Mustang

 

Brian

[Junctionmad]

Why not an electric car for your retirement , Hyundai Kona, new 60 Kwh Nissan Leaf etc . Cheap as chips to run , little to service 

[big jim]

If you do low mileage how about a 5.0 Mustang? OK the fuel bill will be high but they are cheap to buy (well, compared to anything else like it) and you will have that engine note..... A near neighbour has one and the engine note is to die for, it is like a small earthquake when it fires up, tremendous!!

Sounds like my old 5L phaeton, beautiful V10 howl, I do miss that, not the fuel and tyre bill though

[big jim]

Really - Hyundai. You may well be surprised. i40 Estate, reliable, roomy etc. I have an i30, not big enough for the OP, but it has so far been a revelation after several Fords, especially ride quality and reliability. Top class auto box, economical diesel. Or the Kia equivalent - same cars under the skin. These aren't cheapo brand cars any more, they are a real alternative. The 'Korean' i30 was designed in Germany and built in Hungary, BTW!

I get a lot Hyundai I30s as hire cars and the Kia version too, Cee’d?

 

I am seriously impresssed by both, if I was in the look out for a ‘new’ car then I’d have a look at a few year old ‘GT line’ model which can be picked up for between 6k and 9k depending on age etc

 

A few weeks back I got a Mini Countryman for a few days which was absolutely brilliant and I was shocked when I saw how much I could pick up say a 10 plate one for, sub £9k again right down to £6k, another car I’d seriously consider

[jjb1970]

Why not an electric car for your retirement , Hyundai Kona, new 60 Kwh Nissan Leaf etc . Cheap as chips to run , little to service 

 

Oh, don't be sensible  Go for a Tesla, the Model 3 is a lot more affordable than the Model S, still looks good and is still fearsomely fast.

[Baby Deltic]

I’m still working, it seems, and one consequence of that is that I’m racking up mileage on the car I bought as my intended retirement car.

 

So it looks as though there will be one more car in my life, before I’m done.

 

I don’t share my wife’s obsession with saloon cars (a now-rare type, which has caused me a lot of in-necessary trouble on the rare occasions she can be persuaded that her present car is beyond further economic use).

 

I’m done with the large 4x4 which have long been my usual transport. I do like them, but I no longer work on pipelines and don’t want the attendant fuel consumption, £500 road tax and tyre costs.

 

Long ago, I took a shine to the VW Passat. I also like proper estate cars (which is to say, long-wheelbase cars with proper leg-room in the back seat, and a full 6’ load bay with full headroom the full length) and the Passat was/still is one such. I have also been favourably impressed with my current Skoda Scout, basically a poor man’s Audi 4x4 with a proper estate body. The Ford Mondeo is a modern version of the Cortina estates I once made good use of (I was a great fan of Cortinas, especially the later 2.0 ones; a big strong car with no particular stand-out qualities, but plenty of room and no real bad habits). The Mercedes estates speak for themselves.

 

Yesterday I had a Skoda Superb as a courtesy car while the Scout was being serviced and put through its first MoT. Nice set of wheels; roomy, unfussy, plenty of pull for our East Anglian mountain ranges and easy to park. My good wife immediately announced that “it was far too big for her” (although she happily drove a Toyota Carina saloon for many years) and “far too fast” (she presently drives a VW Bora with the same powertrain - the logic of this escapes me entirely) so I’m not really concerning myself with a car that suits her idiosyncrasies.

 

So the Superb looks to be front runner, right now; what do others favour?

 

My last four company cars have been VW Passat estates. I used to buy Ford Mondeo's but switched over in 2005. Good reliable comfortable workhorse. I drive mine quite hard and find it to have excellent handling even when loaded with work tools, etc. The Skoda Superb is a nice car and you get more bang for your buck for the same price with a Skoda over a Passat in terms of extras but the Passat is more expensive for a reason, and I do think the Skoda is the poor relative in terms of looks, etc.

[Guest]

Oh, don't be sensible  Go for a Tesla, the Model 3 is a lot more affordable than the Model S, still looks good and is still fearsomely fast.

 

Best to go for a car you can actually buy sometime in the foreseeable future.... 

[Baby Deltic]

I think a Daewoo Maserati MK VI with leather carpets and underfloor heating would be the ultimate car of choice these days.

Edited December 31, 2018 by Baby Deltic

[37409]

What sort of mileage are you looking at doing and how often do you need to use it?

 

If you're looking at once a week to the shops and the rest pleasure/visiting/holidays then buy something classic and what you've always wanted. Road tax will be £255 or free if it's over 40 years old, insurance will be sub £250 a year even for exotica. Yes, it might do 18mpg, but if you're only doing 3000 miles a year you'll save that much in lack of depreciation. In fact, buy wisely and it will only appreciate giving an added benefit for when you either have to sell because you can no longer drive, or for your dependants when you finally move on to a higher plane. Many higher end cars are still well equipped and drive like more modern cars. My Mercedes 500SEC has Dual Zone Climate Control, electric everything (headrests and steering adjustment inc), ABS, heated, leather seats, sunroof, does 18mpg in town, 25mpg on a run (best is 28), does 0-60 in under 7 seconds, 147mph (verified by GPS on the Autobahn), cruises comfortably at 120 mph, seats 4, has a big boot and a beautifully 'woofly' V8. It's been to the northern tip of Denmark and down to Florence. It has not yet broken down in the 8 years I've owned it, I don't hesitate to use it on European trips, I've done about 45k miles with no issues and it now has 170k miles on the clock. I will admit to having replaced a few suspension bushes, and it has had new discs and pads all round, but given a yearly service of plugs, filters, oil and coolant costs about £100 I reckon it's cost about £1200 in all over 8 years to keep going. Couple that with the fact that I bought it for £4k and it's now worth over £10k and you'll see that owning a carefully chosen classic does not have to be expensive.

 

Get that Merc 500SL convertible or 500SEC, have that Jensen Interceptor you always wanted, that Citroen DS you admired from The Day of the Jackal.

 

You only live once...

[rockershovel]

I’ve had a couple of big Citroens among the forty-plus cars I’ve owned over time, some of them quite briefly (my good wife occasionally surprises me with recollections of cars I’ve totally forgotten, and No 1 Son is an aide-memoire for a certain period in my life). There was at least one car (a Ford Mondeo) which I don’t believe I ever drove at all, before it was written off by said son while I was at sea... there were quite a few which I bought over the winter and sold in the spring, or for particular jobs (I’ve sometimes owned a 4x4 for a job, and something a bit more economical for off-book mileage).

 

I don’t want anything too fancy. My good wife displays a certain lack of savoir-faire behind the wheel, coupled with a hesitancy at junctions which tend in turn to produce various knocks and dents, and retirement will mean her 85000 mile VW Bora won’t be replaced when it is beyond economic repair.

[Enterprisingwestern]

 My good wife displays a certain lack of savoir-faire behind the wheel, coupled with a hesitancy at junctions which tend in turn to produce various knocks and dents,

 

That's the decision made then, you need one of these;

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenger_2

 

Mike.

[rockershovel]

That's the decision made then, you need one of these;

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenger_2

 

Mike.

No... I said earlier, she will only drive saloons..... she’d probably enjoy one of these, though..

[Joseph_Pestell]

I’m still working, it seems, and one consequence of that is that I’m racking up mileage on the car I bought as my intended retirement car.

 

So it looks as though there will be one more car in my life, before I’m done.

 

I don’t share my wife’s obsession with saloon cars (a now-rare type, which has caused me a lot of in-necessary trouble on the rare occasions she can be persuaded that her present car is beyond further economic use).

 

I’m done with the large 4x4 which have long been my usual transport. I do like them, but I no longer work on pipelines and don’t want the attendant fuel consumption, £500 road tax and tyre costs.

 

Long ago, I took a shine to the VW Passat. I also like proper estate cars (which is to say, long-wheelbase cars with proper leg-room in the back seat, and a full 6’ load bay with full headroom the full length) and the Passat was/still is one such. I have also been favourably impressed with my current Skoda Scout, basically a poor man’s Audi 4x4 with a proper estate body. The Ford Mondeo is a modern version of the Cortina estates I once made good use of (I was a great fan of Cortinas, especially the later 2.0 ones; a big strong car with no particular stand-out qualities, but plenty of room and no real bad habits). The Mercedes estates speak for themselves.

 

Yesterday I had a Skoda Superb as a courtesy car while the Scout was being serviced and put through its first MoT. Nice set of wheels; roomy, unfussy, plenty of pull for our East Anglian mountain ranges and easy to park. My good wife immediately announced that “it was far too big for her” (although she happily drove a Toyota Carina saloon for many years) and “far too fast” (she presently drives a VW Bora with the same powertrain - the logic of this escapes me entirely) so I’m not really concerning myself with a car that suits her idiosyncrasies.

 

So the Superb looks to be front runner, right now; what do others favour?

 

Friends of mine have had a Superb estate for the last year - very pleased with it.

 

Unlike their previous estate, an E series Merc which was nothing but trouble.

[Ian Morgan]

When I was looking for a company car 4 years ago, I was looking for an estate to carry my layout around. I checked all the reviews, and they all all seemed to include comments like:

"very good, but not quite got the handling of the Mondeo",

"lots of room, but not quite as much as the Mondeo",

"plenty of legroom, but not as much as the Mondeo".

So, I have just completed 130k miles of trouble free motoring at 60+mpg with a Mondeo estate.

 

I also checked out the electric and hybrid cars 4 years ago, and they were just not practical for me back then, little boot space and not able to cope with my 80 mile daily commute.

 

This year, the situation has changed, especially with respect to company car tax. I have now completed 1400 miles of pure electric driving in a Hyundai Ionic Electric, with all the modern toys and comforts. Actual range I am achieving during December is over 130 miles on a full charge. Motorway service station charge points will charge up to 80% capacity in about 30 minutes, so I will just need to pre-plan lunch and tea stops on longer trips. Oh, and "Freshwater" fits in the back with the back seats down.

 

Apparently, because electric cars have so few moving parts, servicing is cheap, and they are expected to last a long time (just replacing the battery pack now and then).

 

Meanwhile, I am looking at a reduction in my income tax of a couple of hundred pounds per month, with a slight increase in my electricity bill equating to about 2.5p per mile (compared to 12p per mile for the diesel Mondeo).

[298]

Oh, don't be sensible  Go for a Tesla, the Model 3 is a lot more affordable than the Model S, still looks good and is still fearsomely fast.

If the OP is still thinking of an estate then they're going to be very disappointed with the boot on the Model 3. Even Citroen at its wackiest were conscious of the practicalities of car design. I suppose Elon could tell me to wait for the Model Y but by then the competition would have overtaken them.

[The Fatadder]

When I was looking for a company car 4 years ago, I was looking for an estate to carry my layout around. I checked all the reviews, and they all all seemed to include comments like:

"very good, but not quite got the handling of the Mondeo",

"lots of room, but not quite as much as the Mondeo",

"plenty of legroom, but not as much as the Mondeo".

So, I have just completed 130k miles of trouble free motoring at 60+mpg with a Mondeo estate.

 

I also checked out the electric and hybrid cars 4 years ago, and they were just not practical for me back then, little boot space and not able to cope with my 80 mile daily commute.

 

This year, the situation has changed, especially with respect to company car tax. I have now completed 1400 miles of pure electric driving in a Hyundai Ionic Electric, with all the modern toys and comforts. Actual range I am achieving during December is over 130 miles on a full charge. Motorway service station charge points will charge up to 80% capacity in about 30 minutes, so I will just need to pre-plan lunch and tea stops on longer trips. Oh, and "Freshwater" fits in the back with the back seats down.

 

Apparently, because electric cars have so few moving parts, servicing is cheap, and they are expected to last a long time (just replacing the battery pack now and then).

 

Meanwhile, I am looking at a reduction in my income tax of a couple of hundred pounds per month, with a slight increase in my electricity bill equating to about 2.5p per mile (compared to 12p per mile for the diesel Mondeo).

Now that is very interesting to me

We don’t have charging points at the office, and on the old car list there was nothing electric. But I live in hope that when they finally release the list there will be.

 

I’ve already decided that given the current car list I will just take the car allowance and buy something myself. However if something like the iconq or an egolf is available, the tiny bic and lower than diesel running costs make it a no brainer.

 

Interesting to hear real world experience, I have an 80mile round trip (A roads or motorway).

[Baby Deltic]

Oh, don't be sensible  Go for a Tesla, the Model 3 is a lot more affordable than the Model S, still looks good and is still fearsomely fast.

The trouble with the Tesla is lack of atmosphere..... And gravity.

[37114]

When I was looking for a company car 4 years ago, I was looking for an estate to carry my layout around. I checked all the reviews, and they all all seemed to include comments like:

"very good, but not quite got the handling of the Mondeo",

"lots of room, but not quite as much as the Mondeo",

"plenty of legroom, but not as much as the Mondeo".

So, I have just completed 130k miles of trouble free motoring at 60+mpg with a Mondeo estate.

 

I also checked out the electric and hybrid cars 4 years ago, and they were just not practical for me back then, little boot space and not able to cope with my 80 mile daily commute.

 

This year, the situation has changed, especially with respect to company car tax. I have now completed 1400 miles of pure electric driving in a Hyundai Ionic Electric, with all the modern toys and comforts. Actual range I am achieving during December is over 130 miles on a full charge. Motorway service station charge points will charge up to 80% capacity in about 30 minutes, so I will just need to pre-plan lunch and tea stops on longer trips. Oh, and "Freshwater" fits in the back with the back seats down.

 

Apparently, because electric cars have so few moving parts, servicing is cheap, and they are expected to last a long time (just replacing the battery pack now and then).

 

Meanwhile, I am looking at a reduction in my income tax of a couple of hundred pounds per month, with a slight increase in my electricity bill equating to about 2.5p per mile (compared to 12p per mile for the diesel Mondeo).

I am giving Electric serious consideration, my main journey is to Southampton and back, a distance of 130 miles round trip and we have electric charging points at the office for 8 cars so I could charge at work for free mainly. The only thing that puts me off is the initial high purchase price and the technology is advancing quickly as well so expect range to go up and costs to go down over the next few years.

[rockershovel]

The trouble with the Tesla is lack of atmosphere..... And gravity.

That, and “don’t panic” on the infotainment screen. Not much boot space but I suppose there’s plenty of room for a towel...