GloopyJon
Distinguished Member
Hi all, I've read some threads here on similar topics so I know there are some knowledgeable peeps out there in AV-land.
I currently have an Alfa Romeo Giulietta, which has been a great little car. I bought it when they had just come out and have had no problems with it (apart from an intermittently fuzzy speaker). It's the 1.4l Multiair engine, 163 bhp IIRC although I rarely put it in Dynamic mode to take full advantage of the engine. It's now 4.5 years old and although it's perfectly ok and I thought I'd keep it until it was about 7 years old, I've recently been tempted by looking at all of the new models from the big brands. IMO it's a very exciting time for new cars, with great new engines and other technology appearing.
This will be a company purchase...it's my own, one-man company (contracting), so (a) a new car is not too unreasonable a proposition, and (b) I have a free choice with no lists or budgets involved apart from my self-imposed ones. I live in Belgium so prices are in Euros and not entirely comparable to UK prices so it's hard to give a figure, but at this stage I'm thinking that my budget will be around €40k (including VAT and after dealer discounts). To justify this outlay, and because I don't do a lot of miles (around 8,000 a year), I'd be looking to keep this car for longer than the Giulietta, probably around 8 years.
We have recently got a second dog, so although they are small (see my avatar! ) it would still be nice to have a bit more room in the back for them. Hence I'm looking at either another hatchback with a larger boot (closer to 500 litres than 400), or an estate. Other than the dogs, rear space isn't a big issue since my kids are grown and are rarely in the car, it's mostly just one or two of us and the dogs.
This is already getting long so I'll continue in a separate post!
I currently have an Alfa Romeo Giulietta, which has been a great little car. I bought it when they had just come out and have had no problems with it (apart from an intermittently fuzzy speaker). It's the 1.4l Multiair engine, 163 bhp IIRC although I rarely put it in Dynamic mode to take full advantage of the engine. It's now 4.5 years old and although it's perfectly ok and I thought I'd keep it until it was about 7 years old, I've recently been tempted by looking at all of the new models from the big brands. IMO it's a very exciting time for new cars, with great new engines and other technology appearing.
This will be a company purchase...it's my own, one-man company (contracting), so (a) a new car is not too unreasonable a proposition, and (b) I have a free choice with no lists or budgets involved apart from my self-imposed ones. I live in Belgium so prices are in Euros and not entirely comparable to UK prices so it's hard to give a figure, but at this stage I'm thinking that my budget will be around €40k (including VAT and after dealer discounts). To justify this outlay, and because I don't do a lot of miles (around 8,000 a year), I'd be looking to keep this car for longer than the Giulietta, probably around 8 years.
We have recently got a second dog, so although they are small (see my avatar! ) it would still be nice to have a bit more room in the back for them. Hence I'm looking at either another hatchback with a larger boot (closer to 500 litres than 400), or an estate. Other than the dogs, rear space isn't a big issue since my kids are grown and are rarely in the car, it's mostly just one or two of us and the dogs.
This is already getting long so I'll continue in a separate post!