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I am in love for the first time; ...with a car
Topic Started: Mar 10 2008, 12:58 AM (160 Views)
Eral
Kopi Luwak
I went to the Motor Show yesterday. I go with Mr.FPS every year, it's a conjugal sacrifice I make. We sit in cars we will never afford, and he dreams about owning one. I don't really care about cars: I like having one that works, and is comfortable, but I would never have dreamed of spending more money than was necessary on a car. On any object, really.

Well. Yesterday I saw this.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_Nuova_500

It is the best car I have ever been in. It has all the features of the old Fiat - huge speedo woth chrome trim, only two other dials, satin paint on the dash - just like my old VW. It is beautiful. I want one. It is relatively cheap, compared to what you would pay for other allegedly retro cars, but still much more expensive than you would pay for a comparable car. But I don't care. It is fun.

I have two difficulties to overcome. Mr.FPS and my dad.
Dad only believes in Holdens and Japanese cars. All my life I have carefully avoided ever buying a car that dad would disapprove of. My oldest sister's husband bought a Ford once. He bagged it constantly. It was like water torture. Never ever mentioned his feelings to my sister. Just the rest of us. Also, I confess my place in the food chain is dear to me, and this would drop me back to the bottom. :lol: However, I would allow my sisters to suffer and accept demotion for this car.
Mr.FPS has one great failing when it comes to spending money. If he wants to buy it, we are always rich enough. If I want to buy it, suddenly our finances are just not up to the expenditure. I will have to wait.
I am prepared to with-hold sex until he caves.

If you go to this link, you can make your own one:colours, stripes, wheels, etc.
http://www.fiat500.com/eng/

I want a red one, with red and white fabric interior, white dash, alloy wheels and a sunroof. :yup: :krazy:
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Eral
Kopi Luwak
My cousin Claire has said Fiat's are duds, and everybody at home at home has no end of trouble with them, but dad said snow doesn't agree with them. Very good sign - he didn't make a denouncement against them. My brother is strongly against the Fiat, as it is made by Alfa (or vice-versa) but this could work in my favour as Dad and he never agree on anything on principle.
Waiting for the phone calls from my sisters:"What's this about you buying a Fiat? Are you crazy?" If they haven't heard about it by week's end, i only have Mr.FPS to contend with. :ph43r:
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Regullus
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Reliant
Personally I would wait. Right now the car is untested and in high demand. If you wait you'll have reliability ratings and have more bargaining power at purchase.

FIAT = Fix It Again Tony.
tempus_teapot
 
I'd like to add that at this point I have taken my Spider Jerusalem action figure and tied his wrist to my Cassidy (from Preacher) action figure just so I can work out which positions are feasible with them and which aren't.

Read that and weep, internet. Weep!

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LizDiggory
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Breakfast
I did up a blue car I named Cora Greenbottle. ^_^
Posted Image
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Joe
Coffea Canephora
It's a hideous little thing, isn't it.
In the shadow of the light from a black sun
Frigid statue standing icy blue and numb
Where are the frost giants I've begged for protection?
I'm freezing
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Krazy
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I haz powah!
Well I do think the FIAT brand is a question mark, and as Reg says there's no reliability data yet either.

Quote:
 
It is relatively cheap, compared to what you would pay for other allegedly retro cars, but still much more expensive than you would pay for a comparable car. But I don't care. It is fun.


Yes, there's a reason it's cheap compared to other cars...

Have you test-driven it at all? I would say check out things like the Ford Ka, VW Polo, even the new Mini first as well.

Me, I'm happy with my relatively old BMW 3 series. The driving experience is so nice compared to small cars - it might even tempt you and I lurved my old VW Mk II Golf...
"Well, ‘course dis one’s betta! It’s lotz ‘eavier, and gots dem spikey bitz on de ends. "
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Eral
Kopi Luwak
Joe, if I had known you were dissing my car, I'd have been much ruder in Random Chat. Don't push your luck.

The new Mini is an apostasy. 4 doors?? 4??? :rooster: That is completely against the spirit of the Mini. It looks like a Suzuki Swift gone wrong.
I love the Mini Cooper, though distressed they sell it as a toy for boys, when it is totally a non-gender specific car: but it's forty grand. :o That's ridiculous. That would be the car I could buy when my ship comes in - but by that time, I'd be too old to get in or out of it. :(

I despise the Ka: I'm sorry, even I don't need my car to be that small. It's cramped and you couldn't fit the week's shopping in the boot. And it's made by Ford. :rip:

The Polo is a beautiful car, but you get nearly as nice a car for ten grand less. I class it as a luxury car (yes, my standards are low) and would need to justify it's purchase. Golf = too big. :blush:
Beamers are beautiful, but again, a luxury. And big.(See blush after Golf.) I would never be able to park one without a major anxiety attack. :(

If I was going to replace my Barina out of necessity, I would go for a Mazda 2. Very nice car, reliable, good price, attractive. I could be very fond of a Mazda 2, and hardly miss my Barina at all.

But we are not talking necessity here. We are talking love.This is a grand passion! Did Juliet ix-nay Romeo?:mercy:

I will be devastated if the Pop turns out to be a dud. It would be a betrayal that would embitter me for the rest of my life, and I would never go to another Motor Show again. Well, without the experience being tainted horribly by painful memories.

I am yearning for a test drive, and there is a dealership twenty minutes away. :dance: I might take my dad on an excursion there - it would amuse him greatly. He'd get to look at all the beautiful cars and compare them negatively to Nissans. :sarcasticeyeroll:

It's got a three year warranty, is designed by the bloke who did the Mini Cooper, and all the reviews say that it is not a powerful car,is equipped with zip and goes. Perfect. Well, I earnestly hope.
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Krazy
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I haz powah!
Well, I will say that a BMW 3 series isn't that big (a 7 series it ain't), and for whatever money you spend on a brand new cinquecento nouva I'm willing to bet you could get a very decent second hand 3 series instead.

Don't forget whenever you drive a new car off the forecourt it's value decreases by a 1/3rd right there. Why not let someone else take the financial hit on it?

But of course I understand it's love driving this, but hey I still think it makes sense to apply a little rationale to it given the size of the outlay. All I'm saying here is make sure you try all available options first and if you still want the Fiat afterwards, go for it.
"Well, ‘course dis one’s betta! It’s lotz ‘eavier, and gots dem spikey bitz on de ends. "
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Regullus
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Reliant
I agree w/Krazy. But love is love and I must admit I've never been in love w/any car. I did think the truck was hot (It's hard not to feel a little lustful looking at all that steel and power. :blush: )when it arrived and I like my Mum's new car a lot, 2008 Subaru Outback, but you know my motto is as long as it runs it gets designated cool.

I think it's a nice outing for your dad.
tempus_teapot
 
I'd like to add that at this point I have taken my Spider Jerusalem action figure and tied his wrist to my Cassidy (from Preacher) action figure just so I can work out which positions are feasible with them and which aren't.

Read that and weep, internet. Weep!

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Eral
Kopi Luwak
Regullus, some people like cars called Big Sexy Beast, some people are attracted to cars called a Pop. That you are one of the former is an interesting insight into your personality, but one we won't hold against you. :lol:

Krazy, a good second-hand car is always better value than a new car. And I bet you know enough about cars to identify a good'un and keep it running happily for years. I am good to my cars -service, oil, water, tyres, battery - but they remain essentially mysterious to me. When they go droopy I have to rely on a bloke in a greasy overall to heal them, and not rip me off. Thus, the joy of a new car to me is that I know it won't break, and I don't have to know where the distributor is, or how to re-attach the fan belt or bumper bar.

I'm sensing the general vote is for Commonsense. :violin: Mr.FPS is very happy and saying "See? I told you so!"

He can be very irritating like that.
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Bex
puppet dictator
(I feel I am not even entitled to a vote in these matters, nondriver that I am.)
I belong to one of those families that does not speak to or see its members as often as we should,
but if someone needed anyone to fall on a sword for her, there would be a queue waiting to commit the deed.
-Min Jin Lee
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Eral
Kopi Luwak
I love being able to drive. It makes me feel independent and efficient. My mother used to go for a drive when being a mother and housewife was pissing her off really badly: and I have always associated it with stress-breaking and freedom. She was always so much happier when she came back from a drive. This may have been connected to the fact we got off our arses and got everything clean and orderly by the time she got back, but I'm sure it was the opportunity to run away from home that she enjoyed most.
Also, driving meant exploring. We went halfway round the country in our car.

Here is a link to the local car dealer. They are very keen to sell cars, these days, aren't they?
http://carshowroom.autotrader.com.au/forge...test_drive=true
I am a bit worried they would take my dad hostage. :huh:
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Nibsi
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Te zijner tijd
Personally I've always been a big fan of the Mazda MX-5 (Miata for you Amerikanskis). Too bad it's so impractical. Maybe one day when I can afford a second car just for cruising around :lol:

I love driving in my dad's Renault Grand Espace. Pricey though.

A car of my own is still years away, so I haven't really looked into them.
-Nibby
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lara
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Kopi Luwak
I don't understand love of cars and I'll just upset Eral with my opinion, so I'll opt, instead, to tell you a story about independent women and driving. Or at least, one independent woman and driving. And then just a funny one, because I can.

My dad remembers his mother teaching herself to drive. This was sometime around 1950 in a small town in Manitoba. My grandfather owned a trucking company (one truck, the milk run) and of course never had time to teach her (although my dad learned in 1955 at age 13 because he had to drive a few days when my grandfather broke his ankle, plus he'd driven on his uncle's farm). My grandmother, afraid she'd kill a child, put all the kids in the near vicinity into the car (including the neighbours' kids) and practiced slowly driving down the driveway, across the street into the neighbour's yard, turning and driving back, over and over, until she felt confident enough to do more.

My maternal grandfather, on the other hand, drove from the farm to the city for his licencing exam when they brought in licences in the 1930s. After he passed, he asked the tester if he wanted to park the car while he ran in to get his papers (I can't remember why this was more convenient), and the tester said, "I can't drive!"
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Krazy
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I haz powah!
Eral
Mar 12 2008, 03:01 AM
Thus, the joy of a new car to me is that I know it won't break, and I don't have to know where the distributor is, or how to re-attach the fan belt or bumper bar.

See, that is just not right either. The motoring industry is full of recalls on brand new models.
You are still taking a risk - in fact at least on second hand models, you've got some idea where problems are likely to arise and can check before purchasing.
"Well, ‘course dis one’s betta! It’s lotz ‘eavier, and gots dem spikey bitz on de ends. "
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underdog
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Irish Breakfast
I would also suggest waiting a year see if some dealer/rental returns come up, you can save a lot of money and initial depreciation, most will still have some warranty on them.
What ever you don't lease it, it is a ripoff, you will pay for 3 years and in the end still won't own it, you then either need to but the car you leased or get a new one.

Waiting a year for dealer/rental returns, you can always make payments to yourself of what the payment would have been and have a large down payment on buying it or maybe even just pay for it outright.

IF you borrowed 25K at 8% for 5 years that would be about $500/month, 6000 a year, making payment you would have ~1800 interest, setting that aside in one year you have 6000 for a down payment, thats 6000 towards a car instead of 4200 in payments on the car.
If you can't afford to set 500 aside a month and make ends meet, then not to sound cold about it but, you won't be able to afford to make payments on a car either.

Bought my wifes car that way, had the money in the bank and wrote a check out for ~12K, and borrowed 3K, had it payed off in a few months.

And with mine, put 5K down and borrowed 10K, already below 7K left.
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Eral
Kopi Luwak
lara, I take it you are on the Joe side of the fence. :rolleyes: Thank you for sparing my feelings, but I think you have deprived us of a laugh. Go on, I can take it, really. :lol:

I've always been fortunate enough to never have to take out a loan for a car. This has meant driving around in cars where the indicator stick used to fall out, or that you could start with a twenty cent piece: but they could be encouraged to run and I got where I had to go. My VW would always spring into life if you rolled down a hill in second gear, and my Datsun 120Y responded unfailingly to jiggling the wire leading to the distributor.
Having a loan on anything smaller than a house makes me nervous. Just imagine writing off a car and still paying it off when it was gone. :o And leasing only works if your company pays the lease. <_<

Remember Krazy, I have my dad - He Who Knows All About Cars- and Mr.FPS, the researcher pointing me in the right direction. And I have only ever bought cars with really good reps, second hand or new. Never had a recall on my Barina. One year the seatbelts were called in on a bunch, but that's it.

Buying a car new is my luxury. We have never bought a car that cost more than $25 000, and with both of us working, that's a luxury we are lucky enough to afford. With trade-in, we have never paid more than $15 000. I can wear that. We don't do it often or anything.

I am going to have to wait for the Fiat, as Mr.FPS is being sturdily sensible and refuses to rush out and buy one. :cylon: I live in hope that the Pop will turn out to be a Winnah, and that one day I will be tootling off to work in one. :zen:

Driving story: My mum's brother taught her to drive, in the family's black Morris minor. One day he decided she was ready for a solo drive (license? what?) and sent her off down the road, with my brother and two sisters, all under the age of 4, watching proudly. At that moment dad was dropped off home from work.
"Who's in the Morris?" he asked, noticing it disappearing down the street, as he greeted all the children, and took the smallest into his arms.
"Betty," replied my uncle nonchalantly.
Dad staggered under the shock, nearly dropping my sister. Aghast, he said "What have you done? Leaving me a widower with three children??!"
He was always nervous when mum drove.

:lol:
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lara
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Kopi Luwak
Eral
Mar 13 2008, 12:02 AM
Having a loan on anything smaller than a house makes me nervous.

Yes, me too. That's why it is terrifying that we have a dying car and no money to replace it.

The only car I have ever owned was bought with a $4,000 loan from my father.
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Krazy
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I haz powah!
I don't know whether you have license plates that mention the year or not, but it does mean that when the 'new' date is coming up here dealers often give good deals on shifting the 'old' stock.

So yeah, fingers crossed it's a winner and you get a good deal to boot!
"Well, ‘course dis one’s betta! It’s lotz ‘eavier, and gots dem spikey bitz on de ends. "
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Regullus
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Reliant
The price sounds sorta high. My mother's car cost about the same and it's more of a car. It's awd drive to start. If you don't need awd then there's no point getting it but it's useful around here. Although studded snow tires add a lot of traction to most vehicles. Also I never saw the fuel efficiency - what is it?

I really glad you are going to wait, I think you'll get a much better deal.
tempus_teapot
 
I'd like to add that at this point I have taken my Spider Jerusalem action figure and tied his wrist to my Cassidy (from Preacher) action figure just so I can work out which positions are feasible with them and which aren't.

Read that and weep, internet. Weep!

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