This thread was unearthed by construction workers. I was wondering why it popped up.
What are your "non-negotiables" for your next car?
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Labcoatguy
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Well, let's breathe new life into it.
Non-negotiables for my next practical car: a night panel button (or similar drastic nighttime dimming function). Therefore I am stuck buying old Saabs for the rest of my life. We'll see how long this lasts.
Non-negotiables for my next practical car: a night panel button (or similar drastic nighttime dimming function). Therefore I am stuck buying old Saabs for the rest of my life. We'll see how long this lasts.
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I remember trying that in one of Dave's Saabs and in my Series III, I found it really disorientating. I'm still sitting in the seat, facing forward and holding the wheel but without the reference of the dials it felt wrong.
I suppose I never noticed the issue in my Tesla so I got over it, you could count the Model 3/Y as having the night mode where you can dim the screen and have nothing in front of you.
At times I've been out in the desert under a full moon and driven the trails with no lights and the dash lights dimmed to "off" - it was pretty incredible. Hitting the brakes was almost blinding after a while just from the glow in the mirrors.
Labcoatguy
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That's why I'm a fan of the Saab implementation where it still illuminates the speedo and any important warning lights (in this case, cruise control). As you can see even the higher portion of the speedometer is left dimmed unless you go over 85.
NecroJoe
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1) hatchback
2) sub 7-second 0-60.
3) short enough to fit in my driveway. Currently that means a Golf and a Mazda 3, but the Mazda is too long to fit where the golf parks, so these are pretty much the max sizes.
4) no vinyl/PU for the center panels of the seats. Textile or leather only.
My must-haves are pretty simple.
2) sub 7-second 0-60.
3) short enough to fit in my driveway. Currently that means a Golf and a Mazda 3, but the Mazda is too long to fit where the golf parks, so these are pretty much the max sizes.
4) no vinyl/PU for the center panels of the seats. Textile or leather only.
My must-haves are pretty simple.
73GMCSprint
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Since we've necromanced this thread, this hasn't actually changed for me. I was hoping it would happen last year but made a job change and then recently bought a house and moved... With some luck (and our general situation staying more or less stable this year) this might finally be the year for it. It seems like mentioning what I want will just further jinx it, but I'm sure you can narrow down the possibilities. Though the cost is still up compared to pre-COVID times (like everything else) prices seemed to peak about a year or so ago.
I guess I have no idea what I will want in my next car because I don't know what my need will be then. I just bought the truck and I'm really enjoying it, we have the Wrangler for more challenging off road stuff. Would the next vehicle replace one of these? If so, that will be a long way down the road and there's no way to tell for sure what will even be on-offer then.
I'm a simple man, and I haven't owned a car of my own yet. I don't know whether I will any time soon, but I keep daydreaming about getting a car, so these would be my non-negotiables:
- AC of some kind. Doesn't have to be full-on climate control, but it has to blow cold.
- Electric front windows. Electric mirrors would be nice as well.
- Power steering. Don't care if it's electric or hydraulic (or a mix of those two) if it's a daily.
- 6-speed gearbox
- Bluetooth
- Cruise control
- Automatic headlights
lip
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^ If you had 5-10K in cash (and a parking space) what would you buy?
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To be honest, I'm not quite sure. The logical answer would be either a VW Polo or a Škoda Fabia, but the Polo is so boooring and the Fabia seems more or less the same, a bit more practical, a bit inferior plastics, less engine options, but it's a very similar car underneath.
Compact cars would be nice, but the running costs say no, while city cars are a bit unfortunate outside the intended city use, so superminis seem like the most logical category. Fiesta is interesting, I've passed the driver's licence test in one, but I'm not sure about reliability. Japanese superminis are expesnive to run, Korean superminis are a bit dull, and the Opel Corsa is a no from me. An acquitance has one, a 2011 1.2 petrol, but despite him praising that car all the time, I'm not really impressed by it. I've heard the Peugeot 208 is a bit crap, and the Clio doesn't seem particularly appealing in the non-RS form. My heart really wants a Mini, as I've driven one and fell in love, but they are on the smaller side, and expesnive (probably to run too).
So yeah, I really don't know. There are too many factors, too. The €5-10k budget gives me quite a broad choice, but I don't know what's good and what's not. And then there would be the question of how much I'd commute. Right now, with a 3km commute, even if I had a car, I doubt I'd commute by it. But if I were to go back to my parents' place, that'd be a 50km commute, and then it would be a matter of going for a compact class car, as it'd be much easier to find something with a 6-speed and cruise control then, and highways would be a daily occurance in that case. But if I were to relocate e.g. to outskirts of Zagreb, I'd go for a supermini, something like the Polo.
If I were to just pick a fun weekend car, this would be much easier, but once it becomes a matter of getting something that could be used as a daily, it becomes much more difficult.
Oh, and as for the Twizy, I would, but there are a few problems for me. Since they don't get a front licence plate here, I'd have to use my compnay card to get into the parking lot instead of LPR doing that for me. It'd be easier to find a parking spot for it, but not always. Admittedly, I'd feel slightly claustrophobic in it during rainy days, especially if I had to go near trucks and buses. And then there's the fact that they're hard to come by here.
public
Captain Slow Charging
What about a VW Up! or some of the other triplets? They are less boring than Polos.
Perc
Very Odd Looking Vehicular Object
Since they don't make 1990's Toyotas anymore, the reliability of a decade-old car is mostly down to previous owners and blind luck.
Not counting things like Renault-Nissan and VAG timing chain issues, of course.
Well, the Panda doesn't have a full glass tailgate like the Up Exclamation does. Those apparently are known to shatter. But I still see a fair amount of Up's on the road so it can't be that bad.
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lip
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You misspelled cozy and amused.
