[Fellionas]

During the world wars, it was German. But they are supposed to be a very good car. In fact I had one as a hire car. The best ones I had were that and the A4. Not too impressed by the Vectra though.

[katespepach]

Get an A3, with 5 doors for the little Harrisons. Er, ok, for the higher resale value.

[puzobok]

Mondeos are made in Belgium, but yes, they're Ford. I think that the initial models were heavily based on Volvo designs, but I'm not sure if that has continued. I'm not aware of the particular quality of the Belgium plant.

[KitRittyTug]

My father's diesel 1999 Brazilian-made Fiesta (the first car I drove on a regular basis) could manage 170 (I did need over a km to reach that speed though ).

In any case, most of the Fords over here are made either locally or in Brazil, and we didn't service many of those when I worked at a mechanic's shop (we mostly did Audi and VW), so I can't say much about them.

[Vedun*]

Ford was German?

No. Belgium was.

[elektikakass]

No. Belgium was.

Oh, he was making a joke!

[ingeneensueva]

Decide on the make you like. Go to a dealership and ask the sales manager what he is driving. Then buy his car. Not a same-make-and-model, but his actual car. Chances are very good that its top-of-the-line, in next to mint condition, and has a full warranty. It will likely have very low milage and have all of the 'bugs' worked out. If you negotiate correctly, you will save a bundle off new, and end up with a shiney new 'broken in' car.

[Jenisoisy]

Come to think about it - there were this "job change" TV series, and one of them was a vicar that should learn to become a used car salesman - actually, I don't understand how you dare to buy a used car

Because in my scenario, you are buying the best car on the lot, if you are dealing with a lot that primarily deals in used cars, or a low milage, top of the line demo that is probably less than a year & has full factory warranty if you are dealing with a new car dealership.

I've done the latter 3x, and had 3 largely maintainance free cars.

Besides, Provost is a Yorkshireman. He could probably build a car in his shed, if he had the time.

[rXpX]

Well, I'd actually give good thought to if I needed a car, because hiring a car for the 4 weeks of a year you actually need one is a hell of a lot cheaper than spending 20K on a status symbol. So Understanding what a new i10 would offer you is at least useful for a comparison. A high spec Polo or i10 will set you back about twice as much as an i10, but the residuals also need considering - the i10 residuals are not bad, 55% or so, partly because of the ****ed up scrappage scheme Brown set up (the bastard).

But yeah, £7K for buying an i10. I know you are a bit on the short side, but there is head room.

[xesvideo]

But I have to buy a brand new car though, don't I?

[Gymngatagaica]

Really depressing thing, you'd think that about German cars, but it isn't really true. Some German cars have awful residuals. Supposedly the A1 has good residuals...at less than 50%. the A3 averages around 40%, the Polo and Golf around 45%, according the What? Car. The i10 isn't listed in the current issue, but in previous issues it was over 50%. And the scrappage scheme has finished, IIRC.

[NEronchik]

How do you know what I will end up buying?

[Pippoles]

How do you know what I will end up buying?

I see the future

or more accurately I can read - you are buying German, and you are not buying a Porsche... thus this car I recommended will be better than whatever you end up buying unless you are going for SL, are you???

[RayFairhurst]

OK, PH. We'll forgo sporty and go for practical. How about a Jetta TDI?

[Brareevor]

Then... Something on the froggish side perhaps? Fancy a Clio?

[FelicitaJ]

Even more