Seamus300

Recently I have been doing a bit of thinking with my life (oh dear), I am getting married in 7 weeks and thought it's time that maybe I got at least a bit sensible. So I looked at where I could save a few pounds and looked at my UK300. I bought this purely on impulse (heart engaged brain switched off) last July and here's what I've spent:
Car £24,495
Fuel £5,500 (Jesus!!!!)
1K service £60
7.5K service £1,800 (PPP+bits)
15K service £1,980 (New front bits, headlight, gauge pack, mudflaps etc)
30K service (done at 25K due to new intervals) £1,000 (quickshift + new brakes, discs etc)
Insurance £1000
STi Covers £195
Tyres £646
Full size spare £100
Tax £155
Total: £36,931 !!
Now my car before was an A4 1.8T that had done a faultless 70K miles and each service was less than £200. I never wanted to change anything on it and it certainly didn't need new brake discs every 25K. On a thread in General they reckon the car is worth 19-20K. Even at 20K thats £16,931 down the pan in 11 months. Now I love this car to bits, but I am begging to think I should have bought that 330d...

Anyway thats my thought for the day (if you're still awake) I think my lesson learnt is that these cars are addictive and bad for the wallet. Scary when you write the numbers down isn't it.

davyboy

....are you happy though?

What else would you have spent your money on?

Seamus300

I want an aeroplane

Neil Smalley

There is a direct correlation between reading scoobynet and the purchase of modifications.

If you never read scoobynet you'll never feel the need to change the car..

Modifications are addictive, once you start down the slippery slope that's it...

Seamus300

Thats actually true, most of the ideas I've had have been from Members Gallery pictures!

MarkO

It's very true. These cars are frighteningly expensive to own and run - although the fun is probably worth it.

Working the figures out on paper is a bad idea though. The reason my STI is going back to the finance company in the next two weeks is because it's simply too expensive to run, and I don't drive it properly often enough to warrant the cost.

A quick back-of-the-envelope calculation worked out that the car is costing me, per month, nearly £700!!! That includes the finance costs, tax and insurance. It doesn't take into account the cost of servicing or the effect of depreciation, let alone petrol or mods. If you factor all that in, it's almost certain that the cost would be the wrong side of a grand.

Hence the reason I'm chopping it in for a 3.0L X-Type Jag. I reckon that month-to-month I'll save around £400-500 over the STI. Okay, so it won't be quite as much fun (and the pipe 'n slippers comments are already becoming a drag ) but on the other hand, £400/month for 12 months can buy you a lot of fun elsewhere.

Guess I'm just getting old though (the big three-oh approaches in the next four weeks ).

carl

Are you leasing the X-Type? If so, where from? Freeway want around 750 quid a month for one of those

MarkO

Nope, I'm buying it. Cash.

carl

Ah, I see. Is this part of the master 'house move' plan? What about the GPS -- is that so you can find your way up to Edinburgh?

MarkO

Yeah, the car's coming out of the spare equity in the house. Even if we don't move, drawing it down is stacks cheaper than any finance deal.

The GPS is because my wife's map-reading isn't - erm - quite as good as it should be. It'll go in my car when we're travelling together.

3times

Marko

Feel that your cost comparison is a bit unfair on the STI as you have included finance in your monthly cost whereas you have stated that you are buying the Mondeo, sorry Jag, for cash. If you were to apply the cash to paying off your finance you will probably find that the STI does not cost much more to run, especially if you count on the fact that the Jag will depreciate quicker.

Ok the build quality may be better and you get more extras but if you enjoy driving I personally do not think that the Ford Jaguar will close to a Scooby.

My total cost is around £220 per month inc Ins, petrol, tax, 2 services per year, this will change when I buy a new model as my servicing will only be once a year. Still not the cheapest cost but if you worry about that you will never have anything that you really desire.

Only my opinion.

Hope you enjoy the Mond...., sorry Jag!

MarkO

Ha ha! Excuse me whilst I stitch up my sides. Gosh, I've never heard the Mondeo comparison before. That's a new one. (okay, so it's not). Remember, the Impreza chassis is shared with the Forester, so platform sharing isn't such a bad thing.

As for the X-Type, have you ever driven one? I have, and given the size and luxury of the car, it's incredibly engaging, and still a lot of fun, whilst being more practical into the bargain. And the performance figures (0-60 in 6.6s, 143mph) aren't exactly slouchy. Okay, it's not the same as my Type-R, but that's not what the Jag's about!

And yes, I know the different method of financing the Jag is having a big effect. However, there are many other issues here too.

For example, the petrol consumption in the X-Type will be around the same as the STI, but it only requires unleaded, and not SUL or Optimax - so will be cheaper to run. Also, the insurance for the Jag is over £600 (!) less than for the STI - and the Jag cover includes my wife (who, having only had a full licence for 3 months, won't get cover on the STI for at least another year).

As for depreciation, well if you believe the Jag will drop in value quicker than an Impreza, more fool you. Sure, Imprezas kept their value a while back (remember, the STI is my second, I've been driving Scoobs for almost 7 years now). Nowadays, though, thanks to older cars getting into the hands of the Max Power brigade, some spectacularly bad publicity (armed robbers, etc) and other factors, the residuals are plummeting in free-fall - particularly for imports.

Currently, Autocar lists the %age first-year depreciation for a UK STI as 50%, whereas the Jag I'm buying is listed at 57%. However, I would say that the Scoob's figure is massively optimistic given the type of car. More to the point, after 3 years I would be very surprised if the Impreza is worth more than 25% of its initial value (even the rarer and better UK STI) whereas there's a good chance the Jag may have retained better residuals - just because of the class/type of car it is.

Anyway, I'm not trying to justify the Jag as a better car. In some ways it is, in some ways it's not. When you've driven Imprezas for 6-7 years, you might decide it's time for a change too. Clearly, the STI is an awesome, gob-smackingly fast car, with incredible handling. But however good it is, there's no denying that it eats tyres & brakes, and generally costs a fairly large amount to run.

You're absolute right though about cost not being an object to things you desire. I don't for a second regret the many thousands of pounds I've spent (in all areas) on my two Imprezas. Every second of driving them was fun, and I've never been disappointed with the car. However, eventually, the excessive expense has to calm down.....

Stevie

If driving is something you enjoy, an STi gets my vote.

If you enjoy arriving somewhere in comfort, buy the Jag.
(And be miserable the 1st time you want to go play on a Sunday morning)

MarkO

I totally agree.

Unfortunately, the Type-R is not a motorway car (it's quite loud at 5000rpm!), and these days I do 99% of my mileage on the blue routes.

Of course the extra cash freed up by ditching the STI will almost certainly make way for a little Caterham or Z100 for the weekends (in a year's time or so) or possibly a Land Rover or similar (to go off-road at a complete tangent to the performance of the STI).

chiark

Stevie, do you really think you won't be able to hustle the jag along and have fun?

Sometimes I think people really truly think the Impreza is the only car worth having. news flash - there's other good cars out there.

(I ain't changing mine tho )

MarkO

Good point, well made.

We had this discussion a while back. It's very easy to get blase about the performance of these cars. We're all used to sub-5s 0-60s, and railway-like road holding. I mean, I get into a car which does 0-60 in more than 6 seconds, and think "jeez, what a sack of crap". LOL!

But there are other cars. And although the Scoob's a lot of fun, and is a lot of things to a lot of people, eventually it's possible to get a bit boring. I know my car inside out. I know how it handles. I've tried - as a driver or passenger - most varieties, from RAs, to 22Bs, to Bugeyes, to STIs and so on.

But I'm actually excited about getting the Jag 'cos it's new, and 'cos it's different. 2 years ago I'd have laughed you out of the room if you'd have suggested I'd consider an 'old man's car'. But it seems strangely appealing now.

Christ - before I know it I'll be driving a bloody automatic.

whip

This is a subject I've been giving a lot of thought in the last few weeks.

I currently have a MY00 UK turbo, and while I wouldn't say it's that expensive to run, when you factor in the loan that's paying for it, it does become a bit silly. Also about 75% of my mileage is on motorways, and while the scooby is a good m-way car it does guzzle fuel at an alarming rate.

I've also been considering changing my bike (VTR1000). So I worked out that I can sell both, buy this little lot, and probably still have a couple of grand left over.

- Firstly a nice little runaround, economical for commuting etc, maybe a 306 DTurbo or an old Golf.
- A nice RSV Mille, handles much better than the VTR and it's what I've fancied for ages
- Finally, because I can't be without a quick car, a Westfield 1800 Sei or similar, obviously secondhand but there are 96-97 examples out there with 14k on the clocks, going for 6-7k.

When I was thinking about an Elise a while back it was pointed out to me that a Westfield gives pretty much the same performance for a 3rd of the cost.

Something that happened last night gave me food for thought too. I was taking in a nice B-road when a pheasant ran in front of the scoob. I won't mention the speeds involved but suffice it to say that matey (in the pax seat) informed me that I was wrong to the tune of around 30mph. The scooby is a B-road animal and can easily deceive you into going much quicker than is good for you. I reckon in a Westie I'd at least be more aware of my speed what with being open-top and all.

No damage to the scooby by the way, but the pheasant looked a bit off-colour afterwards...

Whip

MarkO

Yeah. That's the one thing I haven't mentioned so far - the extra cost of the FPNs and speeding fines which the Impreza generates.

Having said that, since the Jag won't give as much of a 'feeling' of speed, I'll probably spend more time speeding than I would in the STI. Which, of course, brings me to another advantage - my good wife probably won't be as aware of the excessive speed in the Jag (as it 'whooshes' along quietly and smoothly) so it might save me a fortune in medical treatments to my left ear from over-abuse.

3times

Don't know the cost of the Jag, but having just seen last nights 5th Gear that Alpha GTA could deserve a serious look. I think it looks the nuts and seems to go well.

MichelleWRX1994

MarkO in posting on Scoobynet shocker

You must be getting old: buying a Jag and posting on Scoobynet (not to mention the Vengaboys in your music collection )

My dad would be insanely jealous of you, he is saving to buy a Jag Although at the moment he is toying with the idea of a Land Rover Freelander.

For the moment, I am happy with my scooby, albeit she is going very soon due to other plans I have for the future.
A car that I wuld very much like to own is an E-type Jag, of the first generation kind......I would give up any scooby for that car

I wouldn't consider an X-type Jag (mainly because I am not a boring old git like MarkO )

Seamus300

Please stop calling MarkO old he's the same age as me!
After much debate it looks like the UK300 is going to go in favour of a 330d Touring, practical, frugal and quick enough as 85% of my miles is on the motorway, plus the boot won't be full after putting in 1 full size spare and a flight bag!
No regrets though and I still love the car, but sensible times are a calling. For now.

My GSXR went 2 weeks ago so it's already begun, sigh..

MarkO

Michelle, call be old and boring if you like, but let's reserve judgement until a few years from now when you're 30 and clearing up after Richard's kids. You might find you've got less time for fast cars then.

And besides, I'd love to have the cash to keep the Scoob or be planning something more exciting, but some of us aren't lucky enough to find a sugar-daddy on a car-club BBS.

Seamus300

Theres a Lambourgini Urraco P250 on the Autotrader for 13K (surely a typo?). Hmmmm weekend car

MichelleWRX1994

LOL@Mark

Devil's Refugee

I've just turned 30 yesterday and I certainly ain't old.
Just invested in a beatiful MY00 which I'm picking up Friday.
(see this thread for details http://www.scoobynet.co.uk/bbs/thread.asp?threadid=95997)

Getting married on the 13th June in Vegas too (although no sprogs yet)

You could say I'm slightly reckless or doing things in the wrong order, but carpe diem I guess

)