NON-Car Advice

If it’s about transportation for a family, forget an SUV.

I can only advise that the 450bhp from the Coyote V8 that’s fitted in the Mustang Mach 1, will leave bigger smiles on the kids faces than any old Honda or Hyundai SUV could offer.

And you have the knowledge that you can travel distances without having to wait 5 hours to queue for an electric charging station and that you’ll be churning out more toxins than a Boris Johnson fart, which is extremely difficult to do, but you’ll have the gut-belting, throat ripping burble of the V8 singing better than Procol Harum while wandering through their playing cards.


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Slightly off topic but looking at car hire the other day for the US and usually saloon type cars are by far the cheapest. However my usual web comparison site AutoEurope is showing pick up trucks as by far the cheapest at the moment through Alamo (large category).
Well I will just have to bit the bullet and force myself to drive a big ol pick up truck. Oh dear what a shame................................. can't wait !!!!
Tip for anyone renting in US, after booking (make sure it is refundable) keep checking the price on a regular basis. The car hire market has gone a bit weird since COVID. Used to be the best deals were well in advance but not now, most recent trip I cancelled and rebooked about 4 times with the last one about 3 weeks before departure. Ended up about 50% cheaper. It may revert back into "normal" mode this summer but still worth checking.
 
redharry said:
Slightly off topic but looking at car hire the other day for the US and usually saloon type cars are by far the cheapest. However my usual web comparison site AutoEurope is showing pick up trucks as by far the cheapest at the moment through Alamo (large category).
Well I will just have to bit the bullet and force myself to drive a big ol pick up truck. Oh dear what a shame................................. can't wait !!!!
Tip for anyone renting in US, after booking (make sure it is refundable) keep checking the price on a regular basis. The car hire market has gone a bit weird since COVID. Used to be the best deals were well in advance but not now, most recent trip I cancelled and rebooked about 4 times with the last one about 3 weeks before departure. Ended up about 50% cheaper. It may revert back into "normal" mode this summer but still worth checking.
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This has always been the case and something I always tell people about. Book early, have a car in place, then keep checking. You can ALWAYS save money by rebooking when offers come up. As you say, sometimes you get deals on vehicles you might not have thought about driving before.

Worst car I ever had was when I had to book late.
 
American_Cherry said:
Looking to trade my 2018 Kia Optima in for something a bit bigger and just wanted to get some tips and suggestions from y'all before I head to a local dealership. Am in the market for something in the SUV family at the least, but would prefer a truck.

Are the Tundra's good trucks? I like the look of them. How about a Mitsubishi Outlander? Any other good suggestions for trucks and/or an SUV?

Thanks in advance.
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I've never owned a truck but am a repeat Toyota customer and I assume the Tundra would be just as good. I put 215,000 miles on my old Camry with no major issues and I just bought a Rav4 and it's been great. I've heard good things about the Highlander too.

I'm not sure if it's still true, but a few months ago it was cheaper to buy a brand new vehicle than 1-2 years old - and it will hold it's value well and have the lowest possible interest rate (probably 4-5% right now). I'd strongly consider buying new because of that, if you can swing it.
 
OMRebels13 said:
I've never owned a truck but am a repeat Toyota customer and I assume the Tundra would be just as good. I put 215,000 miles on my old Camry with no major issues and I just bought a Rav4 and it's been great. I've heard good things about the Highlander too.

I'm not sure if it's still true, but a few months ago it was cheaper to buy a brand new vehicle than 1-2 years old - and it will hold it's value well and have the lowest possible interest rate (probably 4-5% right now). I'd strongly consider buying new because of that, if you can swing it.
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Yeah, I'm tempted to join the Toyota or Lexus show at some point in the next few years. Consistently at the top of the reliability charts..

The price gap between new and a year or so old has been decreasing past few years in UK too, and this includes pre covid.
What with issues sourcing parts for new cars and long(er),delivery times and delays, the gap has moved even closer.

Pre covid depreciation had slowed on many marques, to the point you'd look at some cars, say new at 40k, and a year old with 6000 miles, it'd be 37k. I'd rather take it new at those prices tbh, but the fly in the appointment now is delays on new cars and worry it may take ages to turn up...
 
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MB1980 said:
... but the fly in the appointment now is delays on new cars and worry it may take ages to turn up...
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Agreed fully all around - that's why I bought new. The other issue right now is some dealers trying to mark up their new vehicles. The first 4 places I called when I started looking all said they had a $5,000 markup on MSRP and the most the would budge was $1,000. The dealerships that don't charge that (and you should NOT pay it) tend to have longer waits, but most are just a few months. It sounds like American Cherry doesn't NEED a new car yet but would like one soon so maybe having to wait a few months wouldn't be a problem?

OP have you looked at 4 Runners or are those too small? If I didn't drive as much as I do I would've 100% bought one of those.
 
Hoof_It said:
I worked for British Leyland for a while.

Used to be called the Austin All-Agro.

When it was first unveiled to the press they had to push it on stage as it wouldnt start.


Aaah the good old days.
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Mention of the Austin Allegro reminds me of a pre-season friendly against S*********n.

They had an Equadorian(?) player at the time called Austin Delgado.

At a quiet moment in proceedings, someone sat a few rows behind me ( I believe it was KGB ) announced "I had an Austin Delgado once - it was alright, but it was a bugger on hill starts"

Brilliant!!
 
punkrockcherry said:
Mention of the Austin Allegro reminds me of a pre-season friendly against S*********n.

They had an Equadorian(?) player at the time called Austin Delgado.

At a quiet moment in proceedings, someone sat a few rows behind me ( I believe it was KGB ) announced "I had an Austin Delgado once - it was alright, but it was a bugger on hill starts"

Brilliant!!
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:clap:
 
Why would you buy an SUV?
They are an environmental disaster.
Far more materials to build.
The weight of an adult elephant and similar aerodynamics mean they use far too much fuel and belch out massive amounts of CO2
If SUV‘s were a country they would be the worlds 7th largest emitter of carbon dioxide.
Between 2010 and 2020, global CO2 emissions from conventional cars fell by nearly 350 megatonnes, due to factors such as fuel efficiency improvements as well as the switch to electric. Emissions from SUVs rose by more than 500 megatonnes.
I cannot understand how someone would choose to buy a vehicle that is so demonstrably dreadful for the environment.
 
MB1980 said:
Yeah, I'm tempted to join the Toyota or Lexus show at some point in the next few years. Consistently at the top of the reliability charts..

The price gap between new and a year or so old has been decreasing past few years in UK too, and this includes pre covid.
What with issues sourcing parts for new cars and long(er),delivery times and delays, the gap has moved even closer.

Pre covid depreciation had slowed on many marques, to the point you'd look at some cars, say new at 40k, and a year old with 6000 miles, it'd be 37k. I'd rather take it new at those prices tbh, but the fly in the appointment now is delays on new cars and worry it may take ages to turn up...
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It is the fly in the ointment unfortunately. I ordered a Lexus last March, told it would arrive around September, and the latest update is that it is 'scheduled' (which from past experience means very little) end of April/beginning of May.
 
afcb_rednblack said:
It is the fly in the ointment unfortunately. I ordered a Lexus last March, told it would arrive around September, and the latest update is that it is 'scheduled' (which from past experience means very little) end of April/beginning of May.
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That must be very annoying indeed, I hope you receive good news soon on that front.

I've not owned one, but read/heard so many good things about the brand over the years (outside of delivery times...). Test drove a few over the years. I'm disappointed they no longer produce the ISF or GSF for the UK market anymore (guess I should whisper that before I get savaged by certain people already in this thread.. . 5ltr v8's.... :D)

Lexus 'bread and butter', like Toyota, is being at the forefront of hybrid tech. Appears Lexus releasing more pure EV models so far though.

I assume you ordered the LCF, right? (5 ltr v8 or 3.5 hybrid??)

1675093655049.png
 
MB1980 said:
That must be very annoying indeed, I hope you receive good news soon on that front.

I've not owned one, but read/heard so many good things about the brand over the years (outside of delivery times...). Test drove a few over the years. I'm disappointed they no longer produce the ISF or GSF for the UK market anymore (guess I should whisper that before I get savaged by certain people already in this thread.. . 5ltr v8's.... :D)

Lexus 'bread and butter', like Toyota, is being at the forefront of hybrid tech. Appears Lexus releasing more pure EV models so far though.

I assume you ordered the LCF, right? (5 ltr v8 or 3.5 hybrid??)

View attachment 9697
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Ha...that would be fun but way too expensive. I've gone for the NX hybrid.
 
MB1980 said:
That must be very annoying indeed, I hope you receive good news soon on that front.

I've not owned one, but read/heard so many good things about the brand over the years (outside of delivery times...). Test drove a few over the years. I'm disappointed they no longer produce the ISF or GSF for the UK market anymore (guess I should whisper that before I get savaged by certain people already in this thread.. . 5ltr v8's.... :D)

Lexus 'bread and butter', like Toyota, is being at the forefront of hybrid tech. Appears Lexus releasing more pure EV models so far though.

I assume you ordered the LCF, right? (5 ltr v8 or 3.5 hybrid??)

View attachment 9697
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EV models which no one really wants and strangely came with an out of date charging port model.
 
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