New Car Waiting Time

[antonio]

Most of the car companies are now making to order only rather than have lots of cars sitting in compounds. It suits them, but not the buyer. even bmw are doing it.
I went to Toyota who dont operate that way and had mine in under 4 weeks.

I don't know were you're getting this info from, but I have a p/t job driving new cars off the ferry, many go into stock and a few go to a compound ready for delivery to a dealers. Not so sure about BMW's since the company I work for rarely imports these, but I can see their compound and it's vast, with literally thousands of cars in there. We were extremely busy before the Brexit (March) and rumour has it there's going to be thousands of extra cars imported in the near future. When you see all these cars you really do wonder were they all go.

[dave2010]

I quite fancy a Tesla. What does Marco (or others) recommend as a means of getting one - if not a new one?

Some other lesser electric cars are available second hand, but the developments in electric cars and batteries are such that for some models there is a vast difference between this year's model, and one from a year or two back.

[montesquieu]

I quite fancy a Tesla. What does Marco (or others) recommend as a means of getting one - if not a new one?

Some other lesser electric cars are available second hand, but the developments in electric cars and batteries are such that for some models there is a vast difference between this year's model, and one from a year or two back.

Electric cars are a dead end. In a few years it'll be all plug in hybrids with much smaller batteries and hydrogen fuel cells to enable decent range. Tesla etc are playing games with people's money as well as taking them for a mug.

Right now small petrol is the way to go. Who on earth wants a car with an effective range of 100 miles? And what happens if you get caught in a big traffic jam, at night, in the dark, in your jazzed up milk float?

[struth]

Electric cars are a dead end. In a few years it'll be all plug in hybrids with much smaller batteries and hydrogen fuel cells to enable decent range. Tesla etc are playing games with people's money as well as taking them for a mug.

Right now small petrol is the way to go. Who on earth wants a car with an effective range of 100 miles? And what happens if you get caught in a big traffic jam, at night, in the dark, in your jazzed up milk float?

Mine is a hybrid, but not plug in. it charges itself. its a small battery, so really electric assist... works well tho and apart from a smooth ride i get good mileage too.

[montesquieu]

Mine is a hybrid, but not plug in. it charges itself. its a small battery, so really electric assist... works well tho and apart from a smooth ride i get good mileage too.

I had a Lexus RX hybrid for a while .. I think petrol hybrids work well for small cars but for larger ones it's hard to see the point. This thing drove like a boiled egg and got 30mpg on average which is worse than I get from my current (much faster, comfier and better driving) Jaguar XF. The RX had three engines - a 3.0 petrol and two electric ones, one on each axle (despite which there were dire warnings not to take it off-road). It also had heavy batteries and an extremely complex engine management system. The worst thing about it though was the CVT gearbox which droned annoyingly and made driving unpleasant, that and the dreadful turning circle. I only kept it six months and lost a packet when I got shot of it. Total disappointment after the Lexus GS430 petrol V8 I had before it which was one of the best cars I ever had. (24mpg - not much of a difference really for all that compromise).

[struth]

My chr is mid sized.. 1.8 l engine. but its quite nippy, and holds road very well. I average about 60mpg without trying, but have had in the 90's trying hard. It is big enough for me and i can fit a hoist and scooter in it.

[Marco]

I understand why Grant has one [and for good reason] but you'll never see me driving an electric car... Just goes against my natural 'petrolhead' instincts!

Sorry, Dave, I know very little about Teslas. As usual, Google is your friend

Interestingly, since this thread's come up, my wife's thinking of changing her (now ageing) Merc A-Class, and thinking of going for a new [read as, the RIGHT type of 'new', which I will find] Fiat Panda Cross 4X4, and which she's going to have personally customised with many of the available extras.

She's *very* fussy about the looks of the cars she drives, and fell in love with the Panda's quirky appearance, while we were recently on holiday in Italy.

Ideally, she'd have a Fiat 500 (or a Mini), as those are so *her*, but we intend to take the car abroad, to save putting more miles onto mine, and also costs on fuel, so it needs to be something that looks compact, but can hold plenty of stuff when necessary [has fold-down seats, etc] - and most importantly for her, is the 'right shape' and colour!

Marco.

[struth]

Panda 4x4 is a good motor. i had a shot of one and it can even go off rd... Not the height of comfort, or the one i used wasnt but I liked driving it.

[Marco]

Yeah, it gets a good rep as an off-roader. Think it's won a few awards. Might be handy in the winter when we get deep snow. It'll be comfy enough for what she mainly needs it for, as she can walk to her work (less than 2 miles from our house), and sometimes to go shopping in.

When we get round to it, we'll be taking one for a test drive, so if it's deemed unsuitable for driving long distances, we'll look elsewhere. However, both Del and I are able-bodied and don't suffer from any physical impairments, so probably don't need something as 'comfy' as you.

What amazes me is (apparently) how nippy the 0.9L, 90bhp 2-cylinder engine is, due to the unique way the turbocharged 'Twinair' system has been designed. Looking forward to giving one a wee spin!

Marco.

[struth]

if your gonna do motorway driving a lot the 1.2l version is 4 cilinder and much more powerful. about town the 900cc is fine.