My Car experiences in the UK

[deel_ee]

I have been fortunate enough to have owned a plucky little Ford Fiesta for the past two years. Now it's time to part ways with it. Given my location (Cambridge, UK) I am not really expecting to find any buyers here and therefore not advertising the car here for sale. Just thought should share the experience of owning it - my first ever ford, also the first car I owned in UK (though driven quite a few on rent) and pay a tribute to a reliable fella before bidding farewell.

The car:
2003 model 1.4l petrol engine
5 speed manual transmission
73k miles on the clock when I bought in June 2014
Now 81k.

More to follow. In the meantime, any other ford Fiesta owners here?

[deel_ee]

A snowy teaser, particularly for friends in Pakistan currently facing the wrath of summer sun and loadshedding

[sUpErMaN]

great little cars, and very popular over here..

[deel_ee]

I realised last night that I never fully completed this thread as I came across some old pictures of my fiesta and other cars I have kept since. So I decided to update the thread.

I bought this 2003 model fiesta in 2014 for £1,500. It had a 1.4 litre petrol engine. This being my first ever car in the UK, I wanted something extremely cheap and reliable so I could keep my insurance costs down. Insurance alone for my first year on this car was in excess of £1,000.

It served me well for 2 years. Took me to Isle of Wight, Birmingham, few trips to Coventry etc. Mostly it was to get to the grocery store and back for weekly shopping. Had to change tyres before taking it to MOT for my first year.

I found the exterior and interior quite dull to be honest. It was a practical car but that's about it. It's not one of those possessions that you would cherish your whole life.

Spent the following on the car (from what I can remember):

Tyres: £150
O2 sensor and exhaust issues: £550
Regular service
Tax was in the region of £140 per year, I think.

Sold it for £1,050 after keeping it for two years and driving it around for about 7k miles. More pictures to follow.

[deel_ee]

[deel_ee]

[deel_ee]

[deel_ee]

Selling my first car in the UK was an interesting experience in its own right. I had an option of "part-exchanging" my car where if you buy another car, the dealer can offer you a price for your old car. The price I was offered for this car was £400 (I will later come on to the next car I bought).

A very commonly used option here in the UK is to contact businesses such as "we buy any car" and they will give you a price for your car no matter what the condition. Here again I was offered £450ish for this car.

I decided to sell it online myself using a very well-known car buying and selling platform. They charge you a fee for advertising your car but you are almost certain to get genuine buyers and a good price. I paid £29 I think to advertise the car for 6 weeks and sold it for £1,050 within the first week or so. Important lesson learned that putting a little time and effort while selling your car is worth it as you can get a good price - a notion that was reinforced when I sold my next car online.

[deel_ee]

Despite my lack of love for fiestas, the car is hugely popular in the UK. It has been the best selling car in the UK for a number of years, including 2018 I believe. According to a report released in 2017, there are nearly 4.5m ford fiestas sold to the British customers since it was first launched in 1976.

[mehran]

Interesting insight into the used car world in UK. The used car situation here is quite the opposite. But it's nice of you to share your experiences. The Fiesta seems to be a reliable, sturdy and an OK car. Good luck with your next car

[deel_ee]

Thanks. There's more to come so stay tuned.
Car market dynamics here are quite different than those of Pakistan. Used cars are often quite cheap to buy as they depreciate quickly but are expensive to run. Labour costs are typically £60 per hour. Parts aren't too expensive but there's 20% vat on every product/part. So anytime something goes wrong, it hits your wallet.

[mehran]

Lately I've been viewing carwow videos and previously I used to read Whatcar. The new and used car markets are very competitive in the UK. Discounts on new cars are unheard of here as there is no competition and there are more buyers compared to cars being produced. Used cars depreciate very slowly except for unpopular models. Our country is extremely ideal for car making companies and very poor for car buyers (us).

[deel_ee]

Yes you are right. Generally there are good deals and discount packages available for new cars. The sheer number of choices available to the consumer makes the market very competitive. Same can't be said about Pakistani car market unfortunately.

[deel_ee]

So, continuing with my car experiences in the UK, in late 2015 I decided to upgrade. After the birth of my first child, I did what every "family man" does. I convinced myself that I need a bigger car with a bigger boot.

I narrowed my options down to the following:
Lexus RX
Volvo XC90
BMW X5

I was looking at the models introduced between 2004-2007 as that's what suited my budget. After searching for few weeks, doing few test drives, I finalised a 2004 Lexus RX300.

My experience of looking at these SUVs was quite interesting. When I looked at European cars, they looked old, tired and worn down. In comparison, the lexus cars that I looked at were well maintained, drove nearly as good as new and were generally in very good shape. Little things like leather stitching, paint on the inside of door panels, dashboard plastic, rubber mouldings - all these little things in German cars (Audi or BMW) were in a lot worse condition than in the lexus cars I viewed. The overall value for money was also much better with lexus, perhaps helped by the fact that they aren't very common so you can often grab a good bargain.

So in Feb 2016, I bought myself a lexus rx300. Pictures to follow.

[deel_ee]

The above two images are taken from the internet for reference purposes. These were the other two cars I seriously considered before deciding to buy a lexus rx300.

[mehran]

Lexus is officially not sold here due to prohibitive duties and taxes on imports. Second hand Lexus models from Japan command premium prices so only very very few lucky people can afford them. Hope you enjoyed your RX