New car time

[blacklab99]

Well, its not exactly a fishing thyme, but there's been a few other off topic threads of late, so hear goes.

I have now officially put new car sales "Persons" at the bottom of the food chain.........
Seriously if Bulls@hit was Tarseal they'd make a four lane highway to the moon and back.
Not only that, to hear the crap they spin about their cars is seriously un -believable to listen too, and I have been known, Occasionally to be a patient man.
This all started about a month ago, my other half's 14 year old Xtrail she's had since new, Well, it's still running beautifully, but I figured she deserves a new car after all this time, don't know why we haven't traded up before now, it's just been a great little alround car for her zipping around town and we have even driven it to Queensland and recently to the NSW coast. However, the new cars on offer, all are this new CVT transmission, every single brand and small SUV's are all now only 2 ltrs or less and basically are gutless wonders in regard to taking them anywhere out of town.
So because its predominantly for her, she doesnt want the new Xtrail or Rav4 as they have really grown in size, but they have the bigger 2.5 ltr engines which seem to go ok with these damn CVT transmissions they all have now. It seems these CVT's are being designed for pure ecconomy and don't really seem to put the engine power to the wheels.
We have driven, I recon, about 5 different brands of new vehicles, main stream not European, and to be honest haven't been impressed with any of them. Didn't want to spend huge dollars in up grading, but all the mid range SUV's seem to go for between 26-35k, with some reasonable deals for Demo cars starting to happen with the end of financial year sales on.
One dealer I took a test drive in a Mitsubishi, 2 weeks ago, has made 27 calls to me since, even after me telling him we are thinking about it still and even telling him " don't F@@en ring me again,,,,, its a shark frenzy out there at the minute in the new car market !!! but the Bullsh@@ they spin !!!
Anyway, the up shot is, if I don't find something suitable, she will just keep driving the old Xtrail around, we bought that new in 2004, done 140km and still goes like a charm,,,,,,,, been offered 500 trade in, so Guess I'll try and sell that privately if we buy another now. I thought shopping for a new 4 stroke outboard was an eye opener, but I'll tell ya what, this top's that !

Grizzle over now, feel much better.......... :thumbsup:

Col

[bowl]

Get a roadworthy on xtrail, get around 5-7 k I would of thought.

[piscateur]

I have a 2005 Xtrail and nothing in the current market interest me as a replacement.

[Bayrock]

My wife has a 2010 XTrail with the 2.5lt engine and CVT, it’s been a great car now has 150k km on it, still runs perfectly and all the electronics work fine, wanted a new SUV but as the OP said, similar cars today just don’t make the cut, will prob end up buying her an Outback next

[Mattblack]

Probably cop it for saying this, but if your going to keep the new car for another 10+ years and your wife only does limited km's, I'd consider one of the many electric cars due on our shores in the next 6 months. I honestly think the electric vehicle revolution is going to come hard and fast in the next few years making combustion engines redundant very quickly.

https://www.9news.com.au/motoring/2018/ ... -australia

[blacklab99]

Get a roadworthy on xtrail, get around 5-7 k I would of thought.

Yeah, that's what they seem to retail at Bowl, hers is a manual, but it's in pretty good condition for a 2004 and only has 140k on it.
It was just the bloody hassel of going thru the selling process, hey, was hoping I'd find a new SUV and done a deal to at least get 2-3k trade infor it, but I'll be buggered taking 500 for a trade in. If we do find a new one, i'll try and sell it for 3k for a quick sale and someone will have a good runner at that price. I've even been using it towing my stripped out boat backwards and forwards to the boat shop etc, (wrote off my 4x4 last year) it tows quite well, but I wouldnt use it to tow my boat fully equiped up, I'd be around the 1.6 tonne, I think there rated to 1.3 or abouts.
But it's interesting to here of a couple of others in the same boat. Her old one has the 2.5 engine and in all honesty cruises along brilliantly on long runs, on the weekend I shot down to Willaura to see a mate, a 500km round trip, it was brilliant. But as others have said, cant say the same for the current batch new that are for sale. We will probably go for the new Xtrail, it's got the 2.5 ltr engine in it and was pretty good to drive, but it's way bigger than the older Xtrails which does make a difference for the wife who will use it 95 % of the time and a bit harder for her just zipping around locally, or what ever they do when there not home .
The easy solution is for me to get that 4x4, a ranger or the likes and just get her a town runnabout, but I'm not that flush at the minute to throw another 50-60k at another vehicle, hell, haven't got anything to tow with it at the minute !
But interesting how vehicles are changing now.......

Col

[blacklab99]

Probably cop it for saying this, but if your going to keep the new car for another 10+ years and your wife only does limited km's, I'd consider one of the many electric cars due on our shores in the next 6 months. I honestly think the electric vehicle revolution is going to come hard and fast in the next few years making combustion engines redundant very quickly.

https://www.9news.com.au/motoring/2018/ ... -australia

No you wont cop it for that Matt
Problem is we head off the beaten track every now and then, as well as going up around the NSW south coast and are doing a trip right up to Brisbane later in the year,,, so, probably not. But I can see how they are going to become more of the norm in years to come but.
This new vehicle iteration for her, will only be for 4 odd years, then will re assess with our ideas of pulling up stumps and sea changing up the coast, so it should still have a reasonable value in it by then still. It would be great if she just hung on to the current old one, but, since I'm sinking coin into the boat and a couple of other projects, I can hardly deny her a new car ! She has a black belt in verbal Karate ! she can have what ever she wants ! :thumbsup:

Col

[willow17]

I got a Hyundai Tucson 18 months ago and have done 40,000 km without a problem and must say the dealer was great, 4k for my Mazda tribute, similar enough to your x-trail in age and 60,000 more km's. I only have the fwd as i don't need the towing and the fuel usage is great 700km+ off a tank easy highway driving. It does have a normal torque converter transmission but also a 2L 4 cylinder engine, I agree it may seem to lack power and does take some revs to get up to speed but for 95% of driving conditions its fine and never had a problem overtaking on a highway. Also have a 5 year warranty and road side assist that reassuring.
For around the 30-35k mark i reckon you could get a diesel or petrol AWD with the DCT (worth researching) as they have been cases overseas of this transmission having trouble.

Also worth noting the 2019 Tucson 2L turbo diesel comes with an 8 speed torque converter which would be a sweet match but that is yet to come out. All in all been very happy with the car for the price i paid compared to many other rivals.

[Sinsemilla]

Col.. They have always been at the bottom of the food chain!

Anth

[colnick]

Good day Col,
I have made some assumptions which may not be correct, so just judge my suggestions accordingly.
I have assumed you are looking at an SUV. If not, you have enough options to make your brain hurt.
In your shoes I would just stick with the old faithful XTrail. 140k is bugger all and your four more years should be no problem.
If that's not a realistic option I reckon you need to ask yourself what is most important to you. Ruggedness, some off-road ability, ground clearance, constant four wheel drive and towing capacity OR sophisticated design, interior comfort and finish, ride quality and fuel economy?
If the former, you can't go past the XTrail, or my personal favourite, the bulletproof Subaru Forester. If the latter, have a look/drive of the VW Tiguan. I promise you, the little turbo petrol motors are a revelation if you have never experienced them before and of course you have diesel options as well. Fit, finish, ride and handling are top class euro and the quietness is impressive. The biggest drawback, unless manual is an option, is the DSG gearbox. If you or your wife do a lot of stop-start city driving the characteristic DSG hesitation might be enough to put you off. On road, it's a breeze.

Good luck. I'll be interested in your final decision.
Cheers, Col.