Research...

... is the first step towards happy motoring.

Being that we're "In the trade", you'd be surprised how many times we get asked the inevitable.

What are these like? Are those any good?

As much as we all love our family and friends (Some questionable) and want them to have a pain free life, not a lot of them listen to "Our advice". So we all agree that as a mandatory response and sincerely good advice (Purely so we don't get any comeback), is to simply say....
"If its what you want, go for it!. Every vehicle on the market is not without its faults, but as long as you do your research and have the funds to cover any issue it may present you with, then you'll be okay"

What the most common practices we have experienced, especially from an aftersales point of view, are people who are astonished at prices of wear and tear items (Such as brakes and tyres), With the ever increasing popularity of SUV's, these beasts are fitted with larger components and often a bit of bling. The basic want is for something that looks the part on the road, something with a bit of stance and that normally means a good set of wheels. Most SUV tyres run on 17" or 18" wheels.

Although they make the car look better than say, ones with 16" wheels, the larger and lower profile the tyre, the more expensive they will be when it comes to replace. So, when you're getting that phone call from your garage stating that you need new tyres, don't be surprised that there's going to be a bit of cost to these.

How much?
The amount of times the immortal words of "How Much?" are heard is untold. If we had a penny for every time we heard that, we'd have all retired ten years ago.

As mentioned above, every vehicle has its faults. Even the most reliable ones. If you're equipped with a budget and you max that budget buying that motor that you've always had your heart set on, then you only have yourself to blame if you haven't got the "Extra" budget, when it comes round to replacing certain items that require it, or if the inevitable happens and something goes wrong unexpectedly.

Owning a motor is costly. Leaving the expensive bits alone because you can't afford to do it is borderline insanity. It not only endangers yourself and your passengers, but also that of other road users when something thats worn, that needed replacing, hasn't been due to insufficient funds and it fails causing an accident. Then an investigation from an insurance assessor invalidates your insurance, because it could have been avoided.

That, ladypeeps and gentlepops is what is more commonly known as "The domino effect".

From any point of view, whether you're in the market for a brand new, or newer vehicle, look at your budget and don't max the lot on the motor, leaving no room to replace the bits that need replacing.

And do the research! Be wary of reading through the forums, they are full of people who have done a lot of what we've discussed above, bought a vehicle at the top of their budget and complain like merry hell when it goes wrong. And most will point the blame at others, namely the garage that suddenlly becomes "Unhelpful".

Forums are great for one thing, learning about the vehicle you intend to buy.
If you're intent on spending £10000 on a motor and research suggests that you could potentially be faced with some expensive repairs, would you spend that £10000 on the vehicle alone?

We'd hope not!

Think Smart - Box Clever.
Take our word for it. Buy what you want. If its something you've always wanted, go for it. Just make sure you have extra pennies set aside for when that time comes and save yourself a world of pain.

Just don't whinge about your purchase! Seriously, if a certain manufacturer is renowned for unreliability, but you're hell bent on owning one, then you have no course for having a moan about it, when it constantly lets you down. You wouldn't move into a house directly next to an international airport and complain about the noise now, would you? Or would you?
If you're the kind that knows their motor is a dud, even after extensive research, but feels its necessary to sign write the vehicle and dump it outside of their local dealership / garage, then you can only be a moon trumpet.
Don't be a moon trumpet!

-Will B ;)