To think that the car you buy is a statement of the 'tribe' you belong to.

[BusyCee]

DH wants to buy a Discovery Sport 7 seater so we can fit 3 DCs plus others.

We live in a relatively affluent area. Discovery Sports around here are driven by perfectly pleasant women, but women who tend not to work, to spend a lot of time and energy on appearance, and who definitely don't ever drive off road.

I come from a working class family. We currently are not affluent. I have worked since I could. I like working. I like to look nice, but for me style is less important than substance.

I do NOT want to drive a Discovery Sport. We have talked about this. He has just bought a friend who works for LR home with one for us to test drive. I work in marketing. I understand very clearly why people chose the brands they chose.

AIBU to insist that we do not buy the Discovery Sport on brand/looks/target market grounds only and the fact it has a fucking tiny rear window which might be why they're always parked over two bays round these parts

OP I know what you're saying and people do judge others based on what they drive.

I have a 16 plate C4 Cactus. Yesterday I got out on the ferry an heard the bloke in the car behind say 'daddy obviously bought her car' I had to resist the urge to say 'fuck off you dick. I'm 34, have worked FT since I was 16 and bought my own car'.

OH has a clapped out saxo that is back up for when his T4 (transporter) decides it can't be arsed to start which is quite often . The T4 is the pride of the home

Forgot to say....when we're in the saxo people go all racer on our ass!!!! Back in the day they were, and still might be, very much a 'boy racer' car. We regularly get boys trying to entice us into a race, rev at traffic lights etc. At least the Cactus shows you have pretty much given up on life so racing isn't an option

My car is always so covered in mud I actually can't remember what it is !!!
( country dweller ) I have a defender too - that's more recognisable despite the mud !!!

One day I will have a shiny car !!!

I live near some very affluent areas in the Home Counties and I took my son to a cricket camp last week in one of them. At drop off, the car park was filled with identical Range Rovers all the same (dingy grey) colour and all driven by women in gilets. I know this area is very much that tribe but it was so funny and obvious to see them all parked side by side that even my son noticed. Then he told me that all the other boys on the course went to the private school nearby so I guess the mums probably all knew each other too and maybe went car shopping together.

(He still got player of the day though so nur nur to you and your fancy cars )

derxa. 3500kg is really heavy. Even a landrover discovery only weights about 2500kg so wouldn't be able to tow it. Are you sure about the weight?

Derxa, this might be worth a read. www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=673834

OP fly your freak flag and get a fiat multipla! No tribe for them, stand out on your own

The white van man near me has a grey Range Rover for the wife. Are they conflicted about their tribal identity?

Deffo not market research. I DO want to buy what I want, something that's practical for USE not style. And that doesn't stretch our finances. That's the point of the thread! I genuinely don't give a shiny shit what's important in other peoples purchase decisions - in this instance I'm only interested in mine!

Anyway. He woke up this morning and agreed that financially it's too much of a stretch (albeit second hand and with a deal from this mate that he 'bought' thanks Worra). So now I'm after recommendations for second hand 7seaters that aren't too long (we have a small parking space outside the house), that are reliable and that I can drive into the ground.

Round here, the yummy mummies(who all live on the same "exclusive" estate) are replacing their X5s with new Disco Sports. It's quite amusing to watch - the alpha yummy mummy chooses a new car, then within a couple of months the other mummies have done the same thing and gone for the same model and color, so then the alpha mummy appears with another new car even though the previous one was only 3 months old.

Mind you, they're probably all lease cars and the deals all expire at the same time. I think we're on the third cycle now - the X5s replaced Tiguans.

Im buying a bmw. I feel uncomfortable with being an owner of such a car. I always thought that flashy/ show-offy and drive up to yr backside people drive them. Im not flashy. But the price was a bargain and suits my needs. Sorry to all you nice and considerate bmw drivers

Have you thought about a Kia Sorento? Might be too long though, but you can get a well equipped 7 seater for not too much cash second hand.

My dream car is a land-rover defender but it's never going to happen. Currently drive a 10 year old Peugeot 307 that was a hand me down. Car before that was a hand me down too. Im in the too skint to buy my own car club I guess

Hopefully we do the inverse snobbery thing. "Classy" cars but very old (15 years), full of dog hair and mud... To be honest we actually can't afford anything new or even semi-new at the moment. I did nearly buy a used Seat Leon recently, and then pulled back at the last minute thinking, "I'm not a Seat Leon person."

I think cars do say a lot about the owners. The mothers who drive to the private school in our road (and park across our drive) all drive big Range Rovers and Porsche Cayennes or whatever is the latest vogue. These women do rather seem to be, er, somewhat nouveau from the sound of their voices. Working mothers at the school (the ones who park across the drive at 5.30) often drive convertibles.

Most of our neighbours are newly-retired boomers. There are a fair few Jags and big saloons. Very Margot and Jerry. And the wives (it is the wives) all seem to have sporty Minis. They think this confers an "I'm quirky, me!" tag on them. It doesn't.

Hound the Defender will NEVER come back. You may as well get used to the fact now. It was too antiquated. Unsafe, inefficient and uncomfortable. Like riding around in a bloody sardine tin. And it doesn't even drive off-road as well as a Range Rover.

I am so bored of everyone having a mini near me Rhoda, everyone has them as second car plus the teenage DC have one too.

I have an Arbarth what does that make me? Dh an Audi ( we call him the Audi w..........)!

Oh, yes, the teenage dc. Girl up the road was 17 - and on the drive was a brand new Mini with a pink ribbon wrapped round it. Ds had a meal out and a trip to Forbidden Planet!

Fugg have you seen the new Defender ? awful!

Both DH and I drive full on twatmobiles.
Neither of us care. He likes performance cars AND just to tip you over the edge, I bought him a private plate years ago too, so he ticks all judgey boxes.
Mine is big. I'm neither a gangster, nor particularly yummy.
We tow, occasionally off road, I needed something wide enough for 3 seats in the back and a huge boot as I carry a lot of kit for work each day.
The added bonus of my car is that people assume I'm a total cock and give me a wide berth

WhoTheFuckIsSimon - "3500kg is really heavy. Even a landrover discovery only weights about 2500kg so wouldn't be able to tow it. Are you sure about the weight?"

Careful spreading mis-information there.

The weight of the vehicle doesn't exclude towing something heavier. We can tow 3500kg on a braked trailer with the pick up. Think it's 2500kg for the 2WD version. Ours weighs 2,800kg.

If worrying about towing capacity, check the VIN. Also, the year you got your licence (assuming a standard cat. B licence) will change what you're legally allowed to tow. I don't know the figures for a Disco, but my old Defender 110 could tow 3,500kg. I'd be amazed if a Disco isn't the same.

Maybe it's different for sheep trailers then but I was always told a caravan kerbweight can't exceed the kerbweight of the car you're towing it with and a caravan is a braked weight. Caravan club say you legally can't tow in excess of 100% of the weight of the car and recommend you don't tow more than 85% of the weight of the car so im very confused now.

Loving all the swanky car talk.on th thread.

Just wondering what my 2001 Focus says about my "tribe". Especially if I throw in the fact that I paid just £80 for it .

It has well over 100k on the clock too.

It's my little lifeline to the world.

I belong to the wierd loner tribe, loved my fiat mutipla and now love my kia soul. Next car will hopefully be electric but if i cant afford it then something reliable but unusual shape and colour. I always do loads of research and have never got car finance as it seems so wasteful. A car bought after the bulk of its depreciation so 3 or 4 years old and paid for with cash is for me, the best mix for newer car reliability and style.