AIBU to loath needing to research and buy a "new" car

[RandomMess]

As in new to us car, I have comprehensive reasons so surely everyone should I agree I am not being unreasonable to loath the whole process?

1. Nearly new 2nd hand car prices appear to have doubled in the last 11 years (our salaries have not)
2. I don't want a new car but the current one seems to have reached the point of beyond economic repair so it no longer a choice, we've been putting it off for 5/6 years
3. All the major car groups/brands websites seem to have flashing/moving graphics that quite frankly give me a headache as soon as I open them so can't bear to explore them for the information I want
4. The fancy pants websites don't seem to have the information I want on them
5. The basic information I want is not easily found so I ending up resorting to AI to find eg. outer dimensions of the vehicle
6. Far too much choice it's utterly overwhelming
7. Choosing between part hybrid, full hybrid, plug-in hybrid, electric, petrol, diesel - just too overwhelming
8. There is no information on "can my 6'4" husband with arthritic knees fit COMFORTABLY in the passenger seat without something digging into said knees
9. I can't go browsing without DH due said knees
10. Most cars don't tick the comfortable for DH box so it's an exhausting waste of time ruling out 95% of cars
11. When I do find a car that I think ticks the boxes I read various reviews and they score badly so no longer have them as an option
12. About 4/5 cars that I have really wanted over the years have been discontinued or they've changed the shape and/or size so I no longer like them or can't buy one only a few years old
13. Most of the dealers have closed near us so it's all a bloody trek to even sit in any.
14. The purchase options, sadly don't have the cash to buy outright so another then to read and digest and make a choice on
15. My absolute go to Car Review website "Honest John" has been shut down and you can no longer even view the historic reviews they did - seriously disheartened by this discovery.

I've probably listed a fair few rants so need to stop.

In that case yes, yabu. You could just update your husband. 😂

I do about town & motorway driving
DH is the main passenger
Boot needs to ideally hatchback style
Have solar panels so electric an option

DH fits well in some small cars - mini, corsa, 4 year Fabia you just can’t tell without trying.

I want something reliable without ridiculous parts prices etc

Probably should look at an automatic due to my arthritis.

I want decent suspension due to bloody potholes and speed bumps

I want to be able to accelerate uphill at speed on the motorway (I see a lot of cars that seem to struggle).

Cruise control is a must

If I drive to Europe it’s only to Calais or Rotterdam from the Ferry

This may have been mentioned!

We can have a day out to a Lexus dealer.

Nissan Qashqai?

This is why I am still motoring about in my tiny first student-esque car. I was not particularly interested in buying a specific car in the first place. I just wanted one that would get me from A to B, and was within my budget. Other pros that I have since discovered is that I can fit in abnormally small parking spaces, it fits an amazing amount of stuff in it, and it is cheap to run (compared to the diesel engines that people at work have). Although it is slowly falling to pieces, I keep getting it patched up so that I don't have to face getting a new one, and weighing up if I can fit all of my animals and our things in it when I go away!

Long legged one has found the following models fitted him:
Range Rover Sport (old model)
Audi A3
Volkswagen golf (old model)
Most of the Mercedes models
Lexus RX and NX
We have decided his legs have very discerning taste

🤣

autotrader has all the measurements. Nothing specific about arthritic knees I’m afraid. I’d go on Autotrader and use the search to get exactly what you need and see what comes up.

I’d stay away from anything that isn’t Japanese, Korean, Volvo or bmw. I just like bmw but I don’t think they’re the height of reliability anymore but mine have always been perfect.

fuel is a personal choice but research and think of any inconvenience. I have a hybrid I don’t charge. I don’t trust the electrics in my house not to catch fire but it could be that I’ve made up a problem in my head that doesn’t exist.

I used to work with someone who was 6ft 7in tall and he had to get authorisation from the CEO when it came to company cars as he couldn’t fit in the standard issue BMWs. From memory, he always had VW Passats.

I absolutely dread anything happening to my 19 year old car. I want something to get me from A to B, preferably without any ridiculous ‘safety’ features and definitely not electric. It needs to be small, quirky and reliable which gives me naff all to choose from.

Just joining solidarity - I hate it and spent 2 hours driving to test drive and buy a car, found it wasn’t as advertised but dealer refused to budge on price so after 3 painful hours of trying to upsell warranties we walked away, thoroughly hacked off. 30 minutes later we get a call offering us the car at the price we wanted… nope we’re a quarter of the way home and no chance will I ever walk back in there.

we had to buy one because a stupid idiot driver wasn’t paying attention and hit the back of our perfect condition 2014 ka three times! So angry at her incompetence we reported her to the police with the video footage.

We found a similar car (Fiat 500 - pretty much the opposite of what you’re after) at a local garage and they were amazing. They also sold electric cars with brands I’ve never heard of but ideal for your needs as they looked like arm chairs inside - GWM, OMODA & JAECOO. It was FJ chalke in Wincanton and staff were genuinely helpful and upfront, if you’re near ish the area. When we replace our vw Tiguan we’ll go there (probably ready for an electric by then as it’s a few years off for us).

Try askinv AI to recommend one?

Try reading the thread.

I am on my 3rd c3. Had diesel this time as was doing a decent commute. My first one was a 52 plate and still driving round.

They're spacious inside, and the air cross version is bigger all round.

Auto trader is also good, can set filters to include insurance, engine size, doors, seats etc. Sure they included dimensions as well, so you could get your existing car information from there to compare

Otherwise this website lets you compare car dimensions, maybe use it to compare cars to your current one?

www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/citroen-c3-2016-5-door-hatchback-vs-citroen-c3-aircross-2021-suv/

I hired a Nissan Qashqai last week and it was really roomy (I am 6ft with long legs) and was a dream to drive. It was brand new though, am not sure if older models are the same. It did have a lot of safety stuff but actually wasn't irritating at all.

Failing that my best car ever was an 17 yo CR-V, still heartbroken I had to leave that overseas, it was so so roomy on the inside while not being massive on the outside. Automatic too.

I used Auto Trader to find my car. You can be extremely specific with the advanced search options. I wanted £35 road tax, minimum 60 mpg, 2014 onwards and up to £6,000 and it had to have a heated front windscreen and heated front seats. This narrowed the search down massively and I went from there

Try Parker’s for owner reviews once you have narrowed it down to a few makes and models

I am a skoda lover but also loathe the Superb. One of the ugliest cars ever made. I dont know what they were thinking

The Octavia hatchback on the other hand ... spacious, comfortable, surprisingly powerful and extremely cost efficient and reliable. I would definitely recommend seeing if you can try one of those. Ours is 10 years old and still in excellent shape.

The thing about car buying that makes it so.stressful is that its a huge outlay of cash and you have fuck all idea if its well spent. We all.know.someone who bought that highly.rated new car, only to spend 1000s on repairs later. It feels so stressful.

I am not a hire purchase person but I do see the appeal - pay some huge.amount of money monthly but do so knowing you barely have to worry about the car.

Whats the main priority, a smaller/more compact car, the price, or DH comfort? I suspect you just wont get all 3. Cars have bevome irritatingly expensive & i dont even want half the crap they come with.

We have a mazda 3 and Dh (6ft 3) fits well. He is slim though. Is your husband just tall or is he broad/heavy as well? My colleague is a bigger guy & struggles with the depth from seat to console.

Choose to deal breakers and stick rigidly to them. For me it was that they need to be economical, i.e. ideally 60 miles to the gallon plus. And an automatic. Those were my two dealbreaker. It narrowed it massively down because there’s so many uneconomical cars out there.

Decide on 1 or 2 absolute dealbreakers. Find your nearest car auction type place as you’ll have access to most major makes and models. Send DH along to get in/out and sit in a few and come back with 2-3 suitable makes/models. Go to the ‘nearly new’ section on said makes and take it from there.

Think I’d send the husband out to a large car supermarket and get him to make a short list that you can then see if you like as driver. Failing that trade him in …

Did you try the Dacia Duster for size? I had the same dilemmas as you, needed a new car, couldn’t be bothered with all the research, or paying £££ for a badge and lots of unwanted features. Kept reading about the Duster. Looked into engine size, trim levels etc. Found one, bought it. Like it a lot.

My wish list: petrol, aircon, large boot, ULEZ compliant, good headlights. Bonus features I love: reversing camera, blind spot indicators, Apple car play.

First question is what if you had no car? What adjustments would you have to make.

If that is really not an option, then hope one of the suggestions works for you and your DH.

He doesn’t fit in any of the Dacia range.

Only issue is that I have to take him as they aren’t accessible by reasonable public transport options or bicycle.