What make to defect to

[sgould]

My son bought a new C class Merc in March.  Last of the old style.

He and his fiancée went to Ikea in it.  They had to drive home and go back in her Fiesta to collect the stuff they had bought.

[Geoff1951]

Nice one, Will! I'd use my wife's 206 the same way.

[StanleyB]

I just part exchanged my wife's Hyundai Getz for a newer one. That's for city manoeuvres. But for motorway and country lane driving my 9-3 OG is still expected to do service for a while. I just can't find anything else that can deliver the same amount of fun and cornering grip AND take all the luggage. 

[Audax]

He and his fiancée went to Ikea in it.  They had to drive home and go back in her Fiesta to collect the stuff they had bought.

I almost feel like Saab and Ikea worked together on the length available in a 9-5 estate. Once I parked up at Ikea and purchased 2 Ikea Expedits (one was the big one) and a tall Malm chest of drawers along with some other bits. I was parked next to some giant saloon car (probably German, BMW 7 series or Audi A6 size) and the owners looked at me like I was stupid as they were struggling to put a few small boxes in. I flattened down the seats in the 9-5 and loaded up and left before they did, they didn't look happy. I do love that the 9-5 can be turned into a van

[Geoff1951]

I can't tell you some of the stuff I've had in mine, I'm trying to sell it.

[Norfolk Jim]

The car or the stuff Geoff?

My son went to Ikea Southampton to get a new bed. He laughed at people struggling to get stuff in their big motors. The double bed (obviously in flat pack) went straight into his beaten up R reg fiesta with bit of string tying the tailgate down as didn't quite shut. Smug little git

I've just had nightmare trying to replace SWIMBO's car - V50 and wanting to spend around 8k. Bl**dy nightmare. No V50 under 150k miles of reasonable age and after loosing my marbles have ended up with a late 2009 Golf 1.6TDi SE 3dr for £8500 with 42k. She's not driven it yet as we get it Saturday but she's a little pee'd off I had to spend so much!!!!!!! The trade in value for the V50 diesel (a very underated car) was 2k with webuyanybloodycar dot com saying 2250. Juts for a laugh  I put it on Gumtree for 3500 needed 2 rear tyres, tax and service and had 3 want it for £3500! even with 105k on clock.

[Geoff1951]

Both, Jim. Good one.
I know from a friend who had a well-looked-after mid-90s BMW 525 to sell last year that WBAC were cr@p for old motors. A local petrol forecourt car dealer gave him 3x the WBAC offer.

[Audax]

WBAC just rely on people being desperate (or stupid!) when they offer money for cars.

I must also add that every time I considered getting a Volvo and looked at the prices I came back into nice Saab land where you could very often get the equivalent car for half the price. Of course this is one of the reasons Saab no longer exist.   

[Geoff1951]

At a guess, whatever one might gain in haggling power when not having a trade-in is probably lost by the ridiculous prices offered by WBAC. And they're owned by British Car Auctions, which obviously wants to get stock at the lowest price. Can't really blame them, they're a business not a charity, and as Audax says, they rely on people being desparate and/or daft.

[Geoff1951]

Well, my 9-5 is officially on the market. Almost changed my mind when I saw it polished up and shiny. We'll see.
And I understand sgould's point about the Merc C and Ikea - the Merc's rear seats don't fold!

[dw]

When I traded in my 900 Turbo P reg last May for a VW Polo I received a real amount of money, the dealer then sold it via a trade only auction for more than £700 to a SAAB specialist.

I had some work done on the 9-5 Aero and they commented that they had seen the 900 on the auction and followed the auction with the intent of buying it in. When discussing moving on from Saab, they were very keen to say that they would be very interested in giving the 95 a look over as they may well have a better price for it.

So the moral of my story is try any SAAB specialists to see if they are interested in offering you a better price than the trade in deal.

My local dealer is always looking for Saabs to keep their showroom busy.

[Geoff1951]

Cheers DW.

[Geoff1951]

Well, the deed's nearly done.

My 9-5's going for close to what I was asking, and later this week I'm collecting a Skoda Octavia, the latest model. It's a 1.4TSi DSG, with 140 horses, 250 Nm, 134 top whack and 0-60 in 8.4. Not bad for a 1.4, and better than the 1.8t that Saab fitted to the 9-3SS. And I'll be paying £30 in VED rather than £285. Should be easier on petrol too. Not new, it's 10 months old with 10k on the clock, but I'm saving around £6k in the process. Standard kit includes parking sensors, bluetooth for phone, dual zone climate control, DAB radio, and lots of other bits. I drove it for an hour and TBH it felt as comfortable as my 9-5. If it can do that for two hours I'll be happy.
It also meets SWMBO's requirement of being smaller than the 9-5 (just!) and will be fine for trips to IKEA. Unlike the Merc I was considering.

As a paid-up member of STT, I'll still be around for a while yet. The advice given by the likes of sgould, Audax, Phoenix, plus many others, has been invaluable over the past nine years, so thanks to all of you. Thanks also for all the light stuff from Norfolk Jim, collywobble, CitTone, plus many more. The tone of conversation on STT is a level above anything else you see on the web; while we sometimes disagree, we always show respect  - and those who don't, don't hang around.

I've had my 9-5 for three months shy of nine years. It's cost me an arm and a leg in repairs, you name it, it's been replaced. The Hirsch engine and suspension upgrades were worth every penny. I've spent over £22,700 on petrol, but every mile was a pleasure. Wish me luck with the Skoda.

[sgould]

Enjoy your new car!

The only thing wrong with a Skoda is the grille is too big for the car.  A bit like a lot of them now.  Merc and Peugeot especially.

[Geoff1951]

Thanks Will. I'll report back in few days.