Goodbye

[attachment=708:mini1.jpg]

Hello

[attachment=710:IMG_1586A.jpg]

I wrote about the MINI elsewhere

good little car but it no longer suited my needs and my partner didn't want it

cost me the princely sum of £1K to own for 11 months and 18K miles

so I bought this new beastie and got some cashback

it's not a Vectra (outside anyway!) it's a Signum

much unloved and way overpriced new, I've been looking for one in the right spec for a few months

I wanted a top spec diesel with low miles - quite hard to find

then this came up - 1.9CDTi Elite spec, automatic, in metallic black with only 34K in 5 years, pretty much unmarked inside and out

leather, xenons, factory nav, climate, heated seats and chav privacy glass, it doesn't really want for kit and is a good load lugger

it was marketed when new as a large hatchback but in reality it's much more like an estate

so far, so good, with just a few little things to sort out

seems to do 40mpg all day long, with 45mpg on cruise at 80mph

wafter and lugger more than anything else, which is what I need for a while

and my partner wants it when I'm done with it, so all the boxes are ticked

worth a look if anyone is considering something big and economical, a little bit unusual loaded with kit for not too much money

if you aren't doing many miles, consider the 3.2 V6 - hard to give away in the current climate

I liked Omega estates and I suppose this is the later equivalent

like Neil's car - hopelessly over-tyred and over-wheeled but it has one toy I've not encountered before, which is headlights that turn ahead of the car on corners

 

I know it's vulgar to ask, but what did you pay? Did you trade in the Mini as part of the deal or sell it privately?

 

Gad hasn't owned a DS?

 

..or a Honda Leg End!

The number of times manufacturers have tried a LWB hatch version of a large D to make an E1 & failed. Of course when BMW does it, it's the best thing since diced bread.

Great thinking outside the box on that one, Gad.

Mind you, I get the odd hankering for a Bitter (when I'm not down the pub) so I suppose I'm biased.

 

For what they are the Signum represents excellent value ... but, as you've said, they were a silly price when new !!

 

A bit complicated because of the value of the trade-in but I calculate it has cost me £7000 to own.

Late model cars (06 and handful of 07)seem to be advertised at around £7,000-£7,500 but they have usually done 60,000 miles or more. Diesels, as you would expect, fetch a fair bit more than the petrols.

Assuming I don't put more than 20,000 on it in a year, I'd expect it to fetch an easy £5,500 a year from now, which won't be too shabby.

It won't be sold though - as I said, my partner wants it when I'm finished with it.

 

I found that the lower spec cars were almost all company owned

the Elite specs are invariably first registered to Vauxhall as 'management cars' before moving on to private ownership at about 12 months

it is funny how cars can go from being stupidly overpriced to representing good value

all about timing I suppose

 

The Signum is what Amuse Boy is driving these days! I see him occasionally at our office, he proudly showed me his dirty Sigma which he never polishes!!

 

Is it the model after this? :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr0ZDJ39QdE

 

ewwwwww. you drive a vauxhall !!!!!!!!!


how common.i personally would keep that quiet.