Coming from Europe, my personal experience is different.
My anedoctal feeling is that people care more here than there…
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I voted for comfort.
20 years ago I would have voted for speed/fun…
Actually, after around the time I reached 40, I started taking my car to the racing track when I wanted to have fun and feel the “power” … and then that interest faded away…
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I used to restore 70’s-80’s Citroën cars mostly the CX GTi turbo very fast for 80’s car however I swapped one for a Jaguar X-Type 3.0V6 AWD break.
I done tons of work on it whole new braking system, rear diff, stainless exhaust, waxoiled and full service.
Was immaculate condition used very little then moved to Taiwan.
Friend sold it for me £1800!!! I really regret selling.
I still own this tho very rare.
I actually not that interested in cars now.
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A little of topic, but for those buying a newly build condo and in need of a car …
It is kind of ridicolous to pay way over 1 million for a car-parking place, a price with no value in regard to the actual appartment.
And keep in mind, that (as far as I know) once you might consider selling your place, that car-parking place (around 4 ling) sells for the regular ping-price (thus making it quite often a huge minus in money).
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For me i care how long i can use it and what parts break soon and how much said parts cost. I expect a car to last 50 years if i buy it new and maintain. should be WAY longer if maintained well and no accidents. No excuses. New stuff clearly isnt built for the customer, just for the company to cash in on repair and parts. This annoys me a great deal. I just bought a new truck and it is already, 1k km in, WAY shittier than the 30 year old truck it replaced. It is quite sad 
and i mean WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY lower quality. Even common sense stuff like oil gauges, tranny dip stick, passenger door lock etc all non existent. The auto trans version cant even lock into first gear…!! It is actually quite insulting frankly.
But the competition isnt better, so i digress. When i buy cars its 100% about quality, then safety then price. Speed and aesthetics are for people with egos. Seems quality is nearly non existent now so i choose the least shitty i can find rather than the good one they are like cell phones and computers…pathetic. but we are stuck, so?
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Here the DD problem with deaths is Dumb Drivers. Though i feel i see drunks driving far more here than in canada. Canada tends to have shittier roads and infrastructre with higher speeds. To boot ,here they can just pay off their manslaughter and avoid any real issues. Not ideal in my opinion. But to be fair, we live in a society where impairment might actually improve driving awareness and skill 
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That is really weird. I’ve never seen a truck where you couldn’t manually select the first few gears.
I know! Its options were 2, 3 and D. 5 speed tranny. REALLY dumb! The engine is also gutless. The sales guy was parking it after test drive nd kept getting hung up on the curb for a solid 20 mins. So the computers’ programming is shyte too! I only entertained the idea of auto because my wife said she could help drive sometimes. In the end, screw it. I just accept driving 20 hours straight sometimes if it means i dont get stuck on a patch of grass haha.
On my tombstone (probably during my 50s) let it read: “Because of you, Mitsubishi”
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I only really like vintage cars like this. UK is an amazing place to pick them up.
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And a shame can’t import to Taiwan, I wanted to with the Jaguar.
Vintage car business would do well in Taipei city, vintage mercs, Aston’s, Ferrari, Maserati.
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How come you cant import?
Doesnt taiwan require some form of testing/inspection for any new model?
I make my finances work for my life not the other way around. I’m not buying a car as an investment, it’s something I love to be in. Also I get to write some of it off as a company expense so it has tax benefits.
This is actually very accurate. Accounting value of car goes down to zero in 5 years.
You buy 2 year old used car with 100k km for 20k euros and drive another 100k. Will still get like 10k for that car after 5 years.
Try to take 20k out of company, will pay 50% tax on it. You spend 10k to drive very good car for 5 years. Best value
For me the list would be something like this from most important to least
-
I can afford it both to buy and to service
-
Very reliable and long lasting. I hate spending money on cars and especially car repair and I keep my cars as long as I can until it starts to cost more
than it’s worth to keep running
The longer I can keep it running without ruining the bank the less the total costs are on a per month basis
- The car should be able to do the mission desired of it. Be able to transport the people or things required to places required
4 with the above in mind I will then short list
the available cars and then look into looks and fun to drive comfortable to drive etc
Because I keep cars so long I have not had many cars
I leased an Audi A4 (a car that probably will not fit the first two of the above three ) Had it for ten months and 15000 miles . It was about 2000 drive off and 460 a month
Traded in a ford contour /Mondeo that was Preowned and only cost 180 a month with 2500 down for sixty months Drove that 4 years and 80000 miles
That was a nice car that probably fit the three criteria
Then i still have my now very old
Acura Rsx gotten 18 months old and financed 60 months at 330 a month with 1000 down
Wifey has a Prius first leased for 2000 down and 200 a month turned into finance with zero down and 330 a month for five years
The Prius is great has 90000 miles spent zero dollars in repairs so far only maintenance and new tires
Expect it to last 15 years and 300k miles And the thing is quite fun to drive and can easily cruise at 70 to 90 mph on the freeway on level ground and downhill. Uphill pretend you are a heavy truck and take the slow lane
I like driving it though It fits my extreme tightwad personality
Of extreme consternation is my wife’s insistence on an audit TT which we ordered and is expected to arrive in august
That thing is barely affordable and is likely to cost a lot to keep running beyond the warranty
It is going to allow us to go to Tahoe in winter as long as the roads are plowed
I really wanted a Subaru crosstrek instead for half the money and double the expected longevity and half the cost to keep running
Ok have I bored you yet ?
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I have two old cars. Both far more repairable and reliable than anything new.
A 2005 Legacy GT wagon, Subaru AWD, handling mods and exhaust and remapped ECU. Nice interior, great stereo system, 130,000km and cost me several thousand (USD) getting a bunch of stuff redone about 95,000 km mark. It will last another 100,000 km.
and a 1982 Landcruiser BJ44 soft-top (but not convertible…). Very rare, less than 100,000 km, no rust. 3.2 liter diesel, original everything except oil and alternator belt and occasionally tires. absolutely zero electronics, and you can repair everything with three wrenches and a couple of screwdrivers on the side of the road.
I did not have a car in Taipei, just a 2-stroke scooter. Now, I buy cars out of necessity, but enjoyment from driving and owning is important. And those who know me well (and I’m not going to name names here, but you know who you are) will confirm that it is not a compensation for penis size.
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That’s a nice car and is going to cause you all kinds of joy and sorrow. Can she work to pay for it herself ? At least cars in general are cheaper in the US.
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yes, they will need a financial assessment every year or so.
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I’m a massive fan of old landcruisers. I drove them in Australia. That one almost goes back to the 70s and you can keep it running. In fact it looks very like a model I used to tool around the backwoods of Victoria in.
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Frankly I’m
Scared
Of it
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