General 1.4 to Twin Air

Currently reading:
General 1.4 to Twin Air

Joined
Aug 21, 2006
Messages
575
Points
117
Location
West Yorkshire
Hello

My 1.4 500 Sport will be 3 years old in April, and ownership has been 99% enjoyable, so I want to trade it in for another 500 - a 1.4 Sport again OR a Twin Air Sport. After speccing them both on the configurator there's only £40 difference in price. I know the Twin Air is cheaper to tax and is more economical than the 1.4, and I've arranged to test drive 'both' again this weekend. I understand there's been improvements to the suspension too, so ride should be better than my current 500's.

Has anyone on here gone from a 1.4 500 to a Twin Air, and if so (running costs aside), do you have any regrets? Is the Twin Air as fun to drive as the 1.4? Does it actually 'feel' a lot slower? (I know top-speed is 5 MPH less and accelaration to 60 MPH is a second slower), but have these differences been very noticable over your period of ownership, as opposed to what you experienced on the test drive? Or, are you of the opinion that you've definitley made the right choice?

Sorry for all the questions. And to further complicate matters, "Abarth 500" keeps popping into my head every now and then.
 
Hello

My 1.4 500 Sport will be 3 years old in April, and ownership has been 99% enjoyable, so I want to trade it in for another 500 - a 1.4 Sport again OR a Twin Air Sport. After speccing them both on the configurator there's only £40 difference in price. I know the Twin Air is cheaper to tax and is more economical than the 1.4, and I've arranged to test drive 'both' again this weekend. I understand there's been improvements to the suspension too, so ride should be better than my current 500's.

Has anyone on here gone from a 1.4 500 to a Twin Air, and if so (running costs aside), do you have any regrets? Is the Twin Air as fun to drive as the 1.4? Does it actually 'feel' a lot slower? (I know top-speed is 5 MPH less and accelaration to 60 MPH is a second slower), but have these differences been very noticable over your period of ownership, as opposed to what you experienced on the test drive? Or, are you of the opinion that you've definitley made the right choice?

Sorry for all the questions. And to further complicate matters, "Abarth 500" keeps popping into my head every now and then.

I think if you had asked how winter tyres perform on the TwinAir you would have had a Full House.
 
The 'Abarth' poping in your head, I think. Listen to your inner voice :D At least, test drive all!

The thing is, if I test drove the Abarth, I know I'm gonna want one :eek:, and it's not loads more to buy, but insurance and runnings costs might be. And if they did it in Volare Blue I'd be sold for definite, but they don't, so I'd have to make do with red again, as I'm not really smitten with the other colours available for the Abarth.
 
The Abarth is not that great. I have been for a drive in a few but they are not that fast and the mpg for a 1.4 is not good at all.

Why not just stick with the car you have now, why do you want a new one?
 
I had a Abarth 500 but had to sell it last year to fund a new house , absaloutley loved it . Just ordered a new twin air after taking all the different models for a test drive it seemed like a good compromise between performance and economy :) and it is fun to drive
 
Why not just stick with the car you have now, why do you want a new one?

Exactly what I think. Just seems weird to me that people get to the end of their finance period or warranty whilst having a car they're perfectly happy with and feel the need to get a new car. Sometimes it just seems like some people have that money that they were previously spending on repayments burning a hole in their pockets.
 
Just seems weird to me that people get to the end of their finance period or warranty whilst having a car they're perfectly happy with and feel the need to get a new car.

I agree (that's got to be a first ;)). If I have a good car I like to keep it for as long as possible. When getting a new car you can never be sure what problems you're going to get, you may find you don't like it as much as you previous car and it costs a fortune too.
 
I just fancy a change, the value of the current car exceeds the written down value, and the mileage ain't getting any less. Oh, and I have an '11' plate.

So I am looking to change, end of.

Cheers

D


I agree. And the longer I keep my current car, the less it'll be worth when I change it. So if I decide to keep it for another year, or more, I'll get less in part-exchange/resale, plus prices of new ones will have gone up even more, and that'll be a bigger difference to fund. Also, the warranty will have run out.
 
I just fancy a change, the value of the current car exceeds the written down value, and the mileage ain't getting any less. Oh, and I have an '11' plate.

So I am looking to change, end of.

Cheers

D
-

hear hear!!! if you want a new one get a new one.. and NOTHING beats new car smell- if we were all content with what we had all the time the economy would collapse!.. so youll be helping the economy and adding a little excitement to the daily grind.. end of!
 
When getting a new car you can never be sure what problems you're going to get, you may find you don't like it as much as you previous car and it costs a fortune too.

Been there, done that! :mad:

I have to say though that I totally agree with the posters that are of the opinion that if you have a good car and enjoy it, why change? I usually keep my cars for 5 years or so (except the classics which you try to keep forever) but in my case it was unsuitable for my type of day to day driving (the car was not at fault) so I changed to what I hoped would be a more suitable vehicle.
 
Exactly what I think. Just seems weird to me that people get to the end of their finance period or warranty whilst having a car they're perfectly happy with and feel the need to get a new car. Sometimes it just seems like some people have that money that they were previously spending on repayments burning a hole in their pockets.

It depends. If you've come around to the mindset that you'll always pay X per month on a car payment and you can afford that, why not move to a new one? If you've got the money and you can afford it, go nuts.

And I say this as a confirmed lover of utter tat. I have an 86 mr2, a 91 mx5 and a half share in a god knows how old ropey X1/9 so you know my viewpoint is objective. :)
 
A car will depreciate more in the first 3 years than the next 3. The thing that you would need to do is work out how much money the warranty has paid out and offset that against the average cost of car repair for the period after that. Take this away from the depreciation of both periods and then you will have a rough idea on which is the most economical motoring.

Lets face it the price difference is going to be far more significant than your original question. I just dont understand sometimes how common sense doesnt prevail with peoples decisions on cars. If you are buying cars on a 3 year finance or even paying for them outright then you are loosing 1000's in depreciation and your splitting hairs between saving £5 on your insurance and 1 or 2 extra MPG.

But in answer to your question get a second hand Abarth essesse (y)
 
Last edited:
A car will depreciate more in the first 3 years than the next 3.

Exactly what I was thinking. Buying a new car because a three year old car is going to depreciate is silly because the new car will depreciate even more.

I also don't see the benefits of new cars. As well as the potential faults, the engines don't perform as well until they are run in.

My last car wasn't right for me so I sold it after 2 years. I know that it will have cost me a lot of money. The only good thing is that I originally paid 15% VAT on the car and paid a good price, so my loss was relatively small.
 
Depends on the price point too. I bought my 500 new. It was about £12,000. I did that on a completely emotional basis and because I quite simply wanted one. I knew over the course of 3 years it would depreciate but I didn't care. I wanted the shiny new car, I had the money for it, and I've loved it. But then I guess everyone has the threshold of depreciation they're willing to swallow. For me the 500 was ok. But I'm currently looking at Elise 111R's. There is no way in hell I'm justifying £32,000 on a new one when a 3 year old one is 2/3 of that price with minimal miles, Lotus warranty and full servicing history.
 
A car will depreciate more in the first 3 years than the next 3. The thing that you would need to do is work out how much money the warranty has paid out and offset that against the average cost of car repair for the period after that. Take this away from the depreciation of both periods and then you will have a rough idea on which is the most economical motoring.

Lets face it the price difference is going to be far more significant than your original question. I just dont understand sometimes how common sense doesnt prevail with peoples decisions on cars. If you are buying cars on a 3 year finance or even paying for them outright then you are loosing 1000's in depreciation and your splitting hairs between saving £5 on your insurance and 1 or 2 extra MPG.

But in answer to your question get a second hand Abarth essesse (y)

Exactly. A lot of people i know have a new car on finance for 3 years, then trade it in and some go for the exact same model again. What's the point? If a car's been reliable for the last 3 years then it's highly unlikely it's gonna self destruct in the 4th or 5th year.

People usually say to me 'oh but it'll need an MOT' - like WTF?! A £55 MOT surely doesn't justify spending thousands on a new car. What on Earth is a 3 year old car gonna fail an MOT on?! :rolleyes:

Totally up to each individual what they wanna do with their money, but personally i think unless you fancy a different engine, an Abarth or TwinAir for example, then it'd be a total waste of time & money replacing the current car. A 3 year old 1.4 for a new 1.4 is just silly.
 
Back
Top