[QUOTE=Arianne;2380212]Dear All,
Guys, we all have our strengths and our weaknesses. One of my weaknesses is that, given more than one free space in the multi-story car park, I become terribly indecisive. Mrs A cries out from the seat next to me, "Just choose one of these slots and park the thing". You get my drift?'
Wow what a painful journey Arianne. I have just come out of the other side of an awful purchase experience myself. Albeit one with only a single vehicle and with a significantly reduced financial outlay. In the end all I could console myself was that I had an inkling this was almost certainly going to happen!
As per your post regarding your indecisiveness I am firmly in the same camp. For this reason I had until my recent XC60 purchase and for the last 10years only really driven one particular brand of vehicle. They served me well, were surefooted all year round, thoroughly reliable, were a safe place to be, yet would always put a great big smile on my face every time I drove one. I wasn't bothered it wasn't the latest must have and I certainly wasn't out to impress anybody and most wouldn't even know what it was if I showed you a pic today! What it did have for it were 6 cylinders, AWD yet room enough for a coffee table should I be inclined to move one about. It never saw a main dealer in my ownership (I had a really good specialist) and apart from consumables the only faults in 10years were a battery and a headlight bulb.
But... It was getting old, the in car tech was pretty ancient when new, it had almost 100K miles under her belt and although there wasn't a spot of rust or sniff of burnt oil I hankered for a more up to date replacement. The trouble was I really new deep down that although I would be getting the added safety and latest tech elements was a modern replacement ever going to be as trouble free?
And so it came to pass. Severn months of torture whilst Volvo stumbled around trying to diagnose quite a simple issue at first, then a catastrophic one of which when replaced under warranty they still managed to make even worse!
I have lost complete faith in Volvo (the dealerships more than the actual vehicle) I will say at this point that Mrs L has had a fantastic experience with all of her last four Volvo's and this along with the fact the dealer is local made my decision to purchase another Volvo much easier.
My tale has a happier ending in so far as although I have advertised it for sale I am seriously contemplating keeping the XC60 as all is well now and I am finally able to enjoy my purchase. Along with another vehicle purchase that has truly rekindled my love of driving again.
I have driven my fair share of miles for business and pleasure over the last 34 years. The XC60 is a nice family car, I have always liked the five pot D5, its punchy even in D4 guise, its safe, it has a great driving position, has great seats and can accommodate our family and hounds in a fair amount of automotive luxury. Even in R Design spec it rides well. I can attest to the fact it does indeed tackle rutted and muddy farm tracks with relative ease and is not at all bad with winter boots on when the white stuff comes down heavy. What it doesn't have in my experience is the dealership back up one would expect from a manufacturer of this caliber.
I looked at the Skoda 4x4 myself but a tall dog cage requirement put paid to that. I certainly wouldn't be bothered by the outdated snobbish behavior towards the brand that still sadly prevails and have a close friend that has had absolutely no issues with an Octavia and now a Karoq in over eight years of ownership
I hope your third purchase is stress free and a far happier affair
