European "BIG" cars...

"Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh" (andymcbradleigh) 04/02/2014 at 17:27 • Filed to: None

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I have a craving.. I NEED a Citroën C6, Peugeot 607 or a VW Phaeton...

You've all seen the phaeton.. so I won't post an imag.. what? You have not?

Rainbow > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh 04/02/2014 at 17:30

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We all need a C6.

jkm7680 > Rainbow 04/02/2014 at 17:33

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And a Phaeton.

davedave1111 > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh 04/02/2014 at 17:33

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My want for a C6 is only surpassed by my want for older big Citroens - especially the CX.

Edit: And the Avantime, of course.

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > Rainbow 04/02/2014 at 17:34

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Sure... but not a Corvette :P Or an envelope :) I know people say "but the C6 looks awful".. and well... yeah. I'm weird, and I love it :)

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > davedave1111 04/02/2014 at 17:35

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I guess I NEED the C6 because I've owned a CX :P Same fabric as the one in your picture if I remember correctly

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh 04/02/2014 at 17:36

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Been there too

duurtlang > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh 04/02/2014 at 17:37

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I can totally see myself buying a C6 (the Citroën, not the Chevy) when it's nearing the bottom of the depreciation curve.

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > duurtlang 04/02/2014 at 17:38

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Same thing here. Not that they sold many of them in Norway anyway.

davedave1111 > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh 04/02/2014 at 17:47

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But still. Avantime. And the Vel Satis gets so little love...

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > davedave1111 04/02/2014 at 17:54

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I would LOVE to have an Avantime or a Vel Satis, but they ain't cheap here :(

Telumektar > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh 04/02/2014 at 17:56

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Citroën C6, the most comfortable my buttocks have ever been in any vehicle (the car was parked, still counts).

feather-throttle-not-hair > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh 04/02/2014 at 18:10

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I'm a big fan of the early 2000's BMW 7-series

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > feather-throttle-not-hair 04/02/2014 at 18:13

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E38.. Love them. :)

davedave1111 > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh 04/02/2014 at 18:37

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Avantimes have held their value fairly well here, but the Vel Satis has lost a lot of value even by the standards of French luxury cars.

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > davedave1111 04/02/2014 at 18:38

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Yeah, but I think they sold like 4 of the Vel Satis here.. so..

davedave1111 > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh 04/02/2014 at 18:42

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There are 12 for sale on Autotrader.co.uk, so I guess there must have been at least 12 sold here. The prices make sense, really, because they're ridiculously expensive to run, here. £300 a year in tax, and they don't exactly sip fuel. If you can afford that, you're not really going to be looking at cheap luxury cars, even if they are only a few years old.

davedave1111 > duurtlang 04/02/2014 at 18:45

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In the UK they had something very strange - more like a depreciation L. They dropped in price like any new big Citroen to start with, then levelled out remarkably early and have flatlined for at least a couple of years now. Seems there are lots of people who wanted to own them nearly-new :)

Zohaibman72 > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh 04/02/2014 at 18:55

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E38 7 series is my favoruite European big car, and I also like the E65 before the facelift for a reason i dont know. Maybe because of movies and stuff.

Honorable mentions: Phaeton, W140 S-Class, and the W221 S-class. I absolutley love huge german cars.

AMC/Renauledge > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh 04/02/2014 at 18:56

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I'm with you folks on the C6, Vel Satis, and Avantime. The Phaeton and 607 don't interest me much.

But as long as we're talking about sweet, large, off-brand depreciation disasters, what I want even more than a C6 or Vel Satis is this FWD luxury sedan. The controversial Lancia Thesis.

If you asked me to choose between this and the Avantime, I'd take a very long time to choose. Of course, of all the cars listed, only the Phaeton made it to America. And it's the one I like the least.

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > AMC/Renauledge 04/02/2014 at 19:12

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I hate how the Thesis looks with a passion, but then again, the C6 is not much of a looker either. And the interior of that Lancia is just awesome..

desertdog5051 > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh 04/02/2014 at 19:13

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Nice looking stuff. What are the costs to own and operate in Europe?

twochevrons > Telumektar 04/02/2014 at 19:13

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Citroën seems to get something really right about their seats. My family have several old BXs, whose seats, in my opinion, are just about perfection. They're ridiculously soft, but still manage to be supportive. Citroëns seem the only cars in which I can drive all day, and not regret it.

My Dad's BX 16v is my favourite. Being the hot-hatch model, the front seats are very heavily bolstered – more so than any other stock seat I'm familiar with – and the bolsters are adjustable so that even a beanpole like me is held snug. You'd expect such sporty-looking seats to be on the firm side, but they're actually like settling into a particularly soft and comfortable black-and-grey striped armchair. If I could find some, I'd put them in every car I own.

Pic: not my Dad's car, but the interior is identical. '80s-tastic!

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > Zohaibman72 04/02/2014 at 19:13

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the w140 was a tank.. Awesome car, not pretty or anything, but built like a vault.

AMC/Renauledge > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh 04/02/2014 at 19:15

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In the right color, I think the Thesis is extremely pretty. There are many wrong colors, however.

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > davedave1111 04/02/2014 at 19:18

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300 pounds a year in tax? That's nothing :) the problem for me here in Norway is that cars cost mucho dineros.. I paid 1.4k British moneys for my 1997 Mitsubishi Lancer estate, and I got that one cheap, normally they cost 2.5k...

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > desertdog5051 04/02/2014 at 19:20

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can't really answer that.. Since there's huge variations depending on the country. Could be everything from damn that's cheap to holy heck that's a lot of money.

stuttgartobsessed > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh 04/02/2014 at 21:14

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I just want all of the Citroens. DS, SM, C5, C6, DS3R, Avantime, 2CV, Mehal, Traction Avant. On a side note, I think my Dad will actually buy a 2CV if I find one for a reasonable price with no issues near him. YES!

duurtlang > davedave1111 04/03/2014 at 02:48

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£300 a year in tax is ridiculously and prohibitively expensive? I pay about €1125 (£933) a year in tax for my Peugeot 406 coupe with LPG conversion...

duurtlang > twochevrons 04/03/2014 at 02:53

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Try a Peugeot 406 coupe as well. The (standard!) Recaro seats are glorious. Comfortable but supportive.

A BX GTi is on my bucket list.

davedave1111 > duurtlang 04/03/2014 at 10:08

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£300 is the highest tax band a vehicle of that age can fall into, but there's fuel and insurance tax as well to consider. And it's still a big old French car, so maintenance. It's not so much that it's prohibitively expensive as that it's significantly more expensive than so many alternatives.

If you don't do many miles at all, then the high tax is an annoyance to say the least, but affordable - it's not all that different to what I pay on the BMW. If you do a fair number of miles, though, then you can probably lease a nice new car with the fuel and tax savings and not be out of pocket.

duurtlang > davedave1111 04/03/2014 at 11:02

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Wait a second, tax *savings* on a new car? And insurance tax? Clearly the UK system is vastly different from the NL version. There's no insurance tax I'm aware off here and road tax is based on fuel type and vehicle weight only. On brand new cars there's a CO2 (fuel economy) tax as well.

davedave1111 > duurtlang 04/03/2014 at 12:31

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Tax savings because newer cars are almost all in a lower tax bracket, not because there are breaks for new cars. Car tax is done by CO2 emissions for all cars newer than 2001.

https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-tax-ra…

Of course you also pay VAT when buying a new car, but still.

Insurance tax is just a purchase tax on insurance.

I'm not saying the premium for a Vel Satis isn't worth paying to some people, but they're likely to be few and far between given that it's quite a stiff premium. If you don't do many miles, the road tax, high insurance, and fuel for the miles you do will seem a bit much compared to other cars, and you can afford to buy something more expensive - or incur the same costs, and get a nicer car. If you do loads of miles, the fuel cost will be massive compared to a new car - you can easily afford a lease on a new 5 Series and fuel to run it for the same price.

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > davedave1111 04/05/2014 at 22:34

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The CX is "BIG" for sure. Look at it compared to a minivan. And It's weirdly attractive I might add.

For more pictures click here.