Help me decide on a car pls

[T-Rex]

Yo!

I have a healthy budget of £15,000 to spend. I'm torn between two different "rides". I'm looking for a nice sports car and the two that have caught my eye are:

Vauxhall Astra VXR - £12,999

http://pictures.autotrader.co.uk/img...a?id=680463464

http://pictures.autotrader.co.uk/img...a?id=680463828

http://pictures.autotrader.co.uk/img...a?id=680463931

Lotus Elise - £13,495

http://pictures.autotrader.co.uk/img...a?id=682715974

http://pictures.autotrader.co.uk/img...a?id=682716214

http://pictures.autotrader.co.uk/img...a?id=682716243

I like the look of both. Probably the look of the Lotus a little bit more. Although they are both under 15 g's the insurance I would pay on the Elise is way higher because of my age (21). I can afford it but I don't know if I like the Elise that much more than the Astra to pay the extra benjamins. I don't know what I'd do with the extra money I saved if I bought the Astra anyway. Opinions?

[Pandajuice]

Definitely the Lotus man. The Astra looks like a run of the mill Vauxhall that you see all over the place. That Lotus is hot though and looks a lot more expensive than it is. Plus you can call it "Elise" and talk to your friends about your new girl "Elise", and how she purrs like a kitten.

How come you're able to get the Lotus so cheaply? Isn't the sale price for a new one around £24k?
What's wrong with it besides obviously being used?

[T-Rex]

You think? I know, Vauxhalls are pretty common I guess. Hahaha, no nothing's wrong with it. The difference is the Astra is a VXR 2007 model, while the Elise is a 2003 'S' model. You can pick up the 2001-2003 line easily for under £15,000. Well, at least you can in Suffolk.

I think you might be right. Here's a black hard top. £14,995

http://pictures.autotrader.co.uk/img...a?id=688700107

http://pictures.autotrader.co.uk/img...a?id=688700143

What should I do?? Elise: 2 seater, absolute minimal storage space + higher insurance premium. Astra: generic sports car, 4 seater, decent storage space lower insurance. Fun & style over practibility? What would Jeremy Clarkson do?!

[Pandajuice]

It is a quandry indeed. But that Lotus is a fucking hot car for only £15k.

[MetalMilitia]

I've heard that Lotus Elises are expensive to maintain. Something about certain parts wearing our quickly and being expensive to replace. Might be worth looking into.

[Pub Lover]

Originally Posted by T-Rex

my age (21). I don't know what I'd do with the extra money. Opinions?

[Zomboid]

GET SHITFACED AND DO DUMB STUFF

[Mockery]

Get the NMG
http://www.myersmotors.com

[executioneer]

get something with a Wankel Rotary Engine

or you could get a practical car you turkey

[bigtimecow]

i look at the lotus and think "faggot jerk with a promotion." i know shit about cars, but the vauxhall atleast looks better in my opinion.

but then again, i drive a ford taurus

[Pandajuice]

Originally Posted by bigtimecow

but then again, i drive a ford taurus

That's got to be the most anonymous car ever. And boring.

[liquidstatik]

this is how i get around

[executioneer]

Originally Posted by Pandajuice

That's got to be the most anonymous car ever. And boring.

probably what i'm gonna go to next then, since my ride's been increasingly more boring every time i get a new one

mitsubishi 3000gt > lincoln continental > toyota corolla > taurus

[Pub Lover]

It should be noted that Willie has been using penis enlarging equipment over the same period.

His dick isn't any bigger, but he doesn't feel he has to compensate as much.

[Asila]

I've got a Hyundai accent which is very light blue and makes me feel like a small Japanese girl when I drive it. It's the only time I think about Hello Kitty.

Ans seriously, just because you can get an expensive and impratical car doesn't mean that you should.

[T-Rex]

I went test driving yesterday. The Lotus is amazing fun, but I think if I bought it I'd be screwed when winter comes around. It's one of those cars that you use in spring and summer, and lock it away during autumn and winter.

The Vauxhall is quick and I really like the look of it, but apparently they don't last for many years. Also their value drops a lot after a year or two. So I still want a cool, reliable car but both my options have been scrapped. I kept looking and then I saw a black X-type. Wow! That's all I have to say. It's not a sporty car but damn it's cool. The Jag drives like a dream and it's only £9,449. Bonus = I wanted an English car!

http://pictures.autotrader.co.uk/img...a?id=687039074

[MetalMilitia]

That's pretty cheap. Looks nice too.

If you don't mind me asking, what do you do for a living to have such disposable income at 21?

[T-Rex]

I'm a pilot for British Airways. Only a first officer though.

[executioneer]

MAYBE J. CLARSON WOULD RECOMMEND THIS CAR

http://youtube.com/watch?v=1BzKgjcoQ9A&feature=related

[Pandajuice]

Jeremy Clarkson pisses me off. I used to like him too because he presented a cool documentary series about the greatest inventions of the 20th century. But he pisses me off now because he can't shut up about how much he hates America.
I realize it's hip and trendy to hate America right now, but when you can't do a weekly hour long TV show without making at least 2 different unprovoked digs at another country on each show, there's something wrong with you.

[T-Rex]

To be fair though, who doesn't Jeremy Clarkson put down? He's very patriotic and his attitude is "If it's not British, it's crap" but really, he probably dumps on us as much as our western neighbours. He's a comparitive humourist/journalist.

It's kind of like how most black comedians are always comparing and saying how lame white people are. Funny stuff. "White people be all up cussing the police out. If a brother ask for directions you know he goin' to jail". LOL ain't it the truth.

[Geggy]

http://www.topspeed.com/cars/ford-focus-rs/ke438.html

Banned in the US

[Pub Lover]

I like that I don't like Clarkson, I thought that was his appeal.

Also, I talk shit about the US all the time, just like I did in grade school about the teachers. When you're the boss, all the pussies bitch.

[Sethomas]

When I was in high school I was very interested in Lotus as a company. I noticed that there was a substantial market disparity between their values in the UK and what they would fetch in the US, and at the time I calculated that I could actually fly to England to buy a Lotus, put on a boat to the US, dick around until it gets there, then fly the the American dock and sell it somewhere at a nice profit. I told myself that I'd do that when I had startup capital, which I probably imagined would come before I turned 23/before the UK pound gained so heavily against the dollar.

I know that there are CULTURAL BARRIERS in place that you can't appreciate it as much as I do when I say this, but the Lotus you posted is pretty fucking badass.

The very, very few Americans who know that there's a British automotive company called Lotus largely have a bad impression of their styling because of the movie Pretty Woman. That was a pretty ugly fucking car, and the whole "Richard Gere is a cold and uncaring prick who obsesses over his fucking ugly car, which happens to be a Lotus" subtext really didn't help.

Seth talking about cars: justified because they're British cars.
Seth talking about the movie Pretty Woman: justified because he was assigned to watch it for a high school English class.

Bizarre full-circle end of conversation: when I was in the market for a BMW convertible on eBay back in 2001, the first one I ever bid on was sold by a Disney employee who noted that its first owner was Julia Roberts, who bought it soon after Pretty Woman was released.

[MetalMilitia]

As you sure he wasn't just imagineering things?