The Tiguan (4wd, 190bhp, just lovely, the best car I ever owned, even better than the Avensis T180, which should allow you to place me in the carnoscenti hierarchy ) is, I have just realised, seven years old. It just had a new water pump and new tyres. It runs well, now that itās being used most days. With care, I can get ~38mpg. Itās French-registered and the penalty is already paid
Iām wondering if now is the time to replace it, or whether I should do what Iāve always previously done and just carry on with it until itās no longer worth repairing.
I donāt have any strong feelings either way so Iād be very grateful for any thoughts people might have.
Personal decision - I have usually bought fairly cheap second hand cars and put up with occasional unexpected repair bills, but still coming out ahead financially compared to buying a new (or newer) car on HP or a lease.
However I can see the attractions of having something new though in terms of peace of mind and amenities and gadgets etc. and if itās possible to offset it as a business expense thatās another factor.
And some people are happy to pay a fair amount of money each month (or dip into their savings) for the pleasure of driving something new and shiny.
However Iām planning to splash the cash a bit on my next car which will probably be a new or low-mileage Renault 5 electric, and then keep it for a good long time.
A question might be how old are you, and whether itās likely to see you out. 38mpg doesnāt sound like good value if you have to drive like a nun to achieve it, because youāre losing out on both fun and running costs. Dr.Markās suggestion seems the most sensible to me, but you know what you want.
Having recently changed cars - IIRC my Karoq shared floorpan and running gear with the Tiguan - you may struggle to find anything as pleasing to drive and yet so practical at the same time. Probably worth test driving a few before deciding either way, although Cupra might be worth a look.
Hmmā¦ Iām not sure that changing to LHD is necessarily the best thing to do.
Each person is different, but itās certainly not a new skill I would be wanting to learn at my age.
OH and I both have RHD cars. Weāre both quite happy keeping alongside the ditchā¦ rather than in the middle of the road where so many LHD drivers seem to sit
Our garage arranged to service and MOT our car the other week. The receptionist was tasked with driving it to the testing centre. When we went to collect our car, she had us in fits as she described her horror at finding the steering wheel (and other bits) āon the wrong sideā. Said she crawled all the way there and back
Re actually replacing the carā¦ thatās definitely something to take time to think onā¦
OH sold our RHD 5 seater 406 when it started to āshow its ageā and cost moneyā¦
but I sometimes wish heād bitten the bullet and kept it as I enjoyed driving it and I could taxi 4 local ladies with me on some interesting trips.
The fancy RHD car he bought to replace it only has 2 seats and 2 handbag shelves, plus I canāt drive the dratted thingā¦ aaargh.
Thank you, all very helpful (apart from Austrian Toniās suggestion that a 7 year old car might see me out!).
When I bought the Tig (Madame had no input, and I hadnāt driven one prior to it arriving from the South), I specified as much safety kit as I could: lane assist, adaptive cruise control, and apparently a naggy woman somewhere behind the fascia. Iām a careful driver but Iāve become aware that itās sensible to have as many safety aids as possible. I would be very happy to have some form of self-driving feature which would correct errors I made, so maybe I should wait for that.
Though @DrMarkH has reminded me of the A290, which is as close to an Alpine as Iām ever likely to get.
Iād hate being stuck behind slow moving tractors when Iām the only person in the car and thereās a line of traffic behind me, but I canāt see if itās clear to overtake.
Also, I think if youāre RHD, even thoā on French plates (but not a vintage car) people are more intolerant.
Iāve got 2 totally different cars, R5e just over a year old, on an LLD. Great little car perfect for running around locally or within a 150 km radius, load space not massive but ok for shopping or a couple of cases.
Other is a RHD 18 year old TDV8 RR sport which is used for longer treks, taking stuff to the dump, trailer etc. Iāve had it nearly 10 years and one of the best cars Iāve owned. Iāll keep it until one of us (car or me) falls apart as something similar in France is silly money (and no longer reasonable to import).
On the LHD point, the courtesy car I had from the garage was both LHD and manual. After a couple of hours in it, I was used to it, and the overtaking point is well-made, given the alternative is Madameās opinion of oncoming traffic
for a start, Iād have to learn where the edge of the road is obviously difficult as so many drivers go resolutely down the middle of the road
Iām a careful driver and our roads are narrow, twisty and without white lines of any sort except at (some) road junctions.
Iāve never had an accident (yet) nor caused one
so Iām happy to continue with my RHD for as long as my health permits.
Weāre all different in how we deal with things and some will think Iām daft, but thatās ok
(yes, I have driven LHD cars but not felt relaxed and/or confident in them)
I decided to change to LHD after a couple of near misses on roundabouts where cars were hidden by the passenger side windscreen pillar. Totally on me, of course, but I decided enough was enough and I needed the better visibility of LHD.
Iāve considered that (having a rhd that is now surplus to needs) but itās quite a logistics puzzle if you donāt have a UK address.
On driving a rhd car here, I find that a little extra planning is required but nothing onerous and it becomes 2nd nature. Certainly, the occasional inconvenience is not a reason for me to swap. But then admittedly I do live in a relatively traffic free part of France. On the rural roads around here, even lhd cars get stuck behind tractors!
) is, I have just realised, seven years old. It just had a new water pump and new tyres. It runs well, now that itās being used most days. With care, I can get ~38mpg. Itās French-registered and the penalty is already paid 
