First Test Drive (Berkshire)

[zoro25]

This is a follow on from my post in here . (sorry its a bit long)

is the 300C a marketing nightmare / dream ?

11am I arrive at Tony Purslow in Basingstoke.
http://www.tonypurslow.co.uk/

I was amazed at the amount of dealerships in a 1000 meter road stretch. About 10 (all very large). This is great for competition and you could find Honda's and other makes with 0% APR and 5 year old Audi TT's for £10,000. This place is like a car supermarket but with different dealerships all in competition

I entered the dealership and had a conversation with Mark Spence (whom I had talked to on the phone, when booking appointment). He's a very nice man and didn't give me any hard sell. He just confirmed my requirements and what I was looking for.

Then the test. The whole thing took about 45 minutes and we drove on country lanes till we got to hook and then M3 back to dealership.

I took over about a third of the way to hook. The one thing I noticed was the amount of space (loads and loads for passengers). The quality feel of the interior is comforting as well.

Yes there were many looks from other drivers . The one sentence that summs this car is
"Road presence" - People know you there. They look again after catching a glimpse.
I'm not used to an automatic but its easy to deal with I drove with the radio off as I wanted to listen out for engine sounds and any other noises the car makes. Silent as a monk after taking his vow of silence. Its a born cruiser It eats motorway miles and before I knew it I was doing 90+ (got to watch out as the car just makes it seem like your gliding as it had no road noise)

I just love the car and will be getting one no doubt. I just need to finalise the finance method so that it works out most cost effective. I will most likely be going for a business lease. Although not sure yet.

My car will be similar to Bentley Blacks with all detail from rear removed and bentley grill added. Sat Nav, and Star Tech 20in Wheels and tracker fitted.

The one question I wanted to ask other owners is do you buy 2 parking tickets as I can't see this fitting into one space.

When driving I noticed that if I lifted off the exhaust and then accelerated that the car did not respond in the way I'm used to. It might be because I don't normally drive an automatic? but it felt like there was a lag (almost like an old turbo).

The one week was over guessing and they now state it was for the Midnight blue they have and not the black. But on the phone they did say black in 1-2 weeks (it was a different sales man than Mark though).

I will be going bakc tomorrow with my Fiancee so she can see it in the flesh.

My favourite feature is the seat retracting after the ignition being turned off. (Very nice touch).
If possible I will take it out again tomorrow as I still want to see the sat nav working and the computer console system (radio + mpg indicator etc) as this will be my main communication with the car.

So rounding up I love the car. Mark was very helpfull and a nice guy generally to talk to. This will be my most expensive purchase besides my houses so I need to choose right. The only thing now is getting the right deal.

Just got to see what the wait time is? (anyone aware of this?)

z

[Geordie]

[quote=zoro25]This is a follow on from my post in here . (sorry its a bit long)

is the 300C a marketing nightmare / dream ?

11am I arrive at Tony Purslow in Basingstoke.
http://www.tonypurslow.co.uk/ etc [quote]


Hi again Z...

Glad to hear that you had a much better experience with the Tony Purslow dealership than hitherto!

Your first impressions are very encouraging but one small point....which model did you test drive...CRD / 3.5 / 5.7?

I do not take delivery of my CRD until mid April having ordered in January but my DC dealership at Durham are currently quoting a three months wait which is reasonable considering that some outlets have sold their entire 2006 allocation.

With regard to the perceived 'turbo lag' I cannot say that I noticed that problem when I had my test drive but I am sure you will soon get a response from someone who can answer that query.

Hope your fiance also likes the car when she sees it later today. Best of luck with the prospective ownership and keep us posted re your progress.

Regards

Geordie

[Murphy The Cat]

Hi zoro25

I'm dead chuffed that your 2nd experience of Chrysler service was a lot better than your first.

Where to start ?

Road prescence - On many, many occassions I've had other cars leap out of my way when they've seen Arnie coming up behind them at cruise speed (not headlights/fog lights blazing cracking a ton speed). It makes me laugh (inwardly) each time and fells sooooooooooooooo gooooooooooooooood.

As Geordie asked you, so will I. Which model did you road test ? I have the CRD and I've never noticed any lag whatsoever when I press the silly grin (accelerator) pedal. The auto box is a dream match to the diesel engine and is as smooth as silk.

Parking tickets ? I'm not the best person to ask, as where I live we still have loads of free on road parking. On the occassions when I do use a carpark, I've had no problems so far. But I do try and park at the end of a run, tight up to the kerb to give the moron next to me as much door opening room as I can.

Order lead time. My local dealer is talking 4-5 months for a CRD. A month or so for a HEMI and he can nearly get a V6 petrol with a phone call from another dealer. Dc are keeping supply very tight (which should be good for future trade in prices).

Options - I haven't gone for it ( I have a 2 year old), But Belmont tels me that the stereo upgrade + woofer makes the sound system hugely impressive for only a small outlay. I have the standard system and for me it is MORE than adequate, but if you are a serious music man it may be worth a look.

Finance - I'm old fashioned and I bought Arnie on straight up HP via my company. I'm not a fan of leasing and the rates that I saw at the time seemed to me to be dear unless you kept the miles well down. Just out of interest, how does adding lots of kit to the car affect the leasing costs ? Surely at the end of the lease you say goodbye to all of your expensive goodies ? Or am I missing something.

Further road test - Can I suggest that when you go tomorrow that you let Mrs Zoro to be have a drive. Nearly every women that I know has said that they would not be able to drive Arnie as he's so damn big - but now I have the devils own job at getting Mrs Cat away from the drivers side.

Hope that you both enjoy the road test today.

MTC

[bentley black]

Originally Posted by Murphy The Cat

Hi zoro25

I'm dead chuffed that your 2nd experience of Chrysler service was a lot better than your first.

Where to start ?

Road prescence - On many, many occassions I've had other cars leap out of my way when they've seen Arnie coming up behind them at cruise speed (not headlights/fog lights blazing cracking a ton speed). It makes me laugh (inwardly) each time and fells sooooooooooooooo gooooooooooooooood.

As Geordie asked you, so will I. Which model did you road test ? I have the CRD and I've never noticed any lag whatsoever when I press the silly grin (accelerator) pedal. The auto box is a dream match to the diesel engine and is as smooth as silk.

Parking tickets ? I'm not the best person to ask, as where I live we still have loads of free on road parking. On the occassions when I do use a carpark, I've had no problems so far. But I do try and park at the end of a run, tight up to the kerb to give the moron next to me as much door opening room as I can.

Order lead time. My local dealer is talking 4-5 months for a CRD. A month or so for a HEMI and he can nearly get a V6 petrol with a phone call from another dealer. Dc are keeping supply very tight (which should be good for future trade in prices).

Options - I haven't gone for it ( I have a 2 year old), But Belmont tels me that the stereo upgrade + woofer makes the sound system hugely impressive for only a small outlay. I have the standard system and for me it is MORE than adequate, but if you are a serious music man it may be worth a look.

Finance - I'm old fashioned and I bought Arnie on straight up HP via my company. I'm not a fan of leasing and the rates that I saw at the time seemed to me to be dear unless you kept the miles well down. Just out of interest, how does adding lots of kit to the car affect the leasing costs ? Surely at the end of the lease you say goodbye to all of your expensive goodies ? Or am I missing something.

Further road test - Can I suggest that when you go tomorrow that you let Mrs Zoro to be have a drive. Nearly every women that I know has said that they would not be able to drive Arnie as he's so damn big - but now I have the devils own job at getting Mrs Cat away from the drivers side.

Hope that you both enjoy the road test today.

MTC

Hi MTC are those silver air vents in your front bumper or is it just the camera flash playing tricks on me.

BB

[Murphy The Cat]

Originally Posted by bentley black

Hi MTC are those silver air vents in your front bumper or is it just the camera flash playing tricks on me.

BB

My dear BB

they are indeed stainless steel mesh inserts.
nice, aren't they ?


MTC

[bentley black]

Originally Posted by Murphy The Cat

My dear BB

they are indeed stainless steel mesh inserts.
nice, aren't they ?


MTC

You little Teaser ?
Yes they look quite nice from what i can see are you going to tell me what and where they are from,
do they fit in front of the horizontal bar or behind.

I want to order that arm rest cover can you give me his details so i can order one

Bentley Black

[Murphy The Cat]

Originally Posted by bentley black

You little Teaser ?
Yes they look quite nice from what i can see are you going to tell me what and where they are from,
do they fit in front of the horizontal bar or behind.

I want to order that arm rest cover can you give me his details so i can order one

Bentley Black

Ah BB

I get the feeling that a man who has spent £9000 on options on his car, will be prepared to pay me in Jaffa Cakes for the info.

or I won't tell you.

Even nicer close up aren't they ?



MTC

p.s. I'm a big bloke and I like Jaffa Cakes a lot.

[bentley black]

Originally Posted by Murphy The Cat

Ah BB

I get the feeling that a man who has spent £9000 on options on his car, will be prepared to pay me in Jaffa Cakes for the info.

or I won't tell you.

Even nicer close up aren't they ?



MTC

p.s. I'm a big bloke and I like Jaffa Cakes a lot.

I havent spent 9K on options you are getting me mixed up with Red5 who has had all of the startec kit on. I ve had to save my money for my wifes nail varnish treatments
but if it is Jaffers you want you can have them !!.

But i would of thought that 8 out of 10 cats prefered Wiskers.

BB

[zoro25]

Now back after taking fiancee to see the car, and she's also now wowed over. Which is good as it means I get the go ahead to change the drive (to make the car fit)

The car is a CRD but I test drove the Petrol version yesterday.

There was no test drive today which was fine. We were both in a rush and only popped in to have a look.

I now am getting really excited (haven't even placed the order yet, but I'm already looking forward to having my own car.

Z

[Geordie]

The car is a CRD but I test drove the Petrol version yesterday. [quote]


Hi Z...

If you thought the petrol model was ace then you are in for a real treat when you sample the CRD... definitely NO lag!

As previously posted...remember to quote the Lloydstsb Car Select deal when negotiating your purchase. It should save you over a grand if you are getting the five factory options.

Regards

Geordie