I've got a Fiat Brvo Sport just now...really like it but it has a small issue with the gearbox that means every 9 months it needs a warrantly replacement for some parts. My warranty runs out in April and I've been told that any issues with the said parts after this will be charged rather than FOC as the warranty won't cover them.
I was under the impression anything that was done had a 12 month cover and as this part is the part that keeps failing as long as it was done within the 12 months it would be warrantied - but apparently not.
So rather than keep the car and watch it depreciate but have me spending more money on it every 9 months, I'm going to trade it in and get a new car.
But what to get?
I like sports cars, I like a lot of power and I like driving BUT as much as I like all that, I'm too practical at heart so it needs to be economical, I'd like to get a cheaper road tax so my yearly on-going costs aren't too high, so something smaller than the Bravo - at present I'm thinking along the lines of Fiesta-sized - I'm not wanting the most powerful version of whatever but I'm not wanting to lowest model (as much as I'm practical, I like having some gadgets).
The car has to have good fuel economy, be able to fit a bike in the boot (but not totally necessary as I'll put a roof rack on anyway), be able to fit 2 adults and 2 young kids (we only have 1 just now but you never know!). Not have weird sized tyres that cost and arm and a leg to replace - alloys aren't fussed over but I suspect when it came down to a choice, I'd go for alloys.
I've only done 9000 miles a year in the Bravo so it's almost a secondary car - it is used primarily to get me from home to work and back (working funny times and picking up daughter afterwards means I can't ride the 7.5 miles into work) but it also gets used for getting myself and my mates out for biking when we need to drive; or to get me somewhere on my own...with this in mind I'm thinking petrol is better than diesel as I'm not doing the mileage to justify the diesel.
I'd like the car to be fun to drive and I wouldn't mind the interior to not be cheap plastics.
So what do you recommend? I'm thinking something Japanese but that is where it stops (it doesn't need to be Japanese but reliability is required)...so any suggestions please?
Thanks (and sorry for the lame post/request -I've been looking over Whatcar.com and can't decide on what to start looking at - I even did some more looking into a Panda 4x4 as I thought that would be a hoot but have decided against a Fiat as according to the garage the gear selection cables is a common trait with the brand (although I can't find much online about the issue - so it might be the garage trying to 'reassure' me that I don't have a bizarre fault!).
