Hi all, just wanted to introduce myself
I am a thirty-something family man with a passion for cars. Right now I'm in a current model (E91) BMW 320d Touring (ducks to avoid the thrown eggs), which is an amazing drivers car but somewhat common these days.
With a second baby on the way and the wife now having swapped her supermini for a Renault Scenic, I am now free to buy whatever I want so long as it has 4 seats and a reasonable boot - however with a somewhat lower budget (~£18k as opposed to ~£23k). I won't be changing for a while yet as I'd lose a fortune on the Beemer, but the cars I am looking at are:
Alfa 159 - utterly gorgeous, great value and goes back to my roots in terms of owning Italian cars. My main worries are the dealers, which are what turned me away from Italian cars in the first place, and reliability.
Lexus IS250 (why else would I be here!) - A little off the beaten track, reliable, well specced, wonderful interior (not withstanding rear legroom) and a nice V6 engine. However, it is a little pricey. If I can get one for the money with a reasonable amount of warranty left, it is going to be tough to beat.
BMW 3-series - Great car, but I wouldn't buy the same car twice as I just get bored too quickly
Audi A4 - New one out of my budget range, old one obsolete and showing its age
Merc C-Class - Ditto the Audi A4 really. I like the new W204 C-Class, but am unlikely to get a decent one for the money.
So there you have it, I've got the feelers out for my next car, and some time in 2008 will buy one. The Alfa 159 2.2JTS looks nice, as I'm a bit of a petrolhead really, but it faces fairly strong competition from the Lexus IS - a very different car.