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Steve, I would look at the overall condition and evidence of servicing and repairs rather than low mileage. For example, you might find the lowest mileage, most expensive 2002 STR but most of the components would still be 14 years old. In the case of things like rubber hoses, I can't say with any certainty that it is mileage, age or the number of 'heat cycles' that the hose has been through that cause the failure ? My personal theory is that, generally, the manufacturer irons out more of the problems as the model life of a car continues, so buy the newest that I can for the budget. My 'budget' high mileage STR stands me at less than half the price of the similar age cars on Autotrader. Some of those cars are still on 80k+ miles, which might be low mileage on a 2006 registered vehicle but for me does not justify the extra expense. Who knows, I might have spent the extra and still had some teething troubles and the associated expense ?

Hi Steve, The DSC is a reasonable safety net, but in the words of Star Treks' Scotty, 'you cannae change the laws of physics !' The 'valley pipe' is a coolant pipe located in the 'v' of the engine, under the supercharger. They are prone to failure at 100k miles or so, the pipe itself is reasonably cheap but the labour involved, including removal and refitting the supercharger, is quite expensive. Dealer prices can easily be upwards of £1,000 to replace the pipe.

The main reason, of course, for large diameter whells, is to accomodate larger brakes so I think this isn't going to be a factor in your decision Dave. So, comfort versus aesthetics. When I first got The Princess she had 18" wheels and I was keen to try some 16" to see if there was a difference in comfort level. In fact, I could not discern any difference after a week of testing so went back to my 18" wheels and have been happy with both the look and the comfort

Hi Dave, My X type had 17" wheels and gave a good comfortable ride, but I was told that 16" wheels would give a more comfortable one. My son's x type estate 2.0D Sport has 18' wheels with no complaints. When it come round to tyre changes, he will probably complain about how more expensive they are than his previous 16" wheels! Regards, Peter.