Buying a used car in Ireland guide

Not sure if this is right place to post but said I'd take my chance.

Have seen a 2008 Laguna for sale that looks quite nice. It's NCT up to Feb 2016. Dealer sale (official Renault dealer), one previous owner from that garage. The only 2 slight issues are the chrome effect coming off door handles (apparently happens on all these cars) & a slight tear on drivers seat. Apart from that the interior is spotless. I drove it & it seemed nice to drive & got someone who knows cars to test it (& they put it through its paces) & they were happy.

It's got air-con & dual climate control. It's 16v Dynamique model

Now it's got 97,000 miles on the clock & is 1.6 petrol. It's priced up at 5,500 & dealer is willing to come down to 4,900 (saying price due to fact that they changed to 1.5 diesel mid 2008 which would cost a lot more) Dealer is giving 6 month parts & labour warranty

Now looking on done deal it seems a very cheap price for a 2008 Laguna.

Could I be missing something here or is it just a very good deal?

bazz26 wrote: »

If it is the older Laguna II which has a very poor reputation for reliability, being 1.6 petrol with above average mileage and 2008 when everyone wants cheap tax diesels then the price is about right as it is not a very desirable car.

Thank you. What sort of reliability issues do these cars have?

Hi,

Great thread, I'm looking at this http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/mini-one-2002-49k-miles/6428219 mini. I've never bought a car privately before so doing some homework. If any mini owners have any thoughts on the car I'd appreciate any pearls of wisdom. I've emailed the owner and asked all the usual questions, he's answered them all and given me the number for the garage in Dublin where he gets it serviced, suggesting I chat to someone there about the condition of the car. I'm mildly suspicious as it seems a good price for the low mileage, also he's putting the pressure on saying there's other people coming to look at it tomorrow etc.

HigginsJ wrote: »

Thanks for that. I assume a 2006 Megane Sport 16v 1.4 would have had similar issues?

Yes. Renaults of that vintage do not have a great track record when it comes to electrics. Clio seems to be the exception.

Hi everybody,

Some of you might have the knowledge or opinions to hand to help me out.

My wife and I have come to a realisation that we need a second car, and need one fairly soon - i.e. next 4 weeks or so. As we are moving half way between her work and mine so we will be splitting the commute between us to less than an hour each way for each of us.

We currently have a 2006 Audi A4 1.9 diesel with about 120000 miles on it. It hasn't given an ounce of trouble, I've kept services etc. up to date on it and i still love it as much as i did when i bought it in November 2008. My wife has grown to love it too - which is good as she is currently commuting for 4hrs a day - and has been on and off for the last 6 months.

Ordinarily i would spend months researching this type of purchase, but this is actually urgent, and i have very little spare time at the minute due to work.

Because we both love the audi so much i am reluctant to look outside of volkswagen/ audi/ skoda, maybe seat (even though i had a 2001 cordoba before and it sucked so i am still a little sour about that, i know that is not rational)

Our Budget is €11-15k -she'd prefer to keep it to the lower end of that scale - i'd push it out to the higher end - if it meant a much better car.

reliability is absolute king - neither of us have the time or inclination to be visiting garages and spending

So any opinions on what our options are?

Is there better value in the UK? Are risks higher? Any threads on that here that are relevant? I have a friend in Scotland with tons of free time and a bit of knowledge about cars who has offered to purchase and drive a car back here for me, would that be a good idea? is rust on a chassis from the salt on the roads an issue for a 3-4 yo car?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

If you are very happy with the A4 then have a look at the Seat Exeo, it's basically the same car with some exterior cosmetics and up to date VAG engines:



http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/SEAT/Exeo/2.0-TDI/37613783954520570/

great posts, all the way back to 2011

Chancing my arm here as I expect lots of car savvy folks follow this thread so here goes:

Looking to trade in a 2008 Ford Mondeo Diesel (Econetic), 70K miles on clock, great condition and good spec - what do you think I will get for a trade-in for a new car - new car cost circa 28K

Love to hear anyone's thoughts?

OO7FITZY wrote: »

great posts, all the way back to 2011

Chancing my arm here as I expect lots of car savvy folks follow this thread so here goes:

Looking to trade in a 2008 Ford Mondeo Diesel (Econetic), 70K miles on clock, great condition and good spec - what do you think I will get for a trade-in for a new car - new car cost circa 28K

Love to hear anyone's thoughts?

What type of Mondeo is it?

thx for the feedback - 22K to change is a lot...was hoping to pay 20K as I have seen cars like mine for sale with dealers for between 10-12K
I do have it taxed up to Jan 2015 although the NCT is up end April

I am looking at either the new:

Qashqai for around 28K - super economical 1.5 diesel engine
Hyundai iX35 - great 5 year warranty but 1.7 diesel is not so economical
Rav 4 - good economy and good re-sale with good spec also

Only downside with the SUVs is the limited boot space compared to the Mondeo.
I would not buy another Ford as there have been some niggles with it and if I was to get a traditional family saloon then the Avensis is a good bet but it does not come in hatchback

French cars are no no due to their legendary unreliability and poor resale value and VW are totally over rated and over priced

Any other suggestions?

OO7FITZY wrote: »

thx for the feedback - 22K to change is a lot...was hoping to pay 20K as I have seen cars like mine for sale with dealers for between 10-12K
I do have it taxed up to Jan 2015 although the NCT is up end April

I am looking at either the new:

Qashqai for around 28K - super economical 1.5 diesel engine
Hyundai iX35 - great 5 year warranty but 1.7 diesel is not so economical
Rav 4 - good economy and good re-sale with good spec also

Only downside with the SUVs is the limited boot space compared to the Mondeo.
I would not buy another Ford as there have been some niggles with it and if I was to get a traditional family saloon then the Avensis is a good bet but it does not come in hatchback

French cars are no no due to their legendary unreliability and poor resale value and VW are totally over rated and over priced

Any other suggestions?

What dealers ask for them and what they actually sell for is different. Ford are discounting brand new Mondeos until the new model comes along so this has a knock on effect on already poor resale values.

Have you looked at the Skoda Superb? It has loads of space and comes with a split hatch/saloon boot opening too.