first car in Ireland - suggestions? (10k max)

rocky

Hi,

Am looking at the Astra or 307 classes of cars (or may go as low as a Fiesta/Yaris)

how much should I be paying for one of these?
car 1
car 2
car 3

For insurance purposes, max engine size 1.4L (Never driven in Ireland before, so I have no NCB, driving license 10+ years) I want to go with a dealer, for extra peace of mind (don't know much about technical side of cars).

Any suggestions/ other things to look out for?

Thanks

Vikings

I drive an Astra and can't really fault them, nice car to drive. Though the one you have chosen there is overpriced in my opinion, I know it has low mileage but you can pick up one with 50 or 60k miles on it for about 2 or 3k cheaper.

rocky

I heard good things about the Astra.

What are peoples' thoughts on the 307 ?

Appreciate the help.

Stephen

Dunno about the 307, but 306 diesels are very popular.

PauloMN

We have an Astra 1.8 and a 307 1.4.

The 307 is nice enough to drive, but ours (an '02 reg 8 valve 1.4) is so underpowered it's not funny - overtaking is almost out of the question. My advice would be to go for a 16v in the 307 if going for the 1.4 litre. These came out late '02 or '03 as far as I know.

The build quality of the 307 is not a strong point, and some people have had electrical problems with them. We've had a couple of bits of outer trim come loose on ours which is just not good enough in this day and age. In saying that, the engines seem reasonable reliable and they are comfortable cars and well equipped. An '02/'03 should be within your price range.

The Astra is better built overall and even in 1.4 is nippy enough. Avoid the 1.2 (not many of these around). Interior is not as nice as the 307 but is tough enough.

Given that cars at the age you are looking at will have at least 50k miles on them, ensure that the timing belt/water pump have both been done. Get the service log/receipts to show this, and verify them if necessary.

I'd personally go for the Astra assuming I could find one of that age with ABS and air con etc..

bazz26

rocky wrote:

Hi,

Am looking at the Astra or 307 classes of cars (or may go as low as a Fiesta/Yaris)

how much should I be paying for one of these?
car 1
car 2
car 3

For insurance purposes, max engine size 1.4L (Never driven in Ireland before, so I have no NCB, driving license 10+ years) I want to go with a dealer, for extra peace of mind (don't know much about technical side of cars).

Any suggestions/ other things to look out for?

Thanks

That Yaris is seriously overpriced. €6,750 for a 7 year old Yaris in a private sale is madness.

Astra is a grand car, the 1.4 litre is nippy enough. That one in the link is the basic model which is pretty poorly equipped. Try and get the Njoy or Elegance/Club model. At this stage they will cost only slightly more than the basic model.

Focus is another good car. I would try and go for the hatchback though as the saloon of that model is very hard to shift. I know someone who had a 99 saloon Focus and it took him months to sell it. Alot of people rang thinking it was the hatch. As soon as they heard it was the saloon they were not interested. Eventually he sold it well below the going rate.

You might want to get a few insurance quotes before looking at cars. In your situation more than likely the cars you will be looking at will be determined by what you can afford to insure.

Moanin

I have a 2002 Peugeot 307 XS model 1.4 diesel with 95k miles.Very good car and I cant fault it.The xs or xt model are the ones to go for.They has all the extras

rocky

ok, more advice needed:

Let's say for a 2001 Punto, 4250 euro from a dealer, 44k miles on the clock, 2 owners. How much should I offer?

And the NCT is due this month. They were saying that after I buy the car, they'll make the appointment for the NCT and refund me the cost or do the repairs if it fails. Is this normal practice, why don't they just send it through the NCT?

bazz26

rocky wrote:

ok, more advice needed:

Let's say for a 2001 Punto, 4250 euro from a dealer, 44k miles on the clock, 2 owners. How much should I offer?

And the NCT is due this month. They were saying that after I buy the car, they'll make the appointment for the NCT and refund me the cost or do the repairs if it fails. Is this normal practice, why don't they just send it through the NCT?

€4,250 is a bit steep to me for a 6 year old Punto. Have you a trade-in or is it a straight cash deal? For a straight cash deal I think €3,400 is a fair price for a 2001 Punto.

A few other questions. What kind of warranty are they offering? How long is the warranty? Have you got a price from other garages for a similar car to see if the price is reasonable or expensive?

Regarding the NCT, this is usually standard practice from what I have seen. Just make sure you get it in writing as a condition of the warranty.

Just doing a quick search on carzone.ie for the "asking price" on similar 2001 Punto:
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=522778
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=565221
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=519655

Incidently here is a 2002 Punto asking for similar money as the one your looking at: http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=547379, so shop around.

rocky

straight cash deal, 3 months warranty on the engine and gearbox ('no electricals included' as they did say)

I was looking at cars in Galway only, thinking that if something goes wrong, I'll be closer to the dealer... is this not a factor?

Caribs

One of the lads I work with who is an ex-mechanic recommends buying privately rather than through a dealer if you're doing a cash purchase. Aside from the normal resale value of the car the dealers will factor in their margin plus the potential cost of NCT and repairs, potential discount for cash etc and any other warranties before the sale so generally speaking you dont get as good a deal.

Having said that and before being slated I have a vested interest in the private route as I'm about to start selling a 206 and live in Galway. I know the mods will go mad if I start touting etc so if you're interested PM me and I can give more details.

I also know shag all about the technical aspects of cars but have bought privately in the past. I got a reputable mechanic to do a check and I believe the AA will do a full check (not sure of cost) and give a full report so that gives good peace of mind. As I said above, PM me if you're interested otherwise good hunting.

Caribs