Upgrading one of our cars - advice needed!

PGL

The wife and myself currently own two 5-dr 1.4L hatchback '02 cars - a ford focus and a toyota corrolla. There is 90,000 miles on the focus clock and 63,000 on the corrolla, with both cars up to date in terms of servicing etc.

We are thinking of upgrading one of these cars to a 1.6 or 1.8 litre saloon, and have a budget of roughly €22k. We would prefer if the car was a maximum of two years old i.e. '06

a:) which of our existing cars should we trade in / sell privately?
b:) are we better off trading the car in? - i know people who cannot sell their cars privately.......
c:) any tips on a good car to buy?
d:) is there much to be gained by going up north or UK to but the car? - i have been told that it only makes financial sense if you spend a good few quid on the car.....
e:) can anyone tell what the story is with the new car tax charges on 1.6 / 1.8 L cars?

Your advice is very much appreciated!!!

cantdecide

PGL wrote: »

a:) which of our existing cars should we trade in / sell privately?
b:) are we better off trading the car in? - i know people who cannot sell their cars privately.......
c:) any tips on a good car to buy?
d:) is there much to be gained by going up north or UK to but the car? - i have been told that it only makes financial sense if you spend a good few quid on the car.....
e:) can anyone tell what the story is with the new car tax charges on 1.6 / 1.8 L cars?

A) Focus- high mileage old model, will depreciate quickly from now on.
Financially, you're better off selling private- Don't be greeedy (you're still winning against trade-in value). Buy a low mileage car privately with some maunfactures warranty remaining. Usual checks apply.
D) Theoretically yes- but the main advantages are in spec/ equipment- you are spending enough to save a bit.
E) All rates up 9.5% on old charges in any car under 2.5l. Simple as that.

C) If buying from UK, doubling the sterling price will give you an approx end cost of car. Budget is £10k- £12k. Vectra/ Mondeo/ Accord/ passat. Check carzone.ie and autotrader.co.uk, If you see something you like post a link and we'll give advice.

If you want a sub-2.0L (don't gasp- running 1.6L-2.0L cars is virtually the same) petrol saloon, it's hard to beat the value you will get with Irish cars. People think they can't afford to run them (:rolleyes:) so they depreciate quickly, which is great news if you want to keep it for a few years (not so sensible if you only want 2/3 years from it).

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=803865

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=872478

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=873216

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=718144

Dunsie2007

Hi there,

I just saw your post. have changed jobs. Was based on the road, but am now in the office. I had just bought a new car when I changed jobs, so I am not using it as much as i had intended, so might be interested in doing some sort of swap, with cash for your Toyota Corrola.
Advantage for both of us as we will still have 1 car, just change over insurance on date agreed.
I own a 2006 Renault Laguna 1.9dci 120Bhp. Charcoal grey is probably best description of colour. 21000 miles. Immaculate inside and out.

If you are interested, send me a PM, and I will forward you my mobile phone number. I am based in Rathfarnham, Dublin. Are you in Dublin also?

PGL

thanks a mill for your advice can'tdecide.

Another question: whats the story with diesel v petrol cars?

can anyone else shed some light on my queries?

thanks a mill!!!

cantdecide wrote: »

A) Focus- high mileage old model, will depreciate quickly from now on.
Financially, you're better off selling private- Don't be greeedy (you're still winning against trade-in value). Buy a low mileage car privately with some maunfactures warranty remaining. Usual checks apply.
D) Theoretically yes- but the main advantages are in spec/ equipment- you are spending enough to save a bit.
E) All rates up 9.5% on old charges in any car under 2.5l. Simple as that.

C) If buying from UK, doubling the sterling price will give you an approx end cost of car. Budget is £10k- £12k. Vectra/ Mondeo/ Accord/ passat. Check carzone.ie and autotrader.co.uk, If you see something you like post a link and we'll give advice.

If you want a sub-2.0L (don't gasp- running 1.6L-2.0L cars is virtually the same) petrol saloon, it's hard to beat the value you will get with Irish cars. People think they can't afford to run them (:rolleyes:) so they depreciate quickly, which is great news if you want to keep it for a few years (not so sensible if you only want 2/3 years from it).

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=803865

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=872478

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=873216

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=718144

cantdecide

PGL wrote: »

can anyone else shed some light on my queries?

'Thanks but can someone tell us the real answer':rolleyes:

:D:D




You really have to be doing sufficient mileage before it becomes viable. Buying the diesel variant of most used cars commands a premium such that you'd have to be doing 15k+ a year for a diesel to break even. But they are a better drive than their small petrol engined cousins because of their torque and maybe this is a factor ut generally unless you're doing well above average miles- petrol is the way to go.

PGL

regarding the new VRT rates, if they are going to increase in July, why are people waiting until then to buy cars, as seems to be the case from looking through various threads?

cantdecide wrote: »

PGL wrote: »

can anyone else shed some light on my queries?

'Thanks but can someone tell us the real answer':rolleyes:

:D:D




You really have to be doing sufficient mileage before it becomes viable. Buying the diesel variant of most used cars commands a premium such that you'd have to be doing 15k+ a year for a diesel to break even. But they are a better drive than their small petrol engined cousins because of their torque and maybe this is a factor ut generally unless you're doing well above average miles- petrol is the way to go.

Stephen

Not necessarily. Most diesels will in fact become cheaper when the VRT changes because modern diesels usually have much lower co2 emissions than equivalent petrols. Even my own 1.8 petrol Honda will be dropping in VRT and motor tax come July as it is in the €290 co2 tax band as opposed to €530 on the cc-based tax system

'course I still have to pay the higher amount because it was registered last year :mad:

E92

Wait till July if possible. The price of virtually every diesel in that size of car is going to drop, so that will have to force down the price of old diesels. Because the old diesels will have the much higher tax rates, they will be a less attractive proposition to buy than the new diesels with the higher tax rates. This will force down the value of older diesels. The opposite is generally true for petrols, so consequently old petrols will be dearer in July, and the current diesel premium will surely disappear and then you can pay no more for a car that will probably do 30% more miles to a gallon, and have all that extra torque!

Biro

It depends on what you're thinking of buying whether you should wait or not. If you're buying a low emission car brand new, then wait. If you're buying a used car here, then it doesn't make any difference. If you're going to buy one up the north, then if it's low emissions, wait, if not do it before, but that'll mean you'll have to sell the Focus privately, which might be hard enough, and in Northern Ireland it can be difficult enough to find a good deal. In general the prices up there reflect the amount of Southern buyers going up to purchase. Also there seems to be a "story" behind more cars up there than here or UK... a large percentage of chancers!!
For the type of car you're looking for (e.g. a 1.6 Avensis or Mondeo or similar) then you're best bet is to find one here and trade the focus in for it, and don't worry about the new VRT changes cause they won't affect you.