Decision nearly made, advice required

tw0nk

Hi all,

Been driving a 01 focus 1.6 for last 2 years and its time for a change. So ive been keenly reading every post on here with regards to buying cars in the UK and more specifically cargiant, I have also been trying to do a bit of research on the best diesel car for me I can afford.

My budget tops out at around 16/17k (euros) and obviously I am going to wait til July and VRT is changed. My top 4 cars at the moment are (most likely first)

1. Honda Accord 2.2 i-CDTI Executive (04/05)
2. BMW 320D (04/05) old model
3. Skoda Superb 1.9 TDi 130 Elegance
3. Mercedes Benz c220 2.2 CDi

1. The reason I have the Honda first is purely because of value for money and fuel efficiency, also heard something about them being fairly reliable I reckon after July I could get a nice one cleared and mine for about 16k, 17k tops.

2. This would be my favourite choice but it being very dated now with the new 3 series out and I cant afford the new model. Also huge difference in kit between accord and this with the accord being the better.

3. The old man owns one of these and it truly is a fantastic car and unbelievable value for money, could get one for circa 14-15k cleared. It really is starting to look a bit dated now though unfortunately.

4. This one is thrown in as a daft thought, never even drove one but is in price bracket and very nice indeed.

So with all that in mind can anyone help me make up my mind? I plan to buy in August (letting all the VRT stuff get sorted out in July so I know whats what) Also as an afterthought , I heard that cargiant dont tax the car for you and Im worried about driving accross England to ferry with no tax, what can I do about that?

Thanks for all input.

niceirishfella

The Honda diesel and Bm diesel does give turbo problems tho'.
check them out well.
and TBH, this Cargiant idea.........go private over there......you'll get the car cheaper still with good history.
good luck.......you'll get the right car! no worries.

tw0nk

Thanks niceirishfella, your probably right about getting it cheaper from a private sale over there but I would be too nervous about it, however crazy that may sound I just would know enough about cars and would prefer to buy from a dealer. I did think about going north to buy one from a dealer but I read some bad reports about cars in North between watered down diesel and "haircuts" the cars may have received.

zzzzzzzz

tw0nk wrote: »

I heard that cargiant dont tax the car for you and Im worried about driving accross England to ferry with no tax, what can I do about that?

Thanks for all input.

Despite what other people have said on previous threads, I emailed the DVLA and got a response saying that if you don't have a UK insurance policy you cannot tax the car.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you need a UK address to get a UK insurance policy.

Therefore - this doesn't apply to you.

To be honest, I don't think it's very likely that you will be stopped in the 6 hours or less that it will take you to drive to the ferry but if you want to be on the safe side, email the DVLA and ask them the above questions (they take about 24-48hours to respond) and print out their response to show any cop that pulls you over. Also, you should ideally have an insurance disc for the car (if not then I'd say get some sort of confirmation from your insurance company that you are covered so you can also show the cop).

Besides all that, you'll have your invoice from the garage and your ferry ticket there with you to show him as well. He'd want to be some prick to take your car off you with all that documentation.

zzzzzzzz

niceirishfella wrote: »

The Honda diesel and Bm diesel does give turbo problems tho'.
check them out well.
and TBH, this Cargiant idea.........go private over there......you'll get the car cheaper still with good history.
good luck.......you'll get the right car! no worries.

I'd recommend going to a main dealer over there - you'll still save a fair whack compared to the irish price - obviously depending on the car.

Going private could be some hassle.. I mean, you'd really want to go over for at least a long weekend, look at a few cars, get them checked out by a mechanic etc. Plus what about payment? Will you bring cash?

With a main dealer you can do the deal over the phone then be fairly confident of the car being as described. You then organise a bank draft which you fax or email over for them to verify before your arrival and you can fly over on the first ryanscare flight and be back on the 17.15 irish ferries swift sailing from holyhead to dublin. All in all, back in your drive way the same day - with come back on the car if anything goes wrong.

tw0nk

aidan.offbeat wrote: »

Despite what other people have said on previous threads, I emailed the DVLA and got a response saying that if you don't have a UK insurance policy you cannot tax the car.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you need a UK address to get a UK insurance policy.

Therefore - this doesn't apply to you.

To be honest, I don't think it's very likely that you will be stopped in the 6 hours or less that it will take you to drive to the ferry but if you want to be on the safe side, email the DVLA and ask them the above questions (they take about 24-48hours to respond) and print out their response to show any cop that pulls you over. Also, you should ideally have an insurance disc for the car (if not then I'd say get some sort of confirmation from your insurance company that you are covered so you can also show the cop).

Besides all that, you'll have your invoice from the garage and your ferry ticket there with you to show him as well. He'd want to be some prick to take your car off you with all that documentation.

Aidan, thanks a lot for that reply , really good info there and I will definitely send an email to the DVLA and bring appropriate documentation with me. Thats taken a load of my mind, cheers.

niceirishfella

tw0nk wrote: »

Thanks niceirishfella, your probably right about getting it cheaper from a private sale over there but I would be too nervous about it, however crazy that may sound I just would know enough about cars and would prefer to buy from a dealer. I did think about going north to buy one from a dealer but I read some bad reports about cars in North between watered down diesel and "haircuts" the cars may have received.

Hi Twonk,
Don't discount buying private, its virtaully the same process as buying from a cargiant type. Do the standard checks - hpi the car, check service book, ring dealer if need be to verify, check engine no's, chassis no's, panel gaps, paint work for blemises/respray - quite easy to do, check engine for oil leaks, around the head of the engine - the sump, all around the engine bay,check the chassis legs in the engine bay for straightness etc,check the boot for water ingess (sure sign of previous damage) check the spares present and ok, check all the tyres and alloys, push every single buttom inside and make sure everything works, then on a test drive - check clutch, brakes, handbrake, power output, smoke,idling,,,,,the overall feel.......your gut will tell you.
this is all the stuff you will not get to do on a cargiant test drive....well, most of the time anyways...........so imho, its better to go private.
Cargiant will not discount either - private - you can haggles and get pounds off - like on a private sale, they can reclaim any road tax left on the car.....it'll be no good to you........but you can get it knocked of the cost of the car...........this can sometimes pay for the fuel and ferry! Cargiant will not do this.

also, you'll have no warranty anyways, cargiant or private - it dont matter.
re; northern cars............yeah.....avoid.....the diesel situation up there is a mess.

best o luck all the same whatever road ya take.

NIF

tw0nk

aidan.offbeat wrote: »

With a main dealer you can do the deal over the phone then be fairly confident of the car being as described. You then organise a bank draft which you fax or email over for them to verify before your arrival and you can fly over on the first ryanscare flight and be back on the 17.15 irish ferries swift sailing from holyhead to dublin. All in all, back in your drive way the same day - with come back on the car if anything goes wrong.

Aidan, would you really be that confident to do the deal all over the phone with proper Honda dealer? then just travel over with actual draft and do the deal?

niceirishfella

Under the Uk trade descriptions act - they have to be striaght up on the providence of the car, history and condition etc.

tw0nk

NIF, I take your point and you are probably right about discount, I read on other threads that cargiant are pretty much ticket price and thats it. I learnt my lesson before about pressing every button in a car and trying every door etc so at least I will have a bit of cop-on when I go over.

As it stands Im already amazed at the prices in cargiant in comparison to rip-off-ireland expecially since the VRT will be coming down, although for peace of mind I think I will probably stick to buying from dealer with FSH etc as I am not mr.mechanic or car expert. I would however from what you and others said above, consider buying from a different dealer, ie a registered Honda garage, maybe I could get a car cheaper than cargiant and more of a chance to test it out.

Incidentally, noone has really said if they think the accord is the right choice out of 4 cars mentioned above? The only worry being the turbos. I have read about a lot of 320D's turbos failing but never about the accord, if this a risk with those cars too?

zzzzzzzz

tw0nk wrote: »

Aidan, would you really be that confident to do the deal all over the phone with proper Honda dealer? then just travel over with actual draft and do the deal?

With a main dealer - yes. Not with your average arthur daly type used car centre though! With a main dealer they have all sorts of standards that they have to abide by and they have a reputation to uphold.

Talk to a rep and tell to him that you're coming over from Ireland, you need him to look at the car and tell you ANYTHING that's wrong - if there's a stone chip on the bonnet you want him to tell you about it. Stress the fact that you don't want to waste your time to come over on the plane to find something that the rep didn't mention. Tell him you will have no problem walking away if something isn't right/as described but you won't deal with him for another car.

Because you're coming over from ireland you might get them to drop the price a bit as well - tell him that it's going to be a straight deal - no part exchange AND that he will never see you again provided there is nothing majorly wrong with the car. English car dealers seem to be more along the line of thinking that "The price is the price" but with an Irish dealer they seem to have a bit more give - but i'd say you could get him to drop a bit because an english person buying the car would be back in a weeks time to get a wiper blade changed whereas you won't.

niceirishfella

Accords suffer from Wheel Bearing failure and Turbo failure.......and from what I heard in the trade - wheel alignment problems.......apart from that........solid jap car.
i'd buy one.

Biro

Accords are as reliable as anything else at worst. Nothing seems to be bullit proof any more, so I wouldn't get too hung up on it.
To be honest, I'd drop the Superb from the list and replace it with the 05 and newer model Passat. It's so far ahead in terms of chassis dynamics that it puts it in a different league. The independent rear suspension solved most of the soggy handling problems. The transverse engine also means it's slightly quieter. Go for the 2 litre diesel, not the 1.9.
Still, I'd leave the Accord on top. I'd leave the 320d out in place of a 520d, or might get better value from a 525d.

stesaurus

Sorry to jump in on the thread but it's on the same lines and din't want to start up a new thread.
I'm planning on heading to UK to Cargiant and I'm looking at an 06 or 07 RX8. I'm just looking for some advice on VRT and Road tax. Am I right in saying if I register it before 01/07 then I pay VRT of around 7K and current road tax amount of €1067. But if I wait until after this date then VRT is 30% and road tax is €2000???
Also what about future years road tax?
Thanks for any advice on this or even the car!

tw0nk

s.welstead wrote: »

Sorry to jump in on the thread but it's on the same lines and din't want to start up a new thread.
I'm planning on heading to UK to Cargiant and I'm looking at an 06 or 07 RX8. I'm just looking for some advice on VRT and Road tax. Am I right in saying if I register it before 01/07 then I pay VRT of around 7K and current road tax amount of €1067. But if I wait until after this date then VRT is 30% and road tax is €2000???
Also what about future years road tax?
Thanks for any advice on this or even the car!

No I think you are wrong there, according to posts on boards in several threads, you if you import BEFORE july 1st you pay

Current VRT fees (30% in your case)
Current Tax per year

if you buy AFTER july 1st you pay:

New VRT rate (% is done on your CO2 )
Current Tax per year

In both cases you will be paying same tax per year, all that will change is your VRT price