Looking for a TDI Golf or Passat

Jayo11780

Hi guys... I'm in the process of selling my 2006 D4D Corolla See ad: http://adverts.ie/103739

Now I'm looking up North and over in the UK for a 07/08 TDI Golf or Passat.. and wondering what's the best place to get a great deal on either without the hassle of travelling far, arrangin flights etc...
Are there any dealers in Ireland who specialise in importing motors and selling them on still a good bit cheaper than the Irish market value?

Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

EPM

You'll still have to pay for the privilege. It would definitely be worth doing it yourself

PauloMN

Definitely do it yourself if you can. Why pay someone else to do it?

Buying a car can be enjoyable.... or am I just a sicko?

I would much rather buy for myself, with all due respect to above-board dealers, some of the dealers selling imported UK cars here are getting the left over ****e that's not wanted in the UK. They are getting these cars really cheap, maybe clocking them, and selling them on at what looks like a good price to you and me.

Do your research and go hunting. Travelling to NI takes no time these days. I bought a used car up north yesterday and I had a very specific model/type requirement, I had a choice of good cars to look at up there.

I used:
http://www.usedcarsni.com/
http://www.niautotrader.co.uk/contentv3/
http://www.ulstercars.co.uk/

Once you do all your HPI checks, and take a good look at the cars, you'll be fine.

Seriously, the difference in quality between a car you've hunted out yourself and some heap brought in by a dealer can be like chalk and cheese.

carface

hi jayo,
Ignore the anti-southern dealer rubbish posted above.Thousands of good cars are sourced in uk by dealers in ireland every year.
To somehow define a car imported by a dealer in ireland as a heap or as the leftovers(from what)as opposed the gem you will hunt out?? where?? based on what facts?? is stupid and of no help to you. A hpi is a good idea but is not a warranty and may not show up a cloned car.
Sell your own car first, call round smaller dealers with details of what want
you will find smaller dealers more in touch with the prices in uk than bigger maindealers.Quick sales is the name of the game at the moment and dealers importing cars will be able to find what you want,provide warranty,and help sell your own car for you if you deal with them.Hope this advice helps you.
all the best

Wishbone Ash

Jayo11780 wrote: »

I'm looking up North and over in the UK for a 07/08 TDI Golf or Passat

You'd be better off concentrating on the 08's in relation to the newer annual motor tax rates.

boardswalker

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

You'd be better off concentrating on the 08's in relation to the newer annual motor tax rates.

Is the VRT, not just annual road tax, for 08 and later cars not based on CO2 emissions.
I think the 08 will work out cheaper.

EPM

All cars have VRT calculated by CO2 emmissions now, however 08 on cars can take advantage of lower road tax if their CO2 output is low

Stevie Dakota

As mentioned, go for 08 if you can, much safer bet come re-sale.

http://www.motorpoint.co.uk/(S(1hoceinr4roko3vhyorb5q55))/Search/VehicleDetails.aspx?vehicle=224851&diesel=yes

€18,800 landed, saving €6K on Irish price (ish)

lifer_sean

PauloMN wrote: »

... some of the dealers selling imported UK cars here are getting the left over ****e that's not wanted in the UK. They are getting these cars really cheap, maybe clocking them, and selling them on at what looks like a good price to you and me.

... the difference in quality between a car you've hunted out yourself and some heap brought in by a dealer can be like chalk and cheese.

Wow, that's some generalisation !!! Totally over the top.

Yes there probably is a SMALL number of rogue traders that buy high mileage cars cheaply in the UK, and you can guess the rest. However, many many dealers imported perfectly good cars with proper histories etc from the UK to sell on. Remember these guys are buying cars for a living, and will have better sources in the UK than a person buying a single car. A good dealer will get a lower mileage car at a better price than you if he puts in the effort. What's this about buying leftovers ??? Total bulls***.

You should not that most dealers who were importing from the UK have now stopped because prices have increased in UK and in many cases the same car can be bought in Ireland cheaper. I'm after a 08 Golf TDi at the moment for resale, and am trying to deal for one in Dublin, with low miles, kms clock, full service history, and it's way cheaper than a UK imported one.

OP, as carface says, shop around here and in UK, compare apples and apples, and buy where you are getting the best deal after doing an honest comparison.

Do-more

lifer_sean wrote: »

I'm after a 08 Golf TDi at the moment for resale, and am trying to deal for one in Dublin, with low miles, kms clock, full service history, and it's way cheaper than a UK imported one.

Fair play to you if you can find an Irish '08 Golf Tdi for way less than €15,500.

lifer_sean

Do-more wrote: »

Fair play to you if you can find an Irish '08 Golf Tdi for way less than €15,500.

Local main dealer here has one at 16,900 asking price, 16k kms. You could expect that one for 16,000 or maybe 15,500. You can be sure it's costing him less than that, so 08 Golf TDi can be bought in Ireland for less than 15,500.

PauloMN

lifer_sean wrote: »

Wow, that's some generalisation !!! Totally over the top.

Yes there probably is a SMALL number of rogue traders that buy high mileage cars cheaply in the UK, and you can guess the rest. However, many many dealers imported perfectly good cars with proper histories etc from the UK to sell on. Remember these guys are buying cars for a living, and will have better sources in the UK than a person buying a single car. A good dealer will get a lower mileage car at a better price than you if he puts in the effort. What's this about buying leftovers ??? Total bulls***.

You should not that most dealers who were importing from the UK have now stopped because prices have increased in UK and in many cases the same car can be bought in Ireland cheaper. I'm after a 08 Golf TDi at the moment for resale, and am trying to deal for one in Dublin, with low miles, kms clock, full service history, and it's way cheaper than a UK imported one.

OP, as carface says, shop around here and in UK, compare apples and apples, and buy where you are getting the best deal after doing an honest comparison.

Where's the generalisation? I went looking for A4s a few years ago, and the options were official Audi dealers (expensive), quality independents (not cheap but cheaper than Audi dealers), and a myriad of small independents (cheap). Obviously I looked at the cheap stuff first, and 95% of it was UK imports, but very shabby UK imports. Stuff obviously sourced at auction for much cheaper than it was being sold at. I checked lots of places, I've seen the general standard of UK imports for sale here in small garages, and saw clocked examples in what I looked at. A dealer here importing a car from the UK and selling it at a competitive price still has to make a profit, and in a lot of cases (I didn't say all), it results in heaps of crap being punted off to the unsuspecting Irish public.

I ended up going to a quality independent and paying a bit more, but got a fantastic Irish car which I still have.

On importing, my take is do it yourself. Why give the savings to a dealer when you can get them and also hand pick a car yourself? I've just bought another A4, this time an import, but also bought myself direct from a dealer in the North. The car I picked would be the quality I would expect in an Audi dealer here, absolutely faultless, fsh and mint. I could get a shabby example here through a Portakabin dealer for maybe €1500 more, an Irish one from a decent independent for maybe €2500 more, or a minter like mine from Audi dealer for maybe €3000 to €3500 more. I've seen it with my own eyes. Maybe some people are willing to buy UK imports from dealers here in Ireland - personally I'd rather pocket the few grand and do it myself. A trip up North and a visit to the VRO is not worth a few grand extra imo.

Moanin

PauloMN wrote: »

Where's the generalisation? I went looking for A4s a few years ago, and the options were official Audi dealers (expensive), quality independents (not cheap but cheaper than Audi dealers), and a myriad of small independents (cheap). Obviously I looked at the cheap stuff first, and 95% of it was UK imports, but very shabby UK imports. Stuff obviously sourced at auction for much cheaper than it was being sold at. I checked lots of places, I've seen the general standard of UK imports for sale here in small garages, and saw clocked examples in what I looked at. A dealer here importing a car from the UK and selling it at a competitive price still has to make a profit, and in a lot of cases (I didn't say all), it results in heaps of crap being punted off to the unsuspecting Irish public.

I ended up going to a quality independent and paying a bit more, but got a fantastic Irish car which I still have.

On importing, my take is do it yourself. Why give the savings to a dealer when you can get them and also hand pick a car yourself? I've just bought another A4, this time an import, but also bought myself direct from a dealer in the North. The car I picked would be the quality I would expect in an Audi dealer here, absolutely faultless, fsh and mint. I could get a shabby example here through a Portakabin dealer for maybe €1500 more, an Irish one from a decent independent for maybe €2500 more, or a minter like mine from Audi dealer for maybe €3000 to €3500 more. I've seen it with my own eyes. Maybe some people are willing to buy UK imports from dealers here in Ireland - personally I'd rather pocket the few grand and do it myself. A trip up North and a visit to the VRO is not worth a few grand extra imo.

Well said.I have experienced the same!