Woman Needing Help

harasdublin

Hi

I've just written off my car and need to buy another (second hand) asap.
I like the Audi A4 but cannot decide whether to buy petrol or diesel.
I only do around 8,00 miles per year

Any advice appreciated

Anan1

You need to sit down and do your figures - cost of fuel, road tax, purchase price etc. Also drive both, you may have a preference for one or the other.

colm_mcm

Any diesels you look at will be higher mileage, more expensive and more complicated.
The 1.6 is pretty underpowered, If that's a problem I'd go for a 1.8t which should be less expensive than a diesel to buy and a whole load nicer.

Berty

I guess tax is also going to be a deciding factor possibly.

In 2008 the tax costs of having a petrol went through the roof while Diesel's became more attractive.

You should bear this in mind.

What's your budget anyway and people can help you find a good one.

dirtydiesel

I say diesel but thats because im a huge fan of diesel engines, the extra money you pay on road tax will balance itself out at the pumps.

harasdublin

This is were I'm getting confused!!
I've driven both petrol and diesel and would be happy with either.
The sales man selling the petrol car told me that I didn't do enough miles to justify diesel, the salesman selling the diesel told me that it would hold its value better than the petrol even though it was more expensive.

I suppose I'm just interested in getting the best value for money!!

colm_mcm

harasdublin wrote: »

getting the best value for money!!

And you're looking at an A4

Ryan T

What year and what budget are you looking at

harasdublin

I've a budget of 15-17k and was looking at an 06.

I suppose I'd better ask what you guys would buy if you needed a 4 door car

Mr Benevolent

harasdublin wrote: »

I've a budget of 15-17k and was looking at an 06.

I suppose I'd better ask what you guys would buy if you needed a 4 door car

Not an A4 anyway! Vastly overrated. Unless you're a base spec badge snob there are better bargains out there. Think Passat, Superb, Octavia, Laguna (post '05), Mercedes C180K, BMW 320d (actually maybe not) etc etc. Not the A4. All better cars for the money.

1948Wolseley

I say it every time, but,

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Toyota/Prius/HYBRID-T/201002196550392/advert?channel=CARS

Or if that's not to your taste, you could try this:

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Rolls-Royce/Silver-Shadow/Silver--/200945195731985/advert?channel=CARS

harasdublin

I dont think the Rolls Royce could fit in my drive

I've just looked up hybrid - I presume that this is an electric car - would this not be very complicated/expensive if something went wrong??

colm_mcm

Hybrids don't tend to go wrong. There's a lot more potential grief in an A4 diesel.

Do you need back doors in the car?
Do you need much of a boot?
Do you drive slowly or like to put the foot down every so often?
Are you looking for a car that will impress people?

harasdublin

My main reason for the A4 was reliability and image but it looks like this may be misguided.
I dont need four doors but would prefer as I sometimes have passengers,
A big boot is not a nesessity and speed is not important to me.

The last question is a tough one. I dont see myself as a mercedes type girl - I thought the Audi was a bit more subtle - but at the same time I dont think I could buy a Skoda (I know, I sound like a snob but i'm not really)

colm_mcm

I wouldn't buy an A4 based on reliability, they're not exactly exclusive these days and the only people you'll impress are Passat drivers

If you don't need 4 full time doors or a big boot, there are so many desirable cars available to you if you're willing to think outside the box

harasdublin

Ok - I can live without four doors and a big boot - maximum budget of 17 - what should I be looking at??

colm_mcm

Off the top of my head:


Gorgeous bauhaus styling, grippy 4wd and pokey turbo engine, 1.8 tax
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Audi/TT/QUATTRO-/201004196694525/advert?channel=CARS

Image, diesel engine, toys
http://www.carzone.ie/search/BMW/3-Series/CD-HI-LI/201004196733444/advert?channel=CARS

Left of centre, classy looking
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Volvo/C70/Cabriole/200840190284733/advert?channel=CARS

Quirky details, 1.8 tax, novelty doors. little more high maintainance but still managable. lovely interior
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Mazda/RX-8/1.7-192-/201003196673938/advert?channel=CARS

obviously haggle, I'm not saying spend the full €17k

Big Nasty

Ok - here's your spec (correct me if I'm wrong)

Budget 17K
Prestige (BMW / Audi) sound too young for a Merc! Volvo? Volvo convertible?
Reliability - loose the Audi, fine cars but very expensive on parts IMO (I said IMO Chris!!!)
Space 4 door but maybe happy with 2? Saloon or coupe, not a hatch?

This is the only reason I like Carzone: (P.S. I'm gonna go with 1.6 to 2.2 engines between 10-14K with less than 60k miles plus all the criteria above. There's 350 results but it narrows it down for us a little:
http://www.carzone.ie/search/results?searchsource=finder&nParam=200290%2B200609%2B285%2B334%2B102554%2B102548%2B102547&channel=CARS&cacheBuster=1265063796257187#nParam=200290%2B200609%2B285%2B334%2B102554%2B102548%2B102547%2B200590%2B200396%2B200427%2B351%2B41%2B4294911128%2B4294946359%2B4294945135%2B4294910776%2B4294910741&sortby=Make|0&channel=CARS&currency=EUROS&searchResultsView=THUMBNAIL&maxrows=10&page=3

mickdw

Berty wrote: »

I guess tax is also going to be a deciding factor possibly.

In 2008 the tax costs of having a petrol went through the roof while Diesel's became more attractive.

Thats not true for the cars in question

1.9 tdi ... less than €600 tax on an 06 plate.
1.8T petrol €530 approx on an 06 plate.

2008 plate:
1.8Tfsi €430
current model A4 early diesels were €300 at best. (Better now)

harasdublin

Thanks for all your help guys - I really like the look of the Bmw that Colm suggested. Am going to look at one tonight - will let you know how I get on!!