Thinking of buying a used car in Germany for 10k

murphaph

Hi all,
looking for some input here. I live in Germany and use public transport to get to work and have really no pressing need for a car (the girlfriend has a perfectly good Dacia Sandero) but you know what, I just feckin want one for spins away from the city. Monday to Friday it'll be parked on my street as I'll continue to use the underground to get to work (parking near my office costs more per annum than the yearly train ticket which I can use 24 hours a day on buses etc. too, so I'll keep buying that ticket regardless)

I want something nice and solid for doing decent spins, mostly on the Autobahn. I want something like a Passat/A4/A6/5 series/C class/Skoda Superb, something along those lines, saloon or estate (estates are much more common here) doesn't really bother me, estate might be more practical for taking holidays?

I'd be looking to spend no more than 10k and most likely diesel. The common concensus in Germany is that a diesel begins to make economic sense at app. 15k km, which IIRC is a good deal sooner than in Ireland. Diesels attract higher insurance premiums in Germany and tax is a bit higher too. Having said that, I like diesels-I nearly always drove diesels in Ireland and like the feel of them. I am starting to look out for potential pitfalls and won't be rushing into anything.

What should i be looking out for wrt these sorts of motors? I hear the 2L VAG TDI has issues that the older 1.9 never had (injector problems?) in great numbers. I had an early B5 Passat in Ireland and I had to put a good bit into the front suspension as this was a known weak spot with these cars-control arms failing at the bushings and so on-do more modern (ca. 2005/2006) B5 chassis VAG cars suffer from these problems still?

What about MB? I know they had quality problems for a few years when they tried to scrimp and save on things. Would that be something to watch out for in the years I'm looking at?

keithclancy

If you only want a car for occasional use on the weekends then why not rent ?

http://www.billiger-mietwagen.de

I usually pay around between 80-100 euros for a Mid class car for the weekend.

Even one of the lads in work rents a car permanently, gets a new one every 3 months, writes it off on his taxes.

Works out at 500 (with his tax rebate) euros a month for everything except fuel and he doesnt have to worry about servicing, break downs, tax, insurance etc.

His car for this 3 month period is a 2012 Mercedes C220

Owning a car in the City is a pain in the ar$e. In Duesseldorf anyway, parking etc is a balls.

Del2005

keithclancy wrote: »

If you only want a car for occasional use on the weekends then why not rent ?

+1
For €10k you could rent some lovely motors for weekend spins and never have to worry about parking it for the rest of the week. No insurance etc.

mickdw

You should surely get a petrol. I would suggest you like driving diesels due to the torque you feel. Perhaps driving a large engined petrol would change your mind.

murphaph

Some food for thought there alright, keep it coming. I know in my heart of hearts that we don't need to own another car, but I also know that when a trip does come up (was the Netherlands last weekend) that we will always end up taking the Sandero and tbh it's not nice on the motorways at any sort of speed over 130km/h and I also know we'd likely never rent a car for such a spin as "the Sandero is there and costs nothing extra", you know what I mean?

We always hire a car when we go on holidays somewhere but for spins from Berlin I know we'd always end up taking her car, which just doesn't do anything for me. Taking a "nice" rental to Poland or the Czech Republic is also not an option AFAIK (at least many hire companies restrict the type of car that can be taken "east").

Anan1

murphaph wrote: »

Some food for thought there alright, keep it coming. I know in my heart of hearts that we don't need to own another car, but I also know that when a trip does come up (was the Netherlands last weekend) that we will always end up taking the Sandero and tbh it's not nice on the motorways at any sort of speed over 130km/h and I also know we'd likely never rent a car for such a spin as "the Sandero is there and costs nothing extra", you know what I mean?

We always hire a car when we go on holidays somewhere but for spins from Berlin I know we'd always end up taking her car, which just doesn't do anything for me. Taking a "nice" rental to Poland or the Czech Republic is also not an option AFAIK (at least many hire companies restrict the type of car that can be taken "east").

I hear you, but renting would give you a far nicer car for the times that you want one and at a far lesser cost than buying your own. FWIW, when I lived in Germany I generally didn't even bother bringing the car on long non-business trips. 1st Class on the ICE beats the Autobahn hands-down, every time.

keithclancy

Anan1 wrote: »

I hear you, but renting would give you a far nicer car for the times that you want one and at a far lesser cost than buying your own. FWIW, when I lived in Germany I generally didn't even bother bringing the car on long non-business trips. 1st Class on the ICE beats the Autobahn hands-down, every time.

+1, get the ICE to somewhere close to where your going and then rent something nice

Del2005

murphaph wrote: »

Some food for thought there alright, keep it coming. I know in my heart of hearts that we don't need to own another car, but I also know that when a trip does come up (was the Netherlands last weekend) that we will always end up taking the Sandero and tbh it's not nice on the motorways at any sort of speed over 130km/h and I also know we'd likely never rent a car for such a spin as "the Sandero is there and costs nothing extra", you know what I mean?

So you're willing to spend €10k on a car you'll rarely use, but won't spend a few Euro to give yourself some comfort

How about a Car club? A friend of mine used one in London and it was great.

murphaph wrote: »

We always hire a car when we go on holidays somewhere but for spins from Berlin I know we'd always end up taking her car, which just doesn't do anything for me. Taking a "nice" rental to Poland or the Czech Republic is also not an option AFAIK (at least many hire companies restrict the type of car that can be taken "east").

Could you travel by train/plane to the "east" and hire a decent car there? Seems silly to spend loads on a car that you'll only really need a few times a month.

murphaph

Your economic arguments all make perfect sense, but what sort of cars do you guys have and could you practically get by with something smaller, more efficient or even with public transport?

A car or bike of one's own is more than just a mode of transport, it's your own personal space on wheels, so let's imagine that despite your sound economic arguments (and they are sound, as I have admitted from the outset!) in favour of not buying anything, I go ahead and stupidly buy something....in that case, what should that something be? Larger cc petrol engine as suggested by mickdw? or a diesel as would have been my first preference?

kindalen

how many people do you want to fit in the car?
are you willing to take a hit on depreciation?
would ever want to bring it back to ireland?
is there any kinds of car you do not want?

murphaph

kindalen wrote: »

how many people do you want to fit in the car?

4 to 5 max.

kindalen wrote: »

are you willing to take a hit on depreciation?

Would prefer not to of course, but I would be willing to take a hit there, yes. What's more important is that I can shift the car again without waiting too long for a buyer.

kindalen wrote: »

would ever want to bring it back to ireland?

No.

kindalen wrote: »

is there any kinds of car you do not want?

Don't want anything too exotic that may cause head scratching by mechanics if work needs doing etc. No sports cars. Preferably something well known in Germany.

Anan1

murphaph wrote: »

Your economic arguments all make perfect sense, but what sort of cars do you guys have and could you practically get by with something smaller, more efficient or even with public transport?

A car or bike of one's own is more than just a mode of transport, it's your own personal space on wheels, so let's imagine that despite your sound economic arguments (and they are sound, as I have admitted from the outset!) in favour of not buying anything, I go ahead and stupidly buy something....in that case, what should that something be? Larger cc petrol engine as suggested by mickdw? or a diesel as would have been my first preference?

The problem here is that you're bringing an Irish mindset to German infrastructure. If you were buying a classic 911 for occasional use then i'd see the point, but you're proposing tying a rope around your neck with a Banalwagen attached to the other end of it. That's the worst of both worlds, IMO at least.

Sleepy

A weekend car should be something fun. Either a bangernomics luxobarge, a two seater along the lines of an MX5 or a classic of some sort would be where I'd be going. How about something classic from the VW range? A Kharman Ghia or something along those lines?

heate

Meh I live in an area with excellent public transport that I still don't use cause I've a car space in work and there's generally no traffic when I drive. I've many friends who regardless of how wealthy they are; simply don't need and haven't purchased cars but they love the fact I've got one and never turn down a chance to avoid a train.
I know that diesel is a bit cheaper than petrol in Germany (tis the opposite here) but really why would you bother buying a diesel car for weekend driving and paying the higher costs of servicing/insuring and tax it's a bit of a ridiculous notion.
Buy a petrol car like for instance a BMW 325i / 330i or an Audi a4 3.0 or maybe a c350.
They are comfortable and stable for cruising around the highways of Europe and won't give much trouble.

kindalen

you want it, so why not buy it? very little of what is spent on cars makes economic sense.
will you have to factor in winter/summer tyres? would 4 wheel drive be useful?
i would suggest a petrol estate, probably 3 series, 325i.
enjoy.

keithclancy

Well if its just going to be a weekend run-around

http://www.autoscout24.de/Details.aspx?id=cvud2fjr2nu1

http://www.autoscout24.de/Details.aspx?id=wbkhmv1siqyp

heate

kindalen wrote: »

you want it, so why not buy it? very little of what is spent on cars makes economic sense.
will you have to factor in winter/summer tyres? would 4 wheel drive be useful?
i would suggest a petrol estate, probably 3 series, 325i.
enjoy.

4wd is not needed to be honest roads are cleared when it snows very quickly.
325i is a cop out whena 330i can be had at a similar price and with a 6th er for cruising.
The winter tyre issue is simple because you don't actually lose any money as only one set can be used at a time