Buy a used car in Northern Ireland?

Miamifox

Hello,
I need to buy a diesel car with a big engine (play a lot of gigs around the country thus hauling keyboards and people etc).
Does anyone out there have any advice regarding reputable dealers in the North of Ireland?
I've been advised to make sure that the car is from the North and not brought over from the UK.
Any other nuggets of information would be greatly appreciated!

Truckermal

You should tell us what car you want as opposed to recommend a dealer, who told you not to buy a UK car and why??

I take it your looking for an estate??

Miamifox

Yes an estate, an audi a4.
Regarding the UK, have heard it said a few times that high quantities of salt can be an issue on UK roads.

Truckermal

Miamifox wrote: »

Yes an estate, an audi a4.
Regarding the UK, have heard it said a few times that high quantities of salt can be an issue on UK roads.

Dont forget they use it in N.I too!!

What budget?? Skoda Suberb combi is a great motor as in luxurious with plenty of room.

colm_mcm

I'd sooner buy from mainland uk, especially if its a diesel.

Truckermal

colm_mcm wrote: »

I'd sooner buy from mainland uk, especially if its a diesel.

Aye a bit of salt is safer than washed diesel going through the fuel system.

Sobanek

I never found NI car prices too attractive, they're very similar to our ones.

jayunot777

Sobanek wrote: »

I never found NI car prices too attractive, they're very similar to our ones.

Would the spec on the N.i cars be better up there for the same price ?

Miamifox

I'm sure the UK is a good option but it is more practical to find a car here. One more question, I'll have part payment in cash and will do a hire purchase arrangement for the rest of the money (probably up to 4k) can anyone shed some light on hire purchase companies for both private and dealer sales?

colm_mcm

I May be wrong here but i dont think you can buy in a ni garage and do hp here.

IrishHomer

The majority of NI 2nd hand cars are actually shipped over from the mainland UK

PauloMN

colm_mcm wrote: »

I'd sooner buy from mainland uk, especially if its a diesel.

Out of interest, on what basis?

Truckermal wrote: »

Aye a bit of salt is safer than washed diesel going through the fuel system.

Lol, loving the generalisation!

IrishHomer wrote: »

The majority of NI 2nd hand cars are actually shipped over from the mainland UK

What figures is this comment based on?

colm_mcm

PauloMN wrote: »

Out of interest, on what basis?



Lol, loving the generalisation!



What figures is this comment based on?

On the basis of the generalisation below!

Its clear to see from browsing used cars that a lot of them have mainland uk plates and not ni plates.
Northern Ireland isn't a massive country and they don't all drive 1.6 tdci ford focuses and 2.0 tdi audi A4s.

The salty roads thing is as much a generalisation as the washed diesel thing.

yop

Have brought in 5 cars now from NI and 2 from the UK.
NI is more convenient.
NI is dearer than the UK.
4 of the 5 cars I bought originated in the UK, 3 from auctions and 1 from a garage.
The 2 cars in the UK were more hassle to get to be honest, but I did save 1.5k euro more on those than the equivalent in NI.

A4 estate is a good motor though as said the Superb combi is a monster and you can find well eqiuped versions out there.
Don't be put off by the UK if you feel you can go over and buy.

There is a good importing thread here, have a read, plenty of recommendations for companies both in NI and UK mainland.

Finance could be an issue though as they are tight on knowing what car you are buying.

Good luck with the buying.

PauloMN

I suppose you can add a minimum of €500 between flights and ferry to the overall cost if you import from UK mainland as opposed to NI though, that has to be factored in. Must say I didn't find mainland UK any cheaper than NI really when I looked for mine. I've bought two from NI, one being imported from Britain and one an original NI registered car. Obviously the choice will be wider in Britain, especially if you have a specific trim/engine combination in mind.

As regards the OP, there's plenty of good dealers up north, but as suggested, pick the car first and then decide where to buy it. I find the dealers up north in general better to deal with than the dealers down here tbh, I've had nothing but good experiences when looking at and buying my cars there.

Whether the car is an NI car originally or came over from Britain is irrelevant imo, so long as it's a good car.

I'd advise you to do your sums though. When you've decided on the car and trim/engine you want, make sure to price a good few down here to get an idea of the ROI cost compared with the NI/UK cost. Savings are not nearly as much now as they were, but it might be a case of getting a higher spec car compared to here - so it can still be worth it. When I bought the Audi in NI, I reckon I saved between €3k and €4k off ROI dealer prices - I got a good deal on the car and the euro at the time was almost at parity with sterling. Now, I've just bought another and probably saved under €1k, maybe even only a few hundred euro - but the spec/engine combination I wanted was non-existent here, so still worth the trip imo.

This site seems to have most/all of the used cars for sale in NI covered:
http://www.usedcarsni.com/

yop

PauloMN wrote: »

I suppose you can add a minimum of €500 between flights and ferry to the overall cost if you import from UK mainland as opposed to NI though, that has to be factored in. Must say I didn't find mainland UK any cheaper than NI really when I looked for mine. I've bought two from NI, one being imported from Britain and one an original NI registered car. Obviously the choice will be wider in Britain, especially if you have a specific trim/engine combination in mind.

As regards the OP, there's plenty of good dealers up north, but as suggested, pick the car first and then decide where to buy it. I find the dealers up north in general better to deal with than the dealers down here tbh, I've had nothing but good experiences when looking at and buying my cars there.

Whether the car is an NI car originally or came over from Britain is irrelevant imo, so long as it's a good car.

I'd advise you to do your sums though. When you've decided on the car and trim/engine you want, make sure to price a good few down here to get an idea of the ROI cost compared with the NI/UK cost. Savings are not nearly as much now as they were, but it might be a case of getting a higher spec car compared to here - so it can still be worth it. When I bought the Audi in NI, I reckon I saved between €3k and €4k off ROI dealer prices - I got a good deal on the car and the euro at the time was almost at parity with sterling. Now, I've just bought another and probably saved under €1k, maybe even only a few hundred euro - but the spec/engine combination I wanted was non-existent here, so still worth the trip imo.

This site seems to have most/all of the used cars for sale in NI covered:
http://www.usedcarsni.com/

Good post that. The difference may not be that great any more.
Shop around and check out a few local dealers.

If you are buying for low money you probably won't save that much.