Options on a 10k Budget

aong

Hi,

looking to purchase a car for approx 10k. I'll be covering about 40km per day (mix of m50 and town). I also travel to Galway twice a month also so would like something with a bit of comfort on the motorway.

No preference over petrol or diesel as long as it is economical and has reasonable poke!

I've looked at the A4 and the 3 series but not sure if they are realistic on that budget, post 2008 anyway. Also looked at the Volvo s40 (not mad about it but would consider it) and the VW Passat CC.

Any suggestions are welcome!

bmm

Ford Mondeo's are good value & fairly comfortable/reliable, cheap to service / maintain.

aong

Is it recommended to buy post 2008 due to the new tax rules or is there still value to be had pre 08?

bazz26

Finding a decent example of the cars you mention with cheap tax for €10k, you will struggle.

You really need to think outside of the popular choice if you want something within budget.

What about a Saab 9-3?

http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/Saab/9-3/1.9-TID/51514020684111110/

Or an Alfa Romeo 159:

http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/Alfa-Romeo/159/1.9-JTDM/60714054207575050/

NIMAN

I'll sell you a nice 2010 Focus if interested

aong

NIMAN wrote: »

I'll sell you a nice 2010 Focus if interested

Thanks for the offer but I'm not a huge fan of the focus, just a personal preference.

I do like the look of that Alfa, is 2 owners after 40k miles a bit suspicious?

bazz26

Mileage would have to be verified via documented service history of course.

NIMAN

Agree that that Alfa looks sweet, always loved Alfa's but never had the balls to actually buy one.

aong

NIMAN wrote: »

Agree that that Alfa looks sweet, always loved Alfa's but never had the balls to actually buy one.

Funny how Alfas get written off immediately when I've heard horror stories around Audi and BMW too.

Is my commute of 40km round trip enough to be thinking about diesel?

bazz26

Your choices in petrol will be limited unless you consider something like a VW Passat 1.4 TSi.


http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/Volkswagen/Passat/PASSAT-B6/201435226593076/

chevaun

Can anyone recommend a mechanic who will take a look at a car for me? PM the details.

Idbatterim

Is it recommended to buy post 2008 due to the new tax rules or is there still value to be had pre 08?

some cars are actually higher on the emissions v cc, also if you had below say a 2L even on cc, I wouldnt exactly call it "high tax". Your budget includes everything from supermini up to merc s class or 7 series.

the difference between asking price on an 07 v an 08 car can be considerable, and the tax saving absolutely minimal, but peoples psychology on "da cheap tax" overrules logic. Either way, you get the nicer car or the newer plate or get both if you are prepared to land out a good whack and get done on depreciation and loan interest if applicable...

aong

Idbatterim wrote: »

some cars are actually higher on the emissions v cc, also if you had below say a 2L even on cc, I wouldnt exactly call it "high tax". Your budget includes everything from supermini up to merc s class or 7 series.

the difference between asking price on an 07 v an 08 car can be considerable, and the tax saving absolutely minimal, but peoples psychology on "da cheap tax" overrules logic. Either way, you get the nicer car or the newer plate or get both if you are prepared to land out a good whack and get done on depreciation and loan interest if applicable...

Great post thanks for that info, sounds like there is a definite psychological element to the tax issue. Out of interest what kind of depreciation difference is there between petrol and diesel?

Idbatterim

Great post thanks for that info, sounds like there is a definite psychological element to the tax issue. Out of interest what kind of depreciation difference is there between petrol and diesel?

It depends on the car, I know from new, that diesels will hold he value better, but with new petrol engines have seriously caught up in terms of emissions, they are usually cheaper to buy and less to go wrong with them. So we will see how that pans out in a few years…

Bear in mind that the petrols now will probably cost several thousand less than the diesel version at your price range. Also I wouldnt be too worried about depreciation on a 10k ish car… A 1.6L E90 bmw might be an option, I would want something with cruise control if I were you, for the trips down to Galway… Generally if you are mostly doing short trips, it takes quite a while for the diesel engines to heat up, so a 6 speed (for the motorway) petrol could be your best bet and I reckon you would be looking from 1.6-2L cars for your requirements, whether emissions or cc…

pedatron

aong wrote: »

Hi,

looking to purchase a car for approx 10k. I'll be covering about 40km per day (mix of m50 and town). I also travel to Galway twice a month also so would like something with a bit of comfort on the motorway.

No preference over petrol or diesel as long as it is economical and has reasonable poke!

I've looked at the A4 and the 3 series but not sure if they are realistic on that budget, post 2008 anyway. Also looked at the Volvo s40 (not mad about it but would consider it) and the VW Passat CC.

Any suggestions are welcome!

Did you pick up anything OP? I'm in the same ship as yourself!

aong

pedatron wrote: »

Did you pick up anything OP? I'm in the same ship as yourself!

I did!

I picked up a 1.8 Audi A4 1.8TFSi in immaculate condition and under budget.

In the end I didn't base it purely on running costs as I wanted for once to have car that I like and enjoy driving!

pedatron

aong wrote: »

I did!

I picked up a 1.8 Audi A4 1.8TFSi in immaculate condition and under budget.

In the end I didn't base it purely on running costs as I wanted for once to have car that I like and enjoy driving!

Very nice! Well wear! I'm torn between practicality and having a smashing car myself. I've been looking at some golf tsi's, Alfa 159s and 3 series. Very hard to know what way to go. Every time I ask someone I get a different opinion on a car. If I listened to everyone I'd buy nothing!

aong

pedatron wrote: »

Very nice! Well wear! I'm torn between practicality and having a smashing car myself. I've been looking at some golf tsi's, Alfa 159s and 3 series. Very hard to know what way to go. Every time I ask someone I get a different opinion on a car. If I listened to everyone I'd buy nothing!

People can only give advice, it's you that'll make the decision so make sure you're happy with whatever you decide.

I got a mechanic to check it out before going ahead with buying it, would highly recommend doing that.

fmcg_scribe

aong wrote: »

Funny how Alfas get written off immediately when I've heard horror stories around Audi and BMW too.

Is my commute of 40km round trip enough to be thinking about diesel?

Sounds as if your annual mileage will not exceed 10,000 miles. If your annual mileage is not 15,000 miles or more (with regular long journeys), you probably shouldn't buy a diesel.

Alfa Romeo cars are nice to look at it but they struggle to hold their value because of perceived poor reliability. Therefore, if you bought one, your two biggest overheads would be depreciation (definitely) and repair costs (probably).

SQLDBA

Lexus is220d would be around your budget. lovely car to drive, very comfortably and great power.

fmcg_scribe

SQLDBA wrote: »

Lexus is220d would be around your budget. lovely car to drive, very comfortably and great power.

That car was discussed recently on this site - context was poor trade-in valuation from Lexus dealer.

As an owner of a Lexus IS 300, agree that IS is a nice car and will be bullet proof in terms of reliability.

However, despite Lexus's formidable reputation for customer service and building reliable cars, residual values of Lexus cars (in UK and Ireland, at least) are not as strong as, say, German rivals.

In addition, the 2.2 litre diesel option for the second generation IS was not well regarded when the car was in production - compared to equivalent engines from Lexus's German rivals, the engine rated poor for performance, mpg, and CO2 emissions.

It's interesting that the third generation IS does not include a diesel engine option. It's also interesting that many current Toyota (but not Lexus) cars being sold in Europe use BMW diesel engines.

Therefore, a Lexus IS is a good choice, especially for reliability and annual running costs but the 220d variant is not the best choice.

bazz26

The 2.2 diesel engine in the IS is not very good or reliable for that matter.

SQLDBA

From personal experience with my 08 is220D which I have had for 2 and half years, they are really reliable. Only money I have spent on it are tyres and a standard service once a year.

fmcg_scribe

SQLDBA wrote: »

From personal experience with my 08 is220D which I have had for 2 and half years, they are really reliable. Only money I have spent on it are tyres and a standard service once a year.

As a Lexus IS (petrol) owner, that sounds about right to me.

However, you might get a nasty surprise when you try to sell or trade in the car.

pedatron

Excellent first post. Answered so many questions for me.It's my first time buying second hand or anything for that matter. I've been lucky to get cars off family prior to this. Been looking at a golf that I really like the look of. A 1.4 TSI. With a quick google I found out about the most common problems were with the car for me to check out. It has a full service history according to the add and all looks good. I'm bringing two guys that know a good bit about cars with me as well.

Are there any other major things I should be looking out for?