Car Upgrade Advice

wolfyboy555

So it has been a year now since I said I should change my car (http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=88496489)but have never done anything about it. Anyways I am determined to change it in the coming weeks. It is a 04 Astra 1.4 petrol with 88,000 miles. I am getting it nct’d next week so it will hopefully pass it which will make it easier to sell I hope. I have spent €200 on it in the mechanics last year. When I start the engine from cold it revs on its own and when I drive off and clutch it revs loads. I think people walking near the car think I ma trying to run them over.

My mileage is not too big. I have tracked it since the start of September and have only done 4,000 miles. This is mainly due to the fact I carpool to work and only drive once every second week so if this changes (which it could) I would obviously be doubling my mileage. My commute to work is a 35 mile round trip on good roads and on weekends I would do an 80 mile round trip on motorway. I then have the usual bits and bobs of driving smaller trips for errands etc in the evenings.

I keep going between petrol and diesel. Everyone I have talked to keeps telling me to get diesel. However I know most of the advice here would be to get petrol. I don’t know a huge amount about cars but from what I have read it seems diesels are more prone to complicated issues. However they have the benefit of cheaper car tax and much better mpg.

I would like to upgrade to a nice car (not bog spec) that will do me for the foreseeable future so I was looking over in England at some models. I have been switching between wanting an Audi A4/Passat CC/Alfa 159. I would like cruise control, Bluetooth and leather if possible.

Budget wise it was around €10,000 last year but I think I might stretch it to get a v.nice car as you are only young once. Hopefully I could get rid my current car for about €1000 so anything between 10-15k including that 1k is probably my budget. Sterling has taken a dive though recently which isn’t good. The other problem is that to import some petrol’s is quite expensive due to their high carbon emissions and I don’t find them too much cheaper than some of their diesel counterparts.

Here is an example of two cars, which I was looking at:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201501190266463/sort/default/colour/black/maximum-mileage/up_to_100000_miles/radius/1500/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew/page/1/model/passat_cc/make/volkswagen/maximum-age/up_to_6_years_old/keywords/gt/postcode/br14pp/usedcars/transmission/manual/seller-type/trade_adverts?logcode=p

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201412089516777/sort/default/radius/1500/page/1/postcode/br14pp/seller-type/trade_adverts/engine-size-cars/2l_to_2-5l/maximum-mileage/up_to_100000_miles/keywords/s%20line%20/transmission/manual/maximum-age/up_to_6_years_old/make/audi/fuel-type/petrol/usedcars/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew/model/a4?logcode=p

They both fall within my budget (if I get a bit knocked off the audi) when cleared with vrt. Although is ~15000 a lot to spend on a 6 year old car?

I guess my question is should I go for diesel or petrol? I mean the diesel in this case is cheaper and for an extra 1000 pound (same price as Audi) you could even get a 2011:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201410308606552/sort/default/postcode/br14pp/make/volkswagen/radius/1500/model/passat_cc/seller-type/trade_adverts/keywords/GT/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew/usedcars/colour/black/maximum-mileage/up_to_100000_miles/transmission/manual/page/2?logcode=p

Also if buying abroad should I look at private adverts too as I won’t be getting a warranty from dealers so they are kind of the same?

I am going to ring my insurer during the week and see what they say about insurance for similar models as this could price them out of my budget. I am a 25 yr old male.

Any advice appreciated. Sorry for the long post.

bazz26

Normally petrol would be the safer bet but you will find it near impossible to sell on a post 2008 petrol A4 in this country at decent money.

Anyway its down to more the type of driving that's done rather than number of miles alone that should tell you whether a diesel car is suitable or not. If the majority of your driving is constant short trips then you will find that a diesel doesn't really make sense as it takes a diesel longer to warm up meaning it's not that fuel efficient. This type of driving can also lead to particle filters getting blocked and premature failure of flywheels. If your doing an average steady 60 mph for a constant 20 mins or more daily then that should be sufficient.

wolfyboy555

Cheers Bazz. I know you have had a CC yourself. What questions would I need to ask the dealers in relation to it's condition. I know to ask for a service history but things like timing belts and water pumps I wouldn't have a clue about. I would need a list to tick off in front of me when I am at a dealers.

bazz26

Timing belt change is due at 100k miles on the CC. Definitely ask the dealer if he can email you on a photo copy of the car's service history and maybe fresh photos of the exterior and interior. Then do the usual UK HPI history checks and ring the garages that stamped the service history and find out if what they did and at what mileage matches that in the service history book. If all checks out then and you are happy with the price then I'd spend money on the likes of an AA inspection to make sure the car is both physically and mechanically sound. The AA inspection is not cheap but pretty comprehensive considering the money you will be spending. It could also save you a trip over there only to be disappointed.

wolfyboy555

Any opinions on this. Seems like a good price. Is the mileage high for a four year old? It's located up North so would be easier to view and collect and less hassle.

http://www.usedcarsni.com/141737376

bazz26

Mileage is above average but normal if it was a UK fleet car. Make sure there are no vibrations through the clutch or the flywheel could be on it's way out, they have a tendency to wear out on modern diesels at that sort of mileage. You will be looking at about €900 for a new clutch and flywheel from an indy on those cars. Timing belt and water pump also should have been changed at around 100k miles.

Also remember that you will have to pay VRT on top of that down here to put it on Irish plates.

9935452

wolfyboy555 wrote: »

So it has been a year now since I said I should change my car (http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=88496489)but have never done anything about it. Anyways I am determined to change it in the coming weeks. It is a 04 Astra 1.4 petrol with 88,000 miles. I am getting it nct’d next week so it will hopefully pass it which will make it easier to sell I hope. I have spent €200 on it in the mechanics last year. When I start the engine from cold it revs on its own and when I drive off and clutch it revs loads. I think people walking near the car think I ma trying to run them over.

My mileage is not too big. I have tracked it since the start of September and have only done 4,000 miles. This is mainly due to the fact I carpool to work and only drive once every second week so if this changes (which it could) I would obviously be doubling my mileage. My commute to work is a 35 mile round trip on good roads and on weekends I would do an 80 mile round trip on motorway. I then have the usual bits and bobs of driving smaller trips for errands etc in the evenings.

I keep going between petrol and diesel. Everyone I have talked to keeps telling me to get diesel. However I know most of the advice here would be to get petrol. I don’t know a huge amount about cars but from what I have read it seems diesels are more prone to complicated issues. However they have the benefit of cheaper car tax and much better mpg.

I would like to upgrade to a nice car (not bog spec) that will do me for the foreseeable future so I was looking over in England at some models. I have been switching between wanting an Audi A4/Passat CC/Alfa 159. I would like cruise control, Bluetooth and leather if possible.

Budget wise it was around €10,000 last year but I think I might stretch it to get a v.nice car as you are only young once. Hopefully I could get rid my current car for about €1000 so anything between 10-15k including that 1k is probably my budget. Sterling has taken a dive though recently which isn’t good. The other problem is that to import some petrol’s is quite expensive due to their high carbon emissions and I don’t find them too much cheaper than some of their diesel counterparts.

Here is an example of two cars, which I was looking at:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201501190266463/sort/default/colour/black/maximum-mileage/up_to_100000_miles/radius/1500/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew/page/1/model/passat_cc/make/volkswagen/maximum-age/up_to_6_years_old/keywords/gt/postcode/br14pp/usedcars/transmission/manual/seller-type/trade_adverts?logcode=p

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201412089516777/sort/default/radius/1500/page/1/postcode/br14pp/seller-type/trade_adverts/engine-size-cars/2l_to_2-5l/maximum-mileage/up_to_100000_miles/keywords/s%20line%20/transmission/manual/maximum-age/up_to_6_years_old/make/audi/fuel-type/petrol/usedcars/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew/model/a4?logcode=p

They both fall within my budget (if I get a bit knocked off the audi) when cleared with vrt. Although is ~15000 a lot to spend on a 6 year old car?

I guess my question is should I go for diesel or petrol? I mean the diesel in this case is cheaper and for an extra 1000 pound (same price as Audi) you could even get a 2011:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201410308606552/sort/default/postcode/br14pp/make/volkswagen/radius/1500/model/passat_cc/seller-type/trade_adverts/keywords/GT/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew/usedcars/colour/black/maximum-mileage/up_to_100000_miles/transmission/manual/page/2?logcode=p

Also if buying abroad should I look at private adverts too as I won’t be getting a warranty from dealers so they are kind of the same?

I am going to ring my insurer during the week and see what they say about insurance for similar models as this could price them out of my budget. I am a 25 yr old male.

Any advice appreciated. Sorry for the long post.

The brother bought a golf from a VW dealer in england with a VW warranty. He was told the warranty was valid in ireland too. Never had to use it though

bazz26

9935452 wrote: »

The brother bought a golf from a VW dealer in england with a VW warranty. He was told the warranty was valid in ireland too. Never had to use it though

Only from the time VW started offering 3 years here though. VW UK offered 3 years well before VW Ireland, the 3rd year of the VW UK warranty was not recognised in Ireland. I found this out when I had something to be fixed on mine and had to take it to Belfast to be sorted.