You have 20k, what would you buy...

Lex Luthor

Friend of mine selling his 2002 A4 130bhp 1.9TDi for €21550, but he'll take 20k. 65k miles on the clock. Galway.
Its on Autotrader.

BrianD3

Bizarre that everyting from Landrover Discoverys Maseratis are being recommended in the same thread

Now to make it even more bizarre I'm going to post a pair of French luxobarges
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=389471
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=390311

BrianD3

Ok You did say you wanted a stylish big exec and didn't care about tax or fuel. Forget about boring VAG diesels and horrid jeeps, what you need is 3.2 litres of British V8 power for (near) your budget
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carid=383813

peasant

a bloody big executive car that's stylish and relatively new and will satisfy my vanity

How about a nice Coupe then?

Merc
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=284930
Peugeot
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=71601
Beemer
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=337064

Squirrel

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=389471

And with the change

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=392154
or
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=362318
or
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=368276

exactiv

BrianD3 wrote:

Bizarre that everyting from Landrover Discoverys Maseratis are being recommended in the same thread

Now to make it even more bizarre I'm going to post a pair of French luxobarges
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=389471
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=390311

Buying French cars is not a good idea. They break. A lot. And they'll break your heart as well. I rented a '05 Pug 407 diesel on hols in december, the boot broke, the esp stopped working, the abs packed up and the central locking wouldn't function at all. Piece of junk.

ambro25

Forget the SsangYong (Musso, if that be the one you're thinking about) - this from experience (not my barge but had a lend for short while): it really does handle most sh1ttily, even for a 4x4, I don't know what SY did to the Merc' diesel power plant but it's not as reliable as people would have you believe (they only speak of how good it is because it's the only one more-or-less redeeming feature of the beast - and that's because it's not SYoung's!), and even the diesel is well on the thirsty side - again, even by common 4x4 standards. Stay well away.

As a long-time Jap cars-converted and a 2+ years owner of an Impreza (2.0 Sport, non-modified, used a family car, our first), I'm now a total Subaru whor... sorry, converted person So, the Legacy gets all of my votes so far, in either saloon or estate guise. Since you're after exec' looking, I don't know why you;d consider the Forester (It's ugly. No ifs, no buts. Not as ugly as anything by SsangYoung, though ).

From the reading the thread, and in your particular 'split' between exec wagon or 4x4, any Scoob actually marries both perfectly since they're all full-time 4WD (unlike Audi and equivalents). They're built like panzers, more reliable than a swiss watch, safer than any other comparable-sized saloon (combination of all usual electronic gubbins, ABS and 4WD), and keep their value a bit more steadily than equivalent cars. Only downsides I can think of is that (i) they don't do diesel and (ii) full-time 4WD makes'em slightly thirstier than same-sized FWD or RWD cars.

Now, for something 'different', that answers your latest criteria (cheap, big, executive-looking, etc, etc, for your budget), the Jag' will prove a tad expensive to run BUT... how about a V8 Rover 75 (maybe even the MG one, second-hand)?

prospect

exactiv wrote:

Buying French cars is not a good idea. They break. A lot. And they'll break your heart as well. I rented a '05 Pug 407 diesel on hols in december, the boot broke, the esp stopped working, the abs packed up and the central locking wouldn't function at all. Piece of junk.

Yes, all peugeots ever made suffer at least all of those problems :rolleyes:
That must be why the 206 is one of the best selling cars, EVER.

unkel

That's a nice budget which will give you plenty of scope

I'll third or more the Legacy. See Ambro's post for the reasons You should be able to pick up a 2004 for your budget

Within your budget, or slightly over, you might be able to pick up a brand new Rover 75 diesel (with the excellent BMW diesel engine). You'll have to buy warranty separately though

Did you consider any of the larger Honda / Lexus cars? A Honda Legend is still quite uncommon on these roads. You'll have to go back a few years (2001?) and it might be difficult to find one though

Big Nelly

prospect wrote:

Yes, all peugeots ever made suffer at least all of those problems :rolleyes:
That must be why the 206 is one of the best selling cars, EVER.

206 is a heap of sh*t....always though so and then a friend made the mistake of buying one......1 month later and she hates it and is selling it as soon as she can find some other poor sap to buy it off her.....

Funny thing was I drove it down shops one day to see how it was and was giving out about how crap it was when this guys passed me who had parked beside me. He was in tears laughing, just turned around and says "you just have to drive them, I have the problem of trying to sell them", I couldnt help but laugh. Then he looked back at it and goes "your ok, you have the 02 one..the newer ones are worse". That from the Sales guy for Peugeots? I think it says something. He was in a 406 or whatever the big version Peugeot are.

If I had 20k would buy a newer Passat, just picked up my 02 Highline 130Bhp Passat yesterday and I love it(had 00 90Bhp before). UK import so all the extra's on it..heated seats, cruise control etc.

Thanks so much for all the suggestions and the time taken to link cars and suggestions.

Got a few great ideas that I'd never have thought of. Think I've buried the Saangyong idea after the reviews here and the linked stuff.

Squirrel, I had toyed with the idea of buying 20 Pandas, calling in all the friends and travelling in convoys - it would get me the attention I crave anyway.

Hadn't really thought about getting a coupe of any model, or going for a Passat or Legacy, but will check these out more.

In the meantime, anyone got an opinion on Mazda? Found this, which looks nice...

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=239379

or this, which is a 2004 jeep...

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=355825

Someone mentioned Honda Legend.

Even though it would completely bust the budget, I see a 2005 Honda Accord available here

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=393886

Lovely looking car - and remember that's the priority!!

The jag suggestions are tempting, but I'd get killed for driving a jag around South Kerry! Hadn't considered the Rover V8 but this one looks nice - don't Rover have a bad rep tho?

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=393886

JamesM

Conor, I have a 00 Subaru Legacy - older than you are thinking of, I have had it for 3 years and it is the best car I've ever had. The AWD is fantastic. No 2 wheel drive corners as fast (if you need to). I tow a boat, cross the odd field - no problem. I would not go for anything as big as the Forrester, but either the Saloon, Estate, or the Outback will be my next car.
If you are round Killorglin, keep an eye out for a famous Kerry cyclist, also driving a Legacy And he swears by it

bazz26

Here is a nice Legacy:

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=Car&carID=399400&message=You%20searched%20for%3A%20Subaru%20Legacy%2C%20Year%3A%202004%2C%20added%20in%20the%20last%207%20days%2E%20Your%20search%20returned%20one%20vehicle%2C%20which%20is%20shown%20below%2E&CFID=3304717&CFTOKEN=72471613

Pretty unique 2 year old car on these roads for under €20k, not bad.

Big Nelly

Deleted User wrote:

or going for a Passat[/url]

Take one for a spin, but make sure its the 130Bhp model. They are great, this is the one I have just bought http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=363095

Love it, power is great in them and so comfy inside, used to have base model but the difference to the highline is great. Also if getting a Passat second hand try and get a UK import because they have all the extras on them. Mine has heated seats etc which you don't get on the Irish models. Also if unsure about UK models there is a website I can give you which will check if it is clocked etc......gives you some peace of mind

robo1

Are you still thinking of selling your current A4? If so what price would you be looking for?