opinions wanted!!!

cantdecide

i've had two tdi A4s in the last two years a '96 and a '98.
if you can swing a tdi, do, because unlike the 1.6, they have a perfectly good amount of power, the economy is superb, A4's style is undoubtedly superb and if you switch to quinn direct at your next renewal you will insure it for a song (even if hibenian hike your premium today).
this control arm problem is a real one, in my case, if i got through a service without needing any, it was a cause for celebration. but i did have 18's on both. you do get over it very quickly because all cars do have isms and audi just happen to have this ism. they certainly are not cheap, but it isn't crippling enough to consider not buying an A4.

passat tdi is a very good alternative. responds very well to mods (wheels and lowering is plenty) but also have control arm issue apparently. not as much a driver's car as A4, but does have more room in the back.

is this any help?

colm_mcm

did you completely miss the bit about him not being able to get insurance on anything bigger than 1.6?

cantdecide

cantdecide wrote:

......to quinn direct at your next renewal you will insure it for a song (even if hibenian hike your premium today).
this contro

ignition isn't everything, i had no ignition when i started driving just a bill for almost £4k. diesel economy will probably cover difference anyway. what kind of supermini can you get fo €5k?

colm_mcm

I'm not suggesting a supermini, the OP clearly doesn't want one. I'll leave suggesting completely inappropriate cars to yourself!

There was no ignition scheme when I started driving either, but premiums were also lower than they are at present.

cantdecide

the man asked about A4s, i told him about mine. i'm not sure why everything is so personal with you colm.

colm_mcm

cantdecide wrote:

the man asked about A4s, i told him about mine. i'm not sure why everything is so personal with you colm.

Thers's nothing personal cantdecide, but if you read the posts you'd have seen the bit about not wanting anything bigger than 1.6

nadnif wrote:

Hi all,
hoping to change my car in the next week or so....
Anyway, I don't want to change without checking out other options so with a €5000 limit and up to 1.6,what would you buy?With a balance between style and reliability....so no Fiats etc!!

nadnif wrote:

I have been keeping a check on northern cars alright,but they never seem to have 1.6's,just diesel and I can't insure a 1.9 on the ignition course

TDI's make more money than 1.6 petrols, most will have higher mileage. Sure, the higher powered diesels are very nice to drive, but in my opinion they just don't meet the criteria.

cantdecide

cantdecide wrote:

i've had two tdi A4s in the last two years a '96 and a '98.
if you can swing a tdi, do, because unlik....

the benefits outweigh the problems. if he goes for a 1.9, he goes from ignition to normal cover-the world doesn't end. i advised him as a former A4 owner to go the extra mile and reap the benefits of a tdi. mileage is nothing to them, my '96 had 145k or something like that when i sold it and it purred like a kitten. a 1.8 would be good too, but the 1.6 is unbearably slow in a bigger car

that is my advice to him and it is not an opportunity for you to have a jab at me. he can ignore me if he wants- why can't you?

colm_mcm

cantdecide wrote:

that is my advice to him and it is not an opportunity for you to have a jab at me. he can ignore me if he wants- why can't you?

Am I having a jab at you?

maidhc

cantdecide wrote:

that is my advice to him and it is not an opportunity for you to have a jab at me. he can ignore me if he wants- why can't you?

Because you are irritating?

If the OP said he was going to buy a new S-Class I suspect you would suggest he go for a Maybach.

cantdecide

the only thing i hate more than micras is bottom of the range cars. in england, as previously posted, you don't get that many 1.6s. they will always spec them up.
if you are buying an A4- buy a proper A4. if you are buying the small maybach, i would suggest getting the top S instead.




ps i thought you agreed to not read my threads, maidhc?

colm_mcm

didn't know there was such a thing as a small Maybach!!

cantdecide

;)i might be wrong but there's a 5.8m or a 6.2m. that makes the 5.8, the .....small one. still bigger than the S;)

colm_mcm

I'd say they're all big!

KeRbDoG

I have seen it already in this thread, don't bother with an A4. They are usually over priced. Just get a VW Passat. Same chassis/engine/gearbox underneath and the front end looks better

Mc-BigE

natnif wrote:

well I can't afford anything newer,and as I said in the first post I am limited to a 1.6 by the hibernian ignition course. I have checked out the importing idea and its just not viable unless from the north

i dont understand why going to the UK isn't viable? there's a lot of deals over there, but as you've already pointed out the a4 you test drove was sh1te, so
maybe you might be better to look at a newer car or smaller car for the same money, like passat/golf,octavia,audi a3, seat leon/toledo.
you'll find it hard to find any 10year old car that hasn't had a long tough life.

have you tried www.autotrader.ie for up north?

natnif

Mc-BigE wrote:

i dont understand why going to the UK isn't viable? there's a lot of deals over there, but as you've already pointed out the a4 you test drove was sh1te, so
maybe you might be better to look at a newer car or smaller car for the same money, like passat/golf,octavia,audi a3, seat leon/toledo.
you'll find it hard to find any 10year old car that hasn't had a long tough life.

have you tried www.autotrader.ie for up north?

yeah the 1.6 are few and far between up north,and england isn't viable because I am on a serious budget, so if I made a trip over and didn't get a car on the first go I would be dropping a few hundred quid off the car I could now afford.
@cantdecide - I would prefer a 1.8 obviously,but my insurance would go up,tax is higher and running costs go up = money I don't have....maybe in a few years eh?but for now,it's gotta be MAX 1.6
I've decided octavia's are out, so in the running
1 - Audi A4
2 - Audi A3
3 - Seat Toledo 1.6
4 - VW Passat
5 - VW Golf mk 4(if I can find one for the price....)

phoenix_nights

natnif wrote:

yeah the 1.6 are few and far between up north,and england isn't viable because I am on a serious budget, so if I made a trip over and didn't get a car on the first go I would be dropping a few hundred quid off the car I could now afford.
@cantdecide - I would prefer a 1.8 obviously,but my insurance would go up,tax is higher and running costs go up = money I don't have....maybe in a few years eh?but for now,it's gotta be MAX 1.6
I've decided octavia's are out, so in the running
1 - Audi A4
2 - Audi A3
3 - Seat Toledo 1.6
4 - VW Passat
5 - VW Golf mk 4(if I can find one for the price....)

Dont know mate. I would advise buying something that you can sell easily in a year. Say a corolla. Yep its boring but you will sell it for what you bought it (if you shop around), no reliability issues, excellent fuel economy, less chance of wrapping yourself around a tree and then in a years time when you know more you will have a better idea of what you want to buy.

Better a corolla for a year and then a Audi TDI after, than a A6 1.6 now IMO.

cantdecide

toledo is best value and probably more of a driver's car. you can probably get a tdi toledo. running costs go down.

colm_mcm

I reckon the Toledo is the best value too