What car next?

Lt Smash

Hey,

I'm graduating from college this year as a civil engineer and trying to line up my next car. At the moment I have a Fiat Bravo and am looking forward to something with a lot more power. So I need ye're help and experience to guide me in the right direction. I need a car that is practical but still fun to drive and kind on the eyes. I will more than likely be travelling to England in the summer for it as they are a rip off here.

I was thinking along the lines of

Audi A4 1.9TDI 130BHP
Ford Mondeo Ghia X 2.0 TDCi 130 BHP
VW Passat 1.9TDI 130BHP
VW Golf 1.9 GT TDI 130/150BHP
BMW 320d

Is there any I have overlooked?

Now the main part, I have about €11000 to spend, but that is flexible.

Thanks in advance

Lt

bazz26

Lt Smash wrote:

Hey,

I'm graduating from college this year as a civil engineer and trying to line up my next car. At the moment I have a Fiat Bravo and am looking forward to something with a lot more power. So I need ye're help and experience to guide me in the right direction. I need a car that is practical but still fun to drive and kind on the eyes. I will more than likely be travelling to England in the summer for it as they are a rip off here.

I was thinking along the lines of

Audi A4 1.9TDI 130BHP
Ford Mondeo Ghia X 2.0 TDCi 130 BHP
VW Passat 1.9TDI 130BHP
VW Golf 1.9 GT TDI 130/150BHP
BMW 320d

Is there any I have overlooked?

Now the main part, I have about €11000 to spend, but that is flexible.

Thanks in advance

Lt

You can forget about an Audi A4 TDi 130bhp or BMW 320d on your budget i'm afraid unless it has been driven to the moon and back. You will be pushing it too with the Passat, you may get a Golf. Your best bet is the Mondeo but the 130bhp Ghia is very scarce. You will need to go to the UK where they are dirt cheap.

junkyard

BMW 320d would be my first choice, followed by the Audi, but as Bazz says you won't get them for 12k euros. The best of the rest is definitely the Mondeo, forget the rest, they're rubbish, overrated and trading on their past glories.

Beady

Lt Smash wrote:

I will more than likely be travelling to England in the summer for it as they are a rip off here.



Lt

May be stating the obvious here, but, bear in mind that you'll still have to pay VRT to register it in Ireland. This is based on the IRISH retail price of the car so may not be as cheap as you think.(VRT is also affected by the day of the week, the mood of whoever you talk to in the VRT office, the lunar phase, last weeks football results:D ) That said you'll still save money over buying in Ireland and get a better spec and probably a car in better condition with a more reliable history.

Of the cars you list, well, none of them really do anything for me. I'm not a Diesel fan 'cos I like a power band wider than 500 RPM. But if that's what you want I'd go for the BM first followed by the golf. Realistically though, the mondeo will probably be the best bet with your budget.

zuutroy

Beady wrote:

May be stating the obvious here, but, bear in mind that you'll still have to pay VRT to register it in Ireland. This is based on the IRISH retail price of the car so may not be as cheap as you think.(VRT is also affected by the day of the week, the mood of whoever you talk to in the VRT office, the lunar phase, last weeks football results:D )

Anyone I've ever spoken to or heard of has paid exactly what they were told on the revenue site.

junkyard

zuutroy wrote:

Anyone I've ever spoken to or heard of has paid exactly what they were told on the revenue site.

I haven't, sometimes I paid less but more often I had to pay more.:(

Tony255

junkyard wrote:

I haven't, sometimes I paid less but more often I had to pay more.:(

Sounds like you bring in cars often, did you ever get burned with a bad deal that is my fear. My buddy bought a BMW 325 04' from the UK and when he brought it to be serviced they said it had computer chips in it belonging to another BMW sounded really dodgy so they wouldnt service it. I'd say that is like something that would happen to me.

junkyard

I've been dealing in cars since I was 12 years of age, much to my mothers dismay:) , You really just have to be careful when your buying cars, any cars not just imports. Its always good to do a HPI check if your not sure, if the owner has nothing to hide they won't mind.

testicle

I hope Marilyn will be transferring to the new car.

maidhc

Lt Smash wrote:

Now the main part, I have about €11000 to spend, but that is flexible.

I doubt if you will get much for 11k, even in the UK.

The mondeos are cheap, but not that cheap, and really you would need to be closer to 20k to get a nice clean hi spec one on landed here on Irish plates.

If I had that money I would stay in Ireland. Plenty of bargains to be had here if you keep an open mind as to what you will drive!

testicle

Here you are, have one of these. Slightly out of your budget, but if you walked in and offered 11k in cash, I'm sure it'd be accepted. They tend to stay a log time on forecourts for some bizarre reason.

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=563133

Tony255

junkyard wrote:

I've been dealing in cars since I was 12 years of age, much to my mothers dismay:) , You really just have to be careful when your buying cars, any cars not just imports. Its always good to do a HPI check if your not sure, if the owner has nothing to hide they won't mind.

A HPI check is just to show if there is any outstanding money owed on the car, right? What check can you do to see if the car has been clocked, etc.... Apologies for taking this post off topic.

colm_mcm

testicle wrote:

Here you are, have one of these. Slightly out of your budget, but if you walked in and offered 11k in cash, I'm sure it'd be accepted. They tend to stay a log time on forecourts for some bizarre reason.

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=563133

Are you being serious?

junkyard

Tony255 wrote:

A HPI check is just to show if there is any outstanding money owed on the car, right? What check can you do to see if the car has been clocked, etc.... Apologies for taking this post off topic.

HPI check in the U.K. will tell you if the car has been involved in an accident...as long as there was an insurance claim in against it, it should also give you the correct mileage at MOT time. If your really not sure get the AA or RAC to check it, they're insured against making a mistake so if they f**K up you can claim against them. (I'm not encouraging that by the way;) )

bazz26

Tony255 wrote:

A HPI check is just to show if there is any outstanding money owed on the car, right? What check can you do to see if the car has been clocked, etc.... Apologies for taking this post off topic.

A HPI check done by the Irish HPI company on an Irish car will only show any outstanding finance. That is the only information they have here..

If importing a car from the UK get a HPI check done with a UK HPI company via the car's chassis number. They will have access to way more information and can verify things such as full service history, MOT failures, recorded mileage when it went for the MOT and any accident claims or write offs made againts the insurance.

Biro

"Fun to drive" is the key statement in your post. By that reckoning, rule out the VW's, and the Audi. Comfortable, but not fun.
3-series can be ruled out because of the price, leaving the Mondeo on that list.
€11k is reasonably limited on a fun diesel. However, you could pick up a nice DC2 type R for that money!

gyppo

Mondeo in 130bhp guise the way to go, imo, but then again I'm a biased owner. Most of the 130's are found to be will into the 140's in terms of actual bhp measured on a rolling road (according to reports I've read on the web).

As Bazz pointed out, the 130bhp model is very rare in this country, and you will probable need to look to the UK for them. Although the Ghia trim is nice, don't limit yourself to this type only - the Zetec and Zetec S models are well appointed.

Also, essential to do a HPI Check on any UK car. It costs less than the price of a tank of fuel, and will let you know whether there is finance outstanding, ever was the subject of an insurance claim, stolen, came to police attention, etc..
Also, the vehicle is checked against the National Milage Register, where odometer readings are logged by MOT centres.

Keep your HPI report when you go to sell on the car too.

Lt Smash

Thanks for all the help so far. The Mondeo seems to be the way to go and I'm going over to England for it.

This may be a stupid question but is there a major difference between the 115 and 130Bhp engine (without stating the obvious) ? I mean power, acceleration, speed etc?

Is 100k high mileage for a '02 or is it average for an English diesel?

Is the price of the Mondeo due to drop later this year with the release of the new model? A lot a ex-fleet cars coming into the market after being replaced by the new model.

I'm looking at the Ghia X mainly because of the leather interior, but it is only a luxury.

How does this one look?

http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/www/CARS_popup.asp?searchform=&modelexact=1&lid=search_used_cars_full&photo=1&state=none&sort=3&hassearched=Y&make=FORD&min_pr=500&source=2&model=MONDEO&max_pr=10000&agerange=2&mileage=&miles=1500&trim=ghia+x&keywords=tdci+&postcode=bs32+4nf&ukcarsearch_full.x=0&ukcarsearch_full.y=0&start=1&distance=32&adcategory=CARS&channel=CARS&id=200701265241746

Thanks

Lt

unkel

Lt Smash wrote:

How does this one look?

Looks good, nice spec. Leather is good

I wonder though would that really work out cheaper than buying one over here? I mean £5k = €7.5k + €4k VRT = €11.5k for a 5 year old car with nearly 100k miles on it. Plenty of cars on carzone with an asking price of less than that and that's before you get a substantial discount as a cash buyer

gyppo

Lt Smash wrote:

This may be a stupid question but is there a major difference between the 115 and 130Bhp engine (without stating the obvious) ? I mean power, acceleration, speed etc?

Is 100k high mileage for a '02 or is it average for an English diesel?

Is the price of the Mondeo due to drop later this year with the release of the new model? A lot a ex-fleet cars coming into the market after being replaced by the new model.

I'm looking at the Ghia X mainly because of the leather interior, but it is only a luxury.



Lt

Drove a few 115bhp's before I bought the 130bhp model, and tbh, the 115 model is a nice car, and I would have been happy with that.
However, when I stumbled on the 130bhp one (which was an ex uk car), I was smitten. The mid range torque is brilliant, and overtaking in 4th, 5th, or
6th is a quick affair.

100k is imo average miles for a diesel - its now a five year old car. 100k miles on english motorways is a lot less work on a car than 100k miles on irish roads.
Full service history would be essential though. Walk away otherwise.

Wrt the car loosing value, remember that the bulk of this cars depreciation has already occurred - its a five year old car you gave as an example.
However, use the point of the new model being introduced as a bargaining card when haggling.

Unkels point is very valid though - there are plenty of diesel Mondeos in this country (albeit lower spec), which can be got for less than the money in your example. A mondeo Zetec Tdci 115 is still a fine car, and worth considering.
Drive one first - it might fulfil all your needs.
Heres a few examples:

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=561197
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=500651

colm_mcm

I'd find a big difference between the 115 and 130 bhp model Mondeo. the 6 speed box is sweet and a lot nicer to use than the 5 speed. also fuel economy on the 130 is frankly amazing. It just sipped fuel even under heavy driving. I'd definately recommend one.

There were a small number of Zetec "Ebony" models that got climate control and 6 speed box as well as the 130bhp engine.

irish_bob

i would say based on the budget you have to work within
the mondeo is thee only option but even money was not an issue
i would still rate the mondeo, thier an extremly comfortable ride, nice interior and best of all for reasons im not sure
they have a poor depreciation value , in fact a 2 or 3 yr old mondeo is about the same price as a focus
if your someone who will be driving quite a distance to work in this car daily
i would strongly advise you to go for a mondeo automatic, unlike the focus
you can get the mondeo in diesel automatic
in ireland , we have a very unique and strange view of autmatics
we avoid them like the plague , about 1 in 500 cars on irish roads are automatic
in the usa , 99 % of cars are auto and in australia its about 50-50
granted they are somewhat harder on juice
they are so easy to drive , considerring the amount of time you spend in traffic in this country , why not do your left leg a favour and ditch the cluth
i drove an auto in australia about 8 yrs ago and let me tell you a 400 mile drive in an auto is like a 150 mile drive in a manual
i would go for the 2 litre zetec diesel auto mondeo myself
they are out there , in fact i saw a few on carzone a few weeks ago

oh and i might add, a really cool well priced car is a skoda superb
again i would go for the auto diesel

ninty9er

Forget all that This is what you want (the photo is a link)

Lt Smash

Lovely car but I think diesel is the way to go for me 2.0ltr petrol is a bit too much. Running costs and insurance would go through the roof.

I prefer a manual as well, just a person choice, nothing against automatics

Lt Smash

Lovely car but I think diesel is the way to go for me, 2.0ltr petrol is a bit too much. Running costs and insurance would go through the roof.

I prefer a manual as well, just a person choice, nothing against automatics

phill106

Guy i know from one of the car websites (midnightclub.ie) is selling this remapped passat. Well his brother is, but used to be his car!

2001 Passat PD TDI 130 6sp Sport
Spec is

UK Import
97,000 miles
Timing Belt @ 68,000 miles
PD130 remapped by www.turbotech.ie to approx 170bhp & 340 ft/lbs
New modified MAF
New clutch 500 miles ago
Full UK Service History up to 70,000 miles
NCT'd until Sept 2008
Taxed Until Feb 2007

VW Gamma radio with 6 disc changer
Standard components front & rear
ABS & Traction Control (switchable)
18" Audi RS6 alloys with good 225/45/18" tyres (photos show it with 225/40/18's)
BWM 330ci rear boot lip spoiler (modified to fit)
Standard Sport model suspension, 40mm lower than normal passat
Sport interior
Climate Control
Onboard Computer
Privacy Glass, never had any problems from Gardai
Chrome Pack

Note: Photos are before the car was VRT'd
Asking €13,500, ring Kieran 087 7963820, Cork area.

prospect

You want a powerful, fun-to-drive and reasonable sized saloon car, for a budget of approx €11K?

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=568149

P.

junkyard

prospect wrote:

You want a powerful, fun-to-drive and reasonable sized saloon car, for a budget of approx €11K?

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=568149

P.

And make sure you join the AA.:D

HashSlinging

notice the owner traded their Alfa in for a toyota. that sets alarm bells ringing.

prospect

HashSlinging wrote:

notice the owner traded their Alfa in for a toyota. that sets alarm bells ringing.

Holy mother of God. You people go looking for excuses to slate a car. :rolleyes:

I know plenty of people who changed their cars too other marques, it means very little most of the time.

junkyard

prospect wrote:

Holy mother of God. You people go looking for excuses to slate a car. :rolleyes:

I know plenty of people who changed their cars too other marques, it means very little most of the time.

Well in fairness the guy is looking for a decent reliable car not heartbreak and hardship.:rolleyes: