Audi A4 2.0TDI Post July

Bulmers

I've currently looking to buy a car, need one fairly sharpish as changed jobs, had comp car for yrs but getting screwed on BIK as dont do huge miles so gone with car allowance in new job.

I'm regularly looking at websites for abve car, looking for 2005 model and it's clear cars aren't moving so obviously people waiting to see what will happen post July but does anyone have any opinions on what might happen, would i be mad to buy the above car, or buy any car now? I thought buying a diesel in the long run would be best choice in terms of sell on value etc but i guess if i think of it logically, in 2/3yrs time, there will be cheaper, newer A4s in the 2nd hand market which possibly means i'd lose quiet a bit on this one to compete in 2nd hand market.

Also, realistically will what happens in the market post July be seen quickly or will it take a yr or so to pan out.

On the other hand, diesel is going up, petrol going down, does this mean then that 2-3 yr old petrol cars will become more attractive?

But then again it is a good time to buy aswell as nothing selling and good deals to be got..

hard one to call, anyone got any opinions?

drunkmonkey

If you don't do huge miles 30k +, petrol is the better option right now....and there also quicker and nicer to drive...

Hard to know what will happen....the only new car I would consider buying right now is a Mistubishi EVO before it's taxed and vrt'd out of existance.....

Audi A4 1.8t Might suit you fine.....you shoud be able to pick up a bargin.....or maybe wait....hard to call

Bulmers

just thinking though petrol maybe better right now but maybe 2/3 yrs down the line, diesel probably easier to sell on, and checking out carzone, nearly all A4s are diesel aswell, not many petrol..

i cant see the new prices drastically changing the car market in the near term, circa 5yrs, in the sense that pre registered july 08 cars would be seriously devalued..or could it???

Oilrig

E92 seems to have this issue sorted in detail, he'll advise. PM him if he doesn't post.

-Chris-

Don't buy just yet. Cheaper prices of 05 imports post-July will have an effect on pricing of similar Irish cars. Diesels will get cheaper, new and second hand.

Diesels should hold their value pretty well - although you should expect a drop due to the July thing, the drop in purchase price and the drop in second hand price will probably cancel each other out. Think in terms of depreciation rather than price.

I think in 2-3 years (when your car is 5-6 years old), petrol and diesel versions will be worth the same second hand (roughly) as their new car purchase prices will be very similar and people tend to base their second hand valuation on what the car cost new.
Therefore, low mileage petrols will command a slight premium. In high mileage cars, diesel will command the premium. The effect will be pretty minimal though.

In terms of running costs, petrol and diesel will not grow too far apart in price at the pumps, but a diesel engine will do 45mpg where a petrol only does 35mpg. Do the sums yourself based on the manufacturer's mpg figures and your mileage profile if you want to find your break even point for petrol vs. diesel.

It'll be 6 months minimum, and 12 months realistically, before everything pans out and we know the full effect of this change on the used car market.

Bulmers

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the reply, I'm in a tricky situation now where i am being forced to buy a car basically, on a rental till end of month then car allowance kicks in so have to have something..

Anyway, you mentioned the imports bringing down the price, i've been in touch with a garage who is bringing in a 05 2.0TDi S Line, 40k miles...24k euro. I think this ia quiet a good price for this car, most 2.0 TDIs on carzone coming in at 27-28k for basic model?

Ferris

Check everything on this as its quite unusual for a diesel saloon car from england to have low mileage. Also get a HPI check done on it to see if it has been written off at any time. Quite common for 'low mileage' diesel cars to be written off as they have spent some time off the road, thereby not running up mileage.

It actually might be worthwhile to import the car after the July VRT changeover and rent or borrow a car for June as VRT will go from 30% to 26%(?). Word to the wise, most diesel cars are going to reduce in value after July so its not an ideal time to buy one.

-Chris-

Ferris wrote: »

Check everything on this as its quite unusual for a diesel saloon car from england to have low mileage. Also get a HPI check done on it to see if it has been written off at any time. Quite common for 'low mileage' diesel cars to be written off as they have spent some time off the road, thereby not running up mileage.

If there's a garage doing the importing for you, let them do all this chasing for you and get them to certify the car clean and clear before you buy it. Your contract will be with them and it'll be easy to go back to them if there are any queries or problems.

Ferris wrote: »

It actually might be worthwhile to import the car after the July VRT changeover and rent or borrow a car for June as VRT will go from 30% to 26%(?). Word to the wise, most diesel cars are going to reduce in value after July so its not an ideal time to buy one.

I don't know the CO2 emissions of that car, but I'd expect the drop to be from 30% to 20% VRT - a saving of €2k+? Worth checking out.

Rent a car for a few hundred quid, buy the car post-July, use the change to give yourself a few days in Monart.

Bulmers

would a petrol then be a better choice in terms of price not changing too much, something like this

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Audi/A4/1.8T-163/867126/

petrol would be an option for me as only do about 12k kms a yr or so..back and forward to work over the m50..

will check out renting car for month too

thanks for the replies..

-Chris-

Yeah, that car looks fine - has sport seats, sports steering wheel etc. etc.

If you don't necessarily need a diesel, don't complicate things by buying one. The pricing of the petrol is barely changing, so you can buy in confidence that you won't get caught out on pricing or big changes in second hand values.

E92

Petrol went up 9% last year, diesel went up by 15%, and when we all go en masse to diesel in July with our new cars, what with diesels' 30% greater efficiency(therefore the Government's fuel revenue is down 23% (100/130) and lower road tax and a maginally higher purchase price over petrol means nobody in their right mind will buy a petrol plus the fact that the Government already taxes diesel at 6 cent less per litre than petrol means that diesel won't be getting cheaper any time soon!

So petrol may well not be a whole lot dearer to run, if at all in the long run.

A 1.8T A4 should be found for very little money compared to the 1.9TDI too.

Remember that there will be great value to be found in the used car market in July here too, used cars here willl start to fall in price shortly if they already haven't, especially diesels.

return guide

I have 1.8t at the moment, untill i chose a new company car. its a 150bhp and a fanastic drive.

Would I buy one? no the level of equipment is terrible ( rear centre lap belt, rear window winders).

great car when somebody else is paying for the petrol.

Hope this helps.

Bulmers

Been looking around and i think 24k for a 05 2.0TDi S Line is good value, spoke the to the garage owner and he said it's all fully checked out etc so i'll go and have a look anyway, 2.0TDis seem to be around 26k mark, S lines about 2k more so even after July, i cant see these cars dropping to much nearer 20k? T

he realistic drop is the diff in the VRT which is 10% which would equate to approx 2-2.5k drop in price i would guess.

bazz26

Just spotted this one:
http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Audi/A4/1.9-TDI/1049681/

Seems a bit cheap €23k including VRT for a 06?

oilsheik

From reading the various post on the post July prices it seems to me that relative to Audi and BMW, the Mercedes C-Class range seems to be in a poor position relative to the A4 and 3-Series only the C200cdi and C220 seem to be the only options for diesel buyers am I right?

Bulmers

bazz26 wrote: »

Just spotted this one:
http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Audi/A4/1.9-TDI/1049681/

Seems a bit cheap €23k including VRT for a 06?

seen that one alright, nice car aswell...agree it's very cheap for an 06...possibly sign of things to come?...

i think i might go back and take a comp car, just too much uncertainty in buying 2nd hand car