Volvo C30 Flexifuel

Leprechaun77

My missus was looking to buy one of these cars so I had a look in a couple of garages to see what sort of deals were available. The flexifuel option from what I can make of it seems to give a reasonable discount (50% vrt rebate) and no difference in mileage/petrol consumption when using unleaded. The car seems to be better spec'd than similar models around so we decided to go for this. From what I make of it, these cars will go up in price slightly after July 1st due to a max of €2.5 max vrt rebate?

The one problem I have found is that the garages, and private sellers, seem to be looking for ridiculous money.....I priced one car and after speaking with the Salesman I inevitably ask "OK, thats the price in the window but how much are you willing to deal for?" The price in the window was €29,950 and he came back (after speaking with the Sales Manager and a random tap on the calculator) and said he could deal for €27,950 best price. This car was a ex-demo and when I pointed out that I could order a brand new one with the same spec for roughly the same (list price+metallic paint and delivery) he said that I was basically correct...but that was the price the car had to shift at. Other private sellers are trying to shift 2008 models at 5-8% below list price of new model,where they probably got this cash discount at outset. My questions finally are:

1>) What are peoples opinion on the car/model
2>) Am I being greedy in looking for a price 10-15% lower than list price for a demo
3>) Are peoples expectations off the wall at the moment where they think a car will shift for an 8% discount of list price of new model??
4>)Has anybody got post July 1st list prices for Volvo

Any comments appreciated

colm_mcm

how much will a 1.6td be after July?

Leprechaun77

I think the basic price on the diesel was expensive, but reduced from €31.5k to €28.5k, based on calculations (and a great post on another thread) from poster E92

colm_mcm

I reckon a diesel would be a better buy, and worth more down the line

E92

I'd imagine that the diesel will still be a fair bit dearer after July than the 1.8F is now. Having checked the link in my sig, the 1.6D SE will be around €29,500 in July, while the 1.8F SE is €26,600 now. Now considering that in July the same car should be around €28,000(ca €30,500 - €2,500 rebate), this means that depreciation won't be as low as you might think, since you'll be working off a higher list price from July onwards.

I agree with colm_mcm that the paraffin stove will be worth more down the line, but I really don't see the oil burner selling for more than €3k than the 1.8F, even at 1 or 2 years old.

I think if you can get a new one now at a good discount(very important since Volvos aren't the best for depreciation) and if you're not doing a lot of miles then you should go for the 1.8F.

Despite what dieselheads will tell you, they're still not as good as petrols to drive, petrols have refinement, smoothness and nicer sound(they're still quieter too) over diesels as well as a joie de vivre that diesels just don't have.

The main advantages of diesel power are the torque at low revs which gives diesel lovers the incorrect impression that "they are miles quicker than petrol". If you give a petrol engine a bit of stick(lots of revs), then they've no trouble keeping up with diesel torque:D!

That and the much lower running costs, which will make it very hard to recommend petrol over a diesel after July, because although they are not as good as petrol to drive, they're not a whole pile worse either.

colm_mcm

I'd be fairly confident that volvo dealers would do good deals on new Flexifuel models before July, I can't imagine they'd be bothered about selling demo models, as they'll still be the same price after July.

2 grand off list price for the demo is not enough. I'm fairly confident that you could get a new one for that price next month.

Ring around a few dealers and see what the craic is.

E92

I would imagine that Volvo dealers would be mad to get rid of them, after all why are they advertising about how much we can save if we buy them before July if they didn't have a lot of them?

Assuming that the ex-demo car is an SE version, then the absolute most you should be paying is €24.5k. It's an ex-demo, so it is NOT a new car, they've higher depreciation than some other brands, you know that a diesel will be €380 a year less to tax than the 1.8F from July, so that means it will be a dearer car to run and therefore less desirable when the time comes to selling it on(I actually think there will still be a fair few people that will want a petrol over a diesel, you know the type that have the really old fashioned view of diesel and will never drive derv, but obviously you don't tell the dealer this), and of course you've got to haggle:D!

R.O.R

C30 1.8FlexiFuel lists at €32,150 for deliveries after 1st July. I presume a rebate is to come off this, but so far no one can confirm if everything will get €2,500 or if that's just a maximum.

1.6D SE model will be €29,200 after 1st July (down over €3,000).

S models are €2,300 cheaper.