Al Hayes - Ridiculously overpriced 2nd hand cars, or is it just me?

boredatwork82

Hey,
Just browsing car sites there lately. I will probably have to change my car soon.
I popped onto Al Hayes carzone page and noticed that his prices for 7-8 year old cars are just nuts, or so it appears to my unedumacted eye.

Mc Love

So are prices for 2nd hand cars all over the place.

boredatwork82

But his seem even crazier than normal, and I am only looking to spend about 3-5k (absolute max) so the savings to be made would probably be eaten up by expenses, and I couldn't justify the time and effort in going to the UK as savings at the end would probably be small enough.

thenashlegend

I know what you mean!:rolleyes: I had the same problem up to last week! Spent an age looking for a decent car down south for the same money as you but with nothing on the horizon I looked North to the likes of Usedcarsni!:D Such a change.....I ended up with a '02 A4 1.9 TDi SE with 103k miles on Irish plates for 5600 euro's!:D Bought it for £3950 which cost me €4600 and VRT or €984!! My advice is to check up north but just bring a mechanic with you before you buy! Also check the variables like VRT and tax just to be on the safe side! :rolleyes:

Mc Love

Or get it checked out with Vehicle inspection from RAC

boredatwork82

Yeah, I have been checking UK and Northern Autotrader.
Or am I expecting to much to get a decent 03-04 diesel, big car for 5k.
I think I'll ring moneysupermarket to see if I can get the help of the haggle merchant!

thenashlegend

boredatwork......A big car for 5k is definitely achievable....I found www.usedcarsni.com a great help! Very good motors at a reasonable price!:D Something like this maybe?? >>>>>>http://www.usedcarsni.com/28944577?grtkey=1265659761_9ba99d79911593d92bb12bfd13a9bb7f A very spacious car with nice little touches of class......same as a Passat or A4 really?!:D

boredatwork82

Thanks Nash, Thats exactly the type of car that I am looking for.
I currently drive an old Octavia that has served me well. Will actually look into that Superb if the bank approve my loan!

thenashlegend

There should be plenty more of them around to be honest! New Ford Mondeo's are very reasonable too across the border plus parts are much more reasonable than the likes of an A4. Need any more help, let me know!

boredatwork82

Cool, Thanks.
I was actually looking at the mondeo, superb and vectra.
A4 is a bit small for me, Its a bit narrow.I am a big guy.
But as nice as Audi's are, like VW overpriced when you consider what you get in a lesser branded car (badge snobbery people if ya know what I mean!)

Run_to_da_hills

Al Hayes would sooner let cars rot out in the field at the back of his premisis than sell them off cheap. This policy hasn't changed in years.

flutered

so would a lot of dealers, i have seen a dealer have cars collected by hegarthys rather than sell them off

thenashlegend

Exactly hills.....People all over the place told me of all these cheap cars but no garage will let cars go much below the asking price!:rolleyes: Even with the amount of used cars around they will not budge only 600 below the asking price! (In my experience anyway):rolleyes: They above all people cannot afford to be picky! Good riddance to any garage that has to close down!! Long enough they screwed the people in this country out of hard earned money!!

nogoodnamesleft

thenashlegend wrote: »

I know what you mean!:rolleyes: I had the same problem up to last week! Spent an age looking for a decent car down south for the same money as you but with nothing on the horizon I looked North to the likes of Usedcarsni!:D Such a change.....I ended up with a '02 A4 1.9 TDi SE with 103k miles on Irish plates for 5600 euro's!:D Bought it for £3950 which cost me €4600 and VRT or €984!! My advice is to check up north but just bring a mechanic with you before you buy! Also check the variables like VRT and tax just to be on the safe side! :rolleyes:

Does the 5600 include a working radio

thenashlegend

Aha! Well spotted!!:D Yup it did surely!! Worked perfectly till 2 or 3 days ago!!:rolleyes: No solutions then??:o

dnme

OP

You should see the Al hayes car lot at Portumna, there are literally acres of used cars. Way too many, you can't possibly ever see them all and its impossible to get hopld of a salesman.

As others have said, he has a reputation for not dealing, and the acres of card stacked up on his premises are evidence of this.

boredatwork82

Yeah GT, I have been up there a few times, before the new fancy showroom. He gave my father good deals. He bought 2 new VW's off him over the years, and gave a very good price for the trade ins.

But at those times I wasn't in the car market, so just wandered round the fields whilst waiting for a salesman. Never really asked/bothered about prices.
It is an experience to go up and walk around the fields, he seems to put them in fields judging by the state & age of the car!

But Holy Moly they seem to be way overpriced.

bazz26

I have been told in the past that he is ok to deal with if buying new but don't waste your time if buying used. Also having seen his field of used cars and the way they are parked up on top of each other, etc I would not touch one. I have seen Passats and Golfs parked there with moss on them and deflated tyres as if they were there years.

Mc Love

I would love to see how long it would take to get one of the cars at the back - must be some job!