Used VW car advice needed

billyboots10

Looking for some advice at present regarding a VW Golf Estate.

I recently lost my job in which I used to drive a company car. After this I asked them if they had any old cars that they might be willing to sell as I would be in need of something to get me around. They have come back to me to see if I'd be interested in the following....

05 VW Golf Estate 1.9TDI

200,000km

NCT due 07/11

The clutch however is gone in it!!!

Could do with some advice in knowing how much this car might be worth????

CarsOnTest

Hello,

I would not be too quick to jump on this car. With the market as it is there are many dealers who are willing to provide a bargain because they would rather take a sale well below list price than risk holding onto a car that will only depreciate the longer it is left on the forecourt.

Seeing that the NCT in date is positive but I would not take that as a signal the car is in fantastic condition. The NCT is a very quick overlook of the car to ensure it is safe for the road but it is by no means an in depth mechanical check. Cambelts, gearboxes and various other mechanical pieces will not be checked out to a great degree.

As the clutch is shot I would not buy this car. By the sounds of things you would like something cheap to run but also reasonably large. I would advise a Skoda Octavia. They are massive cars for the price and all based on other VW cars such as the Golf. Due to the badge on the front however they depreciate more so and are bargains. Many too come with diesel engines and if I am not mistaken the same engine in the golf above, however I am not 100% certain of this.

While I have not seen this car it appear to be one worth a look- <snip>
Tax for the year on both this Skoda and the Golf would be €582 for the year but it should be reasonably trouble free motoring and economical. There is a reason why so many taxi drivers get Octavias-they are good value, big and reliable. This particular car is found <snip> in Ballymount but Octavia's can be found all over Dublin as they are very common on Irish roads
If you are willing to get a petrol Octavia with a 1.4 it will be cheaper to tax and cheaper to buy. My advice would be to decide on a price and see what is available and even if something is 1000-2000 over what you are willing to pay just offer the dealer it in cash and they will probably bite-if using carzone check out when the ad was last updated, if it was a long time ago it probably means the dealer will be quicker to accept a sale and you may walk away with a bit of a bargain!

I am in fact in the process of setting up a website dedicated to helping peple buy quality 2nd hand used cars by carrying our road tests across Dublin, whilst it has only begun this week it may help you now or in the future, check it out at <snip>.

Hope this has been helpful,

Happy and safe motoring

-Chris-

Hi Carsontest,

That's a great and very helpful first post, but I've had to snip your details and the details of the business you're recommending just in case there's any concerns that you are promoting a particular business.

Happy posting and welcome to boards.ie

Chris