Buying a Donegal car??

Johnny Bitte

Recently looking at getting a Honda Civic Type S.

See a lovely one in Donegal but after mentioning this to my father, he pretty much said he'd never buy a car from up there as the roads are bad and with little Garda presence they drive like maniacs!!

This is the first I've ever heard of this and thought surely the wise ones of the motors forums could shed some light on this!

Honda Civic 1.8-TYPE S

Atomic Pineapple

Get it checked over properly and take it from there, dismissing a car simply because of a stereotype is a bit stupid in my opinion.

MarkR

I'd be more concerned about the number of owners. 3 owners on a 4 year old car? Ask the garage if they have the contact details for the previous owner, and see if you speak to them. May be a demo car as one owner, and legitimate reasons for the next two to sell.

pcardin

The_Goose135 wrote: »

....after mentioning this to my father, he pretty much said he'd never buy a car from up there as the roads are bad and with little Garda presence they drive like maniacs!! .[/URL]

Ask him about Fiat/Alfa Romeo and he might come up with some more laughable stories similar to this :pac:

I personally wouldn't care much about reg and stories like that just Donegal is toooooooo far to be arsed to go there for a car.

Jimdagym

A C or D reg could have spent its entire life rallying around fields, even in Donegal. Wouldn't put me off a bit.

L1011

Get it mechanically checked. Plenty of DL reg cars spend their days driving along runway-grade roads commuting to LK or DL town, probably far more than any physically well kept cars that are bounced around the worse quality bits. Donegal has some absolutely exceptional roads as well as the poor ones.

And there's quite a bit of Garda enforcement due to that perception.

Anan1

The_Goose135 wrote: »

Recently looking at getting a Honda Civic Type S.

See a lovely one in Donegal but after mentioning this to my father, he pretty much said he'd never buy a car from up there as the roads are bad and with little Garda presence they drive like maniacs!!

This is the first I've ever heard of this and thought surely the wise ones of the motors forums could shed some light on this!

It will (due to people like your father!) be worth a bit less on resale, so be sure to factor that into the price you pay. Other than that, there's no reason to let the plate put you off.

Jimbob 83

Jaysus she is a big auld bus what kinda power do they have ?

Howjoe1

heard the same said about Cavan and it's potholes. Personally, I don't think you can generalise. only way is to inspect and take it on its actual condition. Good luck.

Jimbob 83

Anyone who ever drove the Barna to Moycullen road in Galway knows thats as bad as anything

Jimbob 83

Jimbob 83 wrote: »

Jaysus she is a big auld bus

^^Can someone decode that for me please.

Mycroft H

I'm kinda generalising here but if I saw a car with a yellow DL reg I would be kind of put off. Plus its all the way up north so I couldn't be bothered traveling that far unless it was a special one of a kind car.

Kevwoody

I'm from Donegal and never ventured out of it much apart fom the odd run to Dublin, I now have a job that takes me all over Ireland.

I always heard other people saying Donegal roads were bad but I can tell you they are no worse if not better than a lot of roads down the country

So no I don't think it should put you off

db330

I'm in dublin and the roads in my area are the worst i've seen and been all over the country.

But i wouldn't buy a car from Dl due to the reputation they have for driving and also it would be more difficult to sell on. The dodgy roads wouldn't bother as these can be found anywhere.

fasttalkerchat

Kevwoody wrote: »

I'm from Donegal and never ventured out of it much apart fom the odd run to Dublin, I now have a job that takes me all over Ireland.

I always heard other people saying Donegal roads were bad but I can tell you they are no worse if not better than a lot of roads down the country

So no I don't think it should put you off

Do you drive through Cavan on your way "all over Ireland?" that would tint your judgement!

Leonard Hofstadter

Kevwoody wrote: »

I'm from Donegal and never ventured out of it much apart fom the odd run to Dublin, I now have a job that takes me all over Ireland.

I always heard other people saying Donegal roads were bad but I can tell you they are no worse if not better than a lot of roads down the country

So no I don't think it should put you off

It's not the roads (I've been there and some of them are very, very smooth) that would make me not buy a DL reg car, it's some of the lunatic drivers, donught marks on many roads etc that mean I will never buy a DL reg car (or a car based in Donegal) !

L1011

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

Do you drive through Cavan on your way "all over Ireland?" that would tint your judgement!

Galway County has worse roads than Cavan by some margin.

Leonard Hofstadter

MYOB wrote: »

Galway County has worse roads than Cavan by some margin.

+1 on this, Galway's roads are probably the worst in the entire country (apart from the M6 - that's about the only decent road we have up here), although parts of Mayo would run it close!

galwaytt

MYOB wrote: »

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

Do you drive through Cavan on your way "all over Ireland?" that would tint your judgement!

Galway County has worse roads than Cavan by some margin.

And a plethora of D-O-N-U-T-S as well. Even on the shiney new M6. The old N6 has become a playground in recent times as well.

Where To

Most of the donut marks on Donegal roads are NOT made by DL reg cars;)

corktina

bad roads in the wesht? i wont have it...theres a road in Eastbourne!

PrettyBoy

Maybe I'm in the minority but I wouldn't buy a DL reg car, it's as if every other modded jap scrap/felt spec motor on Done Deal has DL plates (sometimes yellow plates) and you just know they've been rallied around by some complete and utter muppet..

colm_mcm

Deleted User wrote: »

^^Can someone decode that for me please.

Gods! Isn't that an impressively sized automobile

n97 mini

PrettyBoy wrote: »

Maybe I'm in the minority but I wouldn't buy a DL reg car, it's as if every other modded jap scrap/felt spec motor on Done Deal has DL plates (sometimes yellow plates) and you just know they've been rallied around by some complete and utter muppet..

I would agree to an extent.

That one has painted red front calipers, which is mandatory 'felt spec kit.

Also, a DL reg will affect resale if you're selling outside of DL.

colm_mcm

One thing jumping out at me is the reg, was this an 18th birthday present for someone?

Leonard Hofstadter

colm_mcm wrote: »

One thing jumping out at me is the reg, was this an 18th birthday present for someone?

Or maybe it's because it has a 1.8 litre engine;)? Admittedly 18th birthday sounds more plausible, but you'd never know!

Kevwoody

Being from Donegal I would love to have a good rant about being so hard on us, but I can't because yes there is some lunatic drivers up here, but your gonna get them everywhere!

Also another thing to consider is the type of car you are looking at, chances are it will have the ****e drove out of it no matter what county you buy it in

Minister Boyce

The_Goose135 wrote: »

Recently looking at getting a Honda Civic Type S.

See a lovely one in Donegal but after mentioning this to my father, he pretty much said he'd never buy a car from up there as the roads are bad and with little Garda presence they drive like maniacs!!

This is the first I've ever heard of this and thought surely the wise ones of the motors forums could shed some light on this!

Honda Civic 1.8-TYPE S

Whilst wishing you the best of luck finding your new car, i can't help but notice that you have made one of the laziest presumptions ever.

Yea, we are all lunatics up here, I can't leave my drive in the morning without busting the rev counter off the dash in first AND second gear. The missus doesn't like it but sure who cares, i'm mad for tar!! I then overtake all the annoying lunatics in front of me (on the inside/hard shoulder of course). I also turn up the radio nice and loud to dull the the noise of my suspension being battered by the potholes along the way. It probably doesn't help that my car is so low that you can barely squeeze a credit card underneath it but its about the looks.

The traffic closer to work can be annoying but the beauty of my blacked out windows is that I can make all sorts of rude gestures to other traffic without them knowing. Its class hi.

Once I get to work I cannot help taking the odd glance back at wheels, admiring my yellow numberplate on the back. At 5 bells its hometime and penalty point collection time as I storm home in record time whilst driving in 3rd gear the whole way just to hear the sweet snore of the Janspeed.


.....so yea, your probably right.. stay clear of that civic:rolleyes:

Kevwoody

Minister Boyce wrote: »

The_Goose135 wrote: »

Recently looking at getting a Honda Civic Type S.

See a lovely one in Donegal but after mentioning this to my father, he pretty much said he'd never buy a car from up there as the roads are bad and with little Garda presence they drive like maniacs!!

This is the first I've ever heard of this and thought surely the wise ones of the motors forums could shed some light on this!

Honda Civic 1.8-TYPE S

Whilst wishing you the best of luck finding your new car, i can't help but notice that you have made one of the laziest presumptions ever.

Yea, we are all lunatics up here, I can't leave my drive in the morning without busting the rev counter off the dash in first AND second gear. The missus doesn't like it but sure who cares, i'm mad for tar!! I then overtake all the annoying lunatics in front of me (on the inside/hard shoulder of course). I also turn up the radio nice and loud to dull the the noise of my suspension being battered by the potholes along the way. It probably doesn't help that my car is so low that you can barely squeeze a credit card underneath it but its about the looks.

The traffic closer to work can be annoying but the beauty of my blacked out windows is that I can make all sorts of rude gestures to other traffic without them knowing. Its class hi.

Once I get to work I cannot help taking the odd glance back at wheels, admiring my yellow numberplate on the back. At 5 bells its hometime and penalty point collection time as I storm home in record time whilst driving in 3rd gear the whole way just to hear the sweet snore of the Janspeed.


.....so yea, your probably right.. stay clear of that civic:rolleyes:

Great reply!!!

mondeo

PrettyBoy wrote: »

Maybe I'm in the minority but I wouldn't buy a DL reg car, it's as if every other modded jap scrap/felt spec motor on Done Deal has DL plates (sometimes yellow plates) and you just know they've been rallied around by some complete and utter muppet..

I agree with you 100%. I wouldn't touch a DL reg for those reasons. Alot of stigma is attached to DL reg cars to a point where I believe their resale value is effected. More then a few people have said to me the same thing over and over. 8 or 9 years back I was involved in buying and selling cars and alot of people walked when they saw the reg DL. Sold alot of them at trade prices because I couldn't get rid of them.

RandomAccess

Whoever mentioned donuts in a thread about a FWD civic should probably be given a perma-ban.

Otherwise, I've found city driving is much harder on a car than any other kind.
Speed humps/bumps are not great for suspension, stop start traffic is rough enough on the clutch and gearbox.