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Thread: Going to look at some cars today!

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    Going to look at some cars today!

    Hi All,

    Im going out and about today to take a look at and test drive some cars. No real intention of buying them today to be honest i just want to get a feel for what kind of thing im looking for.

    I have a total budget of around 8k and im looking for something fairly sporty but with still some basic elements of practicality such as a boot and rear seats.

    Im not a big fan of french cars, although if there is enough eveidence that there is a rose amongst the thorns i would be happy to check it out.

    I probably do about 12000 miles a year (i actually do a lot more but i get given company rental for business miles) a lot of which are motorway miles travelling back up to manchester or yorkshire so whilst diesel might be a bit of a false economy, im not adverse to it.

    SOme of the things i hope to see today already are:

    Seat Leon/Ibiza FR/Cupra
    Sporty Golfs
    BMW 1 and 3 series '20' models and above
    Volvo C30
    Skoda Octavia vRS

    Does anyone have any other suggestions or tips for car hunting?
    Last edited by Biscuit; 22-10-2012 at 11:54 AM.

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    Banhammer in peace PeterB kalniel's Avatar
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    Re: Going to look at some cars today!

    Pick up a parkers guide or equivalent - handy reference for guide prices for a given age/condition, and what to look out for.

    I wouldn't go for a Golf for that price - too much demand. Leons should be no problem. Octavias good if you can get them, though also demand from taxi drivers. There will be a LOT of Fords (Mondeo, Focus) for the price, so you'll be able to get one in good condition/lower mileage. Petrol models are quite a bit more reliable - if you can take the fuel usage hit then a Focus ST wouldn't be a bad shout. Also consider an Astra or Insignia if you want to go more to the comfort/ride end of things, again lots available with relatively low demand.

    Also consider Audi A3/4 - people tend to automatically go for golfs thinking an Audi is too premium, so you might actually find them at the same kind of price or even less.

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    Re: Going to look at some cars today!

    Quote Originally Posted by kalniel View Post
    Pick up a parkers guide or equivalent - handy reference for guide prices for a given age/condition, and what to look out for.

    I wouldn't go for a Golf for that price - too much demand. Leons should be no problem. Octavias good if you can get them, though also demand from taxi drivers. There will be a LOT of Fords (Mondeo, Focus) for the price, so you'll be able to get one in good condition/lower mileage. Petrol models are quite a bit more reliable - if you can take the fuel usage hit then a Focus ST wouldn't be a bad shout. Also consider an Astra or Insignia if you want to go more to the comfort/ride end of things, again lots available with relatively low demand.

    Also consider Audi A3/4 - people tend to automatically go for golfs thinking an Audi is too premium, so you might actually find them at the same kind of price or even less.
    Audis where supposed to be on that list, forgot about it. I should also add my budget is flexible to within £1500 i reckon.

    So far today has been a bust, apparently car salesmen aren't interested in selling cars if its a bit wet. I have had no assistance at all and tbh, haven't even spotted anything remotely interesting.

    I currently have a Ford and whilst im not adverse to another one i kinda fancy a change. At the same time, with the exception of the ST there isnt really any of them which have the kind of performance i am after. There is a couple of Mondeos but im struggling to find them actually available second hand fairly locally. They are also frankly... a bit crap looking.

    I have noticed the whole Audi/Golf thing actually. Not a single decent Golf in my pricerange but quite a lot of Audis and BMWs... bizzare!

    Anyway im gunna do a bit more research here and then head back out.
    Last edited by Biscuit; 24-09-2012 at 01:34 PM.

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    Re: Going to look at some cars today!

    What kind of places are you looking? I found largish car supermarkets ideal for that kind of price range, you don't get a lot of help though - up to you to identify possibles then ask for keys, then a test drive.

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    Re: Going to look at some cars today!

    Quote Originally Posted by kalniel View Post
    What kind of places are you looking? I found largish car supermarkets ideal for that kind of price range, you don't get a lot of help though - up to you to identify possibles then ask for keys, then a test drive.
    Just the local forecourts really, quite dissapointing overall!

    Did another run around and organised a test drive for a low milage diesel civic type s this weekend but thats as far as i have managed. I would have thought with my budget it would have been a lot easier to find a sporty-ish used car :/

    Not sure of any car supermarkets nearby to where i am (Maidenhead). Google isnt helping me too much either.

    Starting to feel like i might wait till im back up north withh my parents for a little while for the assistance and the cheaper prices!
    Last edited by Biscuit; 24-09-2012 at 03:44 PM.

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    Last edited by kalniel; 24-09-2012 at 04:08 PM.

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    Re: Going to look at some cars today!

    Quote Originally Posted by kalniel View Post
    Thanks, i already had a look at their range on the website, there wasnt anything beyond a couple of civics that were of interest. Dont fancy travelling down the M4/M25 unless i see something really worth it. Not much of a supermarket really just a slightly bigger than normal used car dealer.

    Edit: cheers il have a scan of them, i think some are open quite late!
    Last edited by Biscuit; 24-09-2012 at 04:13 PM.

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    Re: Going to look at some cars today!

    Quote Originally Posted by Biscuit View Post
    there wasnt anything beyond a couple of civics that were of interest.
    Civic ftw! But whilst I love mine, the 8th gen have a few niggles that seem to annoy people, things like squeaks and a bumpy ride sometimes.

    Supposedly very good and reliable cars though.

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    Re: Going to look at some cars today!

    Imperial had a few things, the others less so.

    Trying to find an Audi that has the kind of performance i want is an utter nightmare, there seems to be a lot of cars available for the price im looking at but figuring out what model they actually are is tricky... same thing with BMW i mean look at this:

    http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/review...atchback-2003/

    http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/review...atchback-2004/

    http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/review...4/saloon-2008/

    http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/review...es/coupe-2006/

    At its not even limited to that because those are specific shapes of those models... arghhhhh its driving me bonkers

    I really want to like vauxhall because of whats available to me at the price but after looking at a few, i just cant get on with the style so im scratching them off the possibility list.

    Sporty seats seems to be surprisingly hard to find round here and i would really like to try out a Leon FR, same thing for the Skoda, cant find one anywhere

    Might have to look at my budgets more carefully or try and open my mind a bit.

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    Re: Going to look at some cars today!

    +1 on the Audi/VW thing, I ended up spending at the time (almost 2 years ago now) a little on an old B5 facelift A4 1.8T (slightly less power than the Golf GTi/Cupra 150 vs 180bhp new etc) and got one for £2500, similar GTi/Cupras were £3500+ for that sort of age, higher mileage and worse condition

    Insurance was considerably lower too funnily enough, saved a decent chunk on what was an old Accord too!
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    Re: Going to look at some cars today!

    Civic diesel, re-map the ECU for a lump of extra power and torque - and then pray the clutch doesn't go bang
    That's what I've done to mine and it's quite a potent car (well it's quite nippy as it comes from the factory, but even more so with a re-map).
    The shove from the turbo still gives me a big grin hehe
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    Re: Going to look at some cars today!

    Hmmm not sure about re-mapping i think i would rather have the performance i want 'out of the box' rather than modifying.

    I have broadened my search terms a bit, going for cars a bit older and i have managed to find a few more things. Specifically Audi 2.0l TDI 170BHP and BMW 325/330s. Insurance isnt too much of a hit either and im still looking at the same kind of milage.

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    Re: Going to look at some cars today!

    Injectors on the 170 2.0tdi are awful, but so much I think there's finally been a recall so you should be able to get them done for free pre-emptively.

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    Re: Going to look at some cars today!

    Hmm thats an interesting point to bring up when discussing one if i got to see it.

    Going back to ~2006 instead of 2007/8 seems to have opened a few more doors, just wish i had done more research on Sunday night :/

    Not got any time off for a few weeks now.

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    Re: Going to look at some cars today!

    Something i hadnt even looked at, Lexus 250 Sport. Can get an amazing spec for the price!

    Anyone know any reason why not to buy a Lexus?

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    Re: Going to look at some cars today!

    Quote Originally Posted by Biscuit View Post
    Something i hadnt even looked at, Lexus 250 Sport. Can get an amazing spec for the price!

    Anyone know any reason why not to buy a Lexus?
    As far as I know they are too expensive to maintain.

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