Buying a car

RaymondLin

TTony said:

Emp_Fab said:

I don't think £6K is expensive for a CRZ with 95K on the clock.  It's the going rate.  "Expensive" is relative TO the going rate.  Other similar ones are going for the same, more or less.

That's all true enough.

But you want "a car".  It appears from the last 18 pages that you're not too  fussed on exactly which make, model or spec.

£6k might not be expensive for a CRZ with 95k miles, but it's an expensive option if you just want "a car". 

There are - IMHO, and the opinion of many others here - many better options.  Yes, Honda build quality, but 95k miles on any high-revving engine is going to result in some wear & tear.  Some significant wear & tear.  Plus, expected life of many components is a factor of both age and mileage.    Stuff is going to be getting to end-of-life.  You're going to be replacing lots of bits.  Or your local Honda garage will be.

With £6k in your pocket, you've got a choice of a wide range of boring but cheap to run/maintain and relatively  young options.  The Hyundai  (et al) options.

Or you could go nutty and splash it on something fun with a V6/V8, but that's going to cost you in running costs (tax, fuel, insurance, maintenance) and has a higher risk of a big repair bill at some point.

Or, or, or, etc.  You don't seem to have decided on diesel vs petrol, large vs small, fun vs boring, etc, etc, etc.  Unless you've now determined that a CRZ the other side of the country is the choice that ticks your boxes.

We can all make suggestions, because there are many options out there that will tick all the boxes that we'd have.  You have to decide what your boxes are.

With £6k in my pocket, I'd be buying a Mk2 TT.  TFSI model. 

Look carefully and you'll get FASH, ~60k miles, younger than the CRZ, a way more relaxing drive with more poke, better kit, better reliability, lower costs and fewer rattles (whether from the car or your bones).

But those are my boxes. 

That’s a good shout, but he’ll have to be quick, with only 3 days to go not sure if the right car will pop up on the market between now and Saturday.

TTony

75k miles.
2009
FSH with new tyres
12mths MOT
Bose, rear parking sensors, bluetooth
Penarth
£6995




56k miles
2007
FSH
£6949


Look further afield, and there are way more choices.

boogieman

FFS, just buy a Golf or a Focus. Both will do a decent job, be comfortable, roomy enough, decently equipped, cheap to run, service and fix and last for years.

 £7k will get you a 5 year old petrol Focus with about 50k on it.

My stepson is running an 11 year old 2L diesel Golf with 100k on it and has had minimal trouble. Goes pretty quickly, decent mpg, has heated leather seats and various other toys. Probably worth about £3k, if that. 

jaytmon

@TTony you should definitely buy that TT. Quickly before Emp is tempted. I’d say you have about 6 months....

RaymondLin

I like that blue one a lot.

Snap

So, @Emp_Fab after 19 pages and two months, have you decided?!! Pmsl.

Why not go mental and buy an old Boxster? Or a Nissan 350/370Z?? Go on, you're a long time dead. Imagine, you could play it safe and ponce around in a dull tin like a Golf etc, or you could be bazzing round in something that leaves your guts on the road behind you when you put your foot down....

all these what ifs, just take a punt!

joneve

RaymondLin said:

I like that blue one a lot.

agreed. lovely car.

Nitefly

RaymondLin said:

I like that blue one a lot.

Gorgeous, isn't it!

LastMantra

Snap said:

So, @Emp_Fab after 19 pages and two months, have you decided?!! Pmsl.

Why not go mental and buy an old Boxster? Or a Nissan 350/370Z?? Go on, you're a long time dead. Imagine, you could play it safe and ponce around in a dull tin like a Golf etc, or you could be bazzing round in something that leaves your guts on the road behind you when you put your foot down....

all these what ifs, just take a punt!

A decent golf 2.0 TDI GT would make more sense. I don't like boxters tho.

Emp_Fab

Everyone I speak to says Audi has a terrible reputation for reliability.  It's that alone that keeps the brand off my search list.

RaymondLin

Emp_Fab said:

Everyone I speak to says Audi has a terrible reputation for reliability.  It's that alone that keeps the brand off my search list.

What they are trying to say is for the money, for a premium brand, it is no more reliable than a Toyota. Yes that is true.  It is about average for the market.  Try asking Land Rover owners if you want to hear about reliability issues, you’d think for the money they are bulletproof.  I would say they are no less unreliable than the Mercs you were looking at.

Weirdly, one car that is kinda affordable to run is Porsche, fuel bills aside, they are quite reliable if you look after them properly.  You can also get a Porsche Warranty that covers it bumper to bumper. 

TTony

Emp_Fab said:

Everyone I speak to says Audi has a terrible reputation for reliability.  It's that alone that keeps the brand off my search list.

I bought and ran Audis for 20 years.  I didn't buy anything else.    A couple of them did 100k+ miles - and one I sold on to Monquixote who then did a load more miles in  it.  

I had precisely zero reliability issues (and neither did MonQ as far as I'm aware).

There, you can no longer say "everyone I speak to  ...."

Have them serviced properly (mine were Audi serviced until c5-6  years old, and then by a reputable independent) and they should run fine.  The components are well under-stressed in standard spec (just take a look at what the  remappers can do with them) and they're built solidly.  

There are some things to be aware of  and take care of (cambelts & water pumps should be done on time, DSG gearbox can be iffy).  But as long as you don't abuse it (and you're buying something that's been looked after), you should be fine.

The mk2 TTs are at silly prices at the moment, in terms of what you get for your money.  The mk1s are attracting collectors, so the prices of those are on the up, and the mk3s haven't yet fallen much below £15k.    The mk2s are overlooked.  Get the right spec mk2 and I can't see that it'd cost you much to run, nor much in depreciation.

It's also fun enough to drive (I had a mk2 3.2Quattro which was very fun to drive, but expensive), has a bit of individuality and isn't tarred with the same image issues as the boyracer A3s nor the I'm-in-a-rush-rep A4/A5/A6s, nor the yummies in their Q5/7s.

I was actually going to buy a <£10k  one for MrsTT's birthday earlier this month, except she told me not to.

But I still might.

TTony

That blue one is in Penarth. 

Now what's your excuse not to spend an hour going to look at it, sit in it and take it for a test drive.

Then *you* can decide whether you like it or not rather than relying on the opinions of a bunch of strangers on an internet forum, some of whom will love it, and some of whom will hate it.  Decide for yourself.

You won't even need to check how the inside of the glove box cover is moulded, or what the panel joints are like inside the boot.  You'll just love it.

Emp_Fab

RaymondLin said:

Emp_Fab said:

Everyone I speak to says Audi has a terrible reputation for reliability.  It's that alone that keeps the brand off my search list.

What they are trying to say is for the money, for a premium brand, it is no more reliable than a Toyota.

Not the surveys I've looked at.  The raw data, in terms of number of reported faults per 100 cars, irrespective of price or perceived prestige, supports the argument that Audi is an unreliable brand.

boogieman

TTony said:

Emp_Fab said:

Everyone I speak to says Audi has a terrible reputation for reliability.  It's that alone that keeps the brand off my search list.

I bought and ran Audis for 20 years.  I didn't buy anything else.    A couple of them did 100k+ miles - and one I sold on to Monquixote who then did a load more miles in  it.  

I had precisely zero reliability issues (and neither did MonQ as far as I'm aware).

There, you can no longer say "everyone I speak to  ...."

Have them serviced properly (mine were Audi serviced until c5-6  years old, and then by a reputable independent) and they should run fine.  The components are well under-stressed in standard spec (just take a look at what the  remappers can do with them) and they're built solidly.  

There are some things to be aware of  and take care of (cambelts & water pumps should be done on time, DSG gearbox can be iffy).  But as long as you don't abuse it (and you're buying something that's been looked after), you should be fine.

The mk2 TTs are at silly prices at the moment, in terms of what you get for your money.  The mk1s are attracting collectors, so the prices of those are on the up, and the mk3s haven't yet fallen much below £15k.    The mk2s are overlooked.  Get the right spec mk2 and I can't see that it'd cost you much to run, nor much in depreciation.

It's also fun enough to drive (I had a mk2 3.2Quattro which was very fun to drive, but expensive), has a bit of individuality and isn't tarred with the same image issues as the boyracer A3s nor the I'm-in-a-rush-rep A4/A5/A6s, nor the yummies in their Q5/7s.

I was actually going to buy a <£10k  one for MrsTT's birthday earlier this month, except she told me not to.

But I still might.

Oi, I resent that. I’ve got a Q5 and I’m definitely not yummy. 

A mate has been running an A3 for the last 9 years with no issues, as you say you just need to keep up with the maintenance. I don’t think Audi are really any less reliable than most European cars and they’re certainly better built in the first place. DIY servicing for the basics is doable to with places like EuroCarParts supplying OE or pattern parts at reasonable prices, although I’d leave things like the cam belt to a specialist.  

ronnyb

According to the jd power reliability rating for 2018, Audi comes 22nd, one behind Land Rover and one in front of fiat.

TTony

boogieman said:

Oi, I resent that. I’ve got a Q5 and I’m definitely not yummy. 

Yup, and I drove A6s for years without ever being a rep

We're doing the brand image no favours at all ...

TTony

Emp_Fab said:

RaymondLin said:

Emp_Fab said:

Everyone I speak to says Audi has a terrible reputation for reliability.  It's that alone that keeps the brand off my search list.

What they are trying to say is for the money, for a premium brand, it is no more reliable than a Toyota.

Not the surveys I've looked at.  The raw data, in terms of number of reported faults per 100 cars, irrespective of price or perceived prestige, supports the argument that Audi is an unreliable brand.

Surveys  smurveys.

You'll always find a reason not to do something if you look hard enough or long enough.  

It amazes me that cars in general are as reliable as they are when you consider the complexity, the conditions in which they have to perform and the fact that most drivers wouldn't know what's under a bonnet or that "driving empathy" is the follow up to Driving Miss Daisy.

That Audi could be the most reliable car that's ever been made.  The Lexus (I presume top of the survey) that someone buys because it came top of the survey could break down and land them with a £5k repair bill the moment that it's out of (extended) warranty.  

With any car, use your common and look at the car in front of you, not a survey or an internet forum opinion.  Look at its service history.  Look at its MOT history.  Look at the condition of it (do the tyres match?).  Take it for a drive and listen to what its telling you (not how the BOSE speakers sound when you turn the volume up).  Does it feel together or is it loose and rattly?  Does it drive straight and true, or wander around.  How does the gearbox feel.  Plug your laptop in to the diagnostics port and see what's lurking (if anything).  

 "I was going to prevaricate today, but I've put it off until tomorrow".

ICBM

Exactly. I've been driving Renaults for many years - by most accounts, "unreliable". But they've been much less prone to faults than most of my friends and family with non-French cars, including Mercedes and Volvo. I had my last Grand Scenic for nine years, and although a few minor things went wrong with it, it was only something that stopped me driving it once. When someone wrote it off, I bought another one and it has been the same so far... although admittedly it's had its (hopefully!) one non-drivable fault in the first 18 months - but it was only a seized rear brake calliper, which is hardly a fault unique to Renault.

Basically, all modern cars are reliable. The variance between brands are less than the variance between individual examples, and at the sample sizes most of us drive in our lifetimes, it's pot luck... you can get a perfectly reliable Renault or a total dog of a Toyota. I know, this is exactly the same as some of my favourite love-to-hate amps and pedals , but the facts are the same... even with the worst of those, the majority of owners don't have any trouble with them.

ronnyb

TTony said:

Emp_Fab said:

RaymondLin said:

Emp_Fab said:

Everyone I speak to says Audi has a terrible reputation for reliability.  It's that alone that keeps the brand off my search list.

What they are trying to say is for the money, for a premium brand, it is no more reliable than a Toyota.

Not the surveys I've looked at.  The raw data, in terms of number of reported faults per 100 cars, irrespective of price or perceived prestige, supports the argument that Audi is an unreliable brand.

Surveys  smurveys.

You'll always find a reason not to do something if you look hard enough or long enough.  

It amazes me that cars in general are as reliable as they are when you consider the complexity, the conditions in which they have to perform and the fact that most drivers wouldn't know what's under a bonnet or that "driving empathy" is the follow up to Driving Miss Daisy.

That Audi could be the most reliable car that's ever been made.  The Lexus (I presume top of the survey) that someone buys because it came top of the survey could break down and land them with a £5k repair bill the moment that it's out of (extended) warranty.  

With any car, use your common and look at the car in front of you, not a survey or an internet forum opinion.  Look at its service history.  Look at its MOT history.  Look at the condition of it (do the tyres match?).  Take it for a drive and listen to what its telling you (not how the BOSE speakers sound when you turn the volume up).  Does it feel together or is it loose and rattly?  Does it drive straight and true, or wander around.  How does the gearbox feel.  Plug your laptop in to the diagnostics port and see what's lurking (if anything).  

 "I was going to prevaricate today, but I've put it off until tomorrow".

They should be reliable though. They’re roughly the same as the first cars, 4 wheels and an internal combustion engine and 120 years to perfect it.