Hopefully people here don't object to this "what car should I buy...." thread.
I've visited a couple of car auctions over the last couple of weeks, and I think I'm ready to take the plunge with about £6k. I thinking of a 3 yr old Golf or an Audi A3 (I think I can get one of these for about £6500). Don't know much about cars, so are these good choices for the money. Is there anything else I should consider (perhaps a Seat Leon?)?
Really can't stretch my budget to much more than 6 - 6.5k
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Oddly enough the three cars that you have mentioned share their platform and engines and an awful lot of other stuff with the Skoda Octavia. Just as good as the other three but with a bigger boot.
What exactly are your car buying criteria? How many miles do you do? What is important to you?
Define what you're after and you'll get some more help
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Yes, also like the look of the Octavia, however i have not seen any at auction yet (maybe they weren't used by leasing companies 3 years ago). Very few Seats at auction as well.
Looking for something that good fun to drive, good interior, holds its value decently, and is not too high on the insurance premiums. I'm don't have a family so doesn't need to be a big car. I am comfortable with buying something that has 50-60k miles on the clock, but don't want to go much over the 3 years old.
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Looking for something that good fun to drive, good interior, holds its value decently
Maybe I'm mistredaing what you mean, but are you sure that's a good idea? Surely what matters is that the car should hold its value well during your ownership.
On those grounds, a VW looks rather unattractive at 3yo, because it hasn't shed as much value as (say) a Citroen -- the VW has a long way to dip.
On the other hand, a car which has depreciated heavily in the first few years will have less to lose in the years you own it.
So a VW is a good buy (depreciation-wise) if you want to buy new and sell after 3 years, but something like a Ford looks much more attractive at 3yo than when new.
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okay, that's a fair point. I do mean something that will not lose too much value in my ownership.
Does that really mean I should be looking at Fords, and Citroens etc... I guess I was trying to get something with a bit more prestige.
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If you want prestige, get the Audi. A Golf has no prestige, it's just a Volkswagen, a word which translates to 'Peoples Car'.
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Yes, and with an Audi you're allowed to use lane 3 on the motorway. :-)
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Yes, and with an Audi you're allowed to use lane 3 on the motorway. :-)
But you do still have to give way to cars from further south in Germany ... even if they have the (optional) headlight-off switch installed.
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If your budget maximum is £6k5, then limit yourself to spending £5k5 at auction, that way you'll have some money left over to sort out anythign that's wrong with the car.
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I read often, only post occasionally
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6k is roughly 2002 02/52 Volvo S60 2.0T 70-100k miles territory. Ex lease, full Volvo service history. Newish exec motoring as cheap as chips.
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I think a Volvo is a bit big for me, unless they offer a lot better performance/equipment to their small counterparts. 70k to 100k also sounds like a bit too high on the mileage as well, although I imagine these cars do run and run if well serviced!
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