New car buying advice

losername

How do!

I'm looking for a new car. I've been running my current one for about 5 years now and it's getting a little tired, so, sadly I think I'll have to get rid.

I've more or less settled upon a new Golf GT TDI 140 (which will be my third Golf, so I'm quite the fan :cool:). Looking around, I think the best price which I can find it is around £16,427 (on the road with Metallic Paint) from a place on-line called DriveTheDeal.

My question is
A) Has anyone had any good/bad experience with these guys?
Have I missed any cheaper bargains (I want to avoid imports btw)
C) Am I being daft going for a new car?

Thanks for any help/advice :j .

Losername

burbs_2

The price is about right, i sourced a customer the same car about a month ago and got it for £15,695 and charged him about the same as you have quoted there. That was a UK Registered car as well, if you want any details about getting hold of them send me a PM and i will point you in their direction.

Answer to the next question - Are you daft? Im a dealer and i wouldnt buy a new car at the moment for the simple reason there are so many second hand bargains to be grabbed at the moment. It all down to personal preference. If you have the money avaliable and are going to keep the car long enough to make it a worthwile buy then go for it. You only live once. However if you buy the car and realise in a year that this isnt the car for you then prepare for the loss of money that is going to hit you.

balsingh

I can only answer your final question. Personally, would never buy new. I think the best deals come in at just before 3 years old when the car warranty has run out, its due its first MOT etc. Most 1st owners will try and offload the cars to avoid having to get the 1st MOT done. As a result, there are a lot of almost 3 year old cars on the market and this leads to some good bargains.

babitat

I saved £1000 on my car by using jam jar

vansboy

Drive the Deal are a reasonably well known company, so not one of the worst on-line retailers.

Have a look in https://www.honestjohn.co.uk - clik on This Weeks Best Deals, for up to the minute offers of all makes.

& as mentioned the used market has some tempting offers, currently, but if you weigh it all up, the discounted new model quite often can still sway you towards it!

But does it have to be a Golf again? Apart from VW & the less than satisfactory build quality/customer service these days, wouldn't you like a change?

Maxda 3 maybe - new model out now & 0%finance & a superior car!!

(or better still used Rx8 - but that won't be diesel)!!!!!!!!!!!!

VB

losername

Some interesting points.

I certainly like the three year POV, but one thing I neglected to mention is that I'm taking the cash alternative to a Co Car (I'm all about the money ) but one of the gotchyas is that it should be no older than 5 years, so buying one which is already 3, unfortunately, isn't a goer.

In response to Burbs, thanks for the offer, you'll be getting a PM soon! Only problem is second hand is, I can do up to about a year old, and all those which I've seen in this area are still hovering around 15k :mad: Didn't really make that a worthwhile option. Am I looking in the wrong places?

Finally, I looked at a nice Honda (Civic), but the drive didn't do it for me, I'd LOVE an RX8, but I don't think I could live with the bills, but I've not considered the 3. I'll give it a look. TA!

Sorry for long post

Cumbrian_Male

Did you see the review of the Mazda 6 MPS on topgear the other night?

Was well liked.

losername

Cumbrian_Male wrote:

Did you see the review of the Mazda 6 MPS on topgear the other night?

Was well liked.

It did well and while I'm an avid Top Gear fan, my budget won't stretch that far and I need a Diesel really.

Thanks anyway.

Jorgan_2

Personally I wouldn't buy a new car, loose just too much money. If you really want a Golf have you tried any of the big supermarket type dealers who carry nearly new stock. Chance to safe a wedge of cash.

Has it got to be a 4/5 seater hatchback? BMW 320/330d with a few years & miles under its belt could be worth a look or even a Merc C220/270d. Depends on what floats your boat.

losername

I know what you mean about losing too much cash Jorgan, but the problem doesn't seem to be terribly pronounced with Golfs at the moment. Eg

Second hand Golf (Private Sale) £16000 ono
-friend of a friend selling, with Leather, 1.5 years old.

Brand New Golf (from Local Dealer) £16800 (no leather)

I can live with the 800 quid difference (and without the leather) for the sake of a full warranty and 'that new car smell'!

I'm going to keep watching the second hand market, but it just doesn't seem that attractive at the moment.

DealDrivers_company_representative

Before you buy a nearly-new Golf, ensure you know when the car was built as Golfs have just undergone re-badging to re-align the range

The pre-summer GT TDi's are now badged Sport Tdi 140. These old GT's now badged Sport Tdi 140 have a revised base pre-vat price of £14,610.21...the bits of stock on these 'Sports' that were left had options of front fog lights, conv. Pack and rear electric windows i.e. the 'old' GT spec

The new GT with the 140 and 170ps engines is available to
order and has all the above spec as standard plus new alloy wheels and
lowered suspension.

Also: be clear about the comment someone made about 'supermarket-type dealers'. Car supermarkets are essentially used car sales showrooms, not approved new car dealers. Only a main brand retailer can sell you a car with you as first and only owner in general..use this as a rule of thumb.

Main franchised dealers are approved new car sales showrooms, representing the manufacturer. Car supermarkets are re-sellers - they physically look like car showrooms but they not approved brand representatives or dealerships - and you are not buying from a main dealer, you are paying a re-seller of stock for a vehicle.

You must be clear about this as it can affects your contract to purchase and your rights if you think you are buying from a main brand dealership. Supermarkets generally stock old model stock, pre reg's and some include imports so be careful.

Phrases to look out for include 'UK registered' (that just means it was registered here, not necessarily sourced here as a normal UK car and is commonly used to fool customers), and any sellers who state 'the car will be registered just before delivery' ...if they don't mention to WHO it will be registered and how fast you get the logbook, assume it may not be you and there could be a long wait to get your logbook...so ask before handing your money over!

There's a big article in the current 'What Car' about the pro's and con's of these deals, especially those where the logbook is witheld from you for a few months.

Hope this helps!