Need advice on Audi A3

nrishiraj

Hi.

I'm thinking of getting an audi a3 1.6 2003-4 year.

I'm keeping my options open on to which model to get, but its looks like it will be a 1.6L, I'm also looking to see if I can get it cheap if its accidental damage, repossed or even import it.

Can anyone point me in the right direction? At the moment I'm researching and gathering all the information together.

So far, I've looked into auto trader and other sites, but where do I look for damage, repossed and imports?

nullogik

Theres a good selection of "damaged cars" dealers in the back of Exchange & Mart so its worth picking up a copy.

Buying a damaged car is extremely risky and you really have to do a lot of homework before purchasing it. I recommend you take a mechanic friend with you once you've selected a car that you would like to buy, so that he can assess how much it is likely to cost to repair it and if its worth buying.

DealDrivers_company_representative

Anyone advertising "dodgy motors with dodgy paperwork cheap 'ere" should be able to help you!

Actively seeking an 'accident damaged' car?! I know it's nearly April 1st ...but.....please, if you're carrying passengers....try buying a safe normal one.

philhuff

Nothing wrong with an accident damaged car - a dented rear wing, for example, presents no danger whatsoever, and saves a lot of money on the purchase price. Even a seriously damaged car, if you know what you're doing, can save a fortune and still be perfectly safe.

As an example, a colleague of mine recently picked up a Vectra 1.9 CDTi SRi. It's a 2005 model, and cost him £6,000 thanks to the car being somewhat shorter than it should have been.

£2,500 of repairs later, he's got a great car that's cost him £8,500. Book price for the same model was about £12,000 at the time.

The car is every bit as safe as any other Vectra, and he's got £3,500 in the bank that he wouldn't have had before. Or, in his case, he's got a lot more car than he would otherwise be able to afford.

Exemplar

I can only comment as someone who worked for a dealer for five years before returning to FE. Buying a damaged car can be a great deal, saving you many thousands on the guide price. But it is only a great deal if you keep it for a long time. As an example we took in a VW Golf GTTDi 150 BHP with a six speed box on a 53 plate. It had been a CAT D as had been shunted up the rear. It went into a VW dealer where it was repaired to VW standards and we sold it almost straight away making a huge profit (4k?), but we had to tell the people who came to see it that it had had the repair work done and that if they ever traded it in again it would be reflected in the trade in price as most dealers will kick you squarely in the balls for this.

nullogik

If you've found a car you'd like to buy, then the best thing to do is get a mechanic mate to come down and see it so that he can give you a rough estimate on how much it is going to cost to repair.

If thats not possible then take load of pictures with a digital camera, and show the mechanic those instead. However, the first method is preferred one.