Used Car Buying Advice. How much is too much?

Thedellow

Hi all

Firstly, I am quite new to used car buying. I have only ever owned two cars previously (in the UK). One was a beat up Peugeot 203, my first ever car. The second was a 2004 Golf GTI. Old, pretty high mileage but a little racy. Only paid about £2k for it and loved it for 4 years. I then moved to NZ and have owned a succession of beaters over there. I didnt care what they were, as long as I could sleep in the back when I travelled. 

It's been over 5 years since I owned a car in the UK, so I have no clue about prices. I want something reliable, that is going to last a while. Something easy to drive, but also fun. And most importantly, small enough that I can teach my other half, who has never driven, to drive. We live in a larger city and will do a lot of driving, in tight streets, so she wants something small.

I have found an Audi A1 TFSI S Line. Details are:

·        2013

·        1.4L Petrol

·        120bhp

·        50,000 miles

·        5 door

·        2 owners.

·        Very good nick

The dealer is looking for £8,990 and absolutely will not budge. I was a little surprised to be honest as I always thought you at least haggled a bit.

Is £9k too much for this car? Will it hold value? Are Audi A1s typically a reliable car, or will I see problems down the line? Any better alternatives?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. 

AdrianC

There's 65 broadly similar cars on Autotrader nationally.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?make=AUDI&model=A1&include-delivery-option=on&year-from=2013&year-to=2013&maximum-mileage=60000&fuel-type=Petrol&minimum-badge-engine-size=1.4&maximum-badge-engine-size=1.4&max-engine-power=150&quantity-of-doors=5

Of them, 34 are below £9k advertised price.

So it's probably not priced higher than the market.

But it's certainly overpriced, imho, for what it is - an 8yo posh Polo. Will it hold value? Well, in 2yrs time it'll be 10yo. In another 3yrs, it'll be the average age of cars at scrapping in this country.

BTW, just 50k miles in 8yrs is not necessarily a good thing. I certainly wouldn't be paying extra for it over, say, another 20k or 30k on the clock.

daveyjp

All used cars are overpriced at the moment.

silverwhistle

Last year I bought an EV and sold my 2009 Hyundai for near £1400. If I hadn't been desiring an EV I'd have kept it another 2 or 3 years quite happily. That sort of price can get you some decent and practical motoring and I'd have been quite happy to do my regular trip to the Italian Alps with it. So £9K for a car that old seems a lot to me. Never pay for the name.. as the above comment says an 8 year old posh Polo, and I'd say they were overpriced as well! :-)

molerat

daveyjp said:

All used cars are overpriced at the moment.

Ain't that the truth.  I bought a pre reg 18 months ago, 2 weeks reg / 2 mths built with 10 miles on the clock.  Same car with 6K from same dealer group currently going for £1K more than I paid.

Herzlos

Haggling at dealers is pretty rare now. With internet car shopping they need to price cars well in order to get anyone to even look at them so they tend to be as low as they can go anyway.
You might be able to negotiate some extras like servicing, mats or fuel, but it's not that common to see much movement in price.

Stubod

..obviously a problem with supply of cars at the mo. I assume probably due to covid / Suez blockage / chip supplies? I regularly go onto WBAC.com as I am thinking of selling my car. Last year they "valued" it at £10.5k, every week or so this year it has "gone up" and the last offer was £12.5k?? (Yes I know they would knock a load off when they actually view the car but it's still a £2k increase over the last few months...

Ibrahim5

I do like the cars from the VW stable. Just have to pick the badge you want. I think it works the opposite for me. I see a Skoda "clever guy". I see an Audi "not so clever".

motorguy

Ibrahim5 said:

I do like the cars from the VW stable. Just have to pick the badge you want. I think it works the opposite for me. I see a Skoda "clever guy". I see an Audi "not so clever".

Why? 

For someone who just said "just have to pick the badge you want" you then just judged those who chose the Audi variant, including the O/P for picking the car they want?

What if they prefer the looks, styling, drive and spec of the Audi?  Nothing wrong with that, surely?  Surely thats the whole point of "want"?

Ibrahim5

The one who buys Skoda would be the more knowledgeable person. The one who gets the same components but pays less. The money saving expert.

motorguy

Ibrahim5 said:

The one who buys Skoda would be the more knowledgeable person. The one who gets the same components but pays less. The money saving expert.

You're not buying the same car though are you?  

Theres styling, drive, spec and often engine differences between the two cars.  They are rarely, if at all, made on the same production line either.  Theres many engine and gearbox combinations that arent available in a Skoda that are available in an Audi also.

You're buying a different car, sharing some components from a different manufacturer within the same overall holding company.

If someone needs to buy the Skoda to save money then fine, however thats at odds with what you said originally about people could chose the car they want.

And again we're back to MSE is about getting what you want at the best price, not making do with something you dont want but is cheaper.