Newbie needing advice

[mr_nice]

Hi,

Have recently got a new job which involves driving alot of miles each year (20k +) so I am after a new car. Need something with a good image as I visit clients at their homes. My budget is £5k all though that includes a tatty 306 trade in and a bit of haggling, true top end budget is £4500. Have decided on a VW or Audi as they seem to fit the bill well but am struggling to find many examples without huge mileage. Think i'm leaning towards a passat as they seem better value than A4's but unsure whether to look at lower mileage 98's etc or v. high mileage 01's (found several at 120k +). Would really like the facelift but mileage puts me off slightly, current car is at 117000 and about ready to be scrapped. Have considered A3's, A4's, golfs (gt tdi would be nice, but not many for the money), bora's and passats. If anyone has any other ideas would be great! Have no need for 4 doors, reliabilty, economical, image are all important and would love a front armrest due to amount of miles! Sorry for long winded first post, thanks for your help in advance!

Nick

[Dan]

I was in a similar position though my mileage is a little higher that yours. So I was after a lower mileage car. In the end I bought a '98 Passat 1.8 20v SE which was a fine comforatable car.. if a little slow. I was actually after a diesel, but the extra cost put me off... even with the mileage I do, with the extra price of diesel and the higher price of the car it wasn't worth it.

This was a few years ago and I had the misfortune of parking it in the boot of an A4 on the M4, again I looked for a Passat as I was very happy with the car, but as I was short of time I struggled to find one that fitted the bill and instead bought a Bora '00 2.3 V5 Sport.

At the time of buying the bora it was just a good enough car at the right price, but i have to say I am very impressed, it isn't quite as big as the passat, but it is sooo much nicer to drive faster and uses about the same amount of fuel. I bought the Bora over a golf because like for like the Bora is about a grand cheaper.

While it's not as trendy as the golf, I think it looks classy, and is a very presentable and unpretentious in front of customers.

Hope this helps

Cheers Dan

[mr_nice]

Thanks for your reply Dan. I'd agree with what you say about diesels being so pricey compared to the petrols, think this is where I'm having diffuculties finding used examples. Maybe I should start looking petrol...Isn't it crazy that you can buy a bigger car (passat/bora) for so much less than a smaller golf?! Really suprised me, although it's understandable why. I'm off out today to look for some, not buying till the weekend though, so if anyone had any different suggestions/comments would be much appreciated!

Cheers!

Nick

[jvaughan]

My VW Golf (2002 GTTDI) lease if up in 2007. the GFV of the car is listed as £4500, that is with 96,000 miles on the clock.

I would have thought you could find a similar priced 2000 / 2001 reged car, with similar mileage in your budget


actually, while I think about it, as VW have just re-launched the Jetta, and have dropped the Bora from their range, there should be excellent deals out there

>> Edited by jvaughan on Tuesday 28th March 10:38

[greatgranny]

You can pick up a decent mileage (60k) Bora TDi for about £4.5k.

They generally have lower mileage than the Golfs.

See below

2000 VOLKSWAGEN Bora 1.9 TDi,
W reg. only 63,000 miles, FSH, in Silver, 1 owner, a/c, e/w etc, looks & drives as new, over 50mpg. ?4,695. . [phone]RIVERSIDE MOTOR COTelephone: [phone] or [phone]
Distance: 6 miles
Price: £4,695

[mr_nice]

Cheers guys for the replies. Have been tempted by the bora's but leaning towards the passat, think it looks comfier and maybe a bit classier for work too. Don't get me wrong bora's are great but maybe the stylings slightly more of an aquired taste? Saw a lovely 2002 light blue passat today, was the 2liter petrol, which i took on board after dans commnets. had 50k on the clock and was £6k at a dealer, would stretch the budget but well worth it imo. Thing is it's over £250 cheaper a year to insure than a tdi which is quite a bit of fuel, going for a test drive tommorrow. Hopefully it drives as well as it looks...All i have to do after that is figure out what audi alloys to put onto it, seen RS6's and RS4's on passats before but not the A8's, anyone got any pictures/thoughts on these? (i'm not a boy racer, just think audi alloys really smarten up just about any vw) Thanks for the help all.

Nick