Advice on car choice:

[Helios1234]

Yeah, the one you posted is in Camberley which is about an hour or so drive from me.....I am going to contact the seller to see if it is still available later today.

Oh is it in Camberley? On Autotrader, it said it's 35 miles from my post code which is Camberley.

If it is in Camberley, I'd be even more annoyed that I didn't wait for this car to come on the market rather than me going all the way to the North to get mine .

 

[shoes]

B&W sound system etc etc - £16850

Up until recently the boss has the 3.0 diesel XF with the B&W system in. The car was absolute luxury, nothing less. It was infinitely nicer than the MD's E60 and seemed generally better in ever way.

The B&W sound system is also quite special. I'm a B&W owner so I guess I'm biased, however the sound system in the jaaaaaaaag was awesome.

Crackin cars for sure.

My only concern would be reliability, the boss doesn't treat his cars with any respect (he systematically destroyed an L200 over a four year lease without taking it off road ) which may be the root cause, but in the three year period he had it the car was off the road way too much for repairs.

 

[FerretBoy]

If you get the 2.5t then you should really consider the bluefin. Although mpg went down from 34 to 31 on long motorway drives (high speed, mines an estate), the extra acceleration gives me a massive grin!

 

[Castiel]

I didn't even bother test driving the Insignia, I didn't like the interior, it was very cheap and nasty...and when I started it up the engine noise was awful and that was enough for me. So that is now discarded.

However the VW Passat CC was something else entirely...It was quiet, a bit lacking on the headroom for my 6ft 2" height initially, but during the test drive I got used to the driving position. The diesel was surprisingly potent, acceleration wasn't too bad (not ST220 territory, but the turbo gives it a decent enough push when you put your foot down and it was smooth and very quiet at motorway speeds on the dual carriage way.) It handles well enough, I like the auto holdbrake and it is a very nice looking motor.

The chap at VW heritage was positive about bringing the price down if we want to go ahead with it and will discuss discounts (unlike the joker at Vauxhall who simply said he didn't want to move to much on the more expensive one when asked) and a few upgrades such as Parking Sensors and extended warranties.

So we have a second test drive booked for tomorrow and depending on what we can agree I expect I will buy the Passat.

 

[[TW]Fox]

At least get a TFSI not that terrible 140 diesel, or if you must have diesel get the 170.

 

[Raymond Lin]

He's so going to buy that 4 pot Passat.

Castiel, rather than spending £14k on something "that'll do", buy a car that's "I can't believe £14k can get me one of these!"

 

[hurfdurf]

He's so going to buy that 4 pot Passat.

Castiel, rather than spending £14k on something "that'll do", buy a car that's "I can't believe £14k can get me one of these!"

Agreed, my father has the rubbish engine in his and its terrible, why you would ever get a Passat CC over something like a Gold GTi is beyond me unless you were doing 25k+ miles a year

 

[Castiel]

At least get a TFSI not that terrible 140 diesel, or if you must have diesel get the 170.

He's so going to buy that 4 pot Passat.

Castiel, rather than spending £14k on something "that'll do", buy a car that's "I can't believe £14k can get me one of these!"

I will probably buy the Passat....the engine seemed perfectly capable to me, and I really liked the car, it was comfortable and the interior was well laid out and good materials, the colour is good, no dinks or marks on the car that I could see anywhere, four new tyres and it went well enough fro me with the added bonus of good economy.....I don't particularly want to spend weeks travelling miles fussing over which engine or whether it has stuff I'll never use anyway. Everything I have read doesn't indicate that the 2.0TDI unit is a duffer, quite the contrary. What is actually wrong with the 2.0TDI units?

It is isn't a "that'll do" choice either, I really liked it. I will go for another longer and more aggressive test drive tomorrow to make sure, and I also want to have a look at an A4 and a Golf as well.

 

[Dave85]

Personally think your crazy buying a passat over the stunning Jags that can be had for the same money.

 

[Castiel]

Personally think your crazy buying a passat over the stunning Jags that can be had for the same money.

Stunning jags cannot be had for the same money......

 

[hurfdurf]

Stunning jags cannot be had for the same money......

I have seen 5k jags that are stunning compared to the Passat CC, let alone the 140bhp TDI model.... As I said, my dad has a regular Passat with it, it's awful, I think you have new car blinkers on or something!

Takes all sorts mind.

 

[danza]

Mr Castiel, there are many XFs in your budget with under 70k on the clock, many are 2.7 diesels, and all are infinitely less dull than a Passat.

You owe it to yourself to try one out.

 

[[TW]Fox]

Everything I have read doesn't indicate that the 2.0TDI unit is a duffer, quite the contrary. What is actually wrong with the 2.0TDI units?

They are noisy, reasonably unrefined, clatter like an old van and deliver most of the power an irritatingly placed lump over about 1500rpm tops. One minute you claim you want the performance of the ST220, now because somebody 30 seconds down the road has a TDI 140 suddenly that doesn't matter?

I'm not saying the Passat CC is a bad car - I don't really like them personally but they do look nice - I'm saying at least buy a decent CC not a bottom of the range one. There is not exactly a shortage of Passats on the market, you are spending £15,000 so it's not exactly a load of effort to perhaps go a bit further and find one worth buying with a decent engine - the 2.0TFSI is the pick of the range, decent performance, smooth, quiet, reliable, unobtrusive and reasonable economical. If you are absolutely convinced you need to throw an ST220 in the dustbin for 500 quid and buy a £15,000 car to get 'good MPG' then make it the TDI 170 rather than the TDI 140.

I always had you down as somebody who was quite methodical and rational yet you appear to be about to buy probably the least appealing car in its range simply because it was the first one you found on Autotrader and happened to be local. Don't do that. Travelling for a car like this is not a chore as its unlikely any of them are sheds as they are too new. Spend an hour on the VW approved website.

30 seconds on Autotrader has turned up these two, I dont know where you live but I put in within 100 miles of Southampton:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif.../postcode/so155ab/radius/100/page/1?logcode=p

only 9k miles which appeals to your obsession with low mileage. Decent engine, great spec.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif.../postcode/so155ab/radius/100/page/1?logcode=p

More miles but a VW Approved Used Car. They'd probably even deliver it!

And if the obsession with MPG really is a priority, a nice spec 170:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...rds/170/radius/100/postcode/so155ab?logcode=p

Don't buy a 140 Passat, its the automotive equivilent of wallpaper paste.

 

[Castiel]

I have spent a lot of time on the approved VW website.....that is where I found this one. You are basically saying the opposite to every trade magazine I've read in the past few days.

I don't want the tfsi..I would rather go with the diesel and as far as I can find out the 140 and the 170 unitsare the same only tuned differently. I am going to look at an Audi a5 today with a 2.0TD and compare.

 

[[TW]Fox]

I have spent a lot of time on the approved VW website.....that is where I found this one. You are basically saying the opposite to every trade magazine I've read in the past few days.

Thats because What Car? magazine is obsessed with tedious 4 cylinder diesel engines. They even took the 1 Series Cabriolet - a range with some stunning engines in it - and decided the pick was the 118d - a car thats slower than the 120d yet offers exactly the same economy. It's just rubbish. If Ferrari brought out a 599 GTB 2.0 TDI S-Line What Car? would announce it was pick of the range.

I don't want the tfsi..I would rather go with the diesel

Why? Why don't you want a smooth, quiet, refined and obtrusive engine, especially after the glorious V6 in your Mondeo? I'm not saying rush out and buy a 10mpg gas guzzer - the 2.0 TFSI is a sensible and reasonably economical powerplant.

Unless you really NEED the economy of the 2.0 TDI I can think of almost no reason why it would be preferable to the 2.0 TFSI.

You are about to spend FIFTEEN GRAND on a car: Either:

a) This is a lot of money. Therefore take some time and at least test the various models in the range then at least you'll know it wasnt a better choice
b) This is not a lot of money for you. Therefore stop messing about with base model diesels.

and as far as I can find out the 140 and the 170 unitsare the same only tuned differently.

There are mechanical differences IIRC.

 

[Castiel]

OK I'll spend the weekend looking at others in the range to compare, but I didn't find the engine noisy or clattery particularly compared to the insignia which I didn't even bother test driving because it sounded like a bus.

I am leaning toward economy rather than just performance now since I drove the VW and it wasn't anywhere near as bad as I though it would be and I would also like to keep within approved dealerships as well.

 

[s0ck]

The Passat CC really is a stunning car, for a Passat. It reminds me of a CLS a bit? Hope you enjoy it

I almost spat tea at the screen when I read 'VX-Line' above though. What were they thinking? Cringe.

 

[Kenai]

I really can't understand how people can describe the VAG 2.0TDI as even remotely refined, the house next door has one in a Passat and it sounds like a delivery van turning up whenever they drive in. Horrible horrible noise.

 

[s0ck]

It's easy.

Stand next to a Pug XUD.

Stand next to a 2.0 TDI.



Wiiiiiiiin.

On a serious note, it is very well refined in the B7 which makes me believe it must be very similar for Passats et al.

 

[Castiel]

The Passat CC really is a stunning car, for a Passat. It reminds me of a CLS a bit? Hope you enjoy it

I like it but now I don't know about the diesel......argh!!!! I don't know whether it really is as bad as people are saying in this thread or whether (like I always was) they are obsessed with petrol units.

I almost spat tea at the screen when I read 'VX-Line' above though. What were they thinking? Cringe.

We noticed it driving past the dealership..a white sportback and it looked really nice....then I sat in it and started it up, which totally disabused me of the idea of buying a Vauxhall. Nasty interior and sounded like a bus.