15k budget

J0hnb0y

J0hnb0y

J0hnb0y

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Joined
25 Oct 2006
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587
Location
London
Hi all,

I've got around 15k for a car. I've been looking at second hand A3's, Golfs, 1 series etc. Having looked a little deeper I see you can pick up a basic spec new A3 for 20k.

I went straight to Carcraft just so I could sit in all of them and get a feel for the different makes.

What is the best place to buy second hand? I haven't a clue what to look for, wear and tear etc. I was quite taken with Carcraft because all the cars appeared brand new. Autotrader? Approved used?

Have to say I'm fairly terrified about parting with this cash but it's time to lose my 10 year old 206 now :(

Thanks for any advice!
 
for that sort of money i'd prefer to be shopping with a main dealer avoid places like carcraft etc, stick with a main franchised dealer and buy approved used. don't be afraid to haggle on the price either you'll find the majority of dealers have plenty of wiggle room on the screen price. plenty people will tell you buy private as you'll get the best deal but personally spending that kind of cash unless I was 100% knowledgable on what I was buying i'd stick with a franchised dealer
 
As someone has stated above, getting one from a franchised dealer would be preferable. With that kind of money you'd be much safer getting it from a dealer as getting one from a used car place isn't really much better than just getting one privately.
 
15k is a lot to spend on a small hatch, maybe consider a 2 or 3 year old car. The VW Jetta is very good value for money

not the best engine but good value for money if you do not do too many miles
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif.../radius/1501/postcode/cr81dd/page/4?logcode=p

This looks quite nice, its not too old and quite low milage
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif.../postcode/cr81dd/radius/1501/page/2?logcode=p



Or if you would consider something bigger look at a 3 series, this looks good but a little too cheap so something may be wrong with it.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...dd/advert-type/standard-listing?logcode=ucnnp

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...age/1/keywords/320d_nav/radius/1501?logcode=p
 
I live in London and as a man it pains me to say this, but I can't park! I am awful at it, in fact there was this one time when I had to ask the other half...

I've based my budget for what I can afford on a visit to Carcraft. 50k mileage vehicles, (Can't remember the plate) for 15k or below. Have had a look at an approved Audi dealership and there are A3's on a 2010 plate at around 30,000 miles for 10k.

That said, the A3 doesn't seem to be a particularly brilliant. I like Audi's but this is only based on the bigger models. Need to test drive.

Thanks for the advice
 
J0hnb0y said:
I live in London and as a man it pains me to say this, but I can't park! I am awful at it, in fact there was this one time when I had to ask the other half...

I've based my budget for what I can afford on a visit to Carcraft. 50k mileage vehicles, (Can't remember the plate) for 15k or below. Have had a look at an approved Audi dealership and there are A3's on a 2010 plate at around 30,000 miles for 10k.

That said, the A3 doesn't seem to be a particularly brilliant. I like Audi's but this is only based on the bigger models. Need to test drive.

Thanks for the advice
Click to expand...

While it isn't going to completely solve the issue of a bigger car, parking sensors or even a parking camera (although I doubt these are in budget) would help if you had one of the bigger Audi models.
 
How many miles are you going to be doing? Does the Mk 6 Golf GTD fall into your budget? Or if you're not doing that many miles consider the MK6 GTI (unless insurance is an issue)
 
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J0hnb0y said:
I live in London and as a man it pains me to say this, but I can't park! I am awful at it, in fact there was this one time when I had to ask the other half...
Click to expand...

I know that feeling, Bay parking is fine. Parallel parking I have no clue, passed 5 years ago, didn't drive for 4 years and forgotten the technique and just can't get it right :D. Ill go practice one day.
 
J0hnb0y said:
I live in London and as a man it pains me to say this, but I can't park! I am awful at it, in fact there was this one time when I had to ask the other half...

I've based my budget for what I can afford on a visit to Carcraft. 50k mileage vehicles, (Can't remember the plate) for 15k or below. Have had a look at an approved Audi dealership and there are A3's on a 2010 plate at around 30,000 miles for 10k.

That said, the A3 doesn't seem to be a particularly brilliant. I like Audi's but this is only based on the bigger models. Need to test drive.

Thanks for the advice
Click to expand...


If your going to bump into things maybe knock a zero off your budget :p

I would cry if i had just spent 15k on a small hatch and bumped it. :D
 
Audi A1, newer design then the old A3 so you get all the nice things like MMI as standard.

If you don't mind a harsher ride then go for the S-line with leather seats. For a more comfortable ride go for the Sport. I've been in both and the S-line has a far more crashy ride (like all S-line cars?? :o).

There are some good deals to be had used: :)

This is a very nice spec, with the upgraded super sport seats, xenons, climate etc - http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/...i-a1-1-4-tfsi-s-line-3dr-petrol-manual/934984

Also like the red:
http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/audi/a1/audi-a1-1-4-t-fsi-s-line/680593

Easy to park as well. :p

"Oh Blackhawk!" :D
 
J0hnb0y said:
Hi all,

I've got around 15k for a car. I've been looking at second hand A3's, Golfs, 1 series etc. Having looked a little deeper I see you can pick up a basic spec new A3 for 20k.

I went straight to Carcraft just so I could sit in all of them and get a feel for the different makes.

What is the best place to buy second hand? I haven't a clue what to look for, wear and tear etc. I was quite taken with Carcraft because all the cars appeared brand new. Autotrader? Approved used?

Have to say I'm fairly terrified about parting with this cash but it's time to lose my 10 year old 206 now :(

Thanks for any advice!
Click to expand...

Buy my 2010 VW Scirocco :D
 
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