Another Spec me Thread

platypus

platypus

platypus

Caporegime
Joined
25 Jul 2003
Posts
40,464
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Another spec me of sorts thread, eugh I know, but choosing what car you want is hard enough let alone then trying to get a good deal!

Edit: Ignoring the LHD requirement for a second, what cars would you recommend we look at?

Needs
-LHD
-Diesel
-Cruise
-Climate Control
-Room

Would Like
-Economical as possible (obviously!)
-Sat Nav
-Removeable/completely foldable rear seats
-Good stereo
-Roof rack/
-Towbar
-Prefer estate over 4x4

It needs to be practical for heading into the mountains on a regular/weekly basis for both cycling and skiing.

Eg we saw this car the other day, and whilst it's certainly at the higher end of the budget that we're wanting to spend (£8k max) it looks nice :p!

Don't know the first thing about BMWs (well cars younger than 40 years in general :p), what all the various terms are etc, but the car has low(ish) mileage, according to WhatCar (apologies but this is what people like myself read) it reviews well. Looking at the photos I can't see the iDrive package mentioned, unless this is hidden in the dashboard, but we would to have a car with built in sat nav, though of course we could go down the old fashioned route of buying one I suppose.

I understand that the caveat of a LHD car is going to make things very difficult in this country, but it's significantly cheaper to buy a LHD here and import than it is to buy in France.

Is it practical to phone a dealer and ask if they have any LHDs I could help get off their books for a nice discount, or am I kidding myself?
 
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I honestly don't think there's much in the choice of LHD in the UK.
The LHD car centre dealers know exactly what the cars are worth and price accordingly.
Occasionally you might find the odd private punter trying to flog a LHD car for a massive discount but it doesn't happen very often.

IMHO, get something from Germany and import it. The choice is huge and lots with huge spec. Especially if you're looking for something as mundane as a 320d.

Seriously, use autoscout24.eu and mobile.de
You can search for cars in extreme detail, making it very easy to find exactly what you want.

Exporting from Germany is a piece of **** and you can get export plates valid for months with insurance.
Budget €10,000 and remember dealers will knock a chunk off for export if you don't want a warranty.
 
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You'll struggle to find many LHD cars at all in the UK, ones that spring to mind are the original smart car, VW Beetle and Audi TT as i believe they were available in Europe a good year or so before the UK so some people bought them and brought them over here. Not that any of them are any use to you!
 
I did wonder if we'd have that issue. Thanks for the links mjt, I will get searching!

So removing the LHD from the list of things we want (assuming therefore I buy from Germany so will get LHD anyway), what kind of car should I be looking for? Any suggestions on type of car?

Difficulty arises in seeing the car and risking importing something duff I suppose. Going to be very hard for me to test drive in the next few months.
 
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Stick in what you want into the search options and price-wise and see what comes up, then draw up a list of what looks interesting and we'll tell you if it's good or not :p

Is mileage going to be an issue for you? (ie. 100,00 miles+)
 
Well I suppose only from the point of view that we are likely to want to put a lot of miles on it as well.

So from an economical point of view and longevity point of view, it is important.
 
I'm finding Mondeo 1.8TDCIs, Skoda Octavias and various Opels.

I'd buy something RHD, use it for a bit and find something else once you've moved.
If you don't have the time for test drives, etc then it's not going to be fun..

Buy a car in the UK and take it with you (on UK plates)
Then start looking once you've moved.
 
 
Go with the Fabia or the Focus
The Fabia will have more economical engines though.
It's also the newest car for the money as it's relatively small. There will also be loads available in France and saves the faff that is importing. Same for the Focus.

The Renault Laguna II is a nightmare for reliability
The A6 is ancient
The A4 has the multitronic gearbox which is a massive bill waiting to happen
The Volvo V50 isn't very big at all regarding luggage capacity
 
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