OK, so I change my mind about what car I want as often as I change my socks but I've given it a lot of thought and I now know what I want.
Problem is that whilst they aren't an uncommon car by any means I will probably have to do a bit of leg work to get one that meets my standards and mileage hang-ups Bearing in mind that I've only ever bought one car before and I did that by just doing the rounds of the local dealers I need a bit of help.
Basically before I go off on a 100 mile+ round trip I want to be pretty sure that I'm not wasting my time so can you lads and lasses help me out with a list of questions that I need to have answers for before I set off?
Assume I know nothing (not far from the truth) and start from the basics- what should I be asking.
Thanks for the advice so far. Just had a quick browse on autotrader and ones come up privately in the next village! Its a bit on the pricey side but looks genuine and only has 54k on the clock, hasn't got cruise though. If its still around once I've got my money shifted over from my ISA then that will be the first one I look at. If they dropped £300 or so off what they're asking it would be worth considering.
The most annoying thing with what I'm after (Octavia vRS) is that on autotrader less than 50% of people list them as a vRS. The rest refer to them as a RS... which if you enter into the trim level filter doesn't filter out anything. So I have to enter 1.8T into the filter but that then leaves all the standard 1.8T models to sift through
Well I had a look at one today, not a VRS but a L&K 1.8T. It wasn't far so I didn't bother asking too many questions as I had nothing to lose having a look. Anyway when I called I asked about the bodywork "its in really good condition." me- anything at all, just so that I know before I have a look "no. its in really good condition"
Well, my 9 year old motor was in better nick and this was only 4 years old with just 36k on the clock. Scuffs and scrapes all over. He obviously hit his garage wall everytime he opened the door as the edge was completely chewed up. Bits looked like they had never been cleaned, alloys had baked on grime. It was right on the money though, not cheap but probably the best value one within 100 miles.
Going to look at the other end of the scale hopefully in the next day or so. An over priced private VRS just 3 miles away. 56k on the clock silver completely standard 02 plate £6200
It wouldn't have to come down by a massive amount for it to be a go'er but it needs to come well clear of the right side of £6k for me to consider it.
Actually to be fair, if I do a search on autotrader in price order for vrs' up to 60k, 5 yrs or newer that one that I said was overpriced is only the third one to come up. The other two being the one that you posted and one over 300 miles away.
Truth be told I don't mind paying top money for one that is perfect but at the same time I don't want to be taken for a mug
Cheers for the info and opinions, really appreciate it.
Well it may seem stupid but I really want to set a mileage limit of 65k max from a resale point of view in a few years time.
As far as colours are concerned my preferance would be Black>Red=Silver=Yellow but I'd happily have any of them.
As far as that ones concerned, as I say I don't mind paying top dollar but the car would have to be as it rolled off the production line. It would have to come in at less than £6k for me to consider it with a further drop if it needs a belt and pump in the next month or 2. For me spending a couple of hundered quid more than I need to is better than weeks and weeks of spending my free time searching for a bargain.
It may sound like I don't know if I want a crap or a haircut but I'm also considering 1.8T L&K's and maybe Elegance's. The logic behind this is that either would be a compromise. The VRS wouldn't be quite as good for the 90%+ of the time I'm just trying to get from A to B but it would be much better for the up to 10% of the time that I'm giving it stick.
I'll have a look anyway. I can but offend telling them its too much money
EDIT- as for the Pistonheads ones I assume the month old+ ones would have sold and if not I'd be asking why. The first one I was very interested in and was going to have a trip up to Ikea and drop in on the way but its sold
For me the WRC models are way too in your face and the de-stickered one looks like an ex squad car to my eyes
Yeah its easy to forget Pistonheads has a much lower user base than autotrader so I guess its fair enough that they don't sell as quickly.
I must admit I am quite impatient when I see what I want but I'll have to keep that in check I guess. My 306 is getting to the point where it will start needing some TLC and I'm sticking on about 1500 miles a month at the moment so for me buying sooner rather than later and paying a premium is preferable to some degree. The longer I wait the more I'll keep upping my budget... I lack disciplin in that regard.
As for the L&K and Elegance for the type of driving I do they make a fair bit more sense than the vRS... thing that keeps nagging in the back of my mind though is that I'm 25 not 55. Something that kept niggling me as the retired old boy was showing me around his L&K today
You could be right with regards to the vRS. I think I'll need an unacompanied test drive of a L&K / Elegance to rule them out though
I'll be keeping it standard.
The white mesh on the seats is what really puts me off tbh. The full leather of the L&K is much more preferable, 1/2 leather 1/2 Alcantara even more so. Same with the dark carpets as opposed to the vRS' white ones. Xenons, Cruise, Sunroof and parking sensors as standard are also a nice touch on the L&K
Still not sure on the service scedule with regards to belt changes.
Decided against going to look at the overpriced one. If it was at a dealers I'd waste their time a bit in the hope that they knock a wedge off the price but can't be doing with wasting my time in the rain outside someones house
Also if it was perfect I'd probably end up going for it
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Bearing in mind that I've only ever bought one car before and I did that by just doing the rounds of the local dealers I need a bit of help.
silver 
completely standard 
