New car time HELP!!

antc

antc

antc

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Joined
23 Jun 2005
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1,773
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Nottinghamshire
hi, im currently looking for a new car. my budget is £14k + my 2000 w reg fiesta zetec s with 45k miles.

the cars i am currently looking at are as follows

audi tt quattro 225 (mk1)
audi s3 old shape
golf r32

what i would really like is help choosing between the 3. i really cant decide between the 3. i dont have any requirements what so ever. just for the record i am 24 with 3 years ncb and insurance for all of these falls between 450-600 quid just for the record.

anyone on these forums owns/has owned any of these cars and can give approximate running costs that would be cool as well as any other info.

thanks

Ant
 
With regards to the two 225's, I adore the engine, its a great power delivery style, pretty flat torque curve, and plenty of "get up and go" in all gears :)

I'd take the S3 over the TT, however I would (and did) take the Leon Cupra R over both. You'll get a 2004/5 model for your money and end up with the same mechanics (bar the haldex) and almost the same interior as the S3.
 
I've only driven the TT but I suspect the R32 could be a hoot to drive too with its 4wd and slightly more power, albeit a bit heavier.

Google shows the s3 as having 210BHP, I thought it would have at least the 225 of the TT? It aint up to much looks wise, either, imo.
 
s0ck said:
I've only driven the TT but I suspect the R32 could be a hoot to drive too with its 4wd and slightly more power, albeit a bit heavier.

Google shows the s3 as having 210BHP, I thought it would have at least the 225 of the TT? It aint up to much looks wise, either, imo.
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The S3 came in two flavours (much like the Leon Cupra R did), the earlier models were the 210PS, the later models coming with the 225 motor.
 
im thinking i may have been a little to quick to dismiss some other cars like the focus st, astra vxr, mondeo st220, leon cupra r.......the list is endless :(

after having a long hard think about things what im really after is something fast, the handles well and doesnt have to bad an interior.

please help as i can currently think of at least 20 cars i want and i dont seem to be able to get my list down.

any help/suggestions much appreciated

thanks

Ant
 
As I said earlier, if you like the interior of the S3, go try an LCR, you may well decide that it is for you.

If you'd rather have more of a comfortable cruiser (wasn't focussed enough for me), take a look at a fully laden ST220, awesome cars IMO.
 
antc said:
im thinking i may have been a little to quick to dismiss some other cars like the focus st, astra vxr, mondeo st220, leon cupra r.......the list is endless :(
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BM W. 3 30. :)

You'll get performance, handling, comfort, style and a very nice interior :)
 
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[TW]Fox said:
That TT looks ace for the money.
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it does indeed. i just want to make sure i have considered EVERYTHING as its a lot of money and i want to make sure i make the right choices.

bmw 330i is on the list for sure. i have even started looking at imprezas as well. the wrx sti ppp to be exact.
 
paradigm said:
The ad says its been withdrawn :confused:
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it does indeed. im planning to go out around some garages to look at some cars on saturday. maybe to a car supermarket or 2. any suggestions for this? i guess try and test drive whats on my list and try and whittle it down.

also any ideas what i should be expecting part ex for my car. im thinking a min of £2k

they are going for 2.5 to 3.5 k on auto trader all day lon by the look of things. just to give some more info its a w reg panther black 1.6 16v zetec-s with 45k miles.

thanks again

Ant
 
antc said:
it does indeed. im planning to go out around some garages to look at some cars on saturday. maybe to a car supermarket or 2. any suggestions for this? i guess try and test drive whats on my list and try and whittle it down.

also any ideas what i should be expecting part ex for my car. im thinking a min of £2k

they are going for 2.5 to 3.5 k on auto trader all day lon by the look of things. just to give some more info its a w reg panther black 1.6 16v zetec-s with 45k miles.

thanks again

Ant
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Glass's trade in value on that car is £1800...... so your chance of getting 2k may be reasonable ish depending where you go.

You have a lot of choice in your price bracket.

Don't forget that servicing costs on the Audi S3/TT/VW R32s etc etc can be very high along with fuel consumption even at independent dealers.

Your probably looking at annual increase in running costs of 2-3x more than your fiesta maybe more adding insurance, tyres into the mix etc etc.

Just checking you have budgeted for this ;)
 
mrk1@1 said:
Glass's trade in value on that car is £1800...... so your chance of getting 2k may be reasonable ish depending where you go.

You have a lot of choice in your price bracket.

Don't forget that servicing costs on the Audi S3/TT/VW R32s etc etc can be very high along with fuel consumption even at independent dealers.

Your probably looking at annual increase in running costs of 2-3x more than your fiesta maybe more adding insurance, tyres into the mix etc etc.

Just checking you have budgeted for this ;)
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indeed i have been doing quite a lot of research into costs and so on. i have made sure i have a fund saved incase anything major goes wrong.

after speaking with my mechanic tonight i have now decided against the golf r32. he recomended the s3 or tt. he recomended the s3 out of the 2 for practicality, but pointed out i may get slightly more body roll from the s3 than the tt in standard form. although that could be sorted by changing the suspension.

with regard to servicing he was saying a small service would be about £120-150, major service would be £200-250 and the cambelt change/water pump replacement and pulley replacements would be around £500.

so general servicing costs seem very reasonable to me, not actually costing too much more than my current car. i know parts will cost more than my fiesta thats obvious because of the type of cars im looking at. also have now checked with my insurers and im looking at touching £500 for a years insurance on either the tt or s3.

so what im really looking for now is help choosing between the tt and s3. what do you think are the good and bad points of each car and why?

thanks again for the help so far its been very useful.

cheers

Ant
 
you'd easily get 3-3.5k for the ZS down in the south west but as your up north id say more around the 3k mark... low mileage will help it a lot. i was looking for a nice panther black ZS for ages!
 
anybody any thoughts about the s3 and the tt???
any owners of these two cars on these boards?
 
antc said:
anybody any thoughts about the s3 and the tt???
any owners of these two cars on these boards?
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KK m8 S3 is a nice car, 2 examples near me are a 2001 Y reg with 60k on the clock for 10k and a Main dealer 2002 one with 45k on the clock for 13k.

2001-2002 models with about 35k miles on go for about 11-13k.

TBH high mileage on these isn't a good idea as they cost you a lot in bits and as you can get nice low mileage examples in your budget there is pleanty of choice.

14-16k will get you a nice S3 with 20-30k on the clock and 3 years old.

Go for it.
 
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