Help me choose a new car

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Yachtie

Registered User
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I've spent the whole day on Saturday car shopping. I took several cars out for a test drive and now have to decide between a BMW116i ES and Renault Megane.

My current car is 3yrs old and the main reason why I want to change it is that it doesn't hold much value and the mileage money I get from work would pay for a substantial chunk of the car finance repayments.

I drive a good bit for work and safety and comfort are becoming very important while there is also a small bit of vanity involved.

Any personal experiences with either of the above models or informed opinions will be most welcome. Also, is it common that the car dealers can give you a small percentage discount if you're not trading in but putting down a cash deposit? I was told that you have to ask for this otherwise they'd never mention it.

Thanks in advance!
 
Re: Help me chose a new car

Go for a test drive in a Ford Focus and compare the ride. It's a great car & better value retention than the Renault and much better value than the bmw.
 
Re: Help me chose a new car

of the 2 cars you have driven above, expect big depreciation on both.

Renaults typically dont hold their value well and neither does the 1 series.

Whats your budget?
The Megane must be costing about €23/24k and the BMW would be about €28k. The ES spec is poor also. I would take an A3 over a 1 series any day.

You should be able to get big discounts on both the cars you are looking at...prob in the region of €1000-1500.

The focus is a great car, maybe not as nice as the one it replaced, but a better car than the one it replaced.

If you drive a lot for work then maybe you should consider a diesel, which might limit your budget somewhat
 
If you do a lot of driving maybe look at a diesel.

Golf
Focus
BM 320d
corolla or the new replacemet.
 
When buying a new or even used car you should expect to get at least 10% off the list price if paying cash. All car prices are increased to allow for this discount. This way, when people go looking at trade-ins it looks like they are getting a great trade-in price for their old car.
How many people do you know that tell you that it was MADNESS not to buy the new car considering the price they were getting for their old one. Truth is, if they sold it privately they would get the same amount or more than the dealer was offering. Then they could get a large discount for cash on the new one. Most people find this too much hassle, especially when the dealer is offering the deal of the century (or so they think). Also, they stroll into the dealership just looking to browse, and a good salesman offers them a good deal and instant finance and a car straightaway. Carrot in front of the donkey stuff.
Consider this example:

New car 25K
Old car was 25k two years ago.
Dealer offers 21k for old car as trade in.
Cost is 4k cash plus old car.

Cash price of new car is 23K
Sell old car for 20.5k
Price for cash is 2.5k plus old car.

Seems like a lot of hassle? Where else could you earn 1.5k for a few hours work and a little patience?

Shop around different dealers and dont be afraid to pitch them against each other saying that dealer X offered a cash discount of Y amount

Best of luck
 
If your looking for a nice car to drive believe it or not the Skoda Octavia is a nice car to drive 1.9 Diesel Elegance (top spec model) under 30k, not sure what the trade in value is like in 3 - 4 years but if you are getting an allowance who cares. Drive one and see ya never know......
 
Well if 50mpg,endless pulling power and first tip starting are"agricultural" I don't know what classification could be placed on the opel diesel!!!!!!!!!
 
tommo2 said:
When buying a new or even used car you should expect to get at least 10% off the list price if paying cash.
Click to expand...

You are most unlikely to get a 10% cash discount the vast majority of new cars.
 
RS2K said:
You are most unlikely to get a 10% cash discount the vast majority of new cars.
Click to expand...


Yes you will if you shop around different garages and pit them against each other. Cash still has enormous benefit over finance deals. Just try it, you'll see.
 
Agree with tommo2

Went and took a test drive of the new Corolla diesel saloon and the new Auris hatchback diesel 2 weeks ago at local Toyota dealers and when I said what sort of a deal would he do for cash I got 10% off immediately - also throw in the usual mats and a full tank "for luck".....

Definitley haggle - if you don't ask you won't get.....
 
Hi Yachtie
A couple of questions that might lead you to a choice:
  • Do you like driving, i.e. are acceleration, handling etc. important to you?
  • Do you need 4 doors and 5 seats?
 
RS2K said:
It's still a Skoda though.
Click to expand...


In our company we looked at a few models in that range (in estate for carrying tools spare parts etc..). The main reason I looked at the Skoda is the lads asked for something in the "Golf / Astra" range for B.I.K. reasons and even they agreed space comfort etc was far better than anything else out there, they all agreed the spec in them was much better than anything else out there to be honest we have ordered 6 of them.
 
We sold our old car privately for much more than the dealer was offering (through carzone), and then haggled a 10% discount off a Focus. We gained €2k extra for doing pretty much nothing.

The only down-side is that as we pre-booked a Jan 07 car in November, and had sold the old car easily, we only had 1 car for nearly 2 months (woe-betide); which was a nusience at times.
 
A 10% discount is not an unreasonable expectation when paying cash for a new car. true you will have to haggle for it in a lot of dealers but dont forget that some dealers offer their employees a 20% discount.
 

How long did it take you to see your car on carzone.ie? I got my new car last Friday and the old one has been up for sale for over a week but no enquiries...
 
Yachtie said:
How long did it take you to see your car on carzone.ie? I got my new car last Friday and the old one has been up for sale for over a week but no enquiries...
Click to expand...

only took a few hours. put it on carzone at 11pm, with no pics, and got a call at 9.30 the following morning, sold at 11am.
 
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