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View Full Version : Flying from Ireland to England to buy an A4



farmamick
19-02-2009, 06:16 PM
Hi everyone,

As the title says, I'm looking seriously at flying to England in the next few days to buy an A4. Looking at a 1.9 tdi 02 or 03 estate, with around 100k miles on the clock.

I looked at one today at a dealer here in Dublin, and the thing was a mess. It had obviously been in a prang at the rear - one tail-light stuck out to the side by 1/4 inch, the bumber had a crack, and the tailgate had a dent from the inside out (!?). The engine bay was FILTHY. The drivers door dropped almost 1/2 inch when I opened it. Cup holders didn't work. It smelt a bit inside. The engine blew some blue smoke (is this normal?).

You get the picture. The car is a dog. Now, if I was to look on autotrader or ebay, I could find 10 cars something like this one:
http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/SendToAFriend/Ne-0,N-0/advert.action?R=200906328210306http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/SendToAFriend/Ne-0,N-0/advert.action?R=200906328210306

As a general rule, could I trust that this car wouldn't be like the one I looked at today in Dublin? I'm not going to hold anyone to what they say, I just want to get a feel for the quality of car that I would be expecting to see if I were to take a day off work, and fly to see a car...

You see, the Irish (don't be offended if you're Irish please!) don't generally look after their cars as well as the English. There's also the perception that English roads are better than Irish roads.

Also, the Irish car market has slowed down unbelievably with this recession - ie, you can quite easily make an almost insulting offer on a car, and you'll be taken seriously. Whats the general consensus out there lately in the UK/England?

Any comments?? Your help/comments are much appreciated!

Ta
Mick

randall977
20-02-2009, 10:02 AM
I sold my last Audi to a guy from Dublin. Yes the market has slowed here and there are some bargains to be had. My personal plan of attack when buying is to avoid London and Manchester and only buy private. Too many garages are dishonest in their descriptions and they know how to cover things up (also you don't know who had the car before they did). It's hard to do but if you can gleen clues from the advert as to what kind of person is selling (ie National Trust sticker in the window - I bought two VW's based partly on this - I could see it in the Autotrader photo), then it will save a lot of heartache. The kind of person you want to buy off should have had the car more than a year, serviced it in a main dealer etc etc. I tend to stick to Autotrader because it's harder to lie about being a dealer. A phone call should tell you everything....

Mr_Meeks
20-02-2009, 11:02 AM
i bought my Audi from Autotrader in a private sale from a honest rich guy so cutting corners wasn't a problem, but it depends on your gut feeling when you first talk to them and see the car, ask as many questions as possible and see how they respond to you i.e. if there nervous and seem to rush you, etc

what about something like this
http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/AUDI+A4/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146-236,N-11-20-51-55-240-4294966653-4294966997/advert.action?R=200906328331375&distance=196&postcode=kt227sg&channel=CARS&make=AUDI&model=A4&min_pr=3000&max_pr=6000&max_mileage=&vehicleYearOfManufacture=2003&vehicleRegLetter=03

seems like a good deal, lower miles and only a lil bit more which i'm sure you could bargain off.

just look around for a while till you find the exact one you like and there are def bargains to be had.

good luck

woodview
20-02-2009, 05:57 PM
Im Irish, not offended :-)

Would agree, the roads poor in some parts of Ireland but not everywhere. Only very few owners back there really look after their cars, most of my Irish friends back home currently go up North or over here to get their cars, normally get a better spec and in better condition.

Hope you get a decent one soon

farmamick
11-03-2009, 03:17 PM
An update...

I flew to Manchester the other day, and bought a 02 A6 1.9 tdi saloon. We're very happy with it. Its done 140k miles, but has been pampered, and is in lovely condition. Only complaint is the free wheel pulley seems to be going - so am ordering one of them now. Pics are up in my profile.

Thanks for the tips. I ended up going thru a very small dealer - he does it out of his backyard. The paperwork was all there, full service history - mostly audi, except for last couple. New tyres, cambelt and a few other bits. So all in all, I think I did alright.

NICE1A4
11-03-2009, 09:36 PM
I've got a VW Passat reg 0202 130TDI sport for sale. Fully loaded inc full leather (fronts heated) inc steering wheel, gearstick & handbrake gaiter, door swabs and arm reats. VW satnav, cruise, full light pack, pop up headlight washers and sport spots. Multi CD and 12v socket in boot. Split and fully folding rear seats make a massive load area. Single CD with rds radio in dash board and multi info computer. 94K on clock with full history. 12mths mot, 6mths tax, just serviced and valeted. Lovely car. We've just had a A4 and at the mo, I'm still lovin the Passat.:approve: £2950 to you sir!