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
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