Good deal, or not?

[mobilbo]

Hello All,

I know this is not really the place for introductions, but I'm kind of killing 2 birds with one stone.

I'm Kevin, based in France, with a missus and 2 kids. I sadly have 2 cars off the road (Nissan Pathfinder UK, Renault Megane FR) and am currently renting a Renault Clio 4 Tce from one of the supermarkets here.

I/we are looking for a car with the practicality of the Nissan (big boot, roof rails for my box), but with better reliability and certainly better economy (Clio is super economic, but nothing sizeable fit's in the boot). Our maximum budget is €3K (about £2.6K+).

So, to my question...

I have found a 2006 Passat 1.9 TDI 105 with 250,000km (about 155K miles) priced at our €3K maximum budget.

Today I went to see and drive it - no unusual sounds, pulls pretty well for a heavy-ish car with 105hp IMO, very clean inside and out, good tyres all round, no obvious leaks under the bonnet and only 2 previous owners.

The servicing schedule seems to have been followed meticulously (VW stamped) and there are a ton of receipts, mostly from the same dealer who carried out the scheduled maintenance.

The "Argus" (book price) comes out at €3.5K (£3K)

I'm thinking it's a good deal and think I've just about convinced the missus to allow me to spend the money (we can't keep renting forever).

I'm not at all in touch with UK pricing, so I'm interested to know if you the esteemed membership would agree that a dealer serviced car with 155K miles on the clock is a steal at £2.6K?

Thanks in advance for your opinions.

Kevin

[Quatrelle]

If it's any use, my Dec. 2006 140 TDI Passat (with fewer than 70,000kms on the clock, FSH etc), is worth 'around' €6K trade in, and the 1.9 has a better reputation engine-wise. So I'd say go for it. Difficult to compare prices here with those in the UK.

Hopefully someone on here with a 1.9 will tell you if there's anything special to look for.

[mobilbo]

If it's any use, my Dec. 2006 140 TDI Passat (with fewer than 70,000kms on the clock, FSH etc), is worth 'around' €6K trade in, and the 1.9 has a better reputation engine-wise. So I'd say go for it. Difficult to compare prices here with those in the UK.

Hopefully someone on here with a 1.9 will tell you if there's anything special to look for.

Thanks for the response Quatrelle.

The details about your car does give me a bit of an idea, thanks.

I can say without a shadow of doubt that cars here in France (certainly used cars) are more expensive than back home. Where I'd pick up a decent 2.0TD Rover as a second car for £500, I'd be looking at €1,800 - €2,500 here. It's no wonder there are so many old cars on the road here in France.

I'd previously looked at a Audi 2.5V6 Quattro Sport with 335K kms (apparently always properly maintained, but no evidence) and a 320d touring with 247K kms, again with no history. I loved the Audi, lowered, huge alloys, remapped... was very solid, powerful and smooth, one for the heart.

But I came across the Passat 2 days later and I decided to go with my head, particularly with full documented history (rare at this price range it seems, at least over here).

It's less than book price, which might make you wonder why, but there are no signs of misaligned panels nor overspray and the same owner since 2007 seems to bode well.

If anyone is interested (while the ad is still current), here's a link: You have been blocked (https://www.leboncoin.fr/voitures/1511757014.htm/)

I've asked the guy to hold it for me with a view to taking ownership on Friday (barring any unexpected surprises).

But if anyone thinks of anything that I probably haven't, please feel free to share - it's not a done deal until I hand over the dosh, so there's possibly room for further discussion with the seller.

Thanks again..