New car, whole new set of questions...............

[mint]

Looking at my poor battered car, that I so thoughtless pranged, I think that it's probably going to cost so much to have it put right that I have been researching buying a new one.

Will get one from UK (yes, I know all about the disadvantages of RHD, etc) but, at a saving of over 40% for similar cars in France, inconvenience is something that I am prepared to endure.

Am very tempted by a nearly new (08 model) Blue Motion VW Passat Estate 1.9 TDI.  Car buffs, please give me your opinion on this car.  I don't mean the reviews, which I have read, but your personal knowledge or advice would be more meaningful for me.

Also an idea of the cost of French registration will be useful as I shall have to get out my calculator and see what's affordable and value for money.

Thank you in advance. 

[AnOther]

You'll not go wrong with a VW sweets. They know a thing or two about making reliable cars learnt from millions of them being mercilessly thrashed, day in day out, on the unrestricted German autobhans where anything under 150/160kph is considered a Sunday pootle !

The 1.9TDI engine is a derivitive of the same one that they have been using since at least the mid 90s so has a long pedigree. It's basically the same engine as was in my last UK car, a Golf estate, which covered 240,000 without little more than routine servicing and is still being used for a daily commute from the UK south coast into W London so I imagine it must be knocking (not literally !) on 300,000 miles by now.

It's also basically the same as is in my current Skoda estate which is approaching 125km (78,000m), again with nothing more than routine servicing.

The model you mention is rated @ 6CV and in your department the cost per CV is €31.8 so thats €190.8 

EDIT: You can do your own research HERE including price comparisons.

 

[mint]

Thanks, Erns.  More tempted than ever now!

[AnOther]

Have you considered a Skoda Octavia, sweets?

Mechanically the same car in many respects but significantly cheaper.

Skoda is no longer a joke, rather the joke is on those who think it is. In UK taxi drivers love them and they absolutely cannot afford to buy unreliable cars !

 

[Anton Redman]

I would also check out your local garages to make sure there is a dealer within a reasonable distance even at 12,000 miles / one year between services a 60 km drive and hand arround all day for the service may not be a good idea.

[Benjamin]

[quote user="Anton Redman"] and hand arround all day for the service may not be a good idea.[/quote]

I book my car in, turn up at the time he decides is best for him, and drive away one hour to one thirty later. Simple.  [:D]

[AnOther]

Most, if not all VW vehicles these days, and a good many other marques too, benefit from variable servicing which is geared to actual usage rather slavisly relying on miles or km travelled. UK wise up 20k miles or 2 years is the norm so that should translate to 30k km.

Whilst I doubt you'd get that service done in an hour and a half even if it took half a day, once every 2 years is not too onerous a committment I'd say [;-)]

[partout]

Morning sweet 17

Have had my VW passat estate since new, and am very pleased with it, BUT, there has tobe a but, it needs servicing about every 10,000miles and at around 80,000 miles needs a new cambelt, which is quite an expensive service, so make sure its not approaching the magic number of 80K or 160K as you are into a lot of £'s. Cruises FULLY loaded with a roof rack at around 80mph and averages about 47mpg,

[AnOther]

10k miles is the normal service interval when NOT using variable servicing. For the variable servicing you have to use very specific fully synthetic oil which is double or more the cost of what you would normally use so for some it's a toss up between the cost of that or servicing every 10k so it's up to you to decide which best suits your personal circumstances and usage pattern.

Personally, and call me a luddite if you will, I'm of an age where routine decokes had not long fallen of the list of 'jobs to do this weekend' and oil changes came along every 3k or so so running a vehicle for upwards of 20km without so much as changing the oil doesn't sit well with me and for my own car I stick to the 10k service.

Cam belt replacement is common on virtually all reasonably modern cars and 80k is actually quite high in relation to some. Somehow though I don't think sweets is into the 'cheap because of megga mileage market' so a 2008 car which she mentions is unlikely to be approaching anything like that, but good point all the same [;-)]

 

[mint]

Thank you for all your thoughts.  I'm waiting for the dealer to ring me today (no phone number on their website).

Looking at the deal I found and at a Skoda Octavia (Erns' suggestion), there's virtually no difference in price and, in fact, from some garages, the Skoda actually costs more!

No, I'm not snooty about cars or "image" but I AM influenced by re-sale value so that I think, on balance, the VW wins.

At least, after all your contributions, I no longer have any reservations about the reliability of the car.  Will be good just to have wheels again as I feel sad just looking at my poor, bashed up Hyundai.

[Bob T]

[quote user="sweet 17"]

I AM influenced by re-sale value so that I think, on balance, the VW wins.

[/quote]

And what do you think that RHD in France will do for re-sale value?

[Benjamin]

sweet 17

You're doing exactly what a friend of ours did a couple of years ago. He bought a Ford from a main dealer in Sunderland and it was delivered by them to Portsmouth docks. He went over as a foot passenger, inspected it and handed over a bank draft to the driver.

He prefers to drive a RHD in France as opposed to driving a LHD when they visit the family in the UK.

Cheap as chips as well. About nine months old and he saved about a third on the UK price.

[mint]

Bob, you have a point but, if the car is nearly new, I will have had a few years use of it by the time I want/need to change.  Also, you'd be surprised how many Brits I have met who can't get used to LHD and are forever looking for RHD.

Not only that, we are talking about a difference of about 10k euros for the initial purchase so I guess the choice, such as it is, won't be difficult to make.

[Chezstevens]

You could buy a taxfree Renault,VW Group, Mini, BMW, Honda or Fiat LHD in the UK thru their taxfree offices. Import it and then pay 19.6% at the Tax D'Impot office. Paying UK prices - I have and will continue to buy this way, expecting a Mini Clubman D for SWMBO this September.

[mint]

Thanks for that suggestion.  It did cross my mind to look for LHD but I hadn't really considered the tax free side of it. 

Back to the drawing board then.......

[Chezstevens]

Our LHD Renault Grand Scenic was bought from Renault Taxfree last year - took 6 weeks from ordering. They will do personal exports.

[AnOther]

[quote user="sweet 17"] Also, you'd be surprised how many Brits I have met who can't get used to LHD.[/quote]Is that can't or won't though sweets [Www]

I have the advantage of both of course, my MG being RHD, but in truth it gets so that you don't even think about it and for 'er indoors it's like she'd never driven anything else.

If you were buying new then I too would have suggested ordering it in UK but since you are (sensibly) buying used then RHD is probably your only option although LHD can be got in UK, for example:

http://www.londonlhdcentre.com/cardetail.asp?carIndex=575 tasty but sadly sold

and here

http://www.kilrushcars.com/cars.asp?ID=662

so they are about and even with the premium you will pay in UK for a quality LHD still cheaper than the equivalent car in France but likely recovered on resale anyway, plus of course much easier to sell.

[powerdesal]

http://www.kilrushcars.com/cars.asp?ID=709

Now that is tempting

[mint]

Thanks, Erns.  Looked at your link with interest.

Steve, I agree, there was temptation all right.  Same car also advertised on ebay but, unfortunately, NO bidding![:(]

[just john]

Hi Sweet, I strongly recommend you look on Honest Johns Site and check out his reviews which include known faults; http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/index.htm?md=759 

''Marred by too many quality problems for a car people assume will be a high quality product.''

Passat gets only a 3* rating while new Mondeo equivalent is given 5* [8-|]

 

[AnOther]

Whilst I respect Honest Johns site the article you link to encompasses all models of Passat in all engine sizes and types from 2005 so cannot really be held representative of any particular model.

For a more balanced judgement you should limit your reseach to the Bluemotion model in question, for starters:

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/carreviews/firstdrives/208475/volkswagen_passat.html

and

http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Green-Cars/Search-Results/Drives/VW-Passat-Bluemotion-CAR-review/

where a somewhat less gloomy picture emerges.

One thing which is clear is that if high mileages are not envisaged then the premium price of the Bluemotion version has to be critically considered as it is really only here that the benefits show.

[mint]

JJ, Erns is right:  I've been looking at the 1.9 Bluemotion model.  I know it's not so advanced as the 2 litre later version but, hey, I'm no big spender.

Erns, the carmagazine link does not work for me but I will copy it out tomorrow and read it. 

Time for bed............nightie night, all.

[just john]

Hi Ern & Sweet, I take on board all you say, but in a way you make my point of Value over the badge, which is a bit of a misnomer and where quality is not guaranteed by experience, (in my case directly, a golf with FVWSH; It was so good we decided to keep it after the warranty period expired (unusual for a company car) but just out of warranty the engine destroyed itself with a sheared oil pump drive, VW admitted it was a manufacturing fault but refused any contribution to cost of a new short engine on the basis that it was simply a 'one off' fault, out of warranty. We changed the badge soon after.

Incidentally I have just changed cars again after a failure of the EGR valve and DPF (£2K, under 3 years old, 80k mls), again just out of warranty, the dealer suggested I had used Supermarket fuel and done lots of stop start mileage which is completely out of kilter with my mileage and mostly shell petrol (edit oops diesel), mileage in reality is lots of motorway and a little local. The comments were that ''the new DPF's are creating expensive replacements at this mileage, and that driving techniques should ensure a blast for 5mins at 4500rpm once a week to 'regenerate' the DPF, they're not really suitable for short journeys''. Believe me that car had some spirited driving having bought the higher PS model for the purpose. The badge got changed again!
Something else to consider when making that purchase.

PS. MG still going strong despite everything.[8-|]

[AnOther]

The underlying point you are making JJ is that in the quest to keep up with or outdo each other modern cars have just got too damn sophisticated and that no manufacturer is immune from the sort of issues you describe.

I agree that one does need to look futher than the badge but it can, and should, at least be a starting place. My recommendation of VW is based on several years of marque ownership, including son and daughter who are both long term serial VW owners, with an accumulated mileage between us I would guess in the region of 3-400,000, and without significant mishap save for a split hose on one Golf which resulted in a siezed engine. But even that was as much my fault as anyones (hadn't noticed signs of perishing) and was exacerbated by the fact that 'er indoors wasn't quite quick enough to fully realise what had happened (no criticism) so didn't immediately drop the clutch and stop which would have certainly saved it.

In the end it's always going to be a case of 'yer pays yer money and takes yer choice' but however much research you do or however carefully you choose there can, and never will, be any guarantee that something disasterous is not waiting at the next gear change !

 

[Sprogster]

sweet17, you are certainly right about cars being significantly cheaper in the UK compared to France at the moment, not only due to the weak £ but second hand car values seem to depriciate a lot faster in the UK, mainly I understand due to the influence of the fleet market. The other factor in play at the moment is the lower UK VAT rate of 15% compared to TVA in France of 19.5%. The other thing I have noticed is that the car manafacturers and dealers seem to offer far more promotional and finance deals in the UK, whereas in France car dealers are much less negotiable.