Buying a first car.

SauRoNZA said:
Velocity? That thing must be struggling between all the Lambo's and Astons. :)
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Yup good old Velocity; outside CW. Drive past them everyday & a fair bit of hardcore high end cars...my (current) fav are the below 3

Im thinking I should make a thread just for that but you know they get free publicity & all that jazz...

http://www.gumtree.co.za/a-cars-bak...-63-amg-507-edition/1001504380210910358475209

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http://www.gumtree.co.za/a-cars-bak...v8-quattro-s+tronic/1001504372600910358475209

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http://www.gumtree.co.za/a-cars-bak...-racing-rb7-edition/1001504374440910358475209

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I just saw that Muchielago there yesterday and creamed myself all over again like the very first time I saw one.

Might in fact be the very same car I got into when they first arrived in SA.
 
dj_jyno said:
An A4 as a first car? This will not end well...

To the OP - the 1.4 Polo is a solid car. Make an appointment at a dealership and take the 1.4 and 1.6 for a proper test drive. If you are happy with the performance of the 1.4 and it's only going to be you in the car, take it (although you do get a lot of extras when you go for a 1.6 Comfortline).
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PostmanPot said:
Please expand?
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PostmanPot said:
Before I respond, how much are we looking at if a turbocharger breaks?
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Phew, ok. Always good to know what we're dealing with based on what people think a replacement turbo costs. :p Given all the rather unfounded fear people have of them. Then again if people think turbos cost R30,000 and base everything on stealership pricing, then it's not surprising why there's such fear of them, same goes for 'higher mileage' 'higher end cars'.

A fraction of people know that a turbo costs R5,000 (at least for most VAGs like the one you mentioned, the 1.8/2.0Ts, etc.). Besides the low cost, they are good for at least 150,000 - 200,000km if they aren't looked after too well, and at least 100,000km more if they are looked after (good oil, letting it cool for a minute after pushing it, etc.).

SauRoNZA has already touched on a few aspects. There are so many reasons to get a better, older, higher end car. From a maintenance point of view, one great thing about VAGs is that most are 4-cylinder and therefore cheaper to maintain, and servicing is on par across Polo/Golf/Jetta/A3/A4 etc. R1,500 for a minor service and R3,000 for a major. When I first decided to go higher end, I was surprised to find out that the servicing cost is so similar.

When it comes to the bigger jobs, at around 150,000km one would need to look at a cam replacement (R8,000) and clutch replacement (R10,000, flywheel R4,000). These will last another 150,000km so it really isn't much considering.

There are also decent third party warranties which cover a good amount of work, they go for around R7,000 for one of the better entry packages which will offer a lot of peace of mind. My suggestion of a late gen B7 A4, 8P A3, or Golf/Jetta 5 would leave a lot of money for potential maintenance, warranties, etc.

One of the main benefits you really can't put a price on for a child is the better safety of higher end cars. I would much rather my kid driving around in a solid higher end car than an entry one with fewer safety features.

Having owned two Audis and done a fair bit of maintenance on both, I agree fully agree with SauRoNZA about your assumption. I would never advise anyone to go for a cheaper lower mileage entry car when they can get such better value elsewhere.

The OP should just go and drive cars in a higher segment than the Polo. Chalk and cheese!

One other big reason, a higher mileage second hand car will depreciate much less. There is so much more value and money saving to be had going this route.
 
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The "confidence" on the road with a older more premium vs a newer "cheaper" is noticeably better as well.

I'm not just talking about the drive but things like the door thud; how it handles a windy road (body shaking).
 
FiestaST said:
The "confidence" on the road with a older more premium vs a newer "cheaper" is noticeably better as well.

I'm not just talking about the drive but things like the door thud; how it handles a windy road (body shaking).
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Night and day. Sad to see the quality declining these days. So many reasons to go older premium.
 
PostmanPot said:
One of the main benefits you really can't put a price on for a child is the better safety of higher end cars. I would much rather my kid driving around in a solid higher end car than an entry one with fewer safety features.
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Better safety? Debatable - both the A4 and Polo 6R obtained 5-star EuroNCAP ratings.

ttsivhabu said:
Is the polo a crap car or a very bad car? (just a straight forward question)
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Not at all.
 
PostmanPot said:
One other big reason, a higher mileage second hand car will depreciate much less. There is so much more value and money saving to be had going this route.
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Yeah, my GTI is a little bit of an anomaly but even purchased at 3 years old and now being close to 7 years old it's still worth more than the Polo I would have bought new instead of it in 2011.
 
SauRoNZA said:
Yeah, my GTI is a little bit of an anomaly but even purchased at 3 years old and now being close to 7 years old it's still worth more than the Polo I would have bought new instead of it in 2011.
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I was going to buy a newish Huyundai, Kia or Ford recently, but a friend managed to keep me on track. Bought an old MG convertable instead. Very happy with my choice. Driving a Kia or equivalent would have not put the same smile on my face like the MG does.
 
dj_jyno said:
Better safety? Debatable - both the A4 and Polo 6R obtained 5-star EuroNCAP ratings.

Not at all.
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Sorry, I don't believe that NCAP is the be-all and end-all. I would still rather crash in something that has been built with higher quality materials (while having the safety features, NCAP, etc.).
 
PostmanPot said:
Sorry, I don't believe that NCAP is the be-all and end-all. I would still rather crash in something that has been built with higher quality materials (while having the safety features, NCAP, etc.).
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Exactly. I don't buy a car for how well it can crash.
 
PostmanPot said:
Sorry, I don't believe that NCAP is the be-all and end-all. I would still rather crash in something that has been built with higher quality materials (while having the safety features, NCAP, etc.).
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I never said that it is. Just trying to point out that your claims about the A4 being that much safer are false. You're absolutely right, though - it's much nicer to see your leather seats and automatic climate control being written off with the rest of the car than those peasant-spec cloth seats in a Polo. :rolleyes:
 
dj_jyno said:
I never said that it is. Just trying to point out that your claims about the A4 being that much safer are false. You're absolutely right, though - it's much nicer to see your leather seats and automatic climate control being written off with the rest of the car than those peasant-spec cloth seats in a Polo. :rolleyes:
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:wtf:
 
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