Buying a first car.

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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I agree with you. I want something that will not be too expensive to run and repair if something were to go wrong. I will make sure i go and test drive the 1.4 and the 1.6 and get a proper feel of both cars performance.
 
dj_jyno said:
You want your first car to be relatively cheap to maintain, run and insure. The OP is 24 and being hit with a R1100 premium, now imagine how much they'll charge him if he buys an A4. If something breaks it is going to be much more expensive than the Polo, especially if he picks a turbocharged model. Depending on the route he has to take to work, the Audi will also not be as fuel efficient as the Polo.
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Fuel efficiency will be something to save on. From what i have heard the polo is very fuel efficient. I will be paying insurance of above R1000, atleast i will be spending a little less on fuel compared to an Audi A4.
 
dj_jyno said:
You want your first car to be relatively cheap to maintain, run and insure. The OP is 24 and being hit with a R1100 premium, now imagine how much they'll charge him if he buys an A4. If something breaks it is going to be much more expensive than the Polo, especially if he picks a turbocharged model. Depending on the route he has to take to work, the Audi will also not be as fuel efficient as the Polo.
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Interesting assumption, but an assumption none the less.

I bought a late 2008 Golf GTi 2.0T DSG in late 2011 for a little bit more money than a top of the range Polo at the time (non-GTI).

Four years later the car has just had it's 160 000km service so a little bit over 60 000km done as I bought it at 95 or 98 000km.

In that 60 000km and four years of ownership it has cost me almost exactly what the Polo's service (not maintenance) plan would have cost for only three years and 60 000km. That's including the front suspension being replaced and the discs/pads being done all round as well as a cambelt service.

So I paid basically the same money in total ownership but got a hell of a lot more car for my money. Even as a Turbo and DSG it's been eternally reliable and hasn't let me down once.

Assuming that an Audi will cost drastically more than a VW or an A4 more than a Polo is nothing more than assumption. Yes it will be slightly more expensive sure, but at the same time if you pay less and get more for your money the total value proposition is so much better.

Biggest mistake I ever made was swopping the Mercedes Benz C180 I got off my old man for a ****ty Opel Corsa Lite because I figured it was newer and would cost less to maintain. I would probably still be driving that Merc today if I had kept it.

Also a Polo is a huge risk to insure and some of the most expensive. So I'm willing to bet a second hand A4 of a lower value will in fact be cheaper to insure.
 
airborne said:
Insurance and the underwriting thereof is about risk management, your credit rating is a definite part of your risk profile. Depending on the insurer/their underwriters they will use the info contained in your credit rating to a lesser or greater degree to load your premiums.

Being on the young side of life and with no credit rating equals unknown entity that statistics show can potentially behave in radically stupid fashion.
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I don't recall ever giving permission for a credit check with insurance and I've jumped a **** load over the years.

For finance it would make obvious sense, but for insurance which is a month to month cost I'm not convinced.

I know they do count the fact that you are married or single and whether you own a home or not in your risk profile, but generally more for household insurance as I recall. But again that was more towards the finance side of things.
 
^ fairly interesting....

Late 2008 means those towards end of the production line & of course the BWA motor.

Any other noticeable difference spec wise or visually of last of the line 2008/2009 models vs the 2004/2005 1st batches?
 
FiestaST said:
^ fairly interesting....

Late 2008 means those towards end of the production line & of course the BWA motor.

Any other noticeable difference spec wise or visually of last of the line 2008/2009 models vs the 2004/2005 1st batches?
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Yeah it's a BWA, but I haven't run it on a dyno to check if it's putting out more horses but having driven a few others it does feel a great deal stronger.

Externally I believe it's the same and the standard spec included heated seats and sun roof but just not the Xenons and Bluetooth prep. I've been told that the skid plates and things in the doors weren't stock items on the older ones, but every single GTI I've seen had them in.

Sadly it's got the exact same ****ty plastic light housings that go foggy...which is the biggest benefit of having Xenons as the standard lights are just fine running the Osram Nighbreaker Plus bulbs.

This was literally one of the last before the Golf 6 came out. As I recall it was actually registered in 2009 only but was a MY2008 or the other way round it was a 2008 register but MY2009. Can't remember exactly but I remember it was a bit confusing at the time of purchase since the Golf 6 GTI is considered to be the 2009 model.

*****

By the same logic of buying an older Premium car over a new/er lesser car for the same money a friend of mine recently bought a BMW 118 (2009 as I recall, so just after the problematic spec) and got a superb deal with some motorplan left and low mileage and great condition.

Sure it hasn't stood the test of time yet like mine has to provide evidence, but it was in the price bracket as the Polo's and Hyundai's and Opels they looked at first and they walked away with much more car for similar money.
 
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SauRoNZA said:
I don't recall ever giving permission for a credit check with insurance and I've jumped a **** load over the years.

For finance it would make obvious sense, but for insurance which is a month to month cost I'm not convinced.

I know they do count the fact that you are married or single and whether you own a home or not in your risk profile, but generally more for household insurance as I recall. But again that was more towards the finance side of things.
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I have definitely been asked for permission to access my credit record when getting quotes for car insurance, last that requested it if I recall correctly was Miway. From what I understand they all do it at some stage of the process, probably part of why they charge you that R200-R300 admin fee to initiate a policy.

I recently had a chat with the head of an insurance brokerage about how your credit rating can affect your premium, he mentioned it's more important to some underwriters than others, Santam apparently is one that takes credit reports quite seriously.

Check your free credit report, shows which companies requested your report.
 
airborne said:
I have definitely been asked for permission to access my credit record when getting quotes for car insurance, last that requested it if I recall correctly was Miway. From what I understand they all do it at some stage of the process, probably part of why they charge you that R200-R300 admin fee to initiate a policy.

I recently had a chat with the head of an insurance brokerage about how your credit rating can affect your premium, he mentioned it's more important to some underwriters than others, Santam apparently is one that takes credit reports quite seriously.

Check your free credit report, shows which companies requested your report.
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It's very interesting indeed and does make some sense overall.

I recall Virgin Insurance possibly requesting something like this way back when I was quoting over the phone but always assumed it was related to them wanting to sell you other products.

I mean it makes sense to do a blacklist check, especially if the vehicle isn't financed.

Who do you recommend for a free report?
 
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SauRoNZA said:
Download Tapatalk. Make your forum life a lot easier.
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Thanx i just downloaded tapatalk.
Here are the pics of the car..
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SauRoNZA said:
By the same logic of buying an older Premium car over a new/er lesser car for the same money a friend of mine recently bought a BMW 118 (2009 as I recall, so just after the problematic spec) and got a superb deal with some motorplan left and low mileage and great condition.

Sure it hasn't stood the test of time yet like mine has to provide evidence, but it was in the price bracket as the Polo's and Hyundai's and Opels they looked at first and they walked away with much more car for similar money.
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Not that it's a bad idea if you know what you're potentially getting into, and I'd be a hypocrite if I said it's always better to by a newer non-premium car. It's just a bad idea as a *first* car. Last year I was looking for a new car. Considered a 2009 Polo Classic TDI, bought a 2007 Jaguar.
 
So you guys are saying the polo is not a bad car, but i can get something better for the money?
 
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