Purchase advice needed

seemehow

New Member
Good Morning Everyone!
I am here for a piece of advice. I fell in love with the A2 model and looking to purchase one. Being in London and due to ULEZ charge I am left with but one option - 1.4 petrol – These are going up slightly as I think sellers have realised Diesel is less desirable due to pollution charges in big cities. For my budget (up to £2000) it is very hard to find something with less than 80k and nice condition. With this price range I could get an 2007-2010 – Mercedes a150 – a160 which has similar size and economy but half the mileage. This would not be my first choice but given the scarcity of A2’s available at the moment I might have no other choice – I am not interested in a project car – no funds nor time for this. I would like a good, reliable car which is cost effective to keep. What are the things I should be aware of when buying 1.4 petrol A2 with approx.. 80k on the clock? What are the service costs? And maybe not the most popular question but is Merc a viable option? – I am talking the second gen as the first one was a disaster. I will be using it for short trips outside the city with my wife and probably will not exceed 6k miles in a year. Many thanks for all the advice and my apologies if I rub some the wrong way.
Mike
 
I've today been given a new works laptop and will be working from home 4 out of the 5 days I normally would. That won't change going forward and they have already said we won't go back to the 'old' way of doing things. I'm all for it.

How do you cope with the kids running round! I find it impossible


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Well like I said - it will be interesting to see how much change becomes permanent.

It is one thing working at home in a lock-down with reduced activity in the economy; it will be another when every business is trying to make up the lost profits this has caused (as they will have to).

dj_efk - I did pull the trigger and my car is currently stuck at the import centre in Southampton. :(
 
Well like I said - it will be interesting to see how much change becomes permanent.

It is one thing working at home in a lock-down with reduced activity in the economy; it will be another when every business is trying to make up the lost profits this has caused (as they will have to).

dj_efk - I did pull the trigger and my car is currently stuck at the import centre in Southampton. :(

A Skoda or something else? Did you go for PCP?
 
No - I am going electric as I am now retired and most journeys are short - BMW i3. And no I don't do PCP. I didn't WANT finance but I HAD to take 20% of it on finance for a minimum of a month to get an extra £1000 off BMW UK. Which bears out what you said.

I see you got quotes from Carwow. I did too but I actually got a much better deal through a broker called 'Uknewcars'. They actually selected the BMW dealer they have the very best discount arrangements with. I have no affiliation but i would recommend to anyone who is in the market for a new car.
 
I see you got quotes from Carwow. I did too but I actually got a much better deal through a broker called 'Uknewcars'. They actually selected the BMW dealer they have the very best discount arrangements with. I have no affiliation but i would recommend to anyone who is in the market for a new car.

Another outfit that I’d recommend is Autoebid (https://www.autoebid.com/). After getting so-so offers last year from Carwow and other brokers when I was purchasing a VW Transporter I wanted to convert into a campervan, I stumbled across Autoebid, who bettered by some distance any other quote I received. They were also extremely knowledgeable about the vehicle spec when it came to specifying options that weren’t immediately evident from the VW website. I didn’t have to pay them a penny and they simply put me in touch with the VW dealer through whom the sale was finalised. Thereafter though, they were incredibly helpful with rectifying a few issues I had with the dealer while placing the order and awaiting delivery, totally professional. I’d go as far as to say I haven’t had better customer service from any online company. Obviously I have no affiliation with them, but the excellent online reviews are not wrong.
 
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Another outfit that I’d recommend is Autoebid (https://www.autoebid.com/). After getting so-so offers last year from Carwow and other brokers when I was purchasing a VW Transporter I wanted to convert into a campervan, I stumbled across Autoebid, who bettered by some distance any other quote I received. They were also extremely knowledgeable about the vehicle spec when it came to specifying options that weren’t immediately evident from the VW website. I didn’t have to pay them a penny and they simply put me in touch with the VW dealer through whom the sale was finalised. Thereafter though, they were incredibly helpful with rectifying a few issues I had with the dealer while placing the order and awaiting delivery, totally professional. I’d go as far as to say I haven’t had better customer service from any online company. Obviously I have no affiliation with them, but the excellent online reviews are not wrong.

Wow - You're right about autoebid - My previous price of just over 15k for the car / spec I wanted (at ~24% discount) just got beaten soundly - autoebid reckons £14,277, which is 25% off list price and CHEAPER than the finance price they're offering! I think dealers are starved of cash and suddenly it's becoming kind again...

Uknewcars didn't list any Skodas at all.
 
Wow - You're right about autoebid - My previous price of just over 15k for the car / spec I wanted (at ~24% discount) just got beaten soundly - autoebid reckons £14,277, which is 25% off list price and CHEAPER than the finance price they're offering! I think dealers are starved of cash and suddenly it's becoming kind again...

Uknewcars didn't list any Skodas at all.

glad to be of service. From recollection I found one broker who approached their quote, however I was supposed to complete the transaction through the broker and since they weren’t a terribly recognisable name the idea of handing over nearly £40k to them made me distinctly nervous.
 
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