I WANNA BUY A CAR... Please help

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juniorbeep

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Hello everyone, I have been a registered user for quite a while here but have never put a message on or anything.... so this is my first time! I really enjoy reading everyones info, hints/tips and seeing the car pics... I think it's really great.

I have a little dilemma at the moment though, which isn't particularly nasty or anything but just a "what car shall i buy question?". I currently own a vauxhall corsa sxi 2001 model which I am thinking of trading in and replacing. I had my mind set on an Audi A2 1.6 FSi sport and I really wanted Sat nav (tired of getting lost) air con (tired of being hot) and metallic paint (tired of solid colour). This naturally all adds up to a pretty tidy sum! but at the moment Audi dealers are offering metalic paint and Climate control for £250! only problem with this is that I have to get delivery of the car by end of 2003 which I can't really afford. I think i read somewhere that the 2004 version of the A2 petrol 1.6 and 1.4 have a power increase but can't seem to get any info of this from my dealer and I'm also interested in knowing if anyone knows of any internal equipment spec changes for 2004 will air con become standard etc?

The other cars i'm interested in at the moment are mini cooper 1.6 with all the goodies and is a really good price but also the BMW compact 316Ti sport which has a great interior but is very pricey, I think the sat nav would have to go but the rest of the kit is excellent.

If anyone has any thoughts on any of this i'd love to hear you opinions!
 
By the sounds of it, we were in the same boat just over a year ago. As it was to be my wifes car, the Mini was discounted straight away as she doesn't like them. The BMW Compact was seriously considered but thrown aside due to the costs (probably would have ended up over £20K all in) and Audi had just lowered A2 prices - very nice.

I personally haven't heard of the 1.4 or 1.6 petrol getting any power hikes in the near future. There will be a new TDi in the showrooms soon with a bit more power tho'.

Have you thought of scouring the Audi used website for an ex demonstrator. These usually come pretty well specced up. As for the sat nav, I had that on my old Fiat and I don't miss it in the slightest - but then again I don't have to drive for a living or visit unknown places very often.

One other thing to be aware of. The met paint/climate offer is SO limited that it has been constant since about July 2002. The dealers may tell you different but chances are it will still be around in 2004.

Air Con was standard on SE spec cars before the mid 2002 spec changes, when all the prices were re-aligned/lowered. I can't see it being re-introduced as this will push up the list price.

Don't drink drive! Not only is it socially unaceptable, it also harms A2's.
Was a 1.4SE petrol. http://www.audi-a2.co.uk/uk14.htm http://www.audi-a2.co.uk/safety.htm
New A2 - Ebony Black, Red Leather, CC, Symphony + all the previous options we had.
 
Hi Junior,

Remember you should be able to get anything between 5-10% of the total price aswell at AUDI. I got just over 1k off mine in 2001 - i.e. really before AUDI recognised sales weren't going to be as high as planned. AUDI tend to give the impression that they dont need the buyer, and play a hard poker game, however if you have patience and are willing to do a bit of leg work the price will come down.

I hope you go for the A2!!

Kaine
 
thanks for the repllies! Below is the quote I got from Audi. This seems a bit tight to me. Anyone have a better idea of what to expect discount-wise?

21/10/03 Audi A2 1.6 FSi Sport £12,365.96
Satellite Navigation Plus £1,851.06
Winter Pack £89.36
Front Fog Lights £106.38
Climate Control & Metallic Paint * £250.00
Sub Total £14,662.76
Less Dealer Contribution To Special Offer £500.00
Less Reduction £342.33
Sub Total £13,820.43
Delivery £442.55
Sub Total £14,262.98
VAT @17.5% £2,496.02
Road fund Licence 12 months £105.00
1st Registration Fee £25.00
Total on the road price £16,889.00

* Special offer subject to delivery on or before 31/12/03 / Normal price = £1275.00 *
 
Check out the Selling section of the forum, members are selling very nice speced cars there very cheap, there was one i saw in there where the person is asking £10.5k or thre abouts (too lazy to check) for a high spec with sat nav.

1.4SE petrol 2001, Dark interior, Sat cloth, Brilliant Silver, 3 spoke Steering wheel, Rear electric windows and Panasonic MR555 stereo, Panasonic 8CD changer, 10 speakers (2 extra 13" 190 watt each.)

1.4TDiSE 2002, Biege interior, Brilliant Black, Concert II.
 
quote:Originally posted by juniorbeep

Total on the road price £16,889.00
Click to expand...
Sounds very reasonable to me: I entered your details on DriveTheDeal's website who were the most competitive when I bought my A2 - despite a saving on list price of £1,250 it was still some £1k over your price. Makes me wonder if they have the latest list prices in their system...

[img=left]http://www.santorini.dsl.pipex.com/a2_avatar.gif[/img=left]Mark.
2003 Azure Blue 1.6 FSI SE

OpenSky | Climate Control | DIS | Isofix + brat | Space-Floor-Box
ERW | Symphony II | Winter Pack | Auto-Dimming Rear View Mirror
 
The sat nav seems expensive, as an alternative you can get the latest Garmin Streetpilot GPS for less than a £1000 - a friend uses it for his courier business and its excellent - the added bonus is you can put it in any vehicle.
 
daveyjp
Or a Pocket PC with something like Tom Tom/GPS sat nav for about £400 less than a Garmin, and then you have a pocket PC to play games on whilst stuck in traffic (which the Sat nav has just sent you towards!).

Steve - 2002 1.4SE petrol, Silver, black/black interior, Then an identical replacement 2003 A2. Now a Toyota Corolla 1.6 T-Spirit
 
I had a new mini cooper before my A2, and it was the greatest car ever made when I first picked it up, especially considering there were hardly any about so lots of attention. The car is cool and I think everyone should have a drive of one as the handling and drive is amazingly good! The only problem was I spent more time going back to the garage to get things fixed and constantly going to put petrol in it than I was happy with. Having said that a lot of the problems with the early mini's have now been sorted, I think anything made after May this year will be ok. I basically lost confidence in the car, and £300 for a pair of run flat tyres was the last straw for me so drove straight to the Audi garage. I like to buy a car that is different, so once every man and his goldfish started buying mini's it got a bit too normal for me. Once the novelty wears off (especially with interior!) you are left with a car that generally bobs about, squeeks and rattles all over the place, but hey that's the way the mini's always been! If I had a Cooper S things may have been a bit different though.

My Audi A2 isn't as cool as the mini, and I did get a lot of hassle from my mates for the swap, and it also doesn't have quite the same power and no where near as good handling. However, all that said I don't really miss the mini and I'm really pleased I swapped!! The A2 is much better built, has more class and refinement about it and the mpg on the tdi saves me loads of cash, not to mention cheaper road tax!! If you want a smoother and more refined drive, a touch of class and wish to fit more than a ten pence piece in your boot and not have to use a shoehorn to get in your car then the A2 is the car to get.

Silver TDI Sport | 17 inch TT alloys | Audi bodykit | CD | Climate control | Custom Badges
visit: http://www.mediacitizen.com/audi
 
When I got my A2 (I love the cars and still do) I just couldnt justify the cost of a new one to myself especially given the apparent loss in value they can attract - so I looked for the closest demo car and saved a couple of thousand over the new price.

Sat nav can be retro fitted either OEM or aftermarket, so could save you some on the new price and as said above, if you get aftermarket you can take ift from one car to the next.
 
hi everyone, many thanks for all your help, great to get some advice from people who know what they are talking about! I'm still trying to decide what to do about the sat nav etc. Anyone ever fitted a 3rd party sat nav system such as the ones made by clarion with the pop out screens? If so how did the whole process go and which model would anyone recomend?
 
Both myself and Denis have sat nav fitted (fixed mount versions) the fitting is ridiculously easy if u fitted a car stereo before only thing to watch out for is the speed sensor which is a tough one to fit if u dont konw where to get the signal from, I kind of cheated and got the reading from the center console as i dont know where the dedicated wirre is, it has no adverse effects to the readings, although i have notices that the speed on the sat nav and the analoge centere console reading differ by appox 2-3mph as the sat nav is supose to be more accurate or so i have heard. also another worry for u may be the placing of the gps arial which i have placed on the rear retracting thing (cant remember name) the signal isnt too strong when radio is on but i dont listen to radio anyway so it makes no diff. Personally if i was you i would take a look on ebay for a cheap gps unit as u can get a great deal from there i got a pioneer avic-8dvdII for £500 and i had purchased a dvd player and screen before this from dscustoms.com for £260 you are bound to find something.

edit: Hmm... now all I have to do is learn how to spell and use grammer correctly and my replies will seem at least half coherant [:I]
1.4SE petrol 2001, Dark interior, Sat cloth, Brilliant Silver, 3 spoke Steering wheel, Rear electric windows and Panasonic MR555 stereo, Panasonic 8CD changer, 10 speakers (2 extra 13" 190 watt each.)

1.4TDiSE 2002, Biege interior, Brilliant Black, Concert II.
 
Personally I would get a portable one since you can use it with any car, and the only drawback is having a smaller screen. I wanted to buy one myself for a while but the prices beat me in the end so it's back to a good old A-Z, but if your pocket goes deeper than mine then the ones worth considering as an alternative to a high price Audi job are:

Garmin Street Pilot III ( http://www.garmin.com/products/spIII/ );
Garmin Street Pilot 2610/2650; ( http://www.garmin.com/products/sp2610_2650/ );
Navman iCN 620 ( http://www.navman.co.uk/ );
Navman iCN 630 ( http://www.navman.co.uk/ );

The software in the Navman units is the same as in most, if not all in-car sat-nav systems so my eye was on the iCN 630, and the last time I checked they were all around the £1000 mark on http://www.kelkoo.co.uk/. I also came across the Streetpilot III in Makro at something like £700.
 
I have a Navman iCN 630, it really is good. No more arguments in the car when 'er indoors is asked to consult the map or look for a direction sign. Can be obtained by searching the net or e-bay for about £900 (a bit less on e-bay). I found the staff very helpful at Navman UK. It is portable and can be used in any car, mine is used in both A2 and Volvo, there are a few untidy wires in the A2'cos the power supply is by the handbrake lever, but with care they can be hidden (almost). Lotsa money, but so is the A2.
 
I forgot to say that Navman will have new software in December to include, you guessed it, Croatia!! Seriously though the new map is a 3D representation, has new features and is FREE to registered users. Future upgrades will not be free, Navman felt that to charge recent buyers for an upgrade would not be the best way to win friends and influence people, so this time it's a freebie, or so I was told by a senior employee!
 
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