Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

Couldn't give a rats arse about the Ford!

When buying a 2nd hand car at a dealer is there a general % you should be looking to know the price down by or is it a case by case situation?

It will be a shitbox. Your answer suggests case by case.

Car experts. We need to buy a car as we're moving norf. This is being sold by the bf of a family member. Seem reasonable?

"Selling my MK5 1.6 FSI Match Golf

Below 77,000 miles. Comes with...
Air-Conditioning, Cruise Control, Rain Sensor, Auto headlight, Alloy Wheels (15in), Electric Windows (Front/Rear), Computer (Driver Information System), Alarm, In Car Entertainment (Radio/CD)

Has service history. Recently been MOT. New clutch and gearbox differential bearings in April, with a gearbox service. Differential bearing are a common fault of Mk5 Golfs

£3000 Ono"

You know, you have a touch of the Lynchman about you.

Car not selected. Main dealer. I was asking, is there a general % range that dealers are happy to come down by as I imagine all prices will have the discount built in? I want a general framework to help we with setting target prices when I'm at a dealers without have to know the market well.

To get a decent idea, put a request into CarWow and see what sort of % drop dealers come back with. Then you can use that as a guide when going to visit dealers.

I've got a letter from Norfolk Community Speedwatch saying my car was recorded speeding in Norwich last week.

Now that's entirely possibly... if either of us had driven the car in the last month, but it's sat in the same spot it was in since I got back from TABR.

Seems their system is wrong. Anyone dealt with this kind of thing before? It's just a warning letter but I still don't want to be on their system wrongly.

"Community Speedwatch"

It's a bunch of old people who stand in their village with a speedgun noting down number plates.

Then, either through community engagement they get the police to give them contact details for all of them for free, or they pay for them, and they send out "warning" letters.

You could either ignore it or write back to them and tell them to go get their eyes sorted because you definitely wouldn't drive to Norwich, especially not where a bunch of cunts stand around waving a speedgun with no actual authority to back it up.

TL;DR

There's nothing to worry about, it's a bunch of over-zealous twats.

Does it want the age of the car in there? Also I'd be tempted to remove anything about a car's common fault in an ad.

Fb post, so aimed at friends. He's a car guy.

I got a speeding fine from a city I have never visited a couple of years back. Called the local plod who sorted it over the phone.

Ok, so it's not even a fucking camera, just some pensioner or something writing details down, clearly incorrectly. Wankers.

The copper on the phone didn't sound at all surprised that they had fucked up the number plate details. If they don't get clear photographic evidence then they shouldn't be a fucking speed watcher!

I've left a message with them. They had better fucking remove my details from their bullshit system.

https://www.norfolk.police.uk/join-us/volunteers/community-speed-watch

You could ring up Norfolk Police and tell them to remove your details.

I've left them a message. Will just keep at them until they remove my details.

I'm guessing the bits of actual Model T Ford in that are few

Brass radiator top, probably heavily rebuilt tub and firewall and modified ladder frame. Probably still some original metal in there.

My dad has this 'war of attrition' approach to car buying. He will spend the whole day at the dealership. They get so fed up with him bothering them they give him a good deal just to get him to go away.

By seem reasonable, do you mean a fair price, or whether there's something better for c.£3k?

A family member has a mk5 1.4tsi and SE (which is basically the same as the Match spec I believe).

I like driving it, so I read a bit into them as an option to replace ours. Online the gearboxes seem to be a "common" fault, but iirc they fail early. So at >70k I'd guess it would be fine - and that may just be the fancy auto.

Overall I think its a great practical car. Lots of room, comfortable on the motorway (cruise control works well and is intuitive), nice build quality, good stock sterio, etc. Price sounds about right, but you can obvs check this better yourself.

If you need a car as a functional vehicle I'd struggle to think of another option. The obvious downside is that it's a few models old and there are rumors of 2nd hand values of cars crashing therefore, it might be worthless in a few years... but at £3k does it matter? Also they don't have the cheapest running costs, but neither are they insanely expensive. You'd hope a looked after Golf would do >150k miles.

fuck that, get in, find car, get price happy with, get out. If they fuck about I'll leave.

Cheers. This would be out first car ever. And we're in our mid/late thirties. I literally know nothing.

It'd be nice to have something problem free, that can get us anywhere (a car can get you, including the continent).

I think that would be quite a lot of cars nowadays. But as a reference that one took x2 ppl, small PA system, decks, x4 cases of wine, x2 cases beer, and luggage back from SW France.

The only faults I have are that it has an old 1.0 USB charger which is close to useless and the windscreen demist takes longer than the old A3 did. So pretty minor.

I guess the only thing is whether you want something more fun. Especially if you don't have kids.

In my experience (which is n=2, so anecdotal) an older car will go one of two ways- you'll need to pay to maintain it in A1 condition, which is expensive and adds significantly to the low initial cost, or you do the minimum and accept that at some point you'll wave it goodbye as the scrap dealer drives off with it on their lorry. Approach 2 is likely to be cheaper, you just spend 3k every three years (say), plus £500 service and MOT (again, estimate).

If you want a single fixed cost per month then I'd look at leasing something new.

Is the VW an old car? I thought buying a new car was always a mugs game.