Should I buy another car?

tquattro

tquattro

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Joined
Jun 18, 2008
Messages
1,089
Location
Transylvania
Car(s)
Audi A3 1.8T
In the last couple of weeks I feel an urge to go to the bank, take a loan and buy myself another car. I feel that I want a newer car, smaller than my current Audi 100 and economical.

So I started looking at car ads and this is what I decided could fit my needs: ~2006 Alfa 147 JTDm 150hp, Seat Ibiza FR TDI 130hp(maybe even a Cupra TDI -160hp) or ~2006 VW Polo TDI 130hp. From this picks, for me, the Alfa 147 is the most attractive option, closely followed by the other two. The problem is I don't really need another car, but I hate it when I search for a parking space for 30minutes and in this time I see spaces in which a smaller car could fit easily, and with the current fuel prices, 15-16l/100km urban with my 100, a diesel doesn't seem a bad choice at all, plus all of the above choices would offer superior performance to my current Audi with nearly half the fuel consumption.

Is this a bad ideea? Any issues I should be aware of with the cars above? Any other car ideeas similar to the ones above and under 8000E?
https://pic.armedcats.net/t/tq/tquattro/2011/05/05/__KGrHqN__h8E2I_s_NKIBNvey32YqQ___27.JPG
https://pic.armedcats.net/t/tq/tquattro/2011/05/05/__KGrHqV__l8E2Euurd__BNp_O2M6WQ___27.JPG
https://pic.armedcats.net/t/tq/tquattro/2011/05/05/__KGrHqV__h0E2JiBZMBcBNrEZVc7DQ___27.JPG
 
Do you *need* another car?
 
This is the problem:D. I don't really need another car and I'm afraid is just a impluse and I'm just searching for reasons to get another car. The cars above would offer some evident benefits: a lot more economical(with a diesel I could save close to 100E/month from fuel only), a smaller car is more practical around town and probably more reliable. Also, in july I'm planning a vacation in Croatia and that would be 2200-2500km in under 2 weeks durring summer heat, and I would feel more confident in a long trip with a newer car than with my 21years old Audi and close to 380 000km(even if my car didn't made any problems in the last two months since I put it back on the road and still seems a solid car) :mrgreen:. The loan I need would cost me around 200E/month(insurance included) over 3years and close to half I would save from fuel only.
 
So if you get another car, why keep the Audi?
 
The Audi will go if I buy another car. Both the Miata and the E30 I think are great cars, but if you would see the type of people that drive E30s around here you would be ashamed just thinking of wanting one and the Miata doesn't fit my needs now:p.
 
So, it's not that you want to buy another car, it's more that you want to trade your current car for a newer, smaller, economic car, is that right? I'd say, if you don't have money issues, go ahead. The Audi may be good, but as you're realizing by now, it's bigger than you need it to be, expensive when you need to give fuel to it and it's getting older everyday. As for wich car to get, the VW Polo is better than the SEAT Ibiza.
 
Instead of the Alfa you could get a Fiat Grande Punto with the 1.3 diesel (95hp) and chip it to 115hp or get the 1.6 diesel with 120pk and chip that to 150... After all they are in the same class as the Seat and VW.
 
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I thought about Fiat GP and even about the Bravo(this is over my budget), but if I will go italian I will definetly choose the 147, I loved the design since it was launched and I think the interior looks great(the leather interior is ...:drool:). From what I read, the JTD engines are solid and reliabale and didn't really heard horror stories about the 147(especialy about the facelifted ones).

About the Fabia, is the only car I don't like from Skoda line-up but it could be a candidate if I would find a nice one at a good price.

So, if I decide to change my car, this would be my order of preferences now: Alfa, Polo, Ibiza/Fabia (not a big fan of the Ibiza either). This order could easily change when I will actually want to buy one and if a find a nice example of either one.

Any ideeas of what should I be aware on this cars? Opinions on JTD and TDI engines? I know that on the TDIs a common problem,and expensive to replace, is the dual-mass flywheel.
 
tquattro said:
About the Fabia, is the only car I don't like from Skoda line-up but it could be a candidate if I would find a nice one at a good price.
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It's the only car that matches your "smaller than an Audi 100" criterion.
 
I know :p. Coming home from work, I saw a couple of Fabias and Ibizas and actually I would prefer a Fabia RS over an Ibiza FR, especially in a sea of Fabias 1.2 and 1.4...it would be a little sleeper.
 
Hard finding a car that has anything sporty about itself not being trashed here. Also, the MX-5 is a rare beast over here. E30s are mostly driven by morons who "tune" them until they're ruined. Or worse. I'd go 147 as it's the facelifted model and the JTD engines are quite good from what I've heard. I browse car ads almost daily and still haven't found something I'd like within my budget. The car market here is not great.
Do you want to import the car or find one here?
 
I will almost definetly import it. Finding locally a nice polo, ibiza or fabia with the 130hp TDI engine is almost impossible because they are very rare around here. A 147 is more likely to find here, but I would still prefer an imported one.
Btw, there was a nice 325xi sedan E30 on autovit.ro a couple of weeks ago.
 
tquattro said:
I know :p. Coming home from work, I saw a couple of Fabias and Ibizas and actually I would prefer a Fabia RS over an Ibiza FR, especially in a sea of Fabias 1.2 and 1.4...it would be a little sleeper.
Click to expand...

The 1.9 TDI is quite frugal as well for a hot hatch.
 
Alfa with a diesel? :no:

I'd go with the Polo.
 
Pfff, a mint 147 with a JTD engine is a gem. Fuel economy+masses of grunt+good engine reliability=win.
 
A "slight" change of plans:D. I decided that it's better if I don't get a bank involved so my buget is smaller now, 4000-5000E max. So, if I don't have to pay the bank rates, the fuel consumption is not that important now so I'm back to looking at petrol engines. In my budget I could find a ~2000-2001 Audi A4(B5 gen) 1.8T . Any tips, common problems on this engine? What's the real fuel economy I should expect from this engine?

Edit: *Or a Skoda Octavia 1.8T :D
Edit2: Actually, the Octavia seems to be a better option and for some reason I like the Octavia Combi more than the sedan
 
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If you're going to take AWD, remember the B5 uses real quattro (torsen diff in the middle) while Octavia has a Haldex, and Haldex of that generation is more a joke than a proper AWD system. But if you just need better traction from the lights, it should be enough, but if you want something similar as in your old 200 quattro the Skoda can't deliver.
 
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