Used Cars – Has There Been a Better Time to Buy?
There is a winner and a loser in every situation. For every goal that Cristiano Ronaldo scores, there is a sobbing goalkeeper who pulls the ball out of his net. For each dark Knight, there is a Lesbian Vampire Killers. The struggling auto industry is currently a big loser due to the recession, but we, the general public, benefit as a result. Yes, we cannot sell our cars as much as we could a year ago, but to buy we are in control. The used car market is full of fantastic cars whose value has plummeted, leaving us with a wide range of quality Harrods products at Pound Stretcher prices.
I recently bought a Hyundai Coupe F2 Evolution of which only 1,500 were made. It costs £ 20,000 new and comes with 155bhp, 16-inch racing alloy wheels, deep front bumper, a large rear spoiler to help lower the force, leather interior, lambswool carpets, CD player, control of cruiser, air conditioning, power sunroof and windows. In short, practically everything you would want and something more. The cost of this rare, highly-equipped, low-mileage, fun-to-drive car? £ 1,500.
I appreciate that he’s Korean and his biggest export is Park Ji-Sung to Manchester United, but while the build quality isn’t the best, he’ll kill anything, even a Honda Civic Type R on the road. So I’ve been quite satisfied the last few months until this week when a friend of mine showed up in a 2000 license plate Audi A6. Now, as we all know, Audis are built to the highest standards, so the fact That this car is nine years old is irrelevant: there was no misplaced panel and no screech to be heard.
The A6 came with so many indoor toys that I felt like my head was going to explode. I even got lost at one point since the seats were so big. The car had also been updated at birth to have the S6 sports package, which included an improved sports exhaust, exterior styling, and from what I could tell, a badge on the steering wheel to remind you of the added cost. With a 2.8 liter engine pumping out 210bhp I felt like I was driving a 5 star hotel, really fast.
Did I mention it was a Quattro? I did not think. Yes, the A6 was not only luxurious and fast, but the legendary 4-wheel drive system meant that it was so well prepared that instead of being handled like a 5-star hotel, it was much sportier. When it was new, the A6 cost £ 38,000. Used car price – £ 2,000. No, it wasn’t stolen and there really was nothing wrong with it. Good recession, huh?
Hopefully, the examples above highlight how much metal you can get for your money. However, my choice of used car to pick up has to be the Audi TT. With the new model released last year, there are a wide variety of options in the used car market. This means that the costs will be lower and the chances of getting a great second-hand deal will be even higher.
When it was launched in February 1999, the Audi TT was a new explosion in a coupe market that was stagnant. The resurgence in the market is due in large part to the success of the TT and the Hyundai Coupe. The styling to this day is impressive, even if it has a bit of the Porsche Boxster. By this I mean that if you are not paying attention, it is difficult to know which is the front end and the rear end. However, the simple form works well and it goes without saying that it is incredibly well assembled; expect no less from the used examples you see.
When they were first released, there were some issues regarding handling at high speed, or more precisely, the lack of it. Fear not, as Audi added a rear spoiler and a stability control system (ESP) to overcome this problem. You can contact any dealer to check that this work has been done on your car, although the lack of a spoiler would prefer to reveal the game in an insubstantial way.
The standard 180 bhp engine is decent, but keep an eye out for the 225 bhp version that will hit 150 mph and offers a 0-60 mph time of 6.9 seconds. A 2000 example with 225bhp will cost in the region of £ 5,500 – £ 6,500 if you want low mileage. Audi engines tend to outlive everything else, so the high-mileage examples shouldn’t be ruled out if you want to save money.
As a friend of mine said the other day “I don’t know why everyone is complaining about the recession, as far as recessions go, this has been a smashing success.” In the world of used cars, he was right.