The hunt is over....
Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2009 12:22 pm
After scouring PH, Autotrader and Ebay I was drawn to a Noggy B5 with 104k miles that was advertised on Autotrader at £13995. It was a Y reg which is no longer an issue when it comes to taxing and may well have later gearbox and engine code.
Top spec with everything I think, Nav+, sunroof, side guard, armrest, full leather. Also had black optics and painted mirrors - my own personal preference.
It was advertised as one owner but it checked out as 3 on V5 so I emailed the owner and got the reply that it was his from new but had been through his 2 companies then had his name on V5, sounded genuine.
I got the impression he was pi55ed off with all the scammers that had contacted him and he wanted a quickish sale.
Reassured him I was genuine, showed him who I worked for so he knew who he was dealing with (this can make a big difference), asked for some more pics and he was quite happy to take them.
The front and back bumpers needed repairing, a service was due, as was tax. Carpet wear was acceptable, seats were OK. There had been lots of recent expenditure. Car had mainly done motorway miles.
I made an offer of £11k which he didn't baulk at but he was expecting more so I suggested I viewed it to see if it was better than I expected and on Thurs I met him at his company (he's a director of a telecoms co. in Reading). Had a good look around, checked out bills and had a gentle drive down a busy M4. It had had some paintwork from parking scrapes (his wife drove it) but on the upside it wasn't chippy. He also had the original hard back brochure, order form, spare keys etc. Wheels were mint, 4 good Pirellis, all important brakes were nearly new too.
Child seats in back were a good sign.
He was happy to let me VAG COM it and all it came up with was 1 lambda sensor (B2 S1) which from experience us unusually good. Also had a recent MAF.
So a lot of positives.
However the PAS seemed to stick as soon as I tried to move off but was OK after and the thermostat was faulty so it never full warmed up so may as well do cambelt early.
I chewed it over, did some sums and offered £10500 to allow for the required work and we eventually agreed on £10750 with a brand new hard wheel thrown in worth prob £300 on Ebay (£600 new) so under £10500 for the car. I collect next week.
Why did I go for this one?
A) I didn't want to spend too much as that's why I had ditched the 996 C4S plans or B7 - I'm not taking out finance and I got a bit stressed with 20k of my own money tied up in my last one.
B) Whatever you spend buying it, you will always spend more. Figured this one had had enough spent on it to make any future bills manageable.
C) I wanted it to be the antithesis of my last one and it is! In yer face colour, full leather (not Hi-tec), nav, painted mirrors, black optics - all different. Also no remap or Milltek so virtually a different car altogether.
Top spec with everything I think, Nav+, sunroof, side guard, armrest, full leather. Also had black optics and painted mirrors - my own personal preference.
It was advertised as one owner but it checked out as 3 on V5 so I emailed the owner and got the reply that it was his from new but had been through his 2 companies then had his name on V5, sounded genuine.
I got the impression he was pi55ed off with all the scammers that had contacted him and he wanted a quickish sale.
Reassured him I was genuine, showed him who I worked for so he knew who he was dealing with (this can make a big difference), asked for some more pics and he was quite happy to take them.
The front and back bumpers needed repairing, a service was due, as was tax. Carpet wear was acceptable, seats were OK. There had been lots of recent expenditure. Car had mainly done motorway miles.
I made an offer of £11k which he didn't baulk at but he was expecting more so I suggested I viewed it to see if it was better than I expected and on Thurs I met him at his company (he's a director of a telecoms co. in Reading). Had a good look around, checked out bills and had a gentle drive down a busy M4. It had had some paintwork from parking scrapes (his wife drove it) but on the upside it wasn't chippy. He also had the original hard back brochure, order form, spare keys etc. Wheels were mint, 4 good Pirellis, all important brakes were nearly new too.
Child seats in back were a good sign.
He was happy to let me VAG COM it and all it came up with was 1 lambda sensor (B2 S1) which from experience us unusually good. Also had a recent MAF.
So a lot of positives.
However the PAS seemed to stick as soon as I tried to move off but was OK after and the thermostat was faulty so it never full warmed up so may as well do cambelt early.
I chewed it over, did some sums and offered £10500 to allow for the required work and we eventually agreed on £10750 with a brand new hard wheel thrown in worth prob £300 on Ebay (£600 new) so under £10500 for the car. I collect next week.
Why did I go for this one?
A) I didn't want to spend too much as that's why I had ditched the 996 C4S plans or B7 - I'm not taking out finance and I got a bit stressed with 20k of my own money tied up in my last one.
B) Whatever you spend buying it, you will always spend more. Figured this one had had enough spent on it to make any future bills manageable.
C) I wanted it to be the antithesis of my last one and it is! In yer face colour, full leather (not Hi-tec), nav, painted mirrors, black optics - all different. Also no remap or Milltek so virtually a different car altogether.