No relationship advice needed here, /adv/, just some advice on a purchase.
I have been offered what is a very nice car, for a very good price. My current car is absolutely fine but I have been told by a garage that something is likely to go wrong on it in the near future (clutch, not cheap).
This new car is likely to be slightly more expensive to run, marginally more expensive over the year to insure but is definitely a future proof car and considered more premium than my current one. It is more of an "executive" car.
Should I take the plunge and buy this other car? It means using up my savings until my current car can be sold, but I don't think I'll struggle to sell it and I'm hoping to get roughly the same amount of money for it.
When you say it's more expensive to run, are you including a fair contribution toward a major repair over the next 1-3 years? Those happen. With premium cars, those also tend to be quite pricey.
I think you should look up the cost (parts and labor) of major repairs on this new vehicle and add, say, half of the average cost to your yearly expected costs. Does that still work within your budget? If it doesn't, you'll have seen that you can only afford the car when it's working properly.
>>16907683
My budget long term isn't really an issue. I save up each month to cover any repairs to my vehicle. The car has also had all the major things done to it recently (engine recall, brand new one fitted, new cambelt, etc) so fingers crossed the biggest issue will be tyres and wear and tear.
>>16907659
This question is absolutely useless without details on your current car and the potential car.
A clutch job is $600 on a non-luxury brand, so it shouldn't be a factor in your decision.
An A4 is going to cost 5x to repair than what a civic or whatever costs.
>>16907711
Current car is a Mini Cooper, potential car is the Audi A4.
>>16907718
Yea, nice details on pricing, mileage, overall condition, year, etc.
The new A4s are a shit performance wise. They just aren't that special. You have to go RS4 or whatever the equivalent of the S4 is nowadays to get real performance. The Audi is going to cost an arm and a leg to repair if it's not under warrantee, and it WILL break down - electrical shit will fail, etc.
To me, the A4 is MUCH better looking than the Cooper, but you aren't going to get much of a performance increase. I don't know shit about Mini Coopers though, but that's my understanding.
If you are going to an automatic on the A4, just don't fucking do it.
>>16907718
Perhaps I should add, the Mini is a manual, the A4 an automatic.
>>16907720
The one I'm looking at is a 2.0L turbo, 200bhp. It's an S-Line as well. It's not the standard version.
Thanks for your input so far.
>>16907720
It's a 2005 with 53,000 miles, costing me £4000. Serviced every year, immaculate condition.
My car is a 2005 (later), 39,000 miles, also serviced regularly but I've had confirmation the clutch is on its way out. Last year I had to have the brake pipes done, which cost me £500.
>>16907724
>>16907725
Looks like you guys have different models in Europe, the one I am looking at has a 1.8T, which was fucking trash performance-wise. Anyway, that sounds like a good price, but it's also going to be off warranty.
The beauty about manual transmissions is the clutch is the biggest worry, unless you are grinding gears all the time. With the Audi, if the transmission goes, it's going to cost you as much as the car.
At those prices, it really comes down to what you prefer. Personally, I would want the Audi for the looks, but the Mini for the relative reliability, cost of repairs, etc.
In short, you take on more risk with the Audi for looks. That's all I can tell you. Except that performance likely won't be much better on the Audi, but test drive it.
I would just be very skeptical of Audi repair costs, just like with any older German luxury car.
