[GrahamOliver]

I've started to look seriously to part/ex my Golf for a new car and I think I've found just what I want and fits just in my budget of £8k. Would appreciate any input on getting the best deal I can if I decide to go and buy it.

Lupo 1.4 (75bhp) S, spec as follows:

- 52 Reg

- 2500 miles

- Metallic Black

- Air con

- Alarm

- Alloys (same as on Sport spec)

- ABS, CL, EW etc etc

- 1 previous owner

- Remainder of manufacturers warranty

Asking price is £7995. Now, I don't know if that's a good price or not so if you think I should definately haggle on the price how much so and why? I'd be paying for the motor by cash with my Golf as p/ex.

I'm gonna go take a look at it this weekend and try get it out for a bit of a play but I don't wanna take the plunge without thinking it through properly, so I won't be working on any figures with the dealer just yet.

Cheers

G

 

[Mikedav]

Car sounds very good mate, virtualy new. BUT its S spec and have you driven a Lupo? Its very good for the class but nowhere near as refined as your Golf. If I was going for a Lupo Id get a high spec model like an SE or Sport...2002s are around that price with 5k on the clock.

Have you considered another MK4? Not so many Golfs (tend to be 40,000 miler 98s/99s or 1.4Es) but do you like the Bora? Not being bias, but honestly its got more kit than a Golf and its cheaper to buy and insure. My old car is up for £6k as an example, and there are plenty of 1.6SEs/2.0SEs for £8k... even a 30,000 mile 2.3 V5 up for £8,495!

Or does it need to be a new car like the Lupo? If you want a Lupo then it sounds as good as buy as any, but might be worth finding a higher spec one for similar money!

 

[RayBanUK]

I like these a lot but are you sure you want to get into a such a small car? It is quite small inside. If you dont need to worry about passengers, then it would be OK, but even then I would try and stretch to a Lupo GTI. I personally wouldnt pay 8K for a standard Lupo. Working in the industry, I have to say they dont hold their value very well at all. Its one of VW not so good seller. I think £7-£7500 is more like the price you should be going for, even less if you can get away with it.

OK Im going to ask before anyone else does on here, but have you not considered a newer or better equiped Golf?

 

[RayBanUK]

hahaha MikeDav beat me to it asking about another golf! []

BTW, if you really do like Lupos that much, I would much rather get the new shape Seat Arosa, looks fresher/sportier and save a couple of grand in the process. Hell even the Lupo boys Ive seen recently have all adopted the Arosa rear Lexus lights (much to disgust of anti Lexus light protestors)

 

[Mikedav]

LOL great minds think alike []

 

[Chris]

You can buy my Golf!

 

[02 Bora]

i would stretch to the 1.4 16v (100bhp) sport if at all possible. Not that much difference in price, but you'll really notice the performance.

 

[GrahamOliver]

You're right about the refinement. I've just driven out for a pint 'o milk in Golfy and even on E spec the Golf feels gorgeous compared to most cars in the same class.

I need a low mileage car that is gonna last me the next 4 years (+1 if I go ahead with my PGCE) while I'm at Uni - 13k a year just on commuting to Uni.

What attracts me to the Lupo is that it's fine for space (rarely more than myself and a friend in the car), better spec than my Golf, it's a shade quicker and it's almost brand new.

Like I said originally anyway, I'm not taking the plunge on anything just yet and I'll certainly give the Bora a good think over Mikedav. Infact, if Smithy still hadn't sold his Bora I would have bought it off him! At £7500 with all the santa's, oettinger spoiler, springs, miltek and only 30k on the clock it would have been a really good catch!

 

[Mikedav]

quote:

Originally posted by GrahamOliver

infact, if Smithy still hadn't sold his Bora I would have bought it off him! At £7500 with all the santa's, oettinger spoiler, springs, miltek and only 30k on the clock it would have been a really good catch!

Yeah and he got absolute top dollar for it so you can see where Im coming from. I suggest you try one and see what I mean, dare I say it its a tad more refined than a Golf as the boot cuts a lot of the boomyness on a Golf. Plus loads more toys...and as they are bought by old fogeys very low miles.

If you do it though DONT buy an S - SE has almost everything (r/cl , cruise, rain sensors, auto dip mirror, armrest, velour rather than cloth, 8 speaker Gamma instead of 4 Beta, alloys, body coloured bumpers, etc) but would be about the same price.

 

[Chris]

You can buy my Golf! []

60k, S3 wheels, all coded, sports seats etc.......... all the extra's of a gti, just missing the engine!

 

[GrahamOliver]

quote:

Originally posted by Chris

You can buy my Golf! []

60k, S3 wheels, all coded, sports seats etc.......... all the extra's of a gti, just missing the engine!

Chris, you're beginning to sound desperate for that 1.8T! []

Wonderfully spec'd car mate and if it wasn't for that uneconomical 1600 lump... []

 

[Deebo]

Mines for sale too!! £8K to you kind sir!

 

[mh]

i used to have a lupo sdi s spec and it was great at the time but i think you might regret changing the golf for it.

 

[GrahamOliver]

Had a pop up to see this Lupo today. After giving it a bit of thought this afternoon I'm gonna say provisionally "No".

From the outside it's a cheeky looking thing but it really doesn't have the same stance as the GTI. Inside everything is solid, but something felt amiss without the lovely centre console in the Golf and nothing seemed to be placed around the driver. That's not to say it's bad, but it's just not a Golf.

For the drive, it's eager enough. Same engine as my Golf so I knew what it was capable of but to be honest it really didn't seem any faster at all and left me feeling a bit dissapointed. Considering how much smaller the car is compared to the golf it still falls over on the corners like a drunk pig on a skateboard.

I'm glad I looked into this car now, I'd much rather have another comfortable 1.4 S Golf for the same money than this.

 

[Carlos]

Graham, go for the 1.8T, you wouldn't regret it!

 

[GrahamOliver]

quote:

Originally posted by Carlos

Graham, go for the 1.8T, you wouldn't regret it!

Carl, I'd kill myself. I can't drive for peanuts!

 

[MOB]

Have you thought about a new shape Seat Ibiza??

 

[Mikedav]

quote:

Originally posted by GrahamOliver

quote:

Originally posted by Carlos

Graham, go for the 1.8T, you wouldn't regret it!

Carl, I'd kill myself. I can't drive for peanuts!

Im alive arent I? Had my new one 5 weeks now! Honestly, you get used to the extra power...in fact it starts to feel normal which is a problem, coz now I need a chip []

Seriously though your feelings are exactly what you'd expect - its a supermini and they all feel like that in comparison to a MK4 sized car. Is insurance a concern? If not as Ive already said, for £8k Id be tempted by a Bora V5 maybe...bargain for what you get!

 

[GrahamOliver]

quote:

Originally posted by Mikedav

quote:

Originally posted by GrahamOliver

quote:

Originally posted by Carlos

Graham, go for the 1.8T, you wouldn't regret it!

Carl, I'd kill myself. I can't drive for peanuts!

Im alive arent I? Had my new one 5 weeks now! Honestly, you get used to the extra power...in fact it starts to feel normal which is a problem, coz now I need a chip []

Seriously though your feelings are exactly what you'd expect - its a supermini and they all feel like that in comparison to a MK4 sized car. Is insurance a concern? If not as Ive already said, for £8k Id be tempted by a Bora V5 maybe...bargain for what you get!

It's not really getting the spec for the money to be honest with you, it's running it. I was talking to bjs144 and talk-torque on Sunday about what I could go for. I've got my own insurance policy £1180 fully comp, cheapest I could absolutely anywhere (1y NCB, 4 points CD10) and I'd be looking at an extra £800 for anything close to a 1.8T []

I'd rather wait until I'm in the bling bling in 5 years time to start having some fun than cripple myself financially now. My parents help me out with running costs but I can't justify to them the extra expense. I guess they're right when they say I'm lucky to be driving what I already have.

 

[Chris]

You're doing it the right way, albeit the hard way, mate []

I've been itching for something quicker ever since i got the 1.6 (im talking weeks after buying it).... and its only now that my insurance has become even half decent for a 1.8T (£1100, 23, 3yrs ncb - f-rated insurance postcode!!).

And to show what a jump it is, im as nervous as i am excited when going for test drives!