Am I Mental?

dougie175 · August 21, 2017

Just need a bit of advice I have a feeling I know the answer.

A 63 plate low mileage Black VW Tiguan 2.0 TDi R-Line 4 Wheel Drive DSG came into work a few weeks ago, very tidy clean nice car.

Basically to cut a long story short the customers father has stopped driving, they are a very wealthy family and have offered me the car for £5,450 less than retail value/ £3,700 below clean private value just to make life easier for them without dealing with webuyanycar and the similar!! Having recently had a baby 8 months ago and the wife hinting she fancies another 1 this would be a more suitable car than the IS250 to be honest.

Going to take the wife for a test drive tonight and see how she likes it with a view to possibly buying, am I mental? It's a lovely car but I know first hand working in a VW approved bodyshop just how many engine issues VW can have on their engines especially the diesels, but I also cant afford to upgrade to a Lexus or similar spec and size without spending a lot lot more than the price I have been offered this at!

Looking at it from a financial point of view it is that cheap I could buy the car and drive it to webuyanycar a hour or so down the road and come out with money in my hand! When we had it on site we got a pretty good luck at everything and know it a genuine very good car, but wish it was made by the Japanese and not the Germans personally!

sorcerer · August 21, 2017

What's that old saying - 'never look a gift horse in the mouth'

Even if you only have it on a temporary basis it's got to be worth going for it. Sell it 6 or 12 months down the line if you really don't like it.

Farqui · August 21, 2017

Tough call Robb but I think you'll be taking a gamble.

In the short term it may seem like a good deal but my concerns would be the potential expenses that could crop up anytime in the future. You may get lucky and never have an issue. You'll know better than I how these vehicles fair in the long run.

Jap does tend to come with less risk, if only Lexus did an estate IS/GS eh. Would an RX be a better alternative for you?

John's suggestion is sound, especially if you'll be able to sell your IS now and have cash spare. Flipping the VW in a few months will give you another financial return and off load the potential risk. But you'll then be looking at sourcing a replacement (again).

Oh and yes...you're mental

dougie175 · August 21, 2017

12 minutes ago, Farqui said:

Tough call Robb but I think you'll be taking a gamble.

In the short term it may seem like a good deal but my concerns would be the potential expenses that could crop up anytime in the future. You may get lucky and never have an issue. You'll know better than I how these vehicles fair in the long run.

Jap does tend to come with less risk, if only Lexus did an estate IS/GS eh. Would an RX be a better alternative for you?

John's suggestion is sound, especially if you'll be able to sell your IS now and have cash spare. Flipping the VW in a few months will give you another financial return and off load the potential risk. But you'll then be looking at sourcing a replacement (again).

Oh and yes...you're mental

Yeah an Estate IS would be the dream for me, I'm a bigger fan of an estate than I am of a MPV type 4x4 anyway, however the Tiguan R-Line is a good looking car in my view.

RX would be a fantastic car if I liked the look of them for the age they are quite a bit too dated for me personally, I would be looking at something around 2007 and 80,000 miles for the same type of money!

I would be in a position for a short time at least be able to purchase the Tiguan and keep the IS250 SORN whilst it sells, however the IS would be worth quite a bit less than the Tiguan so will cost a bit to upgrade still, finding the right buyer for my car wont happen the next day I am aware it has a limited market but for something looking for that type of car I know they will buy it as it has no faults!

Difficult descision, Im tempted to buy it, run it for a bit see if I fall for it, if so the IS goes up for sale and I enjoy my bargain, if I dislike it I stick it up for sale and work out if I want to go back to the Lexus or change cars completly.

Basiclaly my IS is essentially a faultless car for me other than space at times, the interior is a little cramped with the baby seat behind the seats which forces the people in the front to have to sit quite far forward. My family is only going to expand at this point so space is going to become more of a requiement.

I genuinly adore my Lexus though, like no other car I have ever had, every time I see it I think its such a cracking looking car and it drives amazingly, but needs change in life I guess!

Farqui · August 21, 2017

I agree but SUV's seem to be the norm these days.

Another point to consider is could you sell the VW later and not loose money or be stuck with it?

The GS has plenty of rear leg room, we can have the grand kid in her seat and legs don't hit the front seat in it's normal position. So maybe keep in the Lexus sedan fold and get a GS250/300 (that has a bigger boot than the 450H) instead?

dougie175 · August 21, 2017

4 minutes ago, Farqui said:

I agree but SUV's seem to be the norm these days.

Another point to consider is could you sell the VW later and not loose money or be stuck with it?

The GS has plenty of rear leg room, we can have the grand kid in her seat and legs don't hit the front seat in it's normal position. So maybe keep in the Lexus sedan fold and get a GS250/300 (that has a bigger boot than the 450H) instead?

They do Im an estate fan but their days seem to be coming to an end!

Yes I could pick this car up this evening, drive to webuyanycar and be over £3k better off at this point, even running it for 6 months I would still be in positive equity.

The GS has really grown on me, the wife not so much unfortunately she has no taste.

Farqui · August 21, 2017

18 minutes ago, dougie175 said:

..the wife not so much unfortunately she has no taste.

Ahem, no comment

TigerFish · August 21, 2017

Looks like a good deal. Putting aside loyalties to the Lexus brand, for the money, it seems a good choice to take with kids and all that taken into account.

Sent from my Iphone using Lexus OC

dougie175 · August 21, 2017

36 minutes ago, TigerFish said:

Looks like a good deal. Putting aside loyalties to the Lexus brand, for the money, it seems a good choice to take with kids and all that taken into account.

Sent from my iPhone using Lexus OC

Financially and space requirement wise it does seem to make good sense, it will also be quite a bit cheaper to run each week.

dougie175 · August 22, 2017

Ok well took the wife to see the car lastnight and it does fit the "family car" needs well, so I have agreed to buy it, next week I will sort the Lexus and transfer the insurnace over and begin using the Tiguan.

Very difficult decision as the Tiguan inst really a car I want its just a car that ticks the boxes for having a baby and possibly a second and I know the Lexus is a better car, the only car Lexus honestly mate that would be ideal for me is the RX, and we are talking a different league of money far more than I have and more than I would currently want to have sat in a car that is depreciating!

Even if I don't like the Tiguan, they have great residual value and I can easily use the increased value over what I am paying for it to swap/upgrade to something I prefer if I hate it, 2 thing it is missing are a reversing camera and cruise control strangely! But being a VW approved bodyshop we have the diagnostic equipment and links to buy the upgrade items and get both fitted for reasonable cost!

noby76 · August 22, 2017

i have two kids 4 and 2.5 years and both my prevoius GS430 and current Accord serves us well.. most always feel the need for an SUV once kids comes in the picture when a large saloon with a big boot does the job perfectly without any discomfort.

dougie175 · August 22, 2017

Just now, noby76 said:

i have two kids 4 and 2. years and both my GS430 and current Accord serves us well.. most always feel the need for an SUV once kids comes in the picture but a large saloon with a both boot does the job perfectly with any discomfort.

How do you drive with the child's seat wedged in behind you forcing to sit so far forwards? At the moment the baby sits behind my wife she has her knees touching the dash and head touching the roof lining. When we have a second 1 its not like i can do that and drive.

noby76 · August 22, 2017

not sure how tall you and mrs is but I am 5'10 and my mrs is 5'6 and no issues in the both cars.

noby76 · August 22, 2017

this is a screen shot for the rear leg room dimensions for 250 and the Tiguan and difference between them is 133mm or 13.3 cm so as you can see not a lot in them. most assume SUV's have a lot more room than larger saloons but in reality not a lot in them same applies to boot spaces as well.

dougie175 · August 22, 2017

Great diagrams and very interesting but in real life it makes quite a difference, the wife has a newer shape Seat Leon and she has a lot more room with the same baby seat behind her in the Leon than she does in the IS.

I think the bolsters on the seats and how padded and bulky everything this is in the Lexus probably doesn't help to make it "feel" more cramped when you cant pull the seat back as much as you would like

noby76 · August 22, 2017

you might have a point regarding the padding.. just noticed the IS actually has more front room space than the Tiguan.

Farqui · August 22, 2017

Oh my, so you'll be selling your IS...with it's beautiful booty

Good luck with your new steed.

noby76 · August 22, 2017

2 minutes ago, Farqui said:

Oh my, so you'll be selling your IS...with it's beautiful booty

Good luck with your new steed.

I quite fancy Robb's IS to be honest.. and would have bought it off him but have other financial commitments at the moment maybe a GS300 when I am ready

dougie175 · August 22, 2017

12 minutes ago, Farqui said:

Oh my, so you'll be selling your IS...with it's beautiful booty

Good luck with your new steed.

Not yet mate there's every chance I'll dislike the Tiguan and just sell it for profit. But even then the IS in my opinion is sill too small for 2 baby seats. Fine when they get a bit older and sit in a seat properly i imagine and stint come with travel systems and more bags than i would take on a weeks holiday!

I cannot fault an IS as a car though it is phenomenal different league to anything else I've ever owner

noby76 · August 22, 2017

5 hours ago, dougie175 said:

How do you drive with the child's seat wedged in behind you forcing to sit so far forwards? At the moment the baby sits behind my wife she has her knees touching the dash and head touching the roof lining. When we have a second 1 its not like i can do that and drive.

We had my first when i still had my IS300 ans we managed by mrs sitting at the back behind me and passenger seat moved a bit forward to accomodate baby benefits of having her at the back aswell was to keep an eye on baby and also feeding whilst on the go then got the GS when second one came which didnt require adjustments as the rear leg room was like a football field lol and as they a bit older and using normal seats i now have the Accord.

julian1969 · August 31, 2017

my advice would be to buy the Tiguan and flip it immediately and stick the money in the bank or an isa or buy lego, whatever. Then if / when the Mrs becomes pregnant decide what to do. The biggest problem areas with vw's are the diesel engines and the dsg gearboxes and this has both so i'd not keep it.

Spacewagon52 · August 31, 2017

Children have a strange effect on car buying. The ideal "car" is probably a VW T5 people carrier with the rear seats removed. You will always need/like more space.

A few years ago I went to replace my Galant with a newer model. My wife saw the Mitsubisahi Space Wagon - and that was that! Hence the name and year!