DraxDomax

Thanks for the update. I am sure this will benefit someone in the future 🙂 Didn't the warranty people try to fob you off? EG something like "well, you reported the fault right after you bought the car, therefore it has already been there when you bought it"...

Hi Steve, thanks for your thoughts. I was just reading about Ultra and didn't know it's actually something I might not want! What else would you consider? I need something that has a bit of extra ground clearance and minimal wind/road noise.

If it were me, I'd get it through MOT again. There are some deals one can find on the web that make it a relatively small expense. I trust the MOT process. The help you are getting from that other garage - I bet there's a way for them to weasel out if, God forbid, your breaks fail after they cleared them for use... Especially if they don't charge you for taking a look (I am not a lawyer but something about "zero payment = zero expectation", etc...). Unless I misread what you wrote: 1. The car had issues with breaks 2. Their work didn't inspire confidence in you 3. They did a partial bleed - which doesn't make sense 4. They retested the breaks by driving the car - well, just because the car kinda stops when you try it on a parking lot, doesn't mean the breaks are worthy! 5. You feel the breaks don't stop the car on the first bit of pedal travel - of all the bangers I've ever owned, none of them did this, even after hydraulics jobs - this is unacceptable That being said, knowing a garage that is so lenient about MOTs would have saved me a lot of money by now 😉 The garages in my area will fail an MOT if the ashtray is full 😉

Sorry I don't know as much as the other people here but, for what it's worth, I've found the choice of tires matters a lot too. I owned a BMW that came with run-flats and then changed to non-run-flats and noticed an immediate difference. When I put that car on winter tires, there was another significant improvement to comfort

I've only ever owned cheap used cars and become pretty good at finding decent ones. However, I am currently seriously considering a 5-year old Audi (test drive Saturday), and that's my first "luxury" car and the first time I am not buying something that's pretty close to scrap value anyway 😄 Usually I am the one that friends call to come with them and kick tires before they buy something but this one's gonna be like £20k and much more complex than the cars I know. I don't know what's the custom and best practice acceptable by garages? They are not going to drive with me to my trusted garage and wait an hour for an inspection, are they? Also, wondering if one of those hired inspectors can provide the same level of assurance as a garage? I guess they aren't going to lift the car to see underneath, etc... And then how does reservation, deposit refund work? I don't want to hire someone or book a garage to take a look at a car that I haven't seen first myself... And I don't want to argue with a garage that they have to give me back the deposit because the car needs a lot of work (even if everything works "fine"... For example if all the belts, pads, plugs etc are almost gone) Hopefully one of the many savvy people here can share with me their bulletproof procedure 😉

For my entire driving experience (22 years), I've always owned bargain basement used cars. My costing criteria used to be "is this likely to pass the next MOT without needing unreasonably expensive repairs?". The upside to that is that I've become pretty good at estimating the quality of used cars and also doing some basic-to-intermediate level maintenance on them myself. Few years ago, my life changed such that I am driving, several times per year, to Isle of Skye and back to Oxford. My Astra just doesn't cut it anymore (wind noise, ac compressor gone, seats hurt). I need something hushed (listening to music for 10 hours is tiring) and comfortable. Also, roads in Skye aren't always the best. I am not doing any off-roading but lost an undertray and a bumper lip already 😄 I have nothing against an SUV but I always thought that, because of how desirable they are, they are more expensive? Plus, I guess an A4 Allroad is going to be nicer to drive overall? I don't do anything "fun" on the road at all but it's nice to know I haven't compromised on stability and road-feedback. How are these A4 Allroads for reliability and maintenance costs? Any and all discussion greatly appreciated - thanks!

I mean, compared to Neptune, it's pretty sunny here 😉