Avant Black Edition...what next?

[phope74]

Time flies and our B9 Avant Black Edition is coming up for the first MOT next month.

At 3 years into the 4 year finance agreement, I'd normally be thinking at this point about what to go for next but really not sure this time - I may let this agreement run the full term as I just can't decide what to go for next (1st world problems, I know)

We chose the 1.4 TFSI S-Tronic at the time as it offered everything we needed for a short commute (15 miles each way) and didn't want/need diesel. The deal offered by the dealer at the time was an intro offer for the as yet to be launched Black Edition and it made good financial sense to PCP it rather than hire purchase/buy outright.

Depreciation on the B9 has been higher than I anticipated and I fully expect the value of the car next year to be below the GFV. We plan to just use any deposit contribution on next car to subsidise any negative equity if we change before the 4 year expiry or hand it back at end of agreement and pay excess mileage costs as it will be a little bit above contracted mileage.

We need an Avant/estate car so my thinking is:

• Go for another new B9 Avant. Good points are that its a model we know & like and also offers reasonable space for the Labrador. Downside is that the B9 model will be 4-5 years old at this point and I'm not sure the facelift model offers any real improvements. Hearing of the MMI issues on MY2020 cars puts me off slightly.
  
  
• Look for deals on the C8 A6 Avant. Good points are that the styling is really smart, the technology is good and the Avant offers lots of space for the dog and luggage. Downside is the size of the car is getting really quite big and payments would likely be another £100 a month compared to the B9.
  
  It's also annoying that useful tech such as active cruise control, whilst standard fit on even low spec VW Golf is still part of £1200+ option packs on the B9 and C8!
  
  
• I see today that VW are launching an Arteon Shooting Brake model later this year as part of mid-life facelift. I think the fastback Arteon is a good looking car with huge boot, offers good tech like active cruise as standard and still offers useful options like heated windscreen/steering wheel that seem to be non-existent in the B9/C8/Audi range any more. Shooting Brake body style will still offer copious space for the dog.
  
  Downside is that the saloon Arteon is a depreciation monster and I can't see the Shooting Brake being any different so PCP or leasing these is 100% the way to go.
  
  https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/new-volkswagen-arteon-shooting-brake-revealed-sketch

 

[pagenotfound]

Went from a CC to the A4. Wouldn't contemplate going back. How about just extending the warranty and keeping?

 

[phope74]

Funnily enough, I've had 3 CCs, 2 A6s and 2 A4s at the last count - the CCs have been great mile munchers, especially with the adaptive suspension on them. Best financed as used cars, naturally

 

[pagenotfound]

Had my CC for 7 years which was about 7 years too long but it was mainly used by my wife. Hated the seats, there was a stupid shape to the seat cushion side that dug into my thigh and gave me a dead leg on longer journeys. The adaptive suspension was pointless for me. Comfort was far to wallowy and Sport was too jittery so it just stayed in normal all the time. Interior quality was pretty iffy with constant rattles from the dashboard and cheap feeling plastics lower down the cabin. I think with the CC and Arteon that VW have tried too hard with the exterior but the interior doesn't live up to expectations. To my eye the front end of the Arteon doesn't look anywhere near as good as the standard Passat or the previous CC either but each to their own.

 

[phope74]

I'll grant you, the B9 interior really is top notch - just a lovely place to be.

 

[HMG1K]

The CC is essentially an Audi A5 Sportback. I love my A5, coming to the end of a two year PCH and have an A4 Avant S-Line on order.

Look at PCH. I PCP'd my Jaguar XF on a four year deal. Never again. False economy. I was paying circa £400 a month. I bought it and flipped it back to the trade and made £1,600 profit.

My PCH A5 Sportback 40 TFSI S-Line manual is on £305 a month, 8k miles on a 3+23 term. The A4 I'm moving to, 35 TFSI S-Line manual is £258 per month on the same terms. No brainer. Give the car back before it needs a service.

Why have a car that exceeds its manufacturer's warranty?

There are heavily subsidized B9.5 PCH deals on A4s. Black Edition more than S-Line. Although the availability is limited and prices up circa £60 » £100 from when I ordered mine at the end of April. Black Editions were being k locked out for around £250 a month in April

 

[pagenotfound]

CC is exactly the same as the A5 apart from all the bits that aren't. Like the platform MQB vs MLB and the boot vs hatch and NVH properties. Agree that it is the same design principle though. The current A5 is a good looking car and the single thing I miss about the CC that the A5 also has is the frameless doors, always loved those on a car.

On the exceeding warranty period point, I'm probably keeping mine until the wreckers take it. Unless my actual needs change then why change the car? Should run well for as long as I need it for far less than the constant paying off of the steepest part of a car's depreciation. Hence my suggestion to phope74 to stick with their current car if they are still happy with it and extend the warranty if that is a concern.

 

[HMG1K]

CC is exactly the same as the A5 apart from all the bits that aren't. Like the platform MQB vs MLB and the boot vs hatch and NVH properties. Agree that it is the same design principle though. The current A5 is a good looking car and the single thing I miss about the CC that the A5 also has is the frameless doors, always loved those on a car.

On the exceeding warranty period point, I'm probably keeping mine until the wreckers take it. Unless my actual needs change then why change the car? Should run well for as long as I need it for far less than the constant paying off of the steepest part of a car's depreciation. Hence my suggestion to phope74 to stick with their current car if they are still happy with it and extend the warranty if that is a concern.

Sorry, confusing the CC with the Areton and the A5 :-(

 

[Paul Golding]

I've got a year or so before I need to do something and really have little enthusiasm for anything out there.

My son just collect an F-Pace which I must admit is very nice and could well be my choice, if I wanted one of those SUV kind of cars. Which I don't.

Seeing the new S3 saloon (when they finally make it) in the flesh might tempt me further. The grandchildren are getting to be big enough to use a booster and do their own seatbelts (almost anyway) and I've always liked the A5/S5 coupe. Or I'll just pay the balance and keep what I've got for a while.

 

[phope74]

I know we will change this (my wife's car really) sometime in the next year...it's just a question of what to go for next, and which way to pay works best

Whether or not to take a years warranty from Audi in the meantime...I'll ponder that one when the notification comes through.

I'm open to PCP, HP, leasing as well as outright purchase - my only hesitation with leasing is signing up to a fixed agreement of 2-4 years with no easy way to get out of it if circumstances were to change - at least with the other three methods, it is easy enough to sell the car/finish the agreement early

I have seen an attractive leasing deal on a new VW Touraeg at circa £475 a month on a 3+36 deal which a hell of a lot of car for the money, but that is also £130 a month higher than leasing a new Black Edition Avant at £340 on the same basis...in the current climate, it likely makes sense for most people to try and make savings and keep cash in reserve for unforeseen circumstances.

Our 2nd car (a CC funnily enough) was bought last year simply as I was doing 20k+ miles a year, and it just didn't make sense to finance such a car & mileage.

Bought it outright with cash, currently sitting at 70k miles and 8 years old, but has 2 owners, full VW service history, full VW warranty for 12 months, no squeaks or rattles and has just sailed through MOT with nothing needed at all...I'll probably keep this one for a year or two more and use any value left over as a PX deposit on something newer

It's unobtrusive when going to see clients and I gave it a once over with a machine polisher when I bought it, and the overall condition of the car belies its age!

 

[HMG1K]

I've got a year or so before I need to do something and really have little enthusiasm for anything out there.

My son just collect an F-Pace which I must admit is very nice and could well be my choice, if I wanted one of those SUV kind of cars. Which I don't.

Seeing the new S3 saloon (when they finally make it) in the flesh might tempt me further. The grandchildren are getting to be big enough to use a booster and do their own seatbelts (almost anyway) and I've always liked the A5/S5 coupe. Or I'll just pay the balance and keep what I've got for a while.

Having had a 2014 XF R-Sport from new I'd never buy another Jaguar or Land Rover vehicle. Mine was back in the workshop for two weeks longer than planned for a service for fuel problems. Year three, I had four new tyres fitted, without charge (fine by me) as there was a recall on the cars having left the factory with the incorrect tyres meaning the stated emmisons were incorrect.

Being a long time member of the XF forums in the UK threw up worse stories.

My 2014 XF quality was okay. The 2016 Jaguar cars to the present day had many quality corners cut. Cheap plastics, plastics where there could have and were carpet in previous models. In comparison, my 2018 A5 Sportback S-Line came with more standard kit than the R-Sport. To spec a 2018 XF R-Sport to the equivalent A5 would have cos an additional £3k!

 

[leedodds1]

I’m in the same boat.

My 2017 A4 Avant Black Edition goes back next month. I absolutely love my current car so i’ve just placed an order for a S4 Avant black edition to replace it.

 

[HMG1K]

I'm taking a dip into an A4 Avant S-Line from my 2018 A5 sportback S-Line.

I've opted for the 35 TFSI as it's the only variant with a manual. My current 40 TFSI is a manual. After my only ever manual being a XF, I don't fancy the auto life again.