Quote:

autos are deffo more common on the forecourt

dunkley201 wrote:

I'll take that personally then, pab!

I only said most

And FTR I have nothing against autos - I owned an auto Subaru in which I did 120K miles and loved - but it does annoy me when people think that just because they prefer the auto everyone else has to to! (Not referring to you here, BTW!). People should make their own choices, as I did with my current manual.

To each their own! Generally, they are all good! - just look to the forums for the problems! 10MY (Sept 09) TD4 HSE Auto in Stornoway Grey (Now Gone)

08 FL2 TD4 SE Manual in Rimini Red (Now Gone)

Interesting comment I came across recently which applies to all cars really, is that you shouldn't buy a car just over 3 years old or just out of warranty except from a franchised dealer. The logic goes that if the car has anything but minor problems then the dealer will rather move it on than spend time and money fixing it.

I speak from experience having bought a 10 reg FL2 from a small garage last year and had loads of problems with it outside of warranty before I got rid of it. It has now shown up on another small forecourt. Having said that I bought an 08 reg in 2012 from a small LR indy specialist and it was fine.

Just to add to that, when I traded my 07 in last year the LR salesperson said it looked pretty good and they might put it on the forecourt. Probably depends on location (East Anglia has a bit of a reputation as a place to offload older cars!) but if the dealers have a shortage (eg with winter coming up) they will sell on the older cars as well. Particularly the FR2 as it is a pretty reliable car, and if it has a dealer service history.
Which just emphasises what dorsetman said. Ex AA Series III LWB Safari - Gone
300TDi Disco (bought new - terrible car) sent back after 18 months
Freelander 1 Estate - leased, given back at end of lease
200TDi Disco (bought from a mate with 100,000 on the clock) - Gone
Disco 2 TD5 - sold and exported to France
FR2 TD4 GS - Gone
FR2 SD4 HSE - Now changed for a DS
New model ex-demo Evoque S 180 in white
Unable to order a new DS, so gave up. Now have a Volvo S90 Recharge.

And to add a bit more, the dealers won't sell high mileage cars, so a high mileage will go to auction and could therefore be a bargain from a non-dealer. Ex AA Series III LWB Safari - Gone
300TDi Disco (bought new - terrible car) sent back after 18 months
Freelander 1 Estate - leased, given back at end of lease
200TDi Disco (bought from a mate with 100,000 on the clock) - Gone
Disco 2 TD5 - sold and exported to France
FR2 TD4 GS - Gone
FR2 SD4 HSE - Now changed for a DS
New model ex-demo Evoque S 180 in white
Unable to order a new DS, so gave up. Now have a Volvo S90 Recharge.

I've just traded in my 2008 manual GS with 76000 miles. Things that were wrong with mine when it was px'd or just before were, rear diff bearings, rear wheel bearing, throttle body, wheel arch trim, tempremental radio (turned on, but didn't respond to any buttons/dials) and creaking powerfold mirrors.

From reading on here, I would suggest that the first four are certianly not uncommon issues on a car with 70,000 plus miles, so it is advisable to ask if they have been replaced.

thx for the info ..

le bouch wrote:

... it was little harder to find a good manual - autos are deffo more common on the forecourt.

This comment piqued my interest, being completely different from my own experiences up here in rural Noethumberland, so I had a look at the two dealers closest to me (both serving a combination of city and rural buyers).

One (Lloyds in Carlisle) has 17 FL2s for sale, and only one is an auto - 16 are manuals.
The other (Stratstone in Newcastle) has 19 for sale, and only 5 are autos - 14 manuals.

So the auto/manual balance clearly does vary greatly with location. Us tough Northerners would appear to prefer to do it ourselves, whilst all the soft Southerners need it done for them.

Quote:

... the lower emissions, road tax and mpg would lead me to a manual every time

The local dealer has 15 FL2's, 7 are manual. Quite even here.

I had both my FL2's for about two years each. The TD4 manual averaged 38.37 over 10,000 miles.
The SD4 Auto averaged 34.89 over 15000 miles.

pab wrote:

le bouch wrote:

... it was little harder to find a good manual - autos are deffo more common on the forecourt.

This comment piqued my interest, being completely different from my own experiences up here in rural Noethumberland, so I had a look at the two dealers closest to me (both serving a combination of city and rural buyers).

One (Lloyds in Carlisle) has 17 FL2s for sale, and only one is an auto - 16 are manuals.
.

........and none of those are 'top end' models that we tend to go for 'Dahn Sarf'!

A quick look on Autotrader, nationwide, shows that of 6 year old HSE FL2's on there, 506 are auto and 81 are manual. Within a hundred miles of me there's 253 Autos v 31 manuals. Drop down to the lowly GS and nationwide there are 262 Autos and 488 manuals.

Perhaps more Northerners go for the GS to carry their whippets to t' mill, hence the prevalence of the manual gearbox up that way? Just a joke!  Past: FL2 TD4 HSE Auto
Evoque SD4 Dynamic Lux Auto
Present: Audi A3 S Line.

I'd say there's your differentiator right there. Most top-ends are indeed autos - I guess the auto box is considered 'luxury'. How common and nasty - actually using your hand to change gear

Auto box luxury? It's standard down here. Luxury is when the chauffeur changes gears for you! Past: FL2 TD4 HSE Auto
Evoque SD4 Dynamic Lux Auto
Present: Audi A3 S Line.

One only gets whippets in Sunderland or Gateshead - neither places I frequent. The Tyne Valley, on the other hand, is quite different, up-market, and not at all like Essex...

Oh Blimey ive started something here ....

lol I am from Essex but now reside in the midlands, our latest car was an Auto Audi Convert and we dont have any whippets lol

Im leaning more towards the HSE lol .... but we will see whats avail over the weekend ...

Is there a huge power difference in the Auto is it good, fair or sluggish ?
I cant find any figures 0 to 60 for the Auto so im guessing its not so good...