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Ronan

CEG'er
Joined
May 24, 2003
Messages
62
Location
Ireland!!!!!
Hi guys. I've moved to California from Ireland, and after much looking around for cars, I finally got some wheels. I work in sales, so I needed a 4-door, between 17 and 28k, less than 4 years old.

I settled for a 08 VW GTI 4-door with the DSG. Its also got 18's, i-pod and a sunroof. Its a nice bus, but I was a bit sickened that Ford didn't make something I actually wanted to drive.

If the SHO was still around, never mind the SVT, it would have been a no brainer. I did consider the Mazda Speed 6, but I really liked the DSG box on the VW, and I think the 6 is starting to look old (doesn't help that the new one is already on sale in Europe, and it looks sweet!).

I still have my V6 though, I gave it to my younger bro. I couldn't bare to sell it, and at least I still get to drive it on hols. I may be still in the market for a SVT Tour, as the VW doesn't get under my skin like the Ford did. If anyone is selling a SVT Tour in Northern Cali soon, PM me! :)

I will post pics of the new whip when I get some software than can reduce the pic size on windows vista. :)
 
Be prepaired to see the awesome suckiness of Ford on this side of the pond. They are hopeless I tell ya, hopeless!
 
elraido said:
Be prepaired to see the awesome suckiness of Ford on this side of the pond. They are hopeless I tell ya, hopeless!
Click to expand...
now you get to experience our pain firsthand!

You're lucky if you decide to look for an SVT. Used cars go for a good price in California (surprising given the cost of living for everything else), and the climate is ideal so they're usually rust-free. I bought mine from a CEGer in San Jose. Be prepared for less luxury features than your Mondeo had (again Euro>NA), but they're still fun cars.
 
Thanks for the warm welcome guys. I'm living in San Francisco, and working in Hayward which is about a 35min commute.

Thanks for not flaming me for buying the VW :)

I looked at the Ford Mexico site, and they get the Focus ST there! I would have bought that instead of the GTI if Ford sold it here.

How much longer do we have to wait? I wonder if anyone from Ford actually reads these threads.....

:)
 
Yikes, the Bay Area can be pretty expensive to live in, depending on where you're at. How does the cost of living compare to Dublin?
 
Welcome. I just got back from visiting Ireland in January. It was a blast but everything over there is way too expensive. The Chrysler 300 with the V6 was 59,995 euro for a base price, or about 90,000 us dollars.

Dublin is expenive as :censored::censored::censored::censored:.
 
Yea, Dublin is EXPENSIVE. The Bay area is cheaper in lots of respects, only rent is the same as back home.

My car at home would have cost $61k!! So paying 24k for it here, was a bit of a bargain ;)

Its funny cause all the Americans complain about the cost of gas, but its still less than half what we pay in Ireland. Its why lots of new cars are diesels.

If Ford started selling their diesel range over here, I think they'd sell quite well.....
 
yeah, car prices over there make no sense. The BMW 7 series is manufactured in Germany, a country clearly nearer to Ireland than America yet the 750i is 70,000usd here and 150,000euro (225,000usd) in Ireland.
 
It was my understanding that European salaries compensated a bit for the cost of living - is this untrue?
 
rouar said:
It was my understanding that European salaries compensated a bit for the cost of living - is this untrue?
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Not really...I'm making the same money back home that I'm getting here! So the quality of life tends to go up a bit. I always was under the impression that US salaries were much higher because you have to pay back your college tuition! Colleges are practically free in Ireland!
 
Ronan said:
If anyone is selling a SVT Tour in Northern Cali soon, PM me! :)
Click to expand...

Mine's for sale - I live in Vacaville


if you're interested, let me know and i'll get you some pictures

Matt

Admin Edit - Let's keep classified ads where they belong. The original poster can PM this user if they are interested in finding out about the car for sale.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
volfan98 said:
Mine's for sale - I live in Vacaville


if you're interested, let me know and i'll get you some pictures

Matt

Admin Edit - Let's keep classified ads where they belong. The original poster can PM this user if they are interested in finding out about the car for sale.
Click to expand...

I knew there was a reason volfan made so many recent 'worthless' posts, he needs to use the classifieds..........
 
rouar said:
It was my understanding that European salaries compensated a bit for the cost of living - is this untrue?
Click to expand...
Yes, it is; untrue.

Salaries in the US are significantly higher in comparisson to Europe if you bear in mind the higher taxation over there. The only things that are cheaper over there are vegetables.:bah:
 
Ronan said:
\Americans complain about the cost of gas, but its still less than half what we pay in Ireland. Its why lots of new cars are diesels.
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How much is gas/diesel in Ireland? I just looked a couple hours ago and it's 1.45€/L for gas and 1.39€/L for diesel downtown. In current EUR/USD rates and gallons, that's $8.55/gal for gas and $8.19/gal for diesel :shocked:. Doesn't slow Germans down ONE BIT!

I'm very fond of the SOFA agreement... filled the Sentra with premium gas @ $0.94USD/L (0.60€/L or $3.56/gal) earlier today.

Ronan said:
I will post pics of the new whip when I get some software than can reduce the pic size on windows vista. :)
Click to expand...

Try out VSO Image Resizer... works a lot like the Powertoys resizer, but a bit more powerful (still Freeware). Same company that makes Blindwrite and works fine on Vista.
 
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