Buying used A1 s-line advice

[Whitehawk]

Hi, my first post!

We are due to go see a used s line this weekend. Its a 15 plate 1.4 but appears it has the higher road tax of £120 as opposed to £30. Looking at packers website it looks like the higher taxed engine stopped production January 15.

Does anyone know the difference in the engine? Anything I should be concerned about?

Also anything else that u should be checking on a 3 year old model? I'm guessing as it's the older engine it must have been manufactured late 2014.

 

[dts439]

Road tax is based on CO2 value. The current bands are:
- 0-100 £0
- 101-110 £20
- 111-120 £30
- 121-130 £120
etc

There is a specific CO2 value for each car made (stated on the V5) and it varies by engine, transmission, wheel size. Most 2015 1.4 petrols fall in the 111-120 band.

I'm guessing this car is a 5 door manual with 18" wheels and the 125PS engine which I think is 123 g/km? Note that the 150 PS engine has a lower CO2 figure (due to the COD technology).

 

[Whitehawk]

Yes it's as you described with 18 inch wheels. I'm confused about the wheel size part. Are they contributing to a higher road tax? Can the co2 be re-rated if the wheels were changed?

What's cod technology?

 

[dts439]

Yes it's as you described with 18 inch wheels. I'm confused about the wheel size part. Are they contributing to a higher road tax?

Yes. If you look in the brochure you see separate CO2 values for each possible wheel size for each engine/transmission option. Bigger wheels generaly mean wider tyres so more drag so that increases the CO2 when they perform the standard test.

Can the co2 be re-rated if the wheels were changed?

No. CO2 figures cannot be changed once declared on the V5. I once queried this on a used car I was looking to buy as it should have had a lower value and was probably a mistake by the dealer - I was told that it could not be changed. On a brand new car you may be able to get it changed if you can show its a mistake.

What's cod technology?

COD is Cylinder on Demand. So the 1.4 is running on 2 cylinders at low speed/low demand, works really well.

 

[Whitehawk]

Thanks DTS439 that's good to know.
I'm considering changing the 18s to 17s so a shame you can't change the rating.

Where's the best place to pick up used alloy wheels? I'm looking for the 10 spoke 17s but I only see singles on eBay.

I own a Seat Leon with the 2 cylinder tech. Agree it works well.