CLK / C70 or Something Else ? upto £3k spend

[djt100]

So I'm looking for a nice looking reliable car to replace my boring reliable car.

I've owned both the C70 and the CLK before many years ago when they were much newer but now I am much happier with shed(ish) money cars and these 2 seem good value these days (C70 would poss be a cabrio also so bonus) both have aged well in the looks department.

But anyone taken the plunge on one of these recently, how are they faring?

Also what else should I Consider? E46 3 series, Saab Cab ? What else?

I like Coupes/ Convertibles and need 4 Seats(rear will be for my 2 year old so don't need masses of room) plus room in the boot for a Buggy

I really dont drive a lot, but want something capable of at least 20mpg around town, handling not the biggest issue, so cruiser is fine.


Suggestions, Comments from people who currently run any of the above ?

[Eski1991]

9-3 convertible would meet your your requirements. C70s don't have great press for some reason although I quite like them.

[excel monkey]

djt100 said:

I like Coupes/ Convertibles and need 4 Seats(rear will be for my 2 year old so don't need masses of room) plus room in the boot for a Buggy

I also have a 2 year old, and the prospect of getting him in and out of a child seat strapped to the back seat of a coupe sounds no fun.

For a £3k budget, how about an RX8? (with the usual reliability/maintenance caveats)

[300bhp/ton]

The Volvo looks a lot better IMO, but it does drive the wrong wheels.

Honestly if I needed a 4 seat convertible in this price range I think I'd be looking more an e30 BMW.

As for coupes, well there is a lot more choice. The Lexus Soarer looks appealing for low outlay.

[djt100]

excel monkey said:

I also have a 2 year old, and the prospect of getting him in and out of a child seat strapped to the back seat of a coupe sounds no fun.

For a £3k budget, how about an RX8? (with the usual reliability/maintenance caveats)

I have looked at these, and there are loads about and for the year seem to good to be true, If the reliability was better then I'd go for one in a shot but I just can't take the risk of ending up with a dud or a worthless car after 6 months.

[richb77]

Nothing wrong with either the CLK or C70. But bear in mind that as once fairly high end executive type cars maintenance (if you cant do it yourself) could get costly.

The only C70 worth considering is the T5.

A Saab cab is also a good bet. They can be easily and reliably tuned (check out UKsaabs forum for a good tuner called noobtune). and despite some later issues with quality of finish (interior), they are reliable and easy to maintain cheaply (by using the GM parts bin).

[Eski1991]

Don't go RX8. Much better, more reliable and cheaper to run cars about for less money. Soarer could be a good bet. Fuel costs will be high for the V8 but they are bombproof.

[williredale]

I have a C70 T5 coupe. I've had the car for 18 months or so. It's fast, comfortable and to my eyes, good looking. It also has a manual box which is one of the reasons I chose it over a CLK. That said though, an auto would suit the cruiser nature of the car. It's too big and a bit lacking in feel to be a sports car but is superb on open roads.

I've replaced a heater matrix, drop links and steering arms, top engine mount and tyres in that time and I've done about 18K. All of those jobs were DIY apart from the tyres.

MPG is normally about 25 for my ownership but I think I got 27 pottering to work and back for a week while doing a bit of an economy drive to check MPG. There's a thread in the Volvo section about it. I've also got a post in readers' cars (which I need to update).

[djt100]

E46 I would go for a Coupe the cabs are a little out of my price range, same with the CLK although a few in the price range I'd rather not scrape the barrel so to speak, C70 would be the only one to got for as a cab and I'll look at Saab Cabs as well but I did try one an early one of these years ago and found it to be have horrendous scuttle shake, are the later ones any better ?

Coupe or Cab no preference, but if a cab is available for the money I'll go for it. Servicing, etc I will do myself as much as possible so thats not really too much of an issue,

Any views on the Hatchback C class merc (CLC) early Audi Cabs ?

In a different class and only a few about but pennies to maintain, Celica Cabs ?

Can you guess I'm going through the alphabet on Autotrader for idea's

[djt100]

excel monkey said:

I also have a 2 year old, and the prospect of getting him in and out of a child seat strapped to the back seat of a coupe sounds no fun.

For a £3k budget, how about an RX8? (with the usual reliability/maintenance caveats)

These days he's an independant little bug and want to get in and out himself without help, so just a matter of belting him up. not to much of an issue and we normally use the misses car so this is mainly for me apart from the 2 days a week I pick him up from the childminders after work. ( I could even put his seat in the front when the misses is not in the car.)

[djt100]

Eski1991 said:

Don't go RX8. Much better, more reliable and cheaper to run cars about for less money. Soarer could be a good bet. Fuel costs will be high for the V8 but they are bombproof.

Fuel costs would be the issue here and also trying to find a decent one. I have always been a fan of these but not many decent ones left.

[ikarl]

CLK55 AMG's are within budget

[excel monkey]

djt100 said:

So I'm looking for a nice looking reliable car to replace my boring reliable car.

I've owned both the C70 and the CLK before many years ago before I had a 2 year old

OP, which of the cars in your profile are you looking to replace? If it's the Jag S-type, keep it!

Think you would be better off suppressing your coupe buying urges for another couple of years until your child is able to climb in and out of the back themselves. While they're still only 2, the novelty of lifting a 15kg weight in and out of the back seat will quickly wear off.

ikarl said:

CLK55 AMG's are within budget

Link(s)?

[djt100]

300bhp/ton said:

The Volvo looks a lot better IMO, but it does drive the wrong wheels.

Honestly if I needed a 4 seat convertible in this price range I think I'd be looking more an e30 BMW.

As for coupes, well there is a lot more choice. The Lexus Soarer looks appealing for low outlay.

Driven wheels not a priority, e30 is just to old now for me and look very dated.

PS are you mellowing, I would have thought your first suggestion would have been a Camaro , ( I've looked myself)

[djt100]

williredale said:

I have a C70 T5 coupe. I've had the car for 18 months or so. It's fast, comfortable and to my eyes, good looking. It also has a manual box which is one of the reasons I chose it over a CLK. That said though, an auto would suit the cruiser nature of the car. It's too big and a bit lacking in feel to be a sports car but is superb on open roads.

I've replaced a heater matrix, drop links and steering arms, top engine mount and tyres in that time and I've done about 18K. All of those jobs were DIY apart from the tyres.

MPG is normally about 25 for my ownership but I think I got 27 pottering to work and back for a week while doing a bit of an economy drive to check MPG. There's a thread in the Volvo section about it. I've also got a post in readers' cars (which I need to update).

Cheers, will have a read

[djt100]

ikarl said:

CLK55 AMG's are within budget

Really, where...

[PoleDriver]

ikarl said:

CLK55 AMG's are within budget

Shame it's so far away!

[djt100]

excel monkey said:

OP, which of the cars in your profile are you looking to replace? If it's the Jag S-type, keep it!

Think you would be better off suppressing your coupe buying urges for another couple of years until your child is able to climb in and out of the back themselves. While they're still only 2, the novelty of lifting a 15kg weight in and out of the back seat will quickly wear off.

ikarl said:

CLK55 AMG's are within budget

Link(s)?

Not the S-type, I needed a bigger car for camping trips so I've got a Signum at the moment, The S-type was great and silly value for money but the boot was tiny and the rear seats are shockingly uncomfortable for long distances.

[boobles]

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...


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http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/m...


http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/s...


http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...


http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/s...

[williredale]

djt100 said:

williredale said:

I have a C70 T5 coupe. I've had the car for 18 months or so. It's fast, comfortable and to my eyes, good looking. It also has a manual box which is one of the reasons I chose it over a CLK. That said though, an auto would suit the cruiser nature of the car. It's too big and a bit lacking in feel to be a sports car but is superb on open roads.

I've replaced a heater matrix, drop links and steering arms, top engine mount and tyres in that time and I've done about 18K. All of those jobs were DIY apart from the tyres.

MPG is normally about 25 for my ownership but I think I got 27 pottering to work and back for a week while doing a bit of an economy drive to check MPG. There's a thread in the Volvo section about it. I've also got a post in readers' cars (which I need to update).

Cheers, will have a read

My kids go in the back without a problem. The six year old belts herself up which is easy and the four year old gets in and sits there for me to belt her up. Actually, she's normally in the front and the wife is in the back! Loads of room in the boot for children's detritus. I had the spare wheel out the other week and the youngest was able to stand up in the wheel well whilst I pretended to shut the boot.