one man band executive drivers car

[GreatGranny]

2007 E Class or 2002/3 S Class.

Definately the E Class.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...

[GTIR]

The S class will be more expensive to tax, insure, repair, less MPG (30mpg, 22mpg in town), more expensive to service and tyres, discs etc.
Smaller boot than the E class, and don't forget that if you are in London the S class is a big car to navigate and squeeze in parking spaces.

The E is simpler, non-air suspension, 50mpg, 35mpg in town, cheaper on everything, bigger boot, and I know for a fact they are more reliable, especially the 220.

When you say you will get three customers, do you have them already?
How do you propose to cost the trips? Are you going to say charge extra if you have an S class and if that's the case will they swallow that as you've already said they don't know the difference?

The E will be easier to sell/trade in.

So yes, E class.



Or a Chrysler 300C







(Not really, they are st.)

[RichB]

From a passenger's perspective the S-Class please. Don't care what it looks like outside, I'll be inside and it's bigger and heavier so more luxurious.

[GTIR]

Dracoro said:

As an aside, I looked into E-classes recently and the general consensus is be v careful with the pre-facelifts (same goes for the S class to be fair, moreso at that age). The post facelifts 2007 E-Classes are all nigh on £9/10k+ anyway unless you get higher mileage ones (which may or may not be an issue?) or the small engined diesels.

There are no 07 pre-facelift E class models, only on 56 and below.

[IceBoy]

I thought the E-class had a re-fresh around 2007?

Newer grill and interior fittings?

IceBoy

[keemaklan]

LWB S-Class please.

Rear seats recline/relax so the passengers will love the extra comfort features, not to forget heated seats and the ability (if anything like the W221 S class) to move the front passenger seat from the rear is so cool! You control everything the front seat does!

You've also got more legroom, you feel much more like a royalty and an S is always better than an E!

[GTIR]

IceBoy said:

I thought the E-class had a re-fresh around 2007?

Newer grill and interior fittings?

IceBoy

I mean there are no 07 registered old style E class's. (unless some dealer had one kicking around)
End of 06 was the facelift, so 56 onwards to 59, although they are quite rare.

As an aside I saw a 10 plate old style E class a couple of months ago. It was brown and had white interior so I am guessing it was a cancelled order and they couldn't shift it!

My mate has a 170k 56 350CDI S class and has had no end of issues with the gearbox.
Personally I think the older S class's look very dated.

[infradig]

Another vote for the e class here. I bought a 2004 e220 with 285,000 miles on it a couple of months ago from a friend who had used it for exactly what you intend doing with it. It was on its original turbo,clutch,injectors etc. it had no visible wear on the interior and drove perfectly. We used it for a couple of months and it always seemed to do 50odd mpg,what let it down was that it was a manual and not a particularly nice gearbox. When I sold it I had dozens of calls,mostly cab drivers and I'm pretty sure the guy that bought it intends to do unlicensed touting in the West End. I can't see a rusty,leaky air suspension S320 giving that sort of service, however much of a bargain they look. Most people just see the badge and haven't got a clue between C,E or S. One of my neighbours thought I'd got my old 2010 CLS company car back when he saw the 53 reg e220! Both just black Mercs to him.

[Baryonyx]

hman said:

would rather be driven in an S-Class.

or an A8L

Same here. The A8 would definitely be my pick as a passenger, as I love being the driver in mine! But of the two cars you have selected OP, I would definitely go for the S Class. You're running a respectable business, not a hackney carriage.

[WhereamI]

As someone who gets driven in these cars reasonably often an S class beats an E class any day.

[Wills2]

When we use cars to ferry ourselves and/or customers about it's either an S class or E class and both do the job well.

Although I voted S class.

[GTIR]

S class is more comfortable, that's established, but what's the point if the costs negate doing the job in the first place?

If your car is off the road you won't have any customers!

[Monkeylegend]

GTIR said:

S class is more comfortable, that's established, but what's the point if the costs negate doing the job in the first place?

If your car is off the road you won't have any customers!

Most people on here are looking at it from a customers perspective, so running costs and reliability are not their top priority.

[Legend83]

Rude question really, but does chauffeuring pay?

[AC43]

Monkeylegend said:

AC43 said:

Just don't get a 4 pot diesel - the noise grates.

It really doesn't.

I set off for LHR the other day at 5.50 am. In an E 220 CDI. And I can assure you the rumbling and vibrating coming from the engine bay definitely grated as far as I was concerned.

The I6 and V6 diesels, on the other hand, sound quite gravelly and tuneful to me.

[Art0ir]

I have a 61 plate C220CDI at the minute (granted, slightly different from the 2007) and the diesel chatter is hardly noticeable. The previous iteration can't be that bad surely?

[AC43]

Art0ir said:

I have a 61 plate C220CDI at the minute (granted, slightly different from the 2007) and the diesel chatter is hardly noticeable. The previous iteration can't be that bad surely?

I've no idea as I've never been in diesel C Class so can't compare.

It's all subjective, of course, but to me an E class or S class should be offer a very luxurious overall experience. In terms of the previous generation of E's (W211's)the V8's are (obviously) the best in this regard (virtually silent), the 6 cyl diesels are now a respectable close second and the 4's are back in third.

A 2010 C Class is a much more recent design and I'm sure they'e damped out a lot of the vibrations and low frequency resonances. I noticed this when the FIL chopped his 04 Seat Altea diesel for a year-old Octvia. Big improvement.

[yellowbentines]

Art0ir said:

I have a 61 plate C220CDI at the minute (granted, slightly different from the 2007) and the diesel chatter is hardly noticeable. The previous iteration can't be that bad surely?

As someone who has owned a 2008 E220 cdi and a 2011 facelift C220 cdi my personal experience was that the older E-Class was quieter in the cabin than the new C-Class - I don't know if it was down to the engine or if the E-Class has better sound/vibration insulation.

I've been chauffeured once in that shape of S-Class the OP is looking at, the gearbox went into limp mode pulling onto the motorway and I arrived much later than I should have.

For that reason I'd vote E-Class for experience of reliability alone

[V8mate]

Does seven grand buy a 2005 S-Class with the capability of working for a living?

[Art0ir]

yellowbentines said:

As someone who has owned a 2008 E220 cdi and a 2011 facelift C220 cdi my personal experience was that the older E-Class was quieter in the cabin than the new C-Class - I don't know if it was down to the engine or if the E-Class has better sound/vibration insulation.

I've been chauffeured once in that shape of S-Class the OP is looking at, the gearbox went into limp mode pulling onto the motorway and I arrived much later than I should have.

For that reason I'd vote E-Class for experience of reliability alone

Sorry my post was a bit vague in hindsight! You're right the E Class tends to be a bit more insulated from engine noise. The C class is more than bearable so I can't see there being an issue with diesel noise in the E class.