one man band executive drivers car
Poll: one man band executive drivers car
Total Members Polled: 125
Discussion
not tempted by a 7 series?
730d for economy or 745li?
http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...
comes in just under £7k too
730d for economy or 745li?
http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...
comes in just under £7k too
Edited by sodslaw on Thursday 4th October 12:39
That's what I run daily.
Masses of room, amazingly comfortable. Get the right spec and you get reclining rear seats, a seperate air con system for the rear and a fridge.
I would have thought that the idea of paying for luxury travel should mean just that- an no offence to anyone but an E class doesn't deliver that in my eyes.
Masses of room, amazingly comfortable. Get the right spec and you get reclining rear seats, a seperate air con system for the rear and a fridge.
I would have thought that the idea of paying for luxury travel should mean just that- an no offence to anyone but an E class doesn't deliver that in my eyes.
I'd take a serious look at a brand new E220cdi SE on a lease. I saw prices of around £330 per month on a 15k a year 3+33 contract. Just annual serving to worry about and your customers will be happy. However if you want to go down the purchase route, I would take a silver 2007 Eclass, probably the most popular car you see around town.
Dusty964 said:
That's what I run daily.
Masses of room, amazingly comfortable. Get the right spec and you get reclining rear seats, a seperate air con system for the rear and a fridge.
I would have thought that the idea of paying for luxury travel should mean just that- an no offence to anyone but an E class doesn't deliver that in my eyes.
I don't think people are paying for luxury travel. I'm guessing his clients are probably business people who want to go in to town do all there meetings in a day and get out again. They're paying for the convinience of not having to park and worry about the car and as long as the cars clean and looks respectable everything else is a bonus. Masses of room, amazingly comfortable. Get the right spec and you get reclining rear seats, a seperate air con system for the rear and a fridge.
I would have thought that the idea of paying for luxury travel should mean just that- an no offence to anyone but an E class doesn't deliver that in my eyes.
Dusty964 said:
I would have thought that the idea of paying for luxury travel should mean just that- an no offence to anyone but an E class doesn't deliver that in my eyes.
I worked for a chaffeur drive company for a couple of years P/T and the owner only ever ran Jags (XJs) or Mercedes (E and S Class) as his 'luxury' choices, why - badge.He commented that economical and plush as the new BMW 7 series (and Audi A8s to a lesser extent) may be, people just didn't associate the BMW badge with 'executive travel'.
No right or wrong answer here, but I do tend to agree with that sentiment, and personally see a Jag XJ as THE executive choice, and voted E Class due to the OP's budget meaning an XJ or decent S Class is out of reach.
yellowbentines said:
He commented that economical and plush as the new BMW 7 series (and Audi A8s to a lesser extent) may be, people just didn't associate the BMW badge with 'executive travel'.
Having been collected in a Volvo S80, as comfy as it was (and interesting- for someone interested in cars anyway), it just wasn't right. 730D also felt too "sporty" (OK, the ride was firmer than you'd like after 14 hours of travelling) and "try hard". Mercs, you just know what to expect.
Presuming Ed said:
I'd take a serious look at a brand new E220cdi SE on a lease. I saw prices of around £330 per month on a 15k a year 3+33 contract. Just annual serving to worry about and your customers will be happy. However if you want to go down the purchase route, I would take a silver 2007 Eclass, probably the most popular car you see around town.
His customers might be happy, but you won't earn a living restricting yourself to 15k miles a year on a lease contract.AC43 said:
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.
Funny that because I have driven the 4 pot Merc diesel for the last 10 years, and in that time covered approaching 1 million miles, and not once has a customer mentioned anything about how noisy or how rumbly it is. The I6 and V6 diesels, on the other hand, sound quite gravelly and tuneful to me.
The 6 pots are more refined but a luxury for the OP's proposed business. He will not get any benefit in turns of business, only additional costs, and the 6 pots have their own issues which the 4 pots don't.
Baryonyx said:
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.or an A8L
For what it's worth I would go for tHe S Class over the E Class every time. They are still a good looking car, better appointed, ride a lot better, a nicer place for your clients to be which is all that matters. We run one E Class and I think it is too cramped in the rear, our Prius is better on leg room.
Out of the S Class, Jag, 7 Series, A8L or Lexus I would always choose the A8L because it suits my requirements perfectly. Plenty of legroom, firmer ride than an S Class but not so harsh as a 7 Series, superb boot space, full size alloy spare and AWD for bad weather conditions.
Each operator has their own priorities though.
Monkeylegend said:
Funny that because I have driven the 4 pot Merc diesel for the last 10 years, and in that time covered approaching 1 million miles, and not once has a customer mentioned anything about how noisy or how rumbly it is.
The 6 pots are more refined but a luxury for the OP's proposed business. He will not get any benefit in turns of business, only additional costs, and the 6 pots have their own issues which the 4 pots don't.
This.The 6 pots are more refined but a luxury for the OP's proposed business. He will not get any benefit in turns of business, only additional costs, and the 6 pots have their own issues which the 4 pots don't.
07 on E220 CDi all day long.
Monkeylegend said:
AC43 said:
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.
Funny that because I have driven the 4 pot Merc diesel for the last 10 years, and in that time covered approaching 1 million miles, and not once has a customer mentioned anything about how noisy or how rumbly it is. The I6 and V6 diesels, on the other hand, sound quite gravelly and tuneful to me.
The 6 pots are more refined but a luxury for the OP's proposed business. He will not get any benefit in turns of business, only additional costs, and the 6 pots have their own issues which the 4 pots don't.
t compared to the other cars, us business types are polite, plus we're not paying for the ride.Luckily my 5:10am ride to the airport yesterday was an A8 3.0D. I sat in the front, lovely drive from the wilds of Oxfordshire to T5. I hope I get something relaxing this evening for the trip home.
Thinking about it, the driver's personality, conversation ability, smooth & safe driving are more important to me than the difference between a 4 or 6 pot diesel.
Monkeylegend said:
Funny that because I have driven the 4 pot Merc diesel for the last 10 years, and in that time covered approaching 1 million miles, and not once has a customer mentioned anything about how noisy or how rumbly it is
Isn't that more because it would take a weapons grade tool to book you for a service, get into your car, greet you and then tell you how rough and noisy your engine sounds than it is because the 4 pot Merc is so wonderfully refined, though?Fox- said:
Monkeylegend said:
Funny that because I have driven the 4 pot Merc diesel for the last 10 years, and in that time covered approaching 1 million miles, and not once has a customer mentioned anything about how noisy or how rumbly it is
Isn't that more because it would take a weapons grade tool to book you for a service, get into your car, greet you and then tell you how rough and noisy your engine sounds than it is because the 4 pot Merc is so wonderfully refined, though?Don't forget people vote with their feet and I have all of the same customers now that I had when I started all those years ago, plus many more.
As posted above, as long as the car is of an acceptable standard for the type of work you do, which in my case is 60% corporate, in an unmarked vehicle, it's really about reliability and safety of service.
Most people will choose the Merc as their car of choice to be driven in as opposed to the other German marques, and for this the 4 pot fits the bill perfectly.
In fact it is surprising the number of customers who ask if the car is petrol or diesel, it really is very hard to tell on the motorways.
Anyway it has worked for me and many others over the years, which is why it is mostly the car of choice.
Don't forget this is PH and a 4 pot diesel is not a PH friendly car to many on here who let their PH emotions cloud their business judgement.
Thing is anyone doing this as a business has to take running costs into consideration, fuel, maintenance, reliability issues all eat into profits.
A 4 pot Merc 220 diesel will be a damn site cheaper to run than a S320cdi or an Audi A8
For me personally I'd prefer to be wafted about in an S Class (not an old one mind) or an Audi A8 but I put this to people.
Is it better to use an E Class that is reliable and does 50mpg and make a living or take a gamble get a bigger and more expensive car to run and charge accordingly running the risk of losing custom because your not as competitive as the next man who runs that E Class?
To anyone here who uses these services I'll say this.
A 4 pot Merc 220 diesel will be a damn site cheaper to run than a S320cdi or an Audi A8
For me personally I'd prefer to be wafted about in an S Class (not an old one mind) or an Audi A8 but I put this to people.
Is it better to use an E Class that is reliable and does 50mpg and make a living or take a gamble get a bigger and more expensive car to run and charge accordingly running the risk of losing custom because your not as competitive as the next man who runs that E Class?
To anyone here who uses these services I'll say this.
Whichever had the nicest interior. We had an (undoubtedly lower range) S Class as a wedding car in 2004 and it was pretty crap inside - all shiny black leather and naff wood.
It also had a hard ride as do many German cars.
What about a Citroen C6 he said archly and provocatively....
Failing that, what about a Lexus LS or even a Skoda Superb.
It also had a hard ride as do many German cars.
What about a Citroen C6 he said archly and provocatively....
Failing that, what about a Lexus LS or even a Skoda Superb.
Edited by LuS1fer on Friday 5th October 09:25
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