Help not a clue??
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macp

Original Poster:

4,822 posts

211 months

Sunday 30th September 2012
quotequote all
Morning all

Wondering if you can help because we havent got a bleedin clue.We have been going round and round for weeks.We now think an estate might be the way to go as we have two small mutts and the wife needs the space for all her therapy equipment,chair etc.We could probably scrape £3k together without having to go for a loan.I spotted a 6yr old V70 manual D5 with 200k on the clock which looks superb and im told that mileage is nothing for one of these.But swmbo will be the main user and not all of her journeys are long as she drives to several local clinics and local home visits.So now im thinking a diesel wouldnt be a good idea ?? DOH!! I should point out it will be the main family car though.

And off we go again confused

Budget is the biggest problem here folks as I think we have champagne tastes and light ale pockets.Had we the money we would probably just go out and buy an immaculate estate in the spec we want.


CampDavid

9,145 posts

226 months

Sunday 30th September 2012
quotequote all
E39 BMW 5 series would be ideal at that budget

AJS-

15,366 posts

264 months

Sunday 30th September 2012
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200k is a lot for anything

hornetrider

63,161 posts

233 months

davepoth

29,395 posts

227 months

Sunday 30th September 2012
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What mileage are you looking at doing?

I don't know how you feel about them, but Rover 75/MG ZT-Ts really do offer a lot of car for the money at the minute. £3k will get you into one of the very last cars (54 reg) on a low mileage (60k) with all of the toys. And there were quite a lot of toys available.

macp

Original Poster:

4,822 posts

211 months

Sunday 30th September 2012
quotequote all
hornetrider said:
Thanks liking that pure class but I think I would rather a manual.

macp

Original Poster:

4,822 posts

211 months

Sunday 30th September 2012
quotequote all
davepoth said:
What mileage are you looking at doing?

I don't know how you feel about them, but Rover 75/MG ZT-Ts really do offer a lot of car for the money at the minute. £3k will get you into one of the very last cars (54 reg) on a low mileage (60k) with all of the toys. And there were quite a lot of toys available.
I love the look of the Rover estate so much classier looking than the saloon in my opinion but not overly impressed with the interior quality.I would guess we will cover about 12k per year.

bimsb6

8,724 posts

249 months

Sunday 30th September 2012
quotequote all
macp said:
Thanks liking that pure class but I think I would rather a manual.
That looks a lot of car for the money.

macp

Original Poster:

4,822 posts

211 months

Sunday 30th September 2012
quotequote all
bimsb6 said:
macp said:
Thanks liking that pure class but I think I would rather a manual.
That looks a lot of car for the money.
Agreed but been a little burnt by autos in the past.Sorry all should have made that a little more clear.About the only thing I am fairly clear about though.

This is a chunk of car for the money
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...

Edited by macp on Sunday 30th September 12:56

Spanna

3,737 posts

204 months

Sunday 30th September 2012
quotequote all
macp said:
I love the look of the Rover estate so much classier looking than the saloon in my opinion but not overly impressed with the interior quality.I would guess we will cover about 12k per year.
If you can find one that was originally specced up with the full leathers, it's almost as comfortable a barge as you can get with reasonable running costs, especially at this price.

rallycross

13,731 posts

265 months

Sunday 30th September 2012
quotequote all
Saab 9-5 would be a god choice and hold back £500 of your budget to cover any fixes it might need after you've bought it.

Amazing value lots of toys and huge rear load area.

Nigel Worc's

8,121 posts

216 months

Sunday 30th September 2012
quotequote all
macp said:
Agreed but been a little burnt by autos in the past.Sorry all should have made that a little more clear.About the only thing I am fairly clear about though.
Fairy nuff and all that.

I have an E39 auto (BMW 5 series, but mines the saloon).

I bought it for £2,700.00, just over two years ago, it had 81,000 miles on the clock, and I paid top dollar for it, because it was superb, and a two owner car, full history, etc etc.

I've moved it onto 156,000 miles now, the auto gearbox on these cars is the least of your worries, my mate had the one in his 735i rebuilt for £1,000.00, three years ago now, and it has been no issue since.

All of these cars have "issues" sadly, the E39 5 series (which is the one in your price bracket), can have electrical issues

Be aware that Volvo's, BMW's etc are very popular for a reason, they are superb cars, and have fantastic, usually lowish cost, backup.

Mercs are jolly good too, but at the rough age you're looking at, they had terrible rust issues.

Rover 75 ..... arghhhhh, you're worried about an auto box, yet not discounting these truly terrible cars, they went bust for a reason, no matter how good they look, and they do, and they drive nicely, they are utter utter utter crap, ESPECIALLY the 1.8 litre petrol one.

I'm like you, on a tight budget, and I don't believe in buying cars on credit, and I'm on my 4th 5 series (and i do a lot of miles, so that tells you a story), I've also had Volvo's, they aren't actually as nice as BMW's (in my opinion), but are a super car anyway.

I've never had an Audi, but know people who have, and they speak nicely of them.

Please do a lot if research on whatever make you settle on first, as at our budget, you need to know what issues to look for.

firman

1,407 posts

221 months

Sunday 30th September 2012
quotequote all
macp said:
bimsb6 said:
macp said:
Thanks liking that pure class but I think I would rather a manual.
That looks a lot of car for the money.
Agreed but been a little burnt by autos in the past.Sorry all should have made that a little more clear.About the only thing I am fairly clear about though.

This is a chunk of car for the money
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...

Edited by macp on Sunday 30th September 12:56
It's got 224,000 miles on it man. That is as much a potential money pit as anything! As above I would be looking at the auto posted above or something a lot less leggy.

hornetrider

63,161 posts

233 months

Sunday 30th September 2012
quotequote all
224k!! yikes

th85

177 posts

175 months

Sunday 30th September 2012
quotequote all
Awaiting a flaming for this but these are cheap, I know they aren't perfect for reliability but they drive well, far less miles, practical and you'd save some cash in case it did go wrong over the German rivals.

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...

hornetrider

63,161 posts

233 months

macp

Original Poster:

4,822 posts

211 months

Sunday 30th September 2012
quotequote all
Nigel Worc's said:
macp said:
Agreed but been a little burnt by autos in the past.Sorry all should have made that a little more clear.About the only thing I am fairly clear about though.
Fairy nuff and all that.

I have an E39 auto (BMW 5 series, but mines the saloon).

I bought it for £2,700.00, just over two years ago, it had 81,000 miles on the clock, and I paid top dollar for it, because it was superb, and a two owner car, full history, etc etc.

I've moved it onto 156,000 miles now, the auto gearbox on these cars is the least of your worries, my mate had the one in his 735i rebuilt for £1,000.00, three years ago now, and it has been no issue since.

All of these cars have "issues" sadly, the E39 5 series (which is the one in your price bracket), can have electrical issues

Be aware that Volvo's, BMW's etc are very popular for a reason, they are superb cars, and have fantastic, usually lowish cost, backup.

Mercs are jolly good too, but at the rough age you're looking at, they had terrible rust issues.

Rover 75 ..... arghhhhh, you're worried about an auto box, yet not discounting these truly terrible cars, they went bust for a reason, no matter how good they look, and they do, and they drive nicely, they are utter utter utter crap, ESPECIALLY the 1.8 litre petrol one.

I'm like you, on a tight budget, and I don't believe in buying cars on credit, and I'm on my 4th 5 series (and i do a lot of miles, so that tells you a story), I've also had Volvo's, they aren't actually as nice as BMW's (in my opinion), but are a super car anyway.

I've never had an Audi, but know people who have, and they speak nicely of them.

Please do a lot if research on whatever make you settle on first, as at our budget, you need to know what issues to look for.
Excellent post and very fair point re the Rover.So it seems diesel is being discounted by most people ?

V8A*ndy

3,697 posts

219 months

Sunday 30th September 2012
quotequote all
C5 estate....

Not great to drive but very comfy, frugal and lots of space.

macp

Original Poster:

4,822 posts

211 months

Sunday 30th September 2012
quotequote all
hornetrider said:
Very nice indeed and doing some sums I had convinced myself that petrol would only cost a little more to run but.......confused

Nigel Worc's

8,121 posts

216 months

Sunday 30th September 2012
quotequote all
macp said:
Excellent post and very fair point re the Rover.So it seems diesel is being discounted by most people ?
I do a lot of miles, and I buy second hand cars like yourself, and despite all the claims about diesel, I keep well away from them.

They will do more miles to the gallon generally, but you don't need much to go wrong to negate that benefit, and they sound ste.

Swirl flaps (BMW issue), turbo's, injectors, lift pumps, dual mass fly wheels, I have mechanic friends, I see what they deal with day in day out, and the cost involved, brand new and under warranty, why not of that's what you want, at the age you and I have cars, I would only really even consider Volvo or Merc diesels, preferably merc, and even then, I aint keen, it would have to be a truly exceptional car.