Real world best Value-for-Money car you can buy

[38911]

Assuming budget is irrelevant, but "value for money" is important, and assume the following criteria are important to you :"

1. Practical car, able to transport 5 in comfort plus luggage.
2. Needs to be a nice car to drive. So no low-power eco-engine stuff.
3. Needs to look "nice" and carry the right brand. Whilst this is very subjective, assume it needs to be able to not look out of place pulling up outside a nice restaurant. So no Skoda, Dacia, Ford, Vauxhall, Seat, etc.
4. Needs to be reasonably reliable.
5. "Private" or ageless plates are allowed. e.g. an Audi B9 A4 Avant which can be had for £14k with low mileage, add a decent plate for £1k, and you've got a current shape, "premium brand" car which ticks all the boxes.....

but what else?

[mike9009]

Value for money?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202007221...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202006160...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008082...

[PrinceRupert]

mike9009 said:

Value for money?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202007221...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202006160...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008082...

4k for a 75 is laughable especially a 1.8

[mickyh7]

A decent plate for a Grand?
Help, I've been doing this wrong!

[mickyh7]

mike9009 said:

Value for money?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202007221...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202006160...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008082...

Been on the Crack Pipe tonight Mike?

[samoht]

The best Value for Money car is a McLaren F1, because it ends up costing the owner less than nothing, you literally end up with more money than you started with.

[samoht]

Leaving out unobtainable exotica though, on the face of your criteria I'd go for a classic like this. £16k, top notch space and comfort, classy, not bad to drive either
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008092...

[38911]

mike9009 said:

Value for money?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202007221...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202006160...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008082...

I don't think you read the brief.

I'd rather pull up outside an expensive restuarant in an Uber, than any of those lunps of junk.

[38911]

samoht said:

The best Value for Money car is a McLaren F1, because it ends up costing the owner less than nothing, you literally end up with more money than you started with.

Good shout. but only if you ignore real-world dynamics that (a) the only McF1s that sell below top dollar, are sold below top dollar for a reason - and (b) the sums involed are sufficiently large that you have to factor in the loss of potential investment that could otherwise be made with the money.

[38911]

mickyh7 said:

A decent plate for a Grand?
Help, I've been doing this wrong!

I don't know if you're doing it wrong, as I dont know what you're hoping to achieve.

For me, I have just bought a 5 digit plate (xxxnn) where xxx = my initials and yy=my year of birth, which I have just bought for 970 quid. It's (a) ageless and (b) meaningful to me. It's perfect.

And in the context of this thread, it fits the bill perfectly.

What did you think I meant ???

[38911]

samoht said:

Leaving out unobtainable exotica though, on the face of your criteria I'd go for a classic like this. £16k, top notch space and comfort, classy, not bad to drive either
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008092...

Hmm, a genuine good call. Not sure about the "reliable" criteria, and I'm dubious about the "good to drive" - but certainly cuts it on the restaurant car park, expecially with a plate on it.

[DoubleD]

samoht said:

The best Value for Money car is a McLaren F1, because it ends up costing the owner less than nothing, you literally end up with more money than you started with.

You could maybe fit 5 in, but they wont be comfortable.

[38911]

mickyh7 said:

5 digits is a Council House Door Number.
Be quiet down there.

Well I'm pretty happy with initials+year of birth. And it's my thread. So let's assume £1k for a such a plate is the intended sweet spot.

If you want to pretend to be billy big balls, take it elsewhere. Perhaps where people are more easily impressed.

tt.

[samoht]

If you're looking for both 5 people plus luggage and good to drive, that sounds like a sports/super-saloon to me. Not cheap at £26k, but could hold that value:

[38911]

samoht said:

If you're looking for both 5 people plus luggage and good to drive, that sounds like a sports/super-saloon to me. Not cheap at £26k, but could hold that value:

Good call.

£26k though, and how old?!

[DoubleD]

Last few posts.......bit sad

[samoht]

This Quattroporte is £14.5k with the later ZF automatic, but you can spend as little as ten grand on one

Classy, capacious, capable on A and B roads.

Alternatively for £14k, this is a current shape, top of the range Jag 5.0

Supercharged LWB, £14.5k

Not that special, but one could imagine someone wealthy and/or well-connected stepping out of the back of one of these.

For 33k, this Aston will have people thinking you're super-wealthy

Not the most spacious in the rear, but... V12!

[hyphen]

samoht said:

The best Value for Money car is a McLaren F1, because it ends up costing the owner less than nothing, you literally end up with more money than you started with.

If you sell it then it may cost nothing overall, but whilst you own it, it doesn't pay annual dividends I don't think . And so you need to find the ££££ for servicing and ££££ for insurance and £££ for fuel.

And you can't just leave a car worth that much parked anywhere so you need a second car too, and £££ hotels with secure parking anytime you travel.

[ZX10R NIN]

If you can live with four seats then I think it's hard to beat the Mercedes CL500 in either 5.5 N/A form or 4.7TT form.

11k will get you a nice (with the AMG kit I don't think they look good without it) 5.5 put the private plate & your away.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008112...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202006099...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202007161...

The 4.7TT starts from 14k for a nice one & the mild facelift freshens them up also taking the grille off removing the chrome & getting the silver part painted black (by a Bodyshop £100 ) then putting it all back together makes the car look better to imo, look at the second link below to see what I mean.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202001276...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008042...

The 500's are reliable parts are pretty reasonable as there's no AMG tax.

If you need five seats it's hard to look past the XJ although it's had some facelifts the shape is still current you also get a great choice of engines add the obligatory private plate & you have a vfm set of wheels:

5.0 N/A V8 Portfolio 12k

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202007241...

Supercharged V6 16k

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202007010...

3.0 diesel Portfolio starting from 11k

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202006170...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202002247...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202007181...

Despite being around for a while the XJ is still distinctive enough to make me take a second look.

[mike9009]

mickyh7 said:

mike9009 said:

Value for money?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202007221...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202006160...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008082...

Been on the Crack Pipe tonight Mike?

I am probably the wrong demographic for this request. I would happily turn up at Monte Carlo in any of those or a Prezzo in Tamworth.

Other than that debatable and subjective point, I think they would meet all the other criteria.

I suspect the OP requirements are to try and pull the wool over punters eyes by having a de-badged, private plated car to make him appear richer than he really is. hence why my suggestions are perhaps unsuitable....