Does bork potential put you off?
Discussion
I've been enjoying my r53 cooper s for the last 6 months, so naturally I'm thinking what's next.
While it's a fun and nippy car, it's made up my mind that I prefer a waftier car. And with a baby due in spring next year I feel having two baby friendly cars will be better than just having one family car. So there's a couple of good reasons why I'm looking again but the issue is budget.
My purchase budget would probably be around 3k. I could easily go and buy an Insignia or some sort of bland car, but that doesn't float my boat.
I've always been put off the cars I'd really like to try because of the risk of big bills. Things like:
- e53 X5 v8
- 7 series
- cls
- Mercedes ml
You get the idea. (I realise some may be a bit over budget)
Thing is, I don't do much more than 5k miles per year and we have the other half's newer car for shared and longer trips. My driving is mostly a 2 mile each way commute and short shopping trips.
I might just take the gamble on a high mile car suitable for the smoker barge thread and hope it lasts me without throwing any major wobbles.
Bit of a long post, I'm just typing as I think... Any suggestions?
While it's a fun and nippy car, it's made up my mind that I prefer a waftier car. And with a baby due in spring next year I feel having two baby friendly cars will be better than just having one family car. So there's a couple of good reasons why I'm looking again but the issue is budget.
My purchase budget would probably be around 3k. I could easily go and buy an Insignia or some sort of bland car, but that doesn't float my boat.
I've always been put off the cars I'd really like to try because of the risk of big bills. Things like:
- e53 X5 v8
- 7 series
- cls
- Mercedes ml
You get the idea. (I realise some may be a bit over budget)
Thing is, I don't do much more than 5k miles per year and we have the other half's newer car for shared and longer trips. My driving is mostly a 2 mile each way commute and short shopping trips.
I might just take the gamble on a high mile car suitable for the smoker barge thread and hope it lasts me without throwing any major wobbles.
Bit of a long post, I'm just typing as I think... Any suggestions?
georgeyboy12345 said:
I'd love to, but unfortunately someone has ruined it with an aftermarket phone thing. Therefore I don't want it 
I’ve toyed with them a few times but I’m always reminded by people that a car that is 100k new will still have 100k car sized running costs and bills, even if the car only costs me peanuts to buy, and run a mile.
May well be different if you’re handy with the spanner’s (and have time and space to work on it) or can afford to write it off when the first big bill crops up.
Let us know which one you buy
May well be different if you’re handy with the spanner’s (and have time and space to work on it) or can afford to write it off when the first big bill crops up.
Let us know which one you buy
Since I have an RX-7 and an AMG C55, apparently not !
I do think that a low annual mileage and having other means of getting about available both take the sting out of owning a high-maintenance car.
Having said that, if I were you I'd seriously consider a Lexus, you could have a nice big smooth I6 or V8 and a comfy, wafty car and yet reasonably expect to keep the bills to a manageable level.
For me I have to have a specific reason to buy a high-maintenance car; e.g. I sold a very cheap to run Nissan to get the RX-7, because the Nissan understeered on corner entry whereas the Mazda goes into a delicious four-wheel drift. A characteristic that's easily worth two engine rebuilds at five grand a pop, low 20s to the gallon, and endless patching up the complex, ageing electropneumatic sequential turbocharger system.
So I guess if I were you, my default position would be to buy a Lexus of some description, and I'd only shift my gaze to the higher-maintenance European alternatives if I had a specific motivation to do so, that I felt was worth the likely extra costs.
I do think that a low annual mileage and having other means of getting about available both take the sting out of owning a high-maintenance car.
Having said that, if I were you I'd seriously consider a Lexus, you could have a nice big smooth I6 or V8 and a comfy, wafty car and yet reasonably expect to keep the bills to a manageable level.
For me I have to have a specific reason to buy a high-maintenance car; e.g. I sold a very cheap to run Nissan to get the RX-7, because the Nissan understeered on corner entry whereas the Mazda goes into a delicious four-wheel drift. A characteristic that's easily worth two engine rebuilds at five grand a pop, low 20s to the gallon, and endless patching up the complex, ageing electropneumatic sequential turbocharger system.
So I guess if I were you, my default position would be to buy a Lexus of some description, and I'd only shift my gaze to the higher-maintenance European alternatives if I had a specific motivation to do so, that I felt was worth the likely extra costs.
Mercedes CL500
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109167...
Less bork but a worthwhile buy is the CLK500:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202111069...
I'm pretty sure this one even has Distronic (adaptive) cruise control fitted
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175013991241?hash=item2...
CLS 500 these & CL have bork potential but I wouldn't be put off buying them.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202110289...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109167...
Less bork but a worthwhile buy is the CLK500:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202111069...
I'm pretty sure this one even has Distronic (adaptive) cruise control fitted
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175013991241?hash=item2...
CLS 500 these & CL have bork potential but I wouldn't be put off buying them.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202110289...
Edited by ZX10R NIN on Monday 8th November 21:54
I've done the opposite, had two estate cars (E91 & V60) while we had our first child last year.
She is now 11 months old and found we used just one car all the time, the BMW, as we just kept the pram and car seat/isofix in it constantly, so much easier.
If we go away, I've purchased a roofbox, so so handy!
Unless you want to buy two lots of car systems, babies are expensive enough so didn't want to go down this route
Sold the Volvo, due to just not being used enough...and funnily enough I am looking at a Mini as a cheap runabout for me
She is now 11 months old and found we used just one car all the time, the BMW, as we just kept the pram and car seat/isofix in it constantly, so much easier.
If we go away, I've purchased a roofbox, so so handy!
Unless you want to buy two lots of car systems, babies are expensive enough so didn't want to go down this route
Sold the Volvo, due to just not being used enough...and funnily enough I am looking at a Mini as a cheap runabout for me
Edited by 757 on Monday 8th November 22:19
Not In the slightest, I have a 2007 Maserati QP as my daily and my wife has a 2008 L322 with 130k on the clock.
Both, combined, cost less than a new Ford Focus.
My Cooper S Mini was the worst car I’ve ever owned, I wouldn’t dream of buying an Insignia unless it was to drive off a cliff with me in it.
Pop over the the Barge 1-5 thread, large engines, cheap to buy expensive to run cars are the thread mantra, a lot of knowledge on what you can get that’ll be reasonably reliable.
For 5k miles per annum I’d be looking at a CLK350/500 post 2005 (iirc for the rust issues).
Both, combined, cost less than a new Ford Focus.
My Cooper S Mini was the worst car I’ve ever owned, I wouldn’t dream of buying an Insignia unless it was to drive off a cliff with me in it.
Pop over the the Barge 1-5 thread, large engines, cheap to buy expensive to run cars are the thread mantra, a lot of knowledge on what you can get that’ll be reasonably reliable.
For 5k miles per annum I’d be looking at a CLK350/500 post 2005 (iirc for the rust issues).
lord.vader said:
Not In the slightest, I have a 2007 Maserati QP as my daily and my wife has a 2008 L322 with 130k on the clock.
Both, combined, cost less than a new Ford Focus.
For 5k miles per annum I’d be looking at a CLK350/500 post 2005 (iirc for the rust issues).
You only have to be post 2003 for CLK's, all can suffer light rusting on the front of the rear arch due to getting peppered with stones but is a simple £200 fix.Both, combined, cost less than a new Ford Focus.
For 5k miles per annum I’d be looking at a CLK350/500 post 2005 (iirc for the rust issues).
Several years ago I bought a P38 RR for something like £2600. It had negligible service history and 174k on the clock. Ran if for a year then sold it and got an L322 V8 with 155k and again negligible history. That was around £6k and the cheapest advertised car I could find. Like you these weren't only cars though as I had company cars at the time.
My experience of high mileage cars is that bought carefully they can be perfectly reliable.
Something like a big engined wafter never really gets any wear doing a high mileage anyway, motorway munchers have it very easy indeed compared to cars that do short journeys or which are used in stop start city traffic.
A high mileage company owned vehicle with all the service stamps is usually way better than a low mileage car thats had a few owners. Also common problems with cars are usually highly magnified by a few owners, who will complain online when things go wrong, but who tend to outshout the many more people who didn't have those problems.
Something like a big engined wafter never really gets any wear doing a high mileage anyway, motorway munchers have it very easy indeed compared to cars that do short journeys or which are used in stop start city traffic.
A high mileage company owned vehicle with all the service stamps is usually way better than a low mileage car thats had a few owners. Also common problems with cars are usually highly magnified by a few owners, who will complain online when things go wrong, but who tend to outshout the many more people who didn't have those problems.
Elatino1 said:
Having been stung by BMWs in the past I wouldnt have another. Too much bork potential and too expensive to repair.
If you buy a 7 series for £3k and have to put another £3k into it in 3 years of ownership, its still significantly less than those spending £300pm to rent an A180 so depends on how you look at things.As with any car which was a fair whack brand new, it could have expensive repairs and you could be unlucky. I would wager most people who buy these types of cars do not get stung with bills for thousands of pounds, they likely own them for a few years and move them on but the risk is there.
We have always owned BMW's and have never been stung with a big repair. Many horror stories online about each one (Timing Chain on N47, Injectors on the N53 etc) but far less have these issues than the internet would have you believe.
If you do 10k miles a year, buying a 7 series for £3k with 150k miles on the clock is probably not a smart move, unless you know its had a fair amount of wear and tear maintenance done recently but if you are doing 1000 miles a year, its probably going to be fine. As cars age, they need more money spending on them than when they were a couple of years old in warranty but ultimately you are not paying £300pm in depreciation on a 10 year old car so you need to have a fund for repairs etc.
Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff