1 2 or 3?

[Mirinjawbro]

Morning all

have made a few threads but still cannot make up my mind and looking for some advice.

so this isnt too boring a read the main point is i need something automatic and comfortable as now been called back to work (plus back is getting worse ) its over 100 miles each way twice a week. then will barely be used..



1. trade in current car with a loss of (from quotes) - 3k or so and add it onto something like a 520d . £6-£8k plus the 3k negative for a much worse mile muncher

2. buy something half decent for 15-20k and add the negative an HP the lot (all quotes over 5 years are over £450 a month with the negative)

3. buy something i can PCP while adding negative. £5-550 ish a month.


i have only just moved and sorted the house so to buy out right just cannot happen as i do not have the money.


i am due back to work next week so need it this weekend ideally.

bracket 1 - 520d / q7
bracket 2 - older s6? rs5
bracket 3 - 540i?

the problem is i like sound / speed and do not want to buy a 1.6 2 pot so it has to at least be something i do not change again in 2 months. (except bracket 1)

ive decided on a car 50 times and then changed my mind and cancelled the viewing

sorry for another thread but losing my mind

thanks

[Mirinjawbro]

very good point

i can comfortably afford all options

id love option 3 obviously, but paying £500 a month is still alot and almost my mortgage.

thanks

[andburg]

speak to your HR department and push and get some reasonable changes made to accommodate your health issues - permanent home working, working from a business location closer to home

[Mirinjawbro]

the job was originally perm work from home.

i am looking but could take a while if unlucky.

good news is i can claim mileage.

[J1990]

Mirinjawbro said:

the job was originally perm work from home.

i am looking but could take a while if unlucky.

good news is i can claim mileage.

I'd be careful with the mileage claim. If home working is deemed as your 'permanent work address' and you just have to go to the office occasionally then I believe you can reclaim mileage on the basis of the office being a 'temporary workplace'. However, if you're having to go to the office two days a week consistently then I'm not sure that will qualify as a temporary workplace. I'm not saying that you (or your employer) is wrong, but it would be annoying to find out you were being paid a benefit that then turns out to be taxable and you hadn't accounted for it.

For your original question, maybe I'm blind but I can't see any details on your current vehicle? For 4x 100mile journeys I don't think I'd be buying a new car unless I had an absolute bone shaker of a vehicle, in which case I'd pick up something like a F31 320D for £7-8k and let it eat up the miles.

[andburg]

Mirinjawbro said:

the job was originally perm work from home.

i am looking but could take a while if unlucky.

good news is i can claim mileage.

I see, i assume you've not been there long enough to refuse and have redundancy be a worthwhile option?

Could be worth a chat with a lawyer/ACAS. I do not feel its reasonable to request an employee who is contractually home based and has health issues to commute.

[Mirinjawbro]

current car

manual 987 boxster. - too low - manaul in traffic will be a nightmare - also miss speed of older cars.

im a contractor so not sure how it would work either

thanks

[J1990]

If you're employed via your own limited company then I'd be tempted to get a performance electric (M3P or similar?) and take advantage of the tax savings and low BIK. I'm currently trying to find a new role outside of IR35 and will be heading electric once that's secured, the savings are just too significant to overlook.

Obviously that assumes you're outside of IR35 and taking home a nice day rate for your contracting. If either of those aren't the case then I guess I'd stick with the F31 320d and enjoy some cheap motoring.

[ninjag]

Mirinjawbro said:

Morning all
its over 100 miles each way twice a week. then will barely be used..

Four journeys at 100 miles every week sounds like diesel workhorse territory to me? And being 20k+ miles per year means a big fuel bill if you get something petrol and fast.


BMW 520d would be a nice place to sit and if you get one with adaptive cruise and ideally a good sound system then that should be a nice relaxing commute. Maybe something like this?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206046...

Or for more performance maybe look at the 530d like this one, although higher miles:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207047...


Obviously check the MOT history etc of any car first.

[Mirinjawbro]

thanks all.

tempted by a 640d.

think a diesel even now you are correct is needed.

[HelldogBE]

Mirinjawbro said:

thanks all.

tempted by a 640d.

think a diesel even now you are correct is needed.

They are really great! With an engine tune and gearbox remap they can keep up with the hottest diesel barges out right now.
You can map the gearbox yourself with a phone and a cable. As well as coding small things (just ticking boxes basically) to disable stuff like start-stop, seatbelts gongs or headlight washers.

Drive an F11 530d Xdrive myself and the torque and sound is great compared to a x20d.

Do note the following affect MPG:
- 30d vs 20d (3l vs 2l pumping losses)
- 35/40 vs 30d (second turbo, slightly shorter final drive)
- xdrive vs rwd

Options wise:
VDC isn't really worth it to me, as the damper replacement is very expensive and I generally don't use the softer (get seasick) or harder (doesn't improve roadholding) settings.
Adaptive drive is VDC + active rollbars and is supposed to be the holy grail but adds another layer of complexity as it has a second battery to achieve 24V to power the motors.

The Profi Nav is generally outdated and a phone mount with Waze/Google Maps works better. Retrofitting carplay/android stuff is possible, but it will use Aux audio-in and a separate microphone so it won't be OEM-quality.

HUD & active cruise are the things I use most, as well as the Aux heater in winter. Blind spot monitoring works well.
Harman Kardon sound system is nice, I hear the regular sound systems are not that great. The adaptive headlights (xenon in my case) work really well.

Optional extra's: LED headlights have a distinct signature giving the car some extra flair. The 6WB instrument cluster is a display compared to analog gauges. To be honest these are purely aesthatetic and don't really add functionality, especially if you already have the HUD you will barely look at the rest of the instrument cluster.

Side view camera's are a great help with the long nose if you have to pull out of a side street with no view.

Almost forgot I also have cooled seats. Not sure if they are that great, but the oyster leather helps keep things cool.

There's been a recall on the EGR cooler. If it uses coolant there are tiny cracks in the EGR cooler mixing water with the air and causing a firehazard in the plastic inlet manifold downstream if left untreated. The N57 have been known to fail on the timing chain, so be on the lookout for a rattle although it's not nearly as bad as on the 4-cylinders it does use the same chain. The twin turbo's (35/40d) are also more sensitive to turbo failure and spinning rod bearings but this might have more to do with these being tuned or driven hard. Generally pretty low odds on most of this, aside from the EGR thing.
Me personally I'd avoid Xdrive if you don't need the 4*4. It can be great to be able to boot on a wet junction, but the downside is the system is senstivie to different wheel circumference. So tyres ideally need to be matched and changed at the same time which is impossible if you have different width's front & rear making it impossible to swap front & back halfway.

Edited by HelldogBE on Wednesday 6th July 14:01

[ChocolateFrog]

The 4.2TDI in the A8 is a pretty sweet diesel engine.

35mpg and plenty of power and torque for easy wafting and overtaking.

Although if you can claim fuel and won't use it for much else why not get a big petrol engined barge?

[Mirinjawbro]

thanks for that helldog. a remap would see not far of 400 hp and 750nm (have seen more). that must move until 70 +

i have been also been looking at 4.0 s6 etc aswell.

ideally id try and do 2 days in a row and stay overnight. so thats just 220 ish miles a week with work.

i

[ZX10R NIN]

Mirinjawbro said:

Morning all

have made a few threads but still cannot make up my mind and looking for some advice.

so this isnt too boring a read the main point is i need something automatic and comfortable as now been called back to work (plus back is getting worse ) its over 100 miles each way twice a week. then will barely be used..



1. trade in current car with a loss of (from quotes) - 3k or so and add it onto something like a 520d . £6-£8k plus the 3k negative for a much worse mile muncher

2. buy something half decent for 15-20k and add the negative an HP the lot (all quotes over 5 years are over £450 a month with the negative)

3. buy something i can PCP while adding negative. £5-550 ish a month.


i have only just moved and sorted the house so to buy out right just cannot happen as i do not have the money.


i am due back to work next week so need it this weekend ideally.

bracket 1 - 520d / q7
bracket 2 - older s6? rs5
bracket 3 - 540i?

the problem is i like sound / speed and do not want to buy a 1.6 2 pot so it has to at least be something i do not change again in 2 months. (except bracket 1)

ive decided on a car 50 times and then changed my mind and cancelled the viewing

sorry for another thread but losing my mind

thanks

It sound like a 3.0d is what'll work for you & you have a nice amount of options.

E350cdi 255:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206176...

535d M Sport 310:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203013...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205165...

530d M Sport Plus 255:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202201061...

A6 272:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205236...