Petrolhead dilemma

[EC123]

Hello Guys,

Any advice please from my fellow petrolheads ( trust me I am one I ran a w204 c63 for just shy of 2 years ) although I now have 125 round trip commute to work once a week so I am looking for comfort, mpg and a more premium brand so no skoda s or anything please.

Budget 20-30k cash, tesla model dual motor, I just really cannot seem to argue with the value for money? I can get one for £15k If I look hard enough!

Or it could be a 430d, c300 but then I struggle to drive those without the drama, so I would get an M4 then I am opening my wallet right up as opposed to just charging the tesla. ( maintenance wise - M or AMG tax, plus Road tax etc the list goes on as we all know.

Just wondering what others would do .. not make the decision for me. Cheers!!

Edited by EC123 on Thursday 24th July 15:12

Edited by EC123 on Thursday 24th July 15:13

[Jamescrs]

Is the Tesla going to be your only car or do you have anything else? I think as a sole vehicle you will get bored with it very quickly

[EC123]

I have an slk55amg 2005 which is getting leggy but to answer your question no not my only car..

[ZX10R NIN]

If you want something with a nice interior & a comfortable ride then test drive a Genesis:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202506053...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202506123...

My personal opinion is tesla interiors aren't high quality, they've got better but I'd be buying an Ioniq5:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202502139...

EV6:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202507174...

Or Mach e over one:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504111...

There's mothing wrong with the Tesla I just feel these are better cars.

[CG2020UK]

Before my Tesla I had an M2 and G21 BMW 330e.

Tesla’s get a lot of hate on here by people who haven’t driven them yet or just think it’s cool to hate. Tesla however has a very high customer retention rate for a reason.

The Tesla’s personality is that’s it’s brilliantly efficient. It’s fast, comfortable, cheap to run and more practical than its rivals but it’s got no drama. You’ll certainly go faster on the road than your SLK but it will be rather undramatic.

I don’t love my Model 3 like I did my M2 and it’s not really a ‘me’ car but would say a Model 3 is the best daily driver you can buy especially at the used bargain prices.

Personally I’d go:
1. Full M car in the new M3 or M4
2. Tesla Model 3 LR/Performance
3. S4, M340i, C43
4. Every thing else

Only two cars I’d take over the Tesla Model 3 are the G90 M5 or latest M3.

[EC123]

Can’t afford that dude budget £30k max.

I might go 30k miles OG M2 for like 27.5k for a mint example, I have heard no horror stories? But again I lose the sheer reliability of the tesla by buying a 66 plate car….

I think the tesla is in top spot the VFM I can't look past as a commuter..

[Crumpet]

5000 miles per year of commuting isn’t really reason enough to put such a high priority on economy. You could do it in literally anything and the cost difference will be minimal, unless you go EV.

But, your two priorities there are mpg and comfort, and you’ll be hard pushed to beat an EV. With that budget I’d get a BMW i4 M50. My wife has an iX3 and it’s properly rapid if you want to cover ground quickly - the M50 will be nuts. The BMW tech is actually really good if you get all the driving assist features, something that’ll be handy for a long commute. EVs are brilliant for the day to day stuff but will be difficult to get excited about.

To be honest, you’re slap bang in ‘two car’ territory. You’re just going to be compromising everywhere if you just go for one car.

Personally I’d suck up the cost and get something semi-interesting like an M2/3/4/6 or an 840. Or maybe a Cayman. Or a Giulia Quad.

[davek_964]

Are Tesla's really that cheap to run?

I'd always assumed they would be - but saw a couple of posts recently (probably on here) - suggesting that they eat things like suspension - and although "fuel" costs are low, running costs were actually quite a bit more than you'd think.

[66HFM]

500 miles per month commute isn't much or for me wouldn't put me into that I must buy an electric or diesel car, 6k per annum, I'd want something that I could enjoy more, personally I'd go for something like a Golf GTi or Skoda Octavia VRS for circa £20k and then spend £10k on a toy!

[Chris_i8]

I recently drove a Model S P100D - much preferred the drive and especially the interior over a Model 3 or Y.

Ticks all the boxes for your usage case (and mine)...although not the 'correct' recommendation as we are on PH

It'll certainly be on my shortlist as/when I fancy a change and having poked around one I'd recommend going to look at one leaving any prejudice at home.

Chris

[EC123]

Crumpet said:

5000 miles per year of commuting isn t really reason enough to put such a high priority on economy. You could do it in literally anything and the cost difference will be minimal, unless you go EV.

But, your two priorities there are mpg and comfort, and you ll be hard pushed to beat an EV. With that budget I d get a BMW i4 M50. My wife has an iX3 and it s properly rapid if you want to cover ground quickly - the M50 will be nuts. The BMW tech is actually really good if you get all the driving assist features, something that ll be handy for a long commute. EVs are brilliant for the day to day stuff but will be difficult to get excited about.

To be honest, you re slap bang in two car territory. You re just going to be compromising everywhere if you just go for one car.

Personally I d suck up the cost and get something semi-interesting like an M2/3/4/6 or an 840. Or maybe a Cayman. Or a Giulia Quad.

No you right, 30mpg or 50mpg will not change my life. All though even though I can afford low mileage a 10 year old M / R/S / AMG car is exactly that but I have never ran a car that old our of warranty so maybe it won’’t be in / out of the shop replacing sensors and turbos…. Especially as I am buying cash feels wasted on the Tesla! Argh

[EC123]

66HFM said:

500 miles per month commute isn't much or for me wouldn't put me into that I must buy an electric or diesel car, 6k per annum, I'd want something that I could enjoy more, personally I'd go for something like a Golf GTi or Skoda Octavia VRS for circa £20k and then spend £10k on a toy!

Thank you no but no offence £20k on a GTI is waste in my opinion and I only want ‘ premium brands ‘ so as said so Skodas or anything please.

Maybe a golf r? S3? Do they both still get nicked every 2 seconds around the UK?( made up figure)

[TheDrownedApe]

EC123 said:

Thank you no but no offence £20k on a GTI is waste in my opinion and I only want premium brands so as said so Skodas or anything please.

Maybe a golf r? S3? Do they both still get nicked every 2 seconds around the UK?( made up figure)

Interesting that you think Tesla is a premium brand. However I agree it's the obvious choice; especially with your other motor.

[Belle427]

I thought i would never say this but it is hard to look past a Tesla for your usage really, maybe something like a 435d may be suitable too as a good all round car that is not ruinous to run, maybe even a 340i if you could find one.

[cerb4.5lee]

I don't like the way they look inside or out, but if you want "cheap to run"...then surely the Tesla is difficult to beat as a daily?

I remember counting 38 of them on just 1 journey once, so they definitely seem to be the default cheap to run car to go to I reckon.

[ZX10R NIN]

EC123 said:

No you right, 30mpg or 50mpg will not change my life. All though even though I can afford low mileage a 10 year old M / R/S / AMG car is exactly that but I have never ran a car that old our of warranty so maybe it won t be in / out of the shop replacing sensors and turbos . Especially as I am buying cash feels wasted on the Tesla! Argh

You can always go for an N/A performance car it (unless you're unlucky most turbo cars are fine) will lessen the chances of maintenance issues & you can get some great cars for your budget.

RC F, these are a car that grows on you & mechanically are pretty much bulletproof:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504271...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202507034...

C63:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202507244...

Coupe:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202507214...

[EC123]

Thanks mate but I already did the w2904 6.2 thing for 2 years and your showing me high mileage 10 and older yesr cars when I can get a 23 plate model 3 for the same…….

Will ok into the 340i! I can’t drive a diesel can’t get past the noises I have decided.

Premium Tesla as compared to an EV from say Peugeot I should have said.

I can’t get past basically having a brand new car which are obviously decent cars ( Tesla ) for the same money, even man maths are not working at all this time!

Cheers fella’s.

Levels of premium to everything, a BMW is not premium to a Ferrari….

[AddyT.]

Had a Mk7 Golf R as my second car for five years and no ones attempted to steal it. Wife has a 7.5 R and hers has been fine too. S3’s are nicer inside but the Golf is better to drive.

Just having a think about other suggestions but thought I’d answer your question about the Golf in the meantime

[FakeCarGuy]

Im in a similar position mate. Ultimately I think I will end up in a 2017/2018 340i Auto simply because it’s the lowest price car that ticks all of my boxes:

- Great infotainment (rotary controller + touchscreen, and physical buttons for everything else - good layout across the board, incredibly ergonomical and logical)

- Powerful, responsive engine that can take abuse every day and is genuinely fast. Plenty of aftermarket support too.

- Seats 4 full-size adults relatively comfortably and has space for a good amount of luggage. Achieves this all whilst barely being much bigger or heavier than the average hot hatch (slightly longer, but only weighs ~1550kg.

- Better NVH / comfort / stability / high-speed cruising compared to hot hatch.

- Great dynamic setup, with good out of the box handling and driving character. (Weight distribution/polar moment of inertia).

- Well-engineered (brakes, suspension, chassis, drive-line, engine, transmission all balanced and no obvious weak-links).

- Looks good.

- Very efficient for what it is capable of. 30+mpg quite easily and realistically on the motorway. Capable of 40 if you try. Keeps running costs low in comparison to other petrol cars with similar performance (lower road tax than those kinds of cars too).

My only gripe is that i really wish I didn’t have to spend £20,000 to finally tick all of my boxes - even if I can ‘afford it’. And I’m just really started to resent myself for not being able to be happy with ‘less car’.

[EC123]

Me too but how do you mean? You can get an an M4 for £cash too? Just curious by what you mean that’s all