£10k GT

[Pvapour]

So im just getting out of a 2005 530d e60, liked it but got pretty fed up with solving regen / dpf issues.

So im leaning toward going back to a petrol after my first diesel experience and was hoping for some input as not looked at car market for such a long time

Things i liked about the bmw:

1) handling
2) 270hp was enough (chipped)
3) folding read seats
4) angel eyes (got a real thing for lights weirdly)
5) good stereo and comfort, stereo important.

Things not so keen on:

1) the afore mentioned dpf and general diesel dirtyness, cleaning egr, regens etc
2) always seemed to have some fault light on so more reliability in these areas would be cool


Certain things id like but realise difficult at 10k; bluetooth audio, adaptive cruise, cooling seats,mso really need anything 2008 >

Have given a fair thought to things & like:

1) CLS facelift 2009 (no folding seats available tho)
2) lexus gs450h love the hybrid econo bit tho not that important, Mark levinson gets big thumb up, no floding seats due to batts but adaptive cruise was std on early ones.
3) z4 later hardtop one, just about get a 3.0, just love the looks
4) jaguar xf facelift 2011, can only get diesel 3.0 for my cash tho great tech and looks though
5) audi all road 2009 facelift or any later a6

Im not brand loyal but prefer the premium brands, i see these as: infinity, lexus, volvo, vw, bmw merc, audi, jaguar etc

Im prety flexible on what is considered a GT as you can see with the Z4 (folding hardtop essential if this route) but comfort, reliability and toys are more important than handling, shove is rasobaly important, 230 hp that can be chipped is fine (no complaints with 530d)

Interested to hear about any stuff ive missed (even thought about a 928 tho reliability scared me off)

[ZX10R NIN]

If you want a true GT then it has to be a CL500

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

BMW 650i Sport

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Facelift

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

630i

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

CLS is okay but not a patch on the CL:

CLS350

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

CLS 500 5.5 version

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

CLK280/350/500/55

280 Sport

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

350 Avantgarde Sport (very rare model)

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

500 Sport

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

55

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Audi S5

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Audi S6

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

[Pvapour]

ZX10R NIN said:

If you want a true GT then it has to be a CL500

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

BMW 650i Sport

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Facelift

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

630i

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

CLS is okay but not a patch on the CL:

CLS350

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

CLS 500 5.5 version

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

CLK280/350/500/55

280 Sport

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

350 Avantgarde Sport (very rare model)

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

500 Sport

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

55

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Audi S5

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Audi S6

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Good suggestions, or thought they were until i looked at the CL, no idea why it wasnt on my radar, how much car for the money!

Will look into the details, love the idea of cooled seats and double glazing, folding seats possible? the distronic plus sounds cool to, i'm guessing bluetooth tech is only on the w216 and not the 215

Quite excited at getting that lot for 10k tbh, last car i had with all that was an SL55 but that was a nightmare for reliability (early 2005)

Had merc sorted their early 2000s reliability issues by 09?

Thanks for the info, looking hard to get a W216 for the 10k mind...

[ZX10R NIN]

The W216 is a much more reliable than the 215 electrics wise the hardware is nigh on bulletproof, just make sure the gearbox fluid has been changed.

The diff oil won't have been done but it's worth changing check & double check everything works as well as the usual thing like a decent test drive where everything is up to temp etc.

[Pvapour]

216 is a must then, shame they didnt do a 350 as dont really need all that power tbh, no folding seats like cls though, not a deal breaker but think theyre available on

So option to look for on a 500

Massage seats (dynamic contour?)
Heated and colled seats
Distronic +
Bluetooth audio?? Looks like maybe a module of some kind is needed

Will still look at cls i think because im not paying for an engine i dont need (been there) + seats fold, i like light duty diy shop trips occasionally as its a great road

Quite like the 650 as well, i have the carly app and hardware to play with BMW software so thats cool, were there massage cooled seats as an option to? No folding seats with the 6er either..

[ZX10R NIN]

The fuel difference between the 500 & 350 is a lot smaller than you think I think in reality it's between 4-7mpg difference depending on the car you choose also the 5.0 only has 30bhp more than the 3.5 but more torque the 5.5 has over 100bhp more is around 4mpg worse off I think the tradeoff is worth the extra fuel as you just don't work the V8 cars as hard due to the extra low down grunt which suits the GT type more IMO.

[Pvapour]

Not so much fuel cost really (tho interesting hoe little the difference is now) more that I'm paying more initial money for a 5.5 litre engine whereas the 350 cls I can get a later car due to its lower initial cost, all be it allot of that is due to a lower calibre car as well, not even looked at them yet!

It's soooo long since car browsing that I didn't even know there was a coupe e class! So that's on list as well now...

Sooo many cars even in just one brand!

[p4cks]

You've already said it - Z4 Coupe.

[Pvapour]

p4cks said:

You've already said it - Z4 Coupe.

Looks alone and envolvement probably but the interior, comfort and toys on others is hard to overlook!

[ZX10R NIN]

The Z4 is no GT especially ride wise, will it be a better steer? Yes, will it ever be a GT? No, you'll be lucky to get a petrol E Coupe for your budget.

I'd guess you'll have to up your budget by at least 3k.

[Pvapour]

Well i have cash so maybe at blackbushe, not done for a while, quite a fun thing to do, maybe later diesels arent quite so troublesome / cleaner?

Cls, cl, or e coupe is quite a broad net, folding seats swings it cls and e coupe direction, what narrows it further is the adaptive cruise and cooled seats, light interior and dont want black!

The other one ive been scanning at same time is the jaguar XF In in 4.0 s form but really love the 2011 facelifet in comparison, which 10k wont stretch to unless i drop to the 3.0 d, always want more! Adaptive and cooled seats standard on portfolio.

Will look at peoples views on the diesels relibility (i dont do short trips) maybe im being short sighted based on my first diesel experience...

[p1stonhead]

Pvapour said:

Not so much fuel cost really (tho interesting hoe little the difference is now) more that I'm paying more initial money for a 5.5 litre engine whereas the 350 cls I can get a later car due to its lower initial cost, all be it allot of that is due to a lower calibre car as well, not even looked at them yet!

It's soooo long since car browsing that I didn't even know there was a coupe e class! So that's on list as well now...

Sooo many cars even in just one brand!

My boss had a CL500 and I think it was in the garage more than in his posession! Perhaps he just had a lemon (although he bought it from new) but perhaps approach with caution!

[Pvapour]

p1stonhead said:

My boss had a CL500 and I think it was in the garage more than in his posession! Perhaps he just had a lemon (although he bought it from new) but perhaps approach with caution!

maybe this was the aforementioned model w215? last made in 2006, did it have the double headlights appearance?

I wouldn't touch this era either as our SL55 was similar for reliability, quite a well documented bad time for mercedes all round i think.

[p1stonhead]

Pvapour said:

p1stonhead said:

My boss had a CL500 and I think it was in the garage more than in his posession! Perhaps he just had a lemon (although he bought it from new) but perhaps approach with caution!

maybe this was the aforementioned model w215? last made in 2006, did it have the double headlights appearance?

I wouldn't touch this era either as our SL55 was similar for reliability, quite a well documented bad time for mercedes all round i think.

I think it was a 2008 so the newer version.

[Pvapour]

p1stonhead said:

I think it was a 2008 so the newer version.

i'll have a poke around on peoples experiences then...

[ZX10R NIN]

My dad is on his 2nd CL63 & my uncle has had his CL500 for four years with no issues between them.

[ChocolateFrog]

There's a nice designo CL55 that's been doing the rounds on eBay for months. It's 'sold' at £5k or just over but the owner is obviously not willing to let it go for that. Currently on a classified listing at £7900.

[Pvapour]

been there with powerful cars and i'm not that bothered anymore tbh so it'd be wasted on me, 250-300 hp is fine, that 55 would be the w215 also.

think i'm going to have to go diesel whichever model i go for, it seems theres quite a big leap been made in refinement of them since my 2004 e60, so fingers crossed.

so hunting down dervs in the following:

CLS
CL
E-Class Coupe
Jaguar XF-S

since looking at these i'm not drawn to Lexus anymore as they look so dated in comparison

[ZX10R NIN]

You won't get a CL they never made them with a diesel.

[Pvapour]

yeah, did know that, info overload learning on 4 different cars and there intricacies at the moment, I used to know everything about all models 10 years ago, everything has moved on so much but at least the info is easier to get to these days.

cheers for the help by the way