£25k, 25k pa, What the hell do I buy?

[stevemcs]

How about something french ?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106103...

Or something Japanese - Subaru even put manufacturers warranties on these with 100k on the clock

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/201908211...

[stevemcs]

Or this and a roof rack

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106143...

[lewisf182]

Based on your criteria I would 100% go for a 335i/m135i even. You’ll get one with an approved warranty you can keep ticking over once it’s run out too. Will hold value even with high mileage compared to more mundane stuff and will get you 40mpg. Perfect for the odd B road blast when possible too.

[PH User]

stevemcs said:

A Volvo v60 is what you need, or buy another shed and a lotus Elise

Yep, something and a British light weight.

Why spend £25k on something dull?!

[BDKM]

Forester XT
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105182...

RAV 4

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106083...

Edge

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106043...

[Matt Clay]

Kia Stinger

[OPC100]

Lexus RC

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106013...

And one of these.

https://www.tweekscycles.com/uk/seasucker-mini-bom...

Good reliability, it will last and if you get Premier spec, you get the Mark Levinson stereo too.

[Belle427]

330/335d Touring is hard to beat.

[Wadaboo]

Mammasaid said:

stevemcs said:

A Volvo v60 is what you need, or buy another shed and a lotus Elise

The only thing that the V60 lacks is Pilot Assist which if you're doing 25k is a boon.

That's incorrect. I was going to mention my car which I've been thinking of selling because it practically fits every criteria:

V60 D4 polestar optimised
Grey
Zenium pack (sunroof basically)
Intellisafe pack (all the self parking, pilot assist/camera stuff. 360 birds eye view camera is very nice when parking)
HK audio option
memory electric Leather heated seats

It's a lovely car, not particularly sporty but still got a turn of pace. It served me well for 1.5 years doing 30k pa, but now working from home so do 5k pa if that

Understand it's not the last word in excitement, but does tick a lot of boxes

[Mammasaid]

I don't disagree you can get it as an option, but it is optional whereas on the V90 it's standard.

[D_T_W]

stevemcs said:

How about something french ?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106103...

Or something Japanese - Subaru even put manufacturers warranties on these with 100k on the clock

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/201908211...

I hate that I like them, but they don't really fill the fun bit of what I'm after

stevemcs said:

Or this and a roof rack

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106143...

I'm sure it's lovely, but as a daily driver to cover 25k I think the fuel bill alone would frighten me

lewisf182 said:

Based on your criteria I would 100% go for a 335i/m135i even. You’ll get one with an approved warranty you can keep ticking over once it’s run out too. Will hold value even with high mileage compared to more mundane stuff and will get you 40mpg. Perfect for the odd B road blast when possible too.

If I was going down this route I'd probably go for the *40i, newer model and engine, better fuel economy but every time I look at them I just remember the guy at work with a 17 plate 330d and the fact it's been recovered 3 times in the last year because it keeps breaking

PH User said:

stevemcs said:

A Volvo v60 is what you need, or buy another shed and a lotus Elise

Yep, something and a British light weight.

Why spend £25k on something dull?!

I have a motorbike if I want to go crazy, and I'm not running two cars. I don't have a garage to keep a second car in, I just need one that'll do everything

[D_T_W]

BDKM said:

Forester XT
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105182...

RAV 4

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106083...

Edge

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106043...

Still lacking the fun part, appreciate they're good cars but not for me

OPC100 said:

Lexus RC

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106013...

And one of these.

https://www.tweekscycles.com/uk/seasucker-mini-bom...

Good reliability, it will last and if you get Premier spec, you get the Mark Levinson stereo too.

I was parked next to a blue one with the white interior, it's a lovely thing to look at in the flesh but what are they like to drive?

Belle427 said:

330/335d Touring is hard to beat.

I know, it's the most obvious solution

[D_T_W]

I should add, my current list of candidates was this

Mercedes E350d
335D Touring
340i Touring
M140i
Golf R Estate
Golf GTI Clubsport Edition 40
Skoda Octavia VRS 245 Estate
Skoda Superb 280 Estate
Hyundai I30 N Performance
Volvo S/V60 T5
Passat BiTDi Estate

Plus some random SUV/4x4 stuff that I probably wouldn't buy but Ive looked at anyway.

It's a daily driver at the end of the day, I'm fortunate that I'm single with no kids to worry about so I can be pretty flexible with my choices, but if I'm owning it for the next 5-7 years and banging 150k onto it I have to love it otherwise I'm just back into the cycle of selling it after year, taking a loss and buying something else.

[Wagonwheel555]

D_T_W said:

I should add, my current list of candidates was this

Mercedes E350d
335D Touring
340i Touring
M140i
Golf R Estate
Golf GTI Clubsport Edition 40
Skoda Octavia VRS 245 Estate
Skoda Superb 280 Estate
Hyundai I30 N Performance
Volvo S/V60 T5
Passat BiTDi Estate

Plus some random SUV/4x4 stuff that I probably wouldn't buy but Ive looked at anyway.

It's a daily driver at the end of the day, I'm fortunate that I'm single with no kids to worry about so I can be pretty flexible with my choices, but if I'm owning it for the next 5-7 years and banging 150k onto it I have to love it otherwise I'm just back into the cycle of selling it after year, taking a loss and buying something else.

Whatever you buy, at 25k miles a year its going to depreciate fairly quickly. Might be worth looking at their real world MPG each and seeing if the different in fuel costs does bother you between petrol/diesel. Modern petrols can do 40-45mpg on a motorway run so its not as clear cut as it used to be.

Out of that list, I would be going 340i touring if you can find one. They are not plentiful in supply and if you have specific requirements in terms of spec, you might be looking for a while. In terms of reseale in X years time, a 340i touring is going to be the most desirable out of all of those I would say.

[ZX10R NIN]

D_T_W said:

Will be looking to replace my shed shortly as it's marching on toward 150k and as some of the originally minor issues are starting to become major ones it's looking like it's time to get shot and move on.

Having saved my arse off for the last couple of years, I'd like to treat myself to something newer and nicer. Plan would be to buy it and run it until it dies. I typically cover around 25k a year, mostly motorway miles commuting to work with the odd 5/600 mile trip every couple of months. That mileage may increase to about 30k in the next 18 months though.

Budget would be around £25k max, I'd like to keep under that though to give me some margin for the inevitable bad decision making.

It would be nice to have something I could take the B roads home after work occasionally and have a bit of a blast or want to take out for a drive just for the hell of it, but it's not a must have.

I also have a rather terrible habit of buying the dud examples of good cars, with almost everything I've owned requiring money to be thrown at it within months of purchase to rectify the stuff I didn't spot when buying it, then cutting my losses and punting it on having spent more than the purchase price trying to put it right.

My Saved Cars list on Autotrader is currently littered with all sorts of stuff from big diesel saloons/estates to hot hatches to SUV's and with so many options and not a great deal of time to go and look at them all due to work commitments I'm trying to at least narrow the field a little.

So, stuff I need!

It would be nice if I could get 40mpg
Ability to carry a couple of mountain bikes, ideally either roof rack or towbar rack mounted but I'll live with them going inside the car so long as I don't have to dismantle them into their constituent parts
Cruise control is a must
A decent sound system would be lovely
Heated seats would be nice
Reliable! I can't handle another phone call to the AA whilst stuck at the side of the road, I just want it to work. I'll service it regularly, replace stuff as it's needed but a failure to proceed isn't on my wish list.
It will only need to carry more than 2 people a handful of times a year, the bulk of my journeys have just me in the car.
It would be nice if it was quick, I've rather missed a fast car
Sensible running costs in terms of servicing. I try and service my current car 3 times a year, with the big service in January (Belts, gearbox service etc)

So I open the floor to those who know better than I do, because I'm buggered if I can narrow my list down any!

I'm going to go a bit leftield because the car you want doesn't exist, so I would buy something with low miles that you can put the bikes on the roof/bike rack with, also bigger cars have better NVH levels & when you're spending that amount of time in a car those things matter.

So I'd chop the budget down to 12-16k for something that has a max of 25k on the clock., depreciation is your biggest cost because of your annual mileage so I'd eliminate some of that cost.

My first choice is the Infiniti Q70 Sport (they use the same engine/drivetrain as Mercedes E220) reliability isn't an issue with these, you can get them serviced at you're local Nissan dealer or Indy for sensible money.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202007081...

A remap will see this with around 220-230bhp which should see you right on the power front.

Spec wise this particular car is missing the Adaptive Cruise & Sunroof, it does however have:

Air Cooled/Heated Seats (the former is one of those things you have to have once you've experienced it)
360 Cameras
Bose Stereo with the speakers the front seats
Cruise Bi Xenons Bluetooth streaming etc
They don't have Android Auto/Apple but if you want it you fit this module:

https://gromaudio.co.uk/nissan-infiniti-grom-vline...

Then it'll all appear on the screen.

You can get the same drivetrain as the above in the smaller Q50 but you lose the air cooled seats but you gain Adaptive Cruise & a Sunroof:

Q50 Sport Tech

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103300...
With it's current low miles you'll see between 4-5 years without any major cost.

Now if you want something quick then the Q70 35h fits that brief 0-60 in 5.5 & will see a real world 42-44mpg on a run:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105152...

You can also get the same drivetrain in the smaller Q50 but you lose the air cooled seats but gain a newer infotainment:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103150...

Now all the above is leading to the fun part, with that 10-12 saved you can buy yourself a fun set of wheels that won't cost you the earth to buy/maintain & will be fun down a country whilst having your mountain bike in the boot/roof or just left at home:

Astra GTC VXR you'll get a nice one for sensible money with less then

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106143...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106043...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105283...

Now some might talk about running costs of two cars, but in order for you to get a swiss army knife car you'd have ended up with something like an S7/640iGC/CLS 400 shooting brake all of which would've cost more to run/fuel compared to the two above, as well not really being country road cars.

Personally I'd go for a diesel/petrol combo.

If it has to be a one car solution I'd keep an eye out for the Insignia GSI d they're really well appointed

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106043...

Or Mondeo Vignale (which is what I chose for daily duties)

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105062...

Hope this helps.

[MiniMan64]

MiniMan64 said:

I’ll suggest a big Skoda diesel estate and ZX will be along shortly to suggest either a Mondeo or something Korean.

Better late than never

[georgeyboy12345]

If I were in your position, I’d be aiming for an Alpina D3 biturbo, the F30 3 litre ones. Failing that, a 335d xdrive. Reliability is fine as long as you get one that has been properly maintained.

[OPC100]

D_T_W said:

OPC100 said:

Lexus RC

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106013...

And one of these.

https://www.tweekscycles.com/uk/seasucker-mini-bom...

Good reliability, it will last and if you get Premier spec, you get the Mark Levinson stereo too.

I was parked next to a blue one with the white interior, it's a lovely thing to look at in the flesh but what are they like to drive?

I don’t know for sure, but after having an is300h as a courtesy car once, I’d say not as much fun over a B road to what’s on your shortlist. But as a long term ownership proposition and doing the mileage you do, a Lexus could just be the thing for you. Totally different car, but it’s exactly the plan with the wife’s rxl. And I know it’s a personal opinion, but Lexus interiors are lovely.

[stevemcs]

Out of your list I’d choose the 340i or the i30, possibly the Gti but the rest would lack any form of fun and some would have questionable reliability

[PH User]

D_T_W said:

I have a motorbike if I want to go crazy, and I'm not running two cars. I don't have a garage to keep a second car in, I just need one that'll do everything

One car that will do everything doesn't exist IMO, but you have your motorbike for fun so I guess that will help.