Estate, 20k, ULEZ, not depressing

[otolith]

The 5 GT is a viable option, I think. The R class is a bit too MPV-ish.

[otolith]

3 series GT looks more spacious than the 3 series estate. Think I might have to go kick some tyres this weekend.

[otolith]

ingenieur said:

Oh go on, buy another E-Class. I'm on my 3rd and looking for a 4th. You could by my old one, it is ULEZ.

Nah, I'm done. Garage has now had mine since the 15th trying to fix the rear air suspension.

[otolith]

Pistonheader101 said:

otolith said:

3 series GT looks more spacious than the 3 series estate. Think I might have to go kick some tyres this weekend.

wouldn't waste your time mate. Its a boat.

my 335d xdrive gt m sport had halogen lights. would have though LED would have been standard on them.

More of a boat than an E class?

I'm more interested in rocket propelled sofa than pseudo-sportscar, to be honest.

[otolith]

ingenieur said:

Bad garage, I've fixed air suspension faults before, they're easy. It's a pump and airbags with some hoses and wiring, it's not at all
mysterious.

They've replaced the damaged section of pipe that was leaking, but they've found that didn't fix it. I'll speak to them when they've sorted it and can explain, but it looks as if constantly trying to pump the sagging suspension back up may have damaged the pump. I think they thought it was going to be an easy job, because they previously fixed it on a car they sold and that was simple.

I should have taken it to my usual Mercedes specialist (who replaced the torque converter, and replaced the motor in the inlet manifold, and the auxiliary battery) but the local garage are walking distance and did a good job of replacing the alternator after the car was recovered to it.

[otolith]

ChocolateFrog said:

You'd need to be quite handy with the spanners or friendly with a local independent but it certainly wouldn't be depressing.

Annoying that prices have strengthened, I got close to buying a lovely low mileage turbo for around £25k before the pandemic.

Yes, it's certainly a tempting option. Sort of opposite end of the spectrum to the Mondeo/Passat in the desirable/appropriate spectrum.

[otolith]

Not a Panamera, a Cayenne, and a cheap one at that, but...

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

(could remember the thread, couldn't find it, searched for "pistonheads cayenne bork" and there it was )

[otolith]

ingenieur said:

I'm sure they have it all in hand but on the W212 the problem is often the sensor arm(s) (some models have 2, others just 1) on the rear wishbone(s) get rusted onto the ball joint so the arm gets stuck in position or moves very slowly and the sensor starts giving false ride height readings. That of course leads to the system trying to control the ride height to all the wrong levels so it ends up at all different sorts of heights depending on how stuck the sensor is. You can get a replacement arms kit off eBay.

Leaking pipe and two knackered air springs. Suspect that not getting the former fixed quickly enough caused the latter.

[otolith]

tonyvid said:

Isn't there a Passat with a v6 and four wheel drive - a bit of a sleeper maybe?

Newest ones are 2009. Replaced by the inevitable turbo 4 from the Golf R.

[otolith]

braddo said:

There are virtually no 6-cyl petrol estates sold in the past 7-8 years, so it's either an older car or a 4cyl.

Yep. Or a 6 cylinder diesel.

I’m going to go and look at some candidates on Saturday. Just to see if any are eliminated on packaging really, not particularly planning to drive any.

Those older five series petrols are nice cars and worth considering. Seems a lot of money for an old car, but I guess the scarcity is a factor.

[otolith]

I'm counting rarity as a demerit here - I'd like to be choosing from a few examples, and I don't want something it's hard to get parts for. This is not a hobby car, I have the Lotus for that, this is firstly an A-B family car and secondly one which has some way of making me smile and not feel like I've spent a big wodge of cash on something I don't care about.

[otolith]

bodhi said:

Not sure how fixed you are on an estate, but a 435i Gran Coupé might fit the bill?

Added to the list to view on Saturday to assess for space, thank you.

[otolith]

lornemalvo said:

You've had some bad luck with your Merc. What age and mileage is it?

2010 / 120k, bought at 106k - yes, it's been an absolute lemon. The one before had a few issues, but nothing like this.

[otolith]

Brett748 said:

C63.

Kind of age and mileage I want are high 20's

[otolith]

Update so far.

3 series gran coupe has folding seats and enough luggage space, but no rear headroom

6 series gran coupe seats don’t fold

3 series GT practical enough and less frumpy than any of the estates, so probably going that way.

5 series GT bigger than we need.

Waiting to test drive a 3 GT in 35d form.

[otolith]

stevemcs said:

What about a 4gc ? I'm 6'4" and have no problem in the back

Sorry, I meant the 4 Gran Coupe, still not used to a 3 series coupe being a 4 - I really wanted it to work, but I’m 5’6 and my head was touching the roof in the back. I do have short legs / long torso, but still.

[otolith]

Fairly settled now on a 335d GT. 335i GT not ruled out, pretty sure I would like the engine better even if the running costs are higher and maybe a safer bet on future ULEZ zones, but they're relatively scarce while there are enough 35d's on the market to be picky.