Choosing between two totally different cars
Choosing between two totally different cars
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versus

Original Poster:

612 posts

171 months

Thursday 2nd February 2012
quotequote all
okay I have to make a decision on buying a car in the next couple of days. I have boiled it down to two:

· 2010 Volvo C70 T5 (nearly new) fully loaded for £19k

· 2009 BMW 630i Sport with under 20,000 miles, fully loaded, for £22k

The insurance costs on the BMW is double of that on the Volvo. The Volvo is a convertible (which I love) and the BMW is a coupe. The Volvo is nowhere near as fast or luxurious as the BMW. The Volvo will probably move in snow, the BMW won't. The Volvo has four full useable seats, the BMW only the front two are realistically usable. I am only looking at the Volvo because it is relatively rare, is comfortable, and does the impression of a convertible/coupe quite well.

Does anyone know if the 6 Series rides well? I had a 2006 Porsche Boxster S once on 18" wheels and it was too uncomfortable so I don't want the BMW to be like that.

Also, £19k is a LOT of money for me, so stretching to £22k for the BMW is not just a stretch but more of considerable shattering especially combined with the higher insurance costs.

What to do?

Dave Hedgehog

15,799 posts

227 months

Thursday 2nd February 2012
quotequote all
i make a list of must have requirements for a car - in my case, 4/5 door, dsg, AWD
i set a budget
i make a short list of cars
i go drive the list and pick the one i like the most

hornetrider

63,161 posts

228 months

Thursday 2nd February 2012
quotequote all
versus said:
okay I have to make a decision on buying a car in the next couple of days. I have boiled it down to two:

· 2010 Volvo C70 T5 (nearly new) fully loaded for £19k

· 2009 BMW 630i Sport with under 20,000 miles, fully loaded, for £22k

The insurance costs on the BMW is double of that on the Volvo. The Volvo is a convertible (which I love) and the BMW is a coupe. The Volvo is nowhere near as fast or luxurious as the BMW. The Volvo will probably move in snow, the BMW won't. The Volvo has four full useable seats, the BMW only the front two are realistically usable. I am only looking at the Volvo because it is relatively rare, is comfortable, and does the impression of a convertible/coupe quite well.

Does anyone know if the 6 Series rides well? I had a 2006 Porsche Boxster S once on 18" wheels and it was too uncomfortable so I don't want the BMW to be like that.

Also, £19k is a LOT of money for me, so stretching to £22k for the BMW is not just a stretch but more of considerable shattering especially combined with the higher insurance costs.

What to do?
Bizarre post.

Drive them both and see which one you like. Plenty of BMWs around for 19k instead of 22k.

kambites

70,809 posts

244 months

Thursday 2nd February 2012
quotequote all
Dave Hedgehog said:
i make a list of must have requirements for a car - in my case, 4/5 door, dsg, AWD
i set a budget
i make a short list of cars
i go drive the list and pick the one i like the most
yes Pretty much.

The short list can end up rather long though. My last one had over 20 cars on it. hehe

Finlandia

7,811 posts

254 months

Thursday 2nd February 2012
quotequote all
No help really, but I would take the BMW, and that's from someone who owns a C70 T5 (original model).

versus

Original Poster:

612 posts

171 months

Thursday 2nd February 2012
quotequote all
hornetrider said:
Bizarre post.

Drive them both and see which one you like. Plenty of BMWs around for 19k instead of 22k.
It is bizzare. I've driven the Volvo, but not the BMW. I think I'll go see one tomorrow and I know I'll prefer the BMW, but in the long-term I wonder if I would miss out on the convertible factor.

I hate making decisions thats the problem!

KaraK

13,695 posts

232 months

Thursday 2nd February 2012
quotequote all
Clearly you want the 6-series and are trying to justify it to yourself. My advice would be to drive one and if you like it shop around and find one on-budget.

HTH

hornetrider

63,161 posts

228 months

Thursday 2nd February 2012
quotequote all
versus said:
hornetrider said:
Bizarre post.

Drive them both and see which one you like. Plenty of BMWs around for 19k instead of 22k.
It is bizzare. I've driven the Volvo, but not the BMW. I think I'll go see one tomorrow and I know I'll prefer the BMW, but in the long-term I wonder if I would miss out on the convertible factor.

I hate making decisions thats the problem!
BMW do a 6 series convertible as well you know.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...

versus

Original Poster:

612 posts

171 months

Thursday 2nd February 2012
quotequote all
hornetrider said:
BMW do a 6 series convertible as well you know.
Yep but I'm not keen on ragtop after having the Boxster. Anytime I saw some kind of 'wear' marks on it I used to get paranoid.

Crusoe

4,114 posts

254 months

Thursday 2nd February 2012
quotequote all
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3529222.htm

SLK 55 For under £20k give you the performance and comfort over the bmw and get the hard top roof from the volvo?

Edited by Crusoe on Thursday 2nd February 10:34

kambites

70,809 posts

244 months

Thursday 2nd February 2012
quotequote all
Can you get an E9x 3-series cab for that money?

ETA:
http://pistonheads.com/sales/3462231.htm



Best of both worlds?

Edited by kambites on Thursday 2nd February 10:45

sleep envy

62,260 posts

272 months

Thursday 2nd February 2012
quotequote all
versus said:
The Volvo is a convertible
get the BMW

versus

Original Poster:

612 posts

171 months

Friday 3rd February 2012
quotequote all
Test drove a BMW 6 Series 650i. It wasn't very comfortable, the steering was very light and the car felt really bulky. Also the panoramic roof is a bit of a cocktease as it makes you want to open it but you can't! It only has tilt, no slide functionality.

The acceleration was brutal, almost too much for my needs and without any effort I was 80mph+. Looks good, but something about the bulkiness of it and ride quality make feel a bit nauseous after the drive.

I thought the Volvo C70 had a low-rent interior but now I realise that less is better when it comes to interiors. As long as they are high quality, the amount of stuff actually spread across the dashboard should be minimal. Just my opinion of course.