BMW/Mercedes/Ford Estate

[mr2turbogts]

Going to be purchasing a new car in the near future and swimming around a sea of potential cars.

Budget is around 10k for an estate.

Going to be doing 50miles a day, we have a dog and a baby on the way, I also go away mountain biking.

Currently in the list is the following:

BMW F11 530d (or 535d but don’t think budget allows)

BMW E61 again 530d or 535d

Mercedes E class E350

Mercedes C Class C350

Ford Mondeo Titainum X 2.2

Ford Focus ST estate (not sure petrol or diesel)

Any suggestions/advice on the above would be great to help me either rule one out or sway to the other

[Joe5y]

mr2turbogts said:

Going to be purchasing a new car in the near future and swimming around a sea of potential cars.

Budget is around 10k for an estate.

Going to be doing 50miles a day, we have a dog and a baby on the way, I also go away mountain biking.

Currently in the list is the following:

BMW F11 530d (or 535d but don’t think budget allows)

BMW E61 again 530d or 535d

Mercedes E class E350

Mercedes C Class C350

Ford Mondeo Titainum X 2.2

Ford Focus ST estate (not sure petrol or diesel)

Any suggestions/advice on the above would be great to help me either rule one out or sway to the other

Good morning,

I had the same predicament 3 months ago after selling the M3 albeit my budget was £15k.

I've got an 18month old and whilst he did fit, the wife and all of the boys stuff did not.

I test drove all of the above apart from the Focus and bought one of your picks.


My experience of the cars were;

E60/1 - technially didn't test this as I've had one before. Didn't want to step back so wrote this off. However lovely cars and in 535d guise very quick.

Pros - Good looking. Comfortable and spacious. Fast and with the right spec (Logic7 etc) nice place to be.
Cons - Old with a terrible Satnav and Infotainment system. Most are leggy now.


F11 - In my budget I couldn't get the 535d I wanted, or at least with the spec I wanted. I drove the 530d but I always felt it would never be the 535d I wanted.

Pros - With the right spec a nice place to be. More modern. Great drive and plenty big enough.
Cons - Budget dictates the slower model. Finding the car with the right spec (H&K, Pro Nav, Extended leather etc) is difficult to find. High mileage cars are plentiful.


E350Cdi - Driven a friends and it was nice but wasn't a fan of its looks. Added to this the face lift demands too much of a premium IMO.

Pros - With the right spec a nice place to be. More modern. Great drive and plenty big enough.
Cons - High mileage cars are plentiful (Taxis). Looks like a hearse! Unless you get the face lift it is fairly old inside and feels cheap.


Mondeo - I appreciate what you get with this package but it felt cheap and the interior sin't IMO a nice place to be.

Pros - High spec. Look good from outside
Cons - Slow. High mileage cars are plentiful. Inside IMO is not a nice place - plastic everywhere and I don't like its switchgear.


C350Cdi - The one I bought. It's not perfect but it is a great compromise.

Pros - Bought for £11,250 so saved some money for the car I'm most happy with. Comfortable place to be, good tech for its age (2012). I've had mine mapped with a proven 307bhp & 680Lb/s making it fun day to day. Boot space has been great with electric closing. I went for a light interior and it feels special. Relitivily cheap to run (Tax = £190PA but insurance is £30PA more than the M3). Standard spec is good and the standard stereo is very good.

Cons - Rear legroom is pretty awful which has cause a few issues. Only getting 38mpg mixed. Long runs I see 46mpg. Stop start is known for not doing much on these so gets turned off. Gearbox is great for wafting around but reaction (post remap) was dangerous.


The car I really wanted was a 335d F31 with a particular spec but they're few and far between and demand £20,000+ - Can't justify one now; maybe next year.

Hope this helps

Edited by Joe5y on Saturday 1st June 09:23

Edited by Joe5y on Saturday 1st June 09:27

[Joe5y]

[Hub]

I have a Focus ST estate. £10k will only get you a pre facelift petrol. Mine has been reliable and great fun, the only real downside with young kids is the lack of rear space for car seats with the big bulky recaro front seats - something to check you are happy with on a test drive!

[mr2turbogts]

Joe5y,

Thanks for your right up.

Amazing how similar this was, as i’ve Also got an M3 although trying to keep hold of it, not sure for how long though 😬.

I feel the same regarding the 530d, knowing that it’s not the 535d I would want it to be, so I should probably discount this.

Surprised at the comment on the E Class, I would expect the interior to feel the best out of the bunch, I was running through this with the wife and she said exactly the same ‘looks like a hearse 😂’

Mondeo is one my brother chucked in, but like you say the interior just doesn’t quite cut it from the images I’ve seen.

Leaving the E61, C350 and the focus st.

The C350, is an interesting car as I can’t seem to find much information on the internet regarding them, some say around 276bhp and other are around 200bhp 🤷‍♂️.

E61 I’m worried about maintenance, although not sure I’m getting blinded by the M5 horror stories you read, although I think they look great.

Focus......does it fall in line with the Mondeo regarding the Mondeo, also are they a bit scrabbly with all the power going through the front wheels 🤔

[loskie]

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Something like this, as diesel is the devil's fuel you may be able to haggle down the price.

Or an Octavia VRS

[Joe5y]

mr2turbogts said:

Joe5y,

Thanks for your right up.

Amazing how similar this was, as i’ve Also got an M3 although trying to keep hold of it, not sure for how long though ??.

I feel the same regarding the 530d, knowing that it’s not the 535d I would want it to be, so I should probably discount this.

Surprised at the comment on the E Class, I would expect the interior to feel the best out of the bunch, I was running through this with the wife and she said exactly the same ‘looks like a hearse ??’

Mondeo is one my brother chucked in, but like you say the interior just doesn’t quite cut it from the images I’ve seen.

Leaving the E61, C350 and the focus st.

The C350, is an interesting car as I can’t seem to find much information on the internet regarding them, some say around 276bhp and other are around 200bhp ?????.

E61 I’m worried about maintenance, although not sure I’m getting blinded by the M5 horror stories you read, although I think they look great.

Focus......does it fall in line with the Mondeo regarding the Mondeo, also are they a bit scrabbly with all the power going through the front wheels ??

No problem, I like hearing others opinions on cars so happy to return.

My M3 was the e92, lovely thing but I couldn't justify it and the wifes X5 has been swapped for something newer and smaller requiring a family car.


Mercedes 350Cdi is 262bhp post 2011 and pre 2011 (2007 - 2011 I believe) is 230bhp.

I drove the 2011 - 2014 C220Cdi (170bhp), 250Cdi (200bhp) and the C350Cdi 260bhp. The C350Cdi is by far the better drive and now I have had it mapped (GAD Tuning) it is much more enjoyable.


The e60 535d I had was nothing but reliable but it was showing its age at 70k - the gearbox was hunting and the bluetooth module failed. A wheel bearing was on its way out so I sold it on. Great looking things though, sadly tarnished IMO by the people that are buying them these days and sticking big wheels on them etc.

[Joe5y]

loskie said:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Something like this, as diesel is the devil's fuel you may be able to haggle down the price.

Or an Octavia VRS

Also had a Skoda Octavia VRS Petrol 2011 new for 10k - not a bad word to say about it but it was the first none sh*t car I had owned (Went from a Fiat Coupe 1996 to that so it was always going to feel special).

[ZX10R NIN]

Jaguar XF Sportbrake

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

C350

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

265

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

3.0d A4 SE

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

With the lack of 3.0d estates something like an X3 is a good option:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Infiniti EX these are a bargain at the moment with a fit & finish to match the Germans with more kit

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[mr2turbogts]

Thanks for these suggestions

[mr2turbogts]

So went and test drove a 2010 E350 which was fully speced, pano sunfoof, Harmon kardon, TV etc etc.

Really enjoyed the interior, and impressed with the straight line performance, was ok in the corners but definitely felt the size and the brakes were very unnerving.

The test drove a 2010 (265bhp) C350, not as impressed with the interior, but it drove very well, kept forgetting it was a diesel estate.

It was just under 100k miles was looked after, got price at 9k with 12 months warranty. Is this a good deal?

So going back and forth in my mind which would I rather???

[Joe5y]

Did both cars have the colour screen in the centre of the speedo?

[ZX10R NIN]

mr2turbogts said:

So went and test drove a 2010 E350 which was fully speced, pano sunfoof, Harmon kardon, TV etc etc.

Really enjoyed the interior, and impressed with the straight line performance, was ok in the corners but definitely felt the size and the brakes were very unnerving.

The test drove a 2010 (265bhp) C350, not as impressed with the interior, but it drove very well, kept forgetting it was a diesel estate.

It was just under 100k miles was looked after, got price at 9k with 12 months warranty. Is this a good deal?

So going back and forth in my mind which would I rather???

It depends on what you consider good the 265 below has 55k & is 1.5K more, I'd say it's an okay price it depends on the spec,.

[mr2turbogts]

Joe5y said:

Did both cars have the colour screen in the centre of the speedo?

Yes mate

[Mr E]

I’m interested in your comment regarding the brakes. We took our 212 to a driver training day, and the brakes weren’t the problem.

The cars apparent ability to corner on the sidewalls and it’s dogged refusal todo anything ‘entertaining’ were.

[mr2turbogts]

ZX10R NIN said:

It depends on what you consider good the 265 below has 55k & is 1.5K more, I'd say it's an okay price it depends on the spec,.

Yes this is very true, I’m not sure if it was the greatest of spec, but I think that because I had just been in what appeared to be a full spec e class

[mr2turbogts]

Mr E said:

I’m interested in your comment regarding the brakes. We took our 212 to a driver training day, and the brakes weren’t the problem.

The cars apparent ability to corner on the sidewalls and it’s dogged refusal todo anything ‘entertaining’ were.

Yes they felt very wooden, interesting you should say that, the disc and pads had plent in them still

[ZX10R NIN]

mr2turbogts said:

ZX10R NIN said:

It depends on what you consider good the 265 below has 55k & is 1.5K more, I'd say it's an okay price it depends on the spec,.

Yes this is very true, I’m not sure if it was the greatest of spec, but I think that because I had just been in what appeared to be a full spec e class

Sorry I forgot to add the link:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[JulianHJ]

I've got a mk3.5 ST estate. I like it, but I'm not sure I can recommend it. The ride is pretty hard (mine's on the optional 19" wheels), I've found traction is an issue, and it's fairly thirsty (my long term average is about 27mpg). That said, I'm not looking to change, and I'm still think I made the right choice - I had been considering leggy early B8 S4s.

[Mr E]

mr2turbogts said:

Yes they felt very wooden, interesting you should say that, the disc and pads had plent in them still

Brakes on mine feel fine. Horribly over servo’d but isn’t everything these days?

I may have bigger brakes than the 350 does.