A barge; a four grand barge

[FNG]

Change of work location means I've gone from a 6 mile commute down country lanes, to a 25 mile one through town and heavy traffic.

I know from the few weeks I've commuted in my Mk5 Golf GTi (and an LS400 that got taken from me too soon) that I need something that wafts, is an auto, is a nice place to sit and stew, and has a good stereo - to keep the stress levels at a minimum.

I'm doing 2 peoples jobs while chasing promotion for the next year or so, have 2 kids on the spectrum, and the wife has started the menopause - the car I'm in does affect my attitude to numpties in traffic so I'm looking for as much Zen as possible from the next car.

The budget is absolutely topped out at 4 grand, and I can't add any more this side of next spring - so the budget is the budget. Likelihood is anything over £4500 asking is going to be out of reach.

I can do maintenance and minor improvement stuff myself, but heavy duty repairs (engine, box, subframes) would mean a garage visit. Far rather buy petrol; every diesel I've ever owned has failed spectacularly and essentially scrapped itself.

I'm pretty fussy on colour & trim - IMO burgundy, gold and green are the embodiment of evil where car colour is concerned, and I can't do light interiors.

My shortlist, in order of preference:

LS400
E38 735i or 740i
A8 D2 but not a 2.8
E60 Sport
A5 3.2TFSi Sport

Any others, any horrors in the list above, anything to hunt out or avoid?

[P700DEE]

X350 XJ, easy for a good one in budget. Lovely waft and ability to shift a bit when requied. Very reliable and cheap to run in comparison with others of the same ilk.

[PositronicRay]

FNG said:

Change of work location means I've gone from a 6 mile commute down country lanes, to a 25 mile one through town and heavy traffic.

I know from the few weeks I've commuted in my Mk5 Golf GTi (and an LS400 that got taken from me too soon) that I need something that wafts, is an auto, is a nice place to sit and stew, and has a good stereo - to keep the stress levels at a minimum.

I'm doing 2 peoples jobs while chasing promotion for the next year or so, have 2 kids on the spectrum, and the wife has started the menopause - the car I'm in does affect my attitude to numpties in traffic so I'm looking for as much Zen as possible from the next car.

The budget is absolutely topped out at 4 grand, and I can't add any more this side of next spring - so the budget is the budget. Likelihood is anything over £4500 asking is going to be out of reach.

I can do maintenance and minor improvement stuff myself, but heavy duty repairs (engine, box, subframes) would mean a garage visit. Far rather buy petrol; every diesel I've ever owned has failed spectacularly and essentially scrapped itself.

I'm pretty fussy on colour & trim - IMO burgundy, gold and green are the embodiment of evil where car colour is concerned, and I can't do light interiors.

My shortlist, in order of preference:

LS400
E38 735i or 740i
A8 D2 but not a 2.8
E60 Sport
A5 3.2TFSi Sport

Any others, any horrors in the list above, anything to hunt out or avoid?

now't wrong with a 2.8 D2, wafty and smooth.

[ZX10R NIN]

E320:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311204...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202310163...

E500:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202310253...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202308020...

E240:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311103...

Phaeton:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303014...

GS300:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202310313...

Honda Legend:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202310223...

RX300:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311093...