Which estate for £2-3K?

[Luke.]

Tempted by all of these, but which one is likely to give the fewest headaches and be nicest to own?

Not bothered about top speed and 0-60 times. And definitely want an auto.

Let's waft..

Edited by Luke. on Sunday 7th November 16:25

[Luke.]

Any other suggestions welcome.

[Mustard]

W124 vs E39

Have had both, E39 far better value and better driving

W124 at this level will most likely require further 'investment'

[yinujim]

Have you thought about the E34 touring. Much less problems then a E39.

http://pistonheads.com/sales/2205052.htm

[Luke.]

Mustard said:

W124 vs E39

Have had both, E39 far better value and better driving

W124 at this level will most likely require further 'investment'

Definitely swaying towards the E39. Some lovely ones out there for around £4k..

[Luke.]

yinujim said:

Have you thought about the E34 touring. Much less problems then a E39.

http://pistonheads.com/sales/2205052.htm

Nice, but prefer the E39 shape.

[sprouting]

If you want ultimate space then go for the Merc, for the most driver involvement go for the e34, but for a good handling, modern, refined cruiser with sufficient space then the e39 fits the bill just right.

[chrisispringles]

Don't bother with an automatic E39 5 series estate, the gearbox is a 'sealed for life' unit and BMW refuse to change the oil, so they have a habit of failing around the 100k mark and a recon'd box costs ~£3k unless the previous owner has had the oil changed regularly throughout the car's life.

An S124 would be interesting, but for £2-3k you might as well get an S210, good S124s are starting to go up in price, so a £2-3k one will be in the same sort of shape as a £2-3k S210. If you do look at one, for god's sake do not buy one with rust, especially on the wings as once they start to go then that's it, you will need new wings soon. They're great value for money though, very little offers so much luxury for so little money.

I'm surprised you haven't included a Volvo V70, they're incredibly comfortable, huge dirt cheap and if, you get a T5, very fast. It would be silly to discount them, they're very good and your budget will get a far better one than it would anything German.

[sparks_E39]

chrisispringles said:

Don't bother with an automatic E39 5 series estate, the gearbox is a 'sealed for life' unit and BMW refuse to change the oil, so they have a habit of failing around the 100k mark and a recon'd box costs ~£3k unless the previous owner has had the oil changed regularly throughout the car's life.

An S124 would be interesting, but for £2-3k you might as well get an S210, good S124s are starting to go up in price, so a £2-3k one will be in the same sort of shape as a £2-3k S210. If you do look at one, for god's sake do not buy one with rust, especially on the wings as once they start to go then that's it, you will need new wings soon. They're great value for money though, very little offers so much luxury for so little money.

I'm surprised you haven't included a Volvo V70, they're incredibly comfortable, huge dirt cheap and if, you get a T5, very fast. It would be silly to discount them, they're very good and your budget will get a far better one than it would anything German.

Your info on E39's is dated. The auto boxes are known to fail in a small percentage of cars, and a recon is about £1200, not a reason to discount one I'd say. All mentioned cars have expensive parts that can break. I'd wager a good E39 will be wallet freindly but they do have their fair share of issues. I love my saloon 528.

Edited by sparks_E39 on Sunday 7th November 17:26

[Tunku]

Other. V70.

[Luke.]

Tunku said:

Other. V70.

Not a big fan of the V70 to be honest. It's slightly too bit of big side and a bit cheaper inside. But thanks for suggestion.

[chrisispringles]

The V70 is smaller than any of the cars you are looking at, the Mercedes especially.

[Matt UK]

sparks_E39 said:

chrisispringles said:

Don't bother with an automatic E39 5 series estate, the gearbox is a 'sealed for life' unit and BMW refuse to change the oil, so they have a habit of failing around the 100k mark and a recon'd box costs ~£3k unless the previous owner has had the oil changed regularly throughout the car's life.

An S124 would be interesting, but for £2-3k you might as well get an S210, good S124s are starting to go up in price, so a £2-3k one will be in the same sort of shape as a £2-3k S210. If you do look at one, for god's sake do not buy one with rust, especially on the wings as once they start to go then that's it, you will need new wings soon. They're great value for money though, very little offers so much luxury for so little money.

I'm surprised you haven't included a Volvo V70, they're incredibly comfortable, huge dirt cheap and if, you get a T5, very fast. It would be silly to discount them, they're very good and your budget will get a far better one than it would anything German.

Your info on E39's is dated. The auto boxes are known to fail in a small percentage of cars, and a recon is about £1200, not a reason to discount one I'd say. All mentioned cars have expensive parts that can break. I'd wager a good E39 will be wallet freindly but they do have their fair share of issues. I love my saloon 528.

Edited by sparks_E39 on Sunday 7th November 17:26

Agreed. Plenty of us are running 100k+ miler e39 autos that still work perfectly.