2012 100k 530D Touring for £12.5k - bad idea? Alternatives?

[Maccles]

I'm in need of a bigger car as Mrs. M and I recently had twins and my Golf just isn't big enough. I commute from Brighton to Epsom 4 days a week (40 miles each way on motorway / fast A-road with a bit of B-road traffic at the end) and I want the car to be a lovely vehicle to do that in, and also reasonably economical.

I generally keep cars a long time, and do nearly all the servicing and repairs myself using my own tools on my driveway. My previous cars have gone up to 250k+ miles before I sold them on without any major dramas (I change oil every 10k regardless of manufacturer's spec) and I expect the same from my next one. I know with DIY servicing and starship miles the car won't be worth much at the end.

Mrs. M has sanctioned a £10k spend to improve my car, and I can probably sell my Golf for circa £2k privately so I've got £12k (ish) to play with. I've never spent this much on a car so it needs to feel special (I don't like Mondeos or Insignias!). I expect whatever I get, I will keep for at least 6 or 7 years, maybe longer.

I saw this BMW 530d M-Sport which has a lot of options ticked, and thought it would be a lovely car to do my commute in, and should be big enough for the family duties. I've arranged to see it tomorrow:

link to autotrader advert text

Curious what Pistonheads thinks of this prospective purchase - what should I look out for, is this a money pit / financial disaster waiting to happen, is this a stupid idea for my ownership model, etc?

Or - what else should I be looking at?

[Maccles]

I have thought about the Jag, but worry that a Jag wouldn’t be as reliable or economical?

The air suspension issue with BMWs doesn’t worry me too much, as it’s an easy DIY repair if it does fail (needs a £200 part, but I’d probably only need to do it once).

[Maccles]

Some other cars I'm considering:

This Jag looks nice and seems a reasonable spec?

This Merc doesn't have any pictures online yet, but it comes with a 12 month warranty and has low miles. I've rung em and it's the pre-facelift shape though, so maybe a little overpriced?

Any thoughts on the above?

[Maccles]

Well, I went and had a look at the BMW and the Merc.

My first impression of the BMW was that the car was a bit scruffy, and then I realised that boot on the 5-series is a bit small for a large estate car. I’d almost ruled it out by this point but decided to give it a proper once over and a test drive anyway to see if it could sway me. It nearly did, it drove really nicely - that engine is fantastic - mechanically it seemed faultless and it had some really nice options, my favourite of which was the heads-up display for the speedo and sat nav (why don’t all cars have this?). The seats were also really nice. But it just wasn’t nice enough to justify the cost given the age, mileage and the not-quite-big-enough boot. Nothing wrong with the 'dealer' BTW, he's not really a car dealer and never pretended to be one, it was always clear that it would be a private sale (it was his own personal vehicle).

Unfortunately it look longer than expected to get to the Merc dealership and they were about to close when I got there. They let me see the car anyway, but said I couldn’t drive it today as they were closing and their insurance didn’t cover them after 6pm. The Merc was in really lovely condition inside and out. Overall I thought it was a splendid looking car, and it does have a big enough boot. Also the seats aren’t leather (they’re artificial leather with a suede-like centre) and although they were quite comfy, they weren’t quite as good as the BMWs, and I wonder how the suede centre bits would cope with me getting into it all sweaty after playing football (this happens a lot). The sat nav / infotainment system in the Merc also wasn’t as good as the one in the BMW, but apart from that the interior is nicer than the BMW in every other way.

I’ll keep looking I think, but if I happen to be anywhere near that Merc dealership in the next few weeks I’ll enquire about a test drive, although I do feel like holding out for a newer shape one with actual leather seats.

[Maccles]

ZX10R NIN said:

For me I'd be looking at these E Class Estates:

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

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

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

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

Thanks for the suggestions, although they're all several hours away from my home near Brighton or my normal workplace in Epsom. Before fatherhood I'd have gone to look at the first one anyway (looks really nice) but I can't do that these days.

[Maccles]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Just for a bit of closure to this thread, I ended up buying a 2013 Mercedes E250 CDI Estate.

I looked at a Skoda Superb (a 2015 SEL Business model fully loaded with almost every option) and found it plenty roomy but a bit unexciting and very similar to being in my Golf, and also felt a bit slow (150BHP TDI version) after trying the BMW.

I had intended to look at a Jag but I was so impressed with the Merc (which came from a main dealer with FMBSH and a 12 month warranty) that I decided to end my search and buy it for a little under £12.5k.

Obligatory pics (Merc are going to refurb the wheels before I collect the car):