SeanT

OK guys need a bit of advice....Looking at getting the misses a new car, the budget is about 10-12k...

She really likes the C-Class and I dont mind them but I dont want anything to thirsty so either a diesel or 2.0 litre will be fine...the thing is I keep hearing bad things about mercedes!!!

or

I quite like the 5 Series BMW, not to sure what there like although the only thing that concerns me is the size of the car and my misses trying to reverse/park etc...she currently drives an A4 and I have setup an account at the spray shop...

Thanks for all advice.....

fast bloke

5 series with PDC. Some of them have a little set of lights on the dash which tells you exactly which part of the car you are about to damage

Leslie

Or a three series

Les

Tiggs

no fancy lights on a 10k one!

but a 5 is better than a C

Frosty The Snowman

The 5 Series is equivalent to the E Class not the C, that's the 3 series competitor. The Mercs are great cars but suffer dreadfully from really bad dealership problems. I would probably go for a Merc over a BMW myself but thats just my opinion.

SeanT

Hmmm someone at work just thrown the Lexus IS 200 into the pot.....had a look seems a nice motor.......any comments?

MACH1

My Mates just bought a Lexus IS 200 for his wife, she says it's the
best car she has ever driven, and she's had some cracking motors.

Mmmmm

My father in law has a c220 cdi Estate auto T plate, 70 odd K, just had a spring fail at the front, shattered dropping the car onto the front wheel, gave him a huge fright.

Gets 40 mpg and thats with cruising at 85 mph to his work. It's quite nice to drive, quite nippy off the mark but more revs does not much extra. Basic inside, not much room in the back. Ride is good feels stable and secure to drive corners pretty well.

Driven various 5 series , very nice, good ride and very good handling, some have had Vanos engine problems and some of the earlier ones have had problems with the bores.

I like the IS 200 never driven one but they are not supposed to go wrong.

SeanT

The more and more I read the mercs really have gone down hill, Im really starting to turn to the Lexus now, the right up and road tests are excellent and there has not been many put downs apart from it maybe lacks a bit of power but thats not really a concern for the misses......

So anyone got any experiences on the IS200???

Ta

imi

The new current shape C class is made in South Africa. Not sure about the older shape.

The 3 series is also made in SA, not sure about the 5th.

There have been a lot of reports about poor build quality on the mercs, plus the cheap plastics. We were about to buy a 1 yr old C class 270CDi but sat in one and decided not to dish out 20K + .

NotoriousREV

I had an IS200 before the Scoob. Nice car, all the toys and a good stereo and the handling is pretty good, the 6 speed 'box is ace and the engine sounds lovely, especially when being ragged! BUT it's thirsty (used to average 27mpg with mostly motorway driving) and they're not quick (a 2 litre Mondeo/Vectra will **** all over you) and the VVTi catapults you into the rev limiter and changing up a gear drops you out of the power, can be quite frustrating and/or boring to drive.

SJJ84

for 12K, maybe a little more you will be able to get a BMW 525 or 528 sport. Lovely cars, much better than the C-class or the lexus.

Tiggs

IS200 is a 3 series car not a 5....5 is different league to IS and c class.......it won EVERY test of its class let alone classes beneath it!

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

My father in law has a 2 year old one he is getting rid of (220 CDI) as he has had so many problems, also Dealer Attitude to thhese problems means he wont be buying another Merc.

RAJ27

I picked up a 530i sport for under 14k in October. What can I say. Great car. The Mrs. drives it a lot and she's only 5ft 2in, but with PDC drives the car with such confidence. She says it's the best car she has driven and her last car was a Cooper S.

Go for the 5 series. Great car for the money and best executive car for 6 years in a row (Whatcar).

SeanT

so what 5 series are good ones, remembering i dont want to be filling up with fuel every day......

Bobby Peru

The widely recognised best in many ways is the 530d Sport.

RAJ27

Out of tank doing a mix of motorway and local roads we can get 450 miles....this £55 full tank. Not bad. It is a great motorway car and revs at 2,500 rpm at 80mph.

But Bobby is right, the 530d is the best all rounder especially if you do local roads. On WWW.BMWTALKLAND.CO.UK a guy got 650miles doing a steady 80mph on a full tank!

craigdmcd

iTrader: (2)

I think people are starting to spend more than your 10K on a car, you'll struggle to get a good 5 diesel for 10K, the mercs you want to look at for that money are the older shape 202 model code, if you look at newer ones on that money (not really a wise move) look for the chassis number to start WDB (european built) not WDC (built in a place called Problem City, South Africa). IS200's are fabulous if somewhat terribly underpowered (not really a problem if it's for your wife) and not available in a diesel. As for dealer problems on any of these, you would be mad not to go to a specialist or find out if any of the mechanics do the odd job out their back door.

Craig