hail-hail

Got a job, weeheee!!!!!

Now I need a motorway mile muncher. Currently thinking E class merc BMW5 series or mondeo.

I want to spend around 3k so that I can pretty much throw it away when I am finished with it.

Any others marques I should be looking at?

Don't mind high mileage but would like it to be comfy with cruise control, preferably auto but not critical.

what would scooby do

My saab 9-5 Aero does 32Mpg @90 MPH - cruise control etc and lots of torques

I would go for a 528 or some such like..

Mikey K

Keep it Subaru my Spec B Legacy is superb on the Motorway

SimonD

....and I'm sure he would be happy to give you £3k for it!

The Saab 9-5 really is an excellent motorway car as long as you can find one that'll hold together long enough! We traded our five year old 50k miler in for just over £3k a couple of years ago. You should be able to get quite a good car for £3k these days. I would imagine a 5-series or E-class would be much older and have higher miles at that kind of price.
Keep an eye out for head-gasket troubles and smokey turbos on the Saab though, they can go at shockingly low mileages - rear shocks too.

gallois

for 3k, it has to be a mondeo.

hail-hail

I don't really fancy a Saab, dad had one and it was a dog.

What about an Omega, this one for example:

Half way down the page £1495

Anything particulary bad with these (excluding the badge or course )

finchyboy

e39 BMW 528i a supurb motorway cruiser !!

LG John

ST200 Mondeo.

If you are lucky or can stretch a bit further you could get an early ST220. I've got one and it's probably the best all-rounder I've owned and is excellent on the motorways.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Yep, Mondeo, would go for the 130 tdi, a superb car for not a lot of money as its so common, just read up on it, they do have a couple of issues that escape me at the moment.

Saabs are brilliant on the motorway, the 9-5 is a good car, I ran the older 9-3 and that was good on the Motorway, so is the new one but to be honest I wont be buying another, need a change !

I would avoid the prestige marques at three grand if you are doing lots of miles, think mass market, old exec barges can get very expensive very quickly, any car can but its magnified with the more prestigous end, you can end up spending more than you paid to fix a wonky auto box, but its a luck thing.

jonny_693

iTrader: (5)

A bmw 325 tds. Superb motorway car and 45mpg, you will get a mint one for 3k whereas if you went for a later 320d you will be getting a very high milage one.

SimonD

Aren't the Omega and the 9-5 basically the same car underneath?

Mondeos are ok and much better off the motorway than the Saab but they are far noisier and more tiring to drive over long distances.

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

This should do the trick for a 'motorway' car

Reffro

Skoda Superb 1.9Tdi 130bhp or 2.5 V6 Tdi. Awesome cars on a run, better than the Passat it is based on.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

No, the 9-5 was the successor to the 9000 so based on that, which was a platform sharing deal with Alfa and Lancia, the 9-5 is FWD and the Omega RWD.

GazJenno

Lexus GS300 Sport .... mines great on a motorway! Uses quite abit of fuel but it eats up the miles smoothly! .... best if you do any garage work on it yourself because i think lexus dealers cost alot.

Gaz

RON

530d.................. no contest.......... big, comfortable, sub 3k..... just, and on a run you'll get over 40......

Juice

^^^^ agree, i have one of these in the family, nothing contests

SimonD

Whoops! I did know that ....honest.
Too many brain cells gone this summer!

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Mondeo, one of the TDCI's, either the 115 or the 130, you cannot touch them as motorway cars go for the money even good on the a/b roads (plus they cost a damn sight less to run than said bmw/audi/vw etc)

Tony

DJ_Jon

iTrader: (7)

Mondeo TDCi 130 - mine gets over 60 to the gallon on a run (according to the trip computer) and is fun to drive.

jonny_693

iTrader: (5)

Omega Uses the same engine allbeit detuned. My 325 tds had done 300K miles and I still sold it for a grand. It still ran like clockwork and had never been in bits. I know what I would rather be driving

Andy Porter

has to be a Mondeo with 3k to spend, you'll be surprised what you can get for that

finchyboy

No way can you pick up a BMW 530 D for under 3 grand.

Cyberevo

iTrader: (1)

I don't think you'll get over40mpg out of a 530D, they are getting on a bit now and the car is pretty heavy.

I do around 2k miles per month and had the same dilema so found a very nice 525i sport with 48k miles on the clock, picked it up for £4800.

THe sport model is nice and it's a great motorway car, just crunches up the miles in a class of it's own, would not touch a merc (so dated) and Saab, so numb.

I looked at a couple of Lexus but the 5 series every time. I get 29.7 average on mine.

MJW

Theres one on the auto trader for £2695, V-reg

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Yet your mondeo's will be my03/04 cars

Tony

MJW

True, but an 03/04 Mondeo at that price will have more or less as many miles on as the BM I mentioned above (the BM had 110k on the clock) plus there's the benefit that it doesn't fall into the emissions for car tax.

[edit] and 130bhp vs. 235bhp would also swing it if I were in the OP's position !

stoneface

iTrader: (6)

A 530d of that age is 184bhp.

LG John

I can't speak for the £3000 category, but I had just over double that to spend and similar requirements for a car. From a main dealer I got a 34,000 mile, 2005 ST220 with FSH, a one year warranty (which proved useful when dual mass flywheel bought the farm) and some nice extra's (brand new premium tyres all round, all alloys refurbished with original polished cut) for £6995.

Believe me I tried to find a 530/330i type car that was as young, in as good condition and as well equipped but it was frankly impossible. The first person to own said BMW's paid a premium for the badge and that situation prevails even in the second hand market. In short, I'd imagine you'd get much more car for your money spending £3k on a mondeo than £3k on a BWM.

Besides....it doesn't look too disgraceful next to this.....

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

And the benefit of parts and servicing being about 5 times that of the mondeo's.
Mondeo wins it hands down, just for the fact its cheap motoring oh and the tax is cheaper than the BMW's too!

Tony