rickya

iTrader: (18)

Undecided on which above used car to get at the end of the year for me & the Mrs to drive & one little one in the back. Must be good on fuel consumption, automatic, 2 to 3 years old, low mileage, leathers or part leather interior, reliable & sat nav would be a bonus.

The three I have narrowed it down to are:

-2008 BMW 520d Sport (step Auto 177bhp efficient dynamics)

-2008 Audi A6 (58 facelift) 2.0tdi S-line or Le Mans (Multronic Auto)

-2009 VW Passat CC 2.0 GT tdi DSG (140 or 170 bhp)

I would rather not spend more than approx 18k at the end of the year. Currently in above year/spec the : 520d is selling for approx £18.5k ; the A6 for £21k and the Passat CC for £18k. Personally I'm leaning towards the Passat CC as its very well spec'd & by end of the year prices should have dropped to approx less than £17k. The Audi is a bit pricey for the spec I want & the BMW, though the sensible choice is looking a bit dated IMO & has now been replaced by the 2010 new model.

Any advice appreciated.
(Current car to be replaced is a BMW E46 330d Auto)

Brun

You said you wanted reliable - why list Audi?

rickya

iTrader: (18)

I thought they were!! lol Not too keen on Audi anyway, a but over priced for what you get.

Brun

I see at least 3 every week broken down at the side of the M1. I've also seen more than 1 Passat (but i do do 300 M1 niles a week). I'm yet to see a BMW

Petem95

I tend to buy similar brands at 2-3years old as well.

Generally have Audi's, but I have found reliability to be a bit poor. Had a 2 year old 2.0TDI A3 and not long after going out of warranty the aircon failed, clutch would judder on cold mornings, a couple of wheel bearings went, turbo started making a 'wooo' noise at low RPM - at which point I got rid and lost best part of £5k in a year on depreciation.

A4 I had prior to that was a bit better, but some of the speakers on the stereo would sometimes crackle and cut out, it used a lot of oil despite being average mileage, warning lights always coming on and also suffered from very annoying clutch judder.

Decided to move onto BMW after people in work seemed to have no issues with theirs, and it's been totally fault free for 2 years and a vastly better car in every respect than the Audi's..

rickya

iTrader: (18)

Thanks for input so far I think the Audi is definetly out and its between the other two, unless there are any other cars I'm missing? (Apart from Skoda, I know theyr good but call me old fashioned!)

mattvortex

How about one of the newer Merc c/e class diesels?

Not quite as common as the BMW or Audi which is a bonus.

SRSport

Audi and VW would both be out for me on reliability. BMW would, from what I've read, be the most reliable, although I have heard from a couple of people on here about the 4pot BMW engines not being 100% bomb proof, cant remember who it was, maybe Matteboy, but it might be worth looking into a bit. Saying that though the BMW would win.

SRSport

This E class is nice

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi.../100?logcode=p

or this C class in keeping with the economical theme. Blue efficiency from Mercedes, 59mpg overall.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...15pb?logcode=p

austinwrx

I went through same thoughts a yr ago as I needed a daily hack for us.

looked at all the above.

actually bought a ford mondeo. cheap to buy, run and better spec'd than the lot. also bigger than all the above: parked up against audis and 5 series at work, you can see it's about the same, if not larger than a BMW 5.

now I'm first to admit that a BMW clearly has better build, but pound for pound, you get a lot more for yr money.

I've had plenty of flash motors: all I wanted is a car I don't care about, my 18 mth old dtr can make a mess in and I can throw a mountain bike in the back of twice a week, covered in filth.

had a few vw's and I'm not convinced on reliability at all I'm afraid. (golf's and passats)

never been a ford fan, hated them my entire driving "life". 20 odd yrs on, I'm very surprised. did 200 miles to the coast over the weekend, laiden down. gave it some beans on the way there and back, plenty of overtaking power: still got 54 mpg.

I did go to BMW and look seriously at 5 series, but for the money it was going to be a much older and high miler car, ditto, audi and so on.

having said all that, I am a bit twitchy for something else now !

john banks

Mondeo is a good call, I have not tried the DSG/powershift. Considering mileage, maybe a petrol engine could be an option as purchase price and reliability could make up for economy. The new Ecoboost engines are well reviewed.

SRSport

See what you mean, its difficult to argue with.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...s/40?logcode=p

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...s/40?logcode=p

The thing for me is, does it make you want to turn back to look at it and think, "yes, that is my car" with any pride?

For me this is the biggest stumbling block and although it is arguably the much better choice for the money would mean that I veer off at the last minute and buy a BMW or the C class Merc.

john banks

I have much preferred the ownership of three Fords over two Germans. German cars would have to prove a lot to me to make me buy another.

Jimpreza

The first Mondeo has a bit of an Vectra look about it . I am *** being snobby but I don't think there's any 2.0 diesel I could step out of with any pride.

SRSport

I guess it depends on what you're used to, where you, live what your friends drive etc.
I knew someone who had a 20 year old rust bucket of a Lada then bought a Ford Orion which was 9 years old and actually had paint on it. He was incredibly proud of it.

Jimpreza

In my eyes the BMW would be the nicest to look at.

austinwrx

I'm a tight git though (being a yorkshire man) so I'll only run a car I've paid for in cash.

don't do debt !

I paid £12700 for a titanium spec, 12 mth old mondeo from a Ford dealer. took some serious finding as a very new car then as not much for sale secondhand.

I think the new 2011 models look even nicer. the amount of toys in the car is staggering: I'm betting more than bmw/audi etc offer.

problem was for that sort of money, yr not buying much audi/bmw for yr money, or its old with high mileage on.

i'm sure the build and finish isn't quite as good as german or jap though still.

I'd have had a lexus possibly if they did a hatchback or estate.

scooby for fun: the mondeo sits in traffic and plods to work, the shops, nursery etc.

running costs are a factor too: it hurts going to subaru for a service !!

£149 for last major service at ford. can't argue with that.


bored of the impreza and fuel costs though now. I can see that going for a legacy/outback diesel to replace my impreza and the wifes car with one and keep a 4 x 4 for winter. its a bit hilly here !

Brun

....Say it and it will happen - A 5 series with the AA today.
The biggest surprise for today was 1 mile further up the road was a flat back waiting to load a 60 plate a 458 Italia