See my post above on towcars.

As the owner of an ancient ('05) diesel Superb, its build quality and utility are not in question. For me, it has been an absolute bargain.

The Superb falls down very badly compared with a vehicle from M-B in terms of perceived value/status. This matters hugely to many owners and has allowed the latter organisation to provide goods and service to the public which come nowhere near to my required standards of value for money.

In my view, to get the best from any car, take some time to ascertain its weaknesses (eg. Superb - rainwater ingress) and either fix them or get a suitably intelligent and motivated Independent to do it. The same applies to routine servicing. Main dealers do not meet my requirements of general competence and value for money.

You might still hanker after that three-pointed star though - their marketing psychology is erm - Superb. Just watch your bank account. I'll manage happily without.

659.

Recently I read a review of the new E class and got carried away with the journalists descriptions of "sublime" ride etc and of course the seventy something mpg (yeah i bet....). But then came to the summary describing the servicing costs as "reasonable" at £1700 for 3 years. At that point I switched off.

First thing I look at when buying a car is ease of diy servicing, which boils down to how easy to change oil, filter and spark plugs. It costs me about £15 to change oil and filter using top quality oil and MANN OE filters.

Recent experience of removing a ridiculously overtightened screw on filter fitted by a dealer with damaged sealing ring convinces me that an engine is safer in my hands than theirs.

Only other comment is that I have learned the hard way to avoid cars that have things that are newly introduced, for instance make sure the engine variant has been in production for at least 3 years in the car youre buying. New designs nowadays have so many design faults that the owner pays the price in later life. Typical examples are poor camchain and cambelt drives underspecified components and plain poor quality. Run out models have certain advantages.

Mercs have a reputation for being mega expensive to service. A good indie will keep costs well down on main dealers and the Merc owner's club offers advice on all aspects of running one. Other car makes have cost me more in costs than Mercedes.

I will just say that, for your mileage (5-8k per annum) a modern diesel (all since 2011) is a terrible choice. DPF/EGR problems - and considerable expense - will happen. Sooner rather than later.

on the other hand DtD were offering Citroen Berlingo, or the Peugeot equivalent 100BHP 1.6 Diesels for a staight £13,000.00, plenty room without excessive length.