Hi - I mentioned in another post that I have had two Vauxhall Senators over the past 12 years.(consecutively) Any suggestions as to what could replace the latest one as its useful life is drawing to a close.
Must be big, comfortable, unloved (to keep the price down), relatively cheap to maintain and cheap spares so no luxury marques!
Possibles are: Peugeot 607, Skoda Superb, Nissan QX. Price between 5-10K
Any criticisms/suggestions welcome.
Regards DougB.
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Surely the logical replacement would be an Omega? It does seem to fit the criteria you have laid down.
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The Peugeot 607 isn't noticeably better than the 406, really, and there's not even the oversupply to keep prices as low as they should be. If one came up cheaply I wouldn't rule it out completely.
Superb is a good car and should be reliable, with very good dealers. However there are so many people who think they're being smart by getting a Skoda that they aren't that cheap. A 2.8 V6 can't be had in the trader for less than £10,495 - that's more than some allegedly prestige makes, plus it's still a stretched repmobile rather than a debadged A6.
An Omega would meet your requirements admirably, too, as BH has said above. A CDX or Elite will have all the toys and comfort.
My choice though, for about £9k for a three year old with a lowish mileage, would be a Volvo S80. They're big cruisers and bruisers that can be bought cheaply, and whilst franchise spares aren't cheap, EuroCarParts or GSF and a local specialist can make them very affordable.
QX is a good car but generally older and cheaper than the others, and very rare. One new shape and five old shape nationally on the Trader at largely random prices.
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A friend has just picked up a 90k 02 S80 D5 SE for under £7.5k. Loves it to bits.
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The early Senators with the straight six engines were superbly reliable vehicles, which performed sterling service in many police forces across the U.K. covering mileages well in excess of 200k without major problems. You still see an occasional Opel Monza at reasonable mileage that has identical mechanicals and in good condition.
Unfortunately the V6 engines are not so reliable and are plagued with a plethora of electronic faults.
If it was my money, I would be looking out for a sub 100k mileage Mercedes W124 E Series, which is well within your budget and built when Mercs were supremely reliable and not overly complicated, so running costs are not unreasonable. This would be a far more reliable option IMHO than a Volvo S80
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Can Vauxhall Signums be found for 10k now? Should have thought so, they've been round a couple of years and the depreciation is horrendous. The only problem may be finding one.
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I just picked up a 2003 new shape Vectra 2.0 diesel, 38,000 miles for £6800, economical, straightforward chain driven engine, very comfortable with all the little extras you would need
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Volvo S80. Go for the 2.9 unless you do high mileage. Its got a great creamy yowl as you open it up
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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