Or similar.
Times are hard and my disposal income has taken a hit of late. I need to economise in all areas of my motoring and it will soon be time to say goodbye to my '54 Subaru Forester 2.5XTn. This is costing me £410/month on finance and at 20k a year is doing twice the mileage I anticipated - 27 mpg and two services a year.
I'm looking for a diesel estate and a spend of £11-12,000. I prefer what I see as the added security of a main dealer purchase and am prepared to sacrifice a bit of fuel ecomonomy (will accept high 30's mpg) for a little added performance
My heart says go for a 5/6 year old E Class of 5 Series.
My head says go for an unloved car with high depreciation, say 9-5, Signum, Mondeo.
Detached opinion's appreciated.
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Detached opinion's appreciated.
Non detached opinion forthcoming, I have had my 2002 Mondeo TDCi from new and it is still great at nearly 120k miles. Better a Vectra estate than a Signum though neither as sharp to drive as a Mondeo and even the 1.9 150 diesel is not as gutsy as the 2.0 Mondeo, the latter is also chain cam. You can get a lot of Mondeo estate for £12k.
An E-Class of that generation is not the best MB by a long shot, perhaps consider a C220CDi unless you need the boot space where the E-Class, Mondeo and Vectra lead the way in that regard.
Re VFM, and a good sized boot space, how about a C5?
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Times are hard and my disposal income has taken a hit of late. I'm looking for a diesel estate and a spend of £11-12 000.
£12k doesn't sound like hard times to me....
My heart says go for a 5/6 year old E Class of 5 Series. My head says go for an unloved car with high depreciation say 9-5 Signum Mondeo.
Honda Accord Tourer?
Mondeos are certainly cheap, £9k for an 06 diesel www.cargiant.co.uk/cars/detail.asp?Id=334496
Substantially less for older models.
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Unless you look carefully, an E or 5 at that price could have big bills looming, unlike a Mondeo, Vectra or C5. W210 Es also have 'an issue' with rust.
I would go for a C5, personally. Bit more distinctive than a Mondeo or Vectra, and stacks of room.
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If it's a change of car for financial reasons then I'd have to say that something like a Signum or Mondeo still under warranty is the no brainer over a 6 year old E-Class. The E-class of that era was not exactly known for it's build quality, more like known for it's terrible rust problems and poor reliability!
Against a 5 Series of that era it's less clear cut as the 5 Series is just sooo much nicer than a Mondeo, but still, at 5 or 6 years old is likely to be presenting you with some big bills that it sounds as if you could do without at the moment.
Blue
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In these circumstances, the Signum is the best bet.
Being unloved, it'll be cheaper than a Vectra/Mondeo but still with good parts availability, can be serviced / repaired by any good independent and will be easy to sell on when your circumstances change for the better. Insurance will be cheaper as well.
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repeated post deleted -PU
Mondeo has similar/slightly lower insurance groups than a Signum. And parts availability should if anything be better on the Mondeo.
The Signum might be slightly cheaper, but I don't think there's much in it.
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For that money you could hit the middle ground and go for a 2002-2003 Volvo V70 D5.
Cracking engine, it'll be the 163bhp euro3 engine which will give you high30's or possibly low 40's to the gallon.
You'll also get a year's, or 20k mile, warranty from the dealer.
Just check the injectors have been changed as they are prone to leak on this vintage of car causing difficult starting in winter. Total cost to change is £1500 but dealer should be able to tell you if it's been done or not. If not, obviously walk away.
Get over the badge issue, they really are good cars and these engines with regular oil changes can cover huge mileages.
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The time is right for you to have a 530d Sport Touring in your life.
Other cars may be cheaper to own, but nothing else for £12k is a better car.
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Seconded - the drive of your life !
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Against a 5 Series of that era it's less clear cut as the 5 Series is just sooo much nicer than a Mondeo but still at 5 or 6 years old is likely to be presenting you with some big bills that it sounds as if you could do without at the moment.
I have a 530d Touring - bought at 1yo and now 7yo. It is beginning to cost a bob or two but hopefully the last spending round will last another 7 years. Just had the enging mounts and front&rear suspension changed - ouch but spread over 7 years driving not too bad, especially with the loads I lug. One of the points that people always say to be careful with is the turbo as these can blow and leave you with a £1.5-2k bill.
I personally wouldn't try and get a cheap 5 as you might end up paying more in the long run.
A few years back I bought a bigger car (which was too small for 3 kids) - a 59k fAsh, 6yo Audi A4 Avant. Fantastic car and really opened my eyes up to what you really can get for not huge amounts of money.
If I was in your situation and money was a little on the tight side, I would also consider a Passat. Not sure what a Toyota Avensis Estate is like but would that be OK?
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I need to economise in all areas of my motoring and it will soon be time to say goodbye to my '54 Subaru Forester 2.5XTn. This is costing me £410/month on finance and at 20k a year is doing twice the mileage I anticipated - 27 mpg and two services a year. I'm looking for a diesel estate and a spend of £11-12 000. >>
Just a thought. Will this really be the economising step you intend?
Getting shot of the Forester will relieve you of £410/month, but what equity (if any) will there be left in the car? The depreciation may be a surprise, but of course this is only realised when you actually sell. And if the replacement is coming from a dealer (for the understandable reassurances), you won't be paying bottom dollar for it.
If the budget for the replacement is being borrowed, I don't think your financial position will really change that much, apart from saving on the fuel economy. If the replacement car does 38mpg compared to the Foresters 27mpg, you are looking at a saving of £860 per year @20,000 miles pa. How does this figure in the capital values/depreciation side of the arguement?
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Is the £410 a lease charge or an HP payment?
Lease charge you might save money - HP the car will be yours in time - if you sell you can lose on the Capital Value of the Forester only to lose again buying another car. Assuming the forester was brand new 3 years ago you have taken the BIG Hit on depreciation - it will now slow down. Buying a nearly new Diesel car you could find the depreciation is high again.
I would sit down and work out the costs of your Forester over the next 3 years as against - Capital, Servicing, RIns/RFL etc - you will lose a lot less on the Forester (Capital Value from now) than you save on the petrol/Diesel front.
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Thanks for the opinions
Of course my head has been saying to go for the Mondeo all along, sometimes you just need others to point out the obvious.
Only thing that surprised me was the crticism of a 6 year old E class, I thought these were the last of the bullet proof ones, that must be the model before?
thanks again
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Xantiaman
I know that you specified a diesel estate, but we all know that the main cost of running a vehicle (excluding major unforeseen mechanical failure) is depreciation. A few years ago I bought my third Subaru, a 4 yo GLS Legacy estate for £3500, ran it for the best part of 4 years, and sold it for £1900.All it cost me (apart from fuel at an average 32mpg road tax & insurance) were new rear bushes, 4 tyres and regular 5k oil changes circa £30 a time. A good friend, at the same time, bought a 3 year old A3 Tdi at double the cost ''because it did 45+mpg'', and it has, and continues to do, cost a small fortune in ongoing repairs.
The old style Legacy has 10% more interior space than the new Sport Tourer, is very unloved mainly because of its perceived image of being expensive to run, and is a real bargain.
I am selling my Defender in August, and on my return in October from 6 weeks trailwalking in CA, shall buy my 4th Subaru...either a Forester XT or an old style Legacy estate.I initially had a budget of £8k, but now shall spend no more than £5k...not exactly bangernomics, but fortunately I have the time and health to spend my money travelling, rather than watching my motor depreciate.
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Only thing that surprised me was the crticism of a 6 year old E class I thought these were the last of the bullet proof ones that must be the model before? thanks again
The E-Class was hopeless from the launch of the frog-eyed model in 1996. The newer style model that was launched in 2002 was better, and then was heavily revised in late 2004 (I think) that made it even better again.
Blue
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An old money pit against a modern car with still two years warranty I do not see where the problem deciding is.The choice is either Ford or Vauxhall which ever you like the best in looks.
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