Buying advice - E220cdi or Saab 9-3

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Wed 31 Mar 2010 16:36
Buying advice - E220cdi or Saab 9-3 - wee scotty dog

I'm about to change and am filled with the usual dread - getting ripped off, not knowing how much my car is worth, whether to sell privately or trade it in, blah, blah.

My existing car is a BMW 530d SE touring 2002 02. It has done 87K and has lots of nice things like leather, vibrating front seats, 6xCD, park assist front and rear, multi-function steering wheel, 17" alloys.

So I'm used to a bit of luxury. But I only really use it to go to work which is a 10 mile round trip in town. Now and again on motorways at the weekend.

So I thought something smaller. And was looking at a Saab 9-3. Found a nice one from a trader with a short warranty - heated seats (mmm), half leather, 1.9tdi 150 auto saloon vector sport 2005 05 metallic silver with ipod connect and xenons and an upgraded sound system. And 53K miles. And he'd give me 5200 for my car.

But I'm mentioning it to a friend and he says he's selling his nice 2005 55 Mercedes 220cdi Avantgarde which has 45K miles, a 6Cd on the dash, half leather, auto tip in solid blue. And he'll give it to me for £10K. But I'd need to sell mine obviously.

So what is the best buy? Smaller, cheaper more miles, Saab or the bigger more expensive but it's a Merc.

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Wed 31 Mar 2010 18:08
Buying advice - E220cdi or Saab 9-3 - commerdriver

Having just returned my Saab in much the same spec as the one you are looking at I would say the Saab is worth a go in terms of driving comfort and economy, but if space is an issue the Merc will have much more.

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Wed 31 Mar 2010 22:34
Buying advice - E220cdi or Saab 9-3 - Avant

If they've been looked after, either could be a good buy, although you'd need to take the Saab on a good run to make sure you could live with the turbo lag. The Mercedes has the nicer engine.

But with your low mileage would it be worth looking for a petrol? if your BMW is going well, you can take your time finding the right car for you.

There seem to have been a lot of horror stories about major failure of diesel engines as they get older, probably more about Saabs than Mercs. A lot depends on how they've been maintained; regular servicing is always important but crucial for a diesel.

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Thu 1 Apr 2010 10:14
Buying advice - E220cdi or Saab 9-3 - madf

Price up Mercedes servicing. It will make your eyes water. These palatial showrooms make money from people who think money is something to be sprayed around like confetti.

(I am being serious: Mercedes servicing does not come cheap: every small imperfection will be sorted at a huge cost. Large imperfection are less frequent but much more expensive).

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Thu 1 Apr 2010 10:29
Buying advice - E220cdi or Saab 9-3 - gordonbennet

Madf is quite right about MB servicing but the same can be said about most main dealers of expensive makes.

The MB would be of interest to me, if it's been serviced properly and looked after i'd look at that car very favourably assuming it's auto (hopefully not the 7 speed), manual MB not really.

Do check it's at least 04 build date (Russian site details on MB forum will tell you) and it will be galvanised, it's coming up for a transmission fluid change but that year may not be in the service schedule, like BMW and some others they went through a phase of saying their auto gearboxes were sealed for life..;), ask around for a competent indy in your area to look after it, my own indy is the business and has saved me literally thousands of pounds over the years.

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Fri 2 Apr 2010 13:10
Buying advice - E220cdi or Saab 9-3 - prm72

Why get rid of the BMW, it sounds a nice car, and better the devil you know etc. Having said that i've got an E280 cdi ( with the 7 speed box, and its fine on the later cars) your friends 220 will have the 5 speed and the'yre fine too, Drive the E class and you certainly won't buy the saab

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Fri 2 Apr 2010 19:51
Buying advice - E220cdi or Saab 9-3 - barney100

Merc for me every time, E class models will give years of service. As for servicing itself go to the the main dealers and expect your wallet to cry with the pain. However, after 8 years of Merc motoring using indies I can honestly say they aren't half as money consuming as you are led to believe. Check the normal stuff like discs and pads and if it has a longish mot then fine. If not pay to have one done and if ok go for it and enjoy. I have to be fair no experince of Saabs.

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