Up to 6.25k budget: 3 choices

mike gunnz · 7 Mar 2012 at 15:29

BMW Touring 3 Series or 5 Series
Octavia Estate or Saloon vRS
Mondeo ST TDCi (saloon)

I've endured a horrific 02 Focus 1.4L for the last 7 years which the Mrs has given me carte blanche to sell as she's no longer in interested in driving a car. However with a kid at private school I'm operating on a budget.

I'm looking for a modest preferably roomy family car that I can use for my glorious daily commute which is 22 miles each way on virtually empty and winding A/B roads with not a traffic light, speed camera or roundabout in sight...or it would be glorious in any car other than a Focus 1.4L.

I'm no doubt mad for considering an ageing and high mileage 3/5 series BMW but they ooze character IMO and I genuinely want an enjoyable driving experience and I love big cars and I've always liked the BMW estate shape.

I also want some power to enjoy my commute and room for the 2 kids and shopping and all that family stuff.

I'm only really looking to keep this next car for a couple of years then hopefully my budget will have increased considerably.

These are 3 very different cars but they fit my tastes and budget and they all seem well regarded on here.

If this all seems a bit vague I apologise but I'm looking for some pointers as to how to target my search for the right car.

rodenal · 7 Mar 2012 at 15:39

If you're willing to take your time picking one and look after the one you do buy (i.e happy to spend a bit of cash on it every year) then it's hard to beat a 5 touring especially on a good road.

Bang for buck would be the octavia estate for me, though they're a bit smaller than the mondeo or 5 series. I wouldn't personally bother with an e46 touring - too small to be useful really.

Mondeo is a good car too, dunno if i'd buy the diesel though.

rossk26 · 7 Mar 2012 at 15:42

At 14,740 miles per year (excluding personal use) I would recommend the Mondeo ST 3.0 V6 or the Octavia VRS 2.0tfsi.

Mondy

Skoda

mike gunnz · 7 Mar 2012 at 15:51

rossk26 said:
At 14,740 miles per year (excluding personal use) I would recommend the Mondeo ST 3.0 V6 or the Octavia VRS 2.0tfsi.

Mondy

Skoda

Isn't the V6 Mondeo ridiculously heavy on the fuel?

mike gunnz · 7 Mar 2012 at 15:52

rodenal said:
If you're willing to take your time picking one and look after the one you do buy (i.e happy to spend a bit of cash on it every year) then it's hard to beat a 5 touring especially on a good road.

Bang for buck would be the octavia estate for me, though they're a bit smaller than the mondeo or 5 series. I wouldn't personally bother with an e46 touring - too small to be useful really.

Mondeo is a good car too, dunno if i'd buy the diesel though.

Which Touring would you reccomend?

Participant · 7 Mar 2012 at 15:53

Alfa 166

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif.../radius/1500/postcode/b807rh/page/1?logcode=p

rodenal · 7 Mar 2012 at 15:54

Hard to look by the 530i imo, brilliant engine. My father had several e39 530d's, still drive great and neither came up with any particularly horrific bills in one sitting - but he was doing a far higher mileage and those cars were a lot younger at the time when compared with what you'd be able to buy now.

Scania · 7 Mar 2012 at 16:07

mike gunnz said:
I'm no doubt mad for considering an ageing and high mileage 3/5 series BMW but they ooze character IMO and I genuinely want an enjoyable driving experience and I love big cars and I've always liked the BMW estate shape.

Imo, no, not really mad at all. Yes you can scare yourself silly reading the web about horror storys, and yes they can cripple you if your unlucky.

Accept that you will have to pay out sooner or later and have the ability to pocket it then no problem, that said, I've had fewer issues with my high mile e39 than I ever expected, thus far, no failures just routine consumables....

I've owned 4 BMW's, all old, with a combined mileage of ~ 700k! none has (yet!) broke the bank, all have had charachter (even my 318i!), they all feel relatively solid after a week driving a truck - albeit flimsy by direct comparison!

Knowing how heavy in the pocket for example my e38 728i was, I still want a 740 some day!

You either "get" these and accept the hit in the pocket or you buy something sensible.

rossk26 · 7 Mar 2012 at 16:15

mike gunnz said:
Isn't the V6 Mondeo ridiculously heavy on the fuel?

Compared to the ST TDCi yes. Based on fuel alone it will cost you roughly £100 per month more than the diesel.

But as many people on here will say, your costs are not all down to MPG'z

Imy · 7 Mar 2012 at 16:17

MK2 Focus ST

Scania · 7 Mar 2012 at 16:18

rossk26 said:
But as many people on here will say, your costs are not all down to MPG'z

true enough, alas, that cost of mpg'z is only heading one way for the forseeable....

stoofa · 7 Mar 2012 at 16:51

rossk26 said:
At 14,740 miles per year (excluding personal use) I would recommend the Mondeo ST 3.0 V6 or the Octavia VRS 2.0tfsi.

Mondy

Skoda

Of course the fact that the advert for the vRS says "Full Leather" and it is in fact the standard "Half Leather" in there.....I'd say shop around for one where there isn't a lie in the first line of the advert

mike gunnz · 7 Mar 2012 at 17:02

Imy said:
MK2 Focus ST

No interest in another Focus I'm after a bigger car.

mike gunnz · 7 Mar 2012 at 17:04

R420LA6X2/4MNA said:
Imo, no, not really mad at all. Yes you can scare yourself silly reading the web about horror storys, and yes they can cripple you if your unlucky.

Accept that you will have to pay out sooner or later and have the ability to pocket it then no problem, that said, I've had fewer issues with my high mile e39 than I ever expected, thus far, no failures just routine consumables....

I've owned 4 BMW's, all old, with a combined mileage of ~ 700k! none has (yet!) broke the bank, all have had charachter (even my 318i!), they all feel relatively solid after a week driving a truck - albeit flimsy by direct comparison!

Knowing how heavy in the pocket for example my e38 728i was, I still want a 740 some day!

You either "get" these and accept the hit in the pocket or you buy something sensible.

Been scouring the E39s, I'll keep looking.

Howard · 7 Mar 2012 at 17:08

mike gunnz said:
Isn't the V6 Mondeo ridiculously heavy on the fuel?

Not really. It's not great in urban environments but then what car with a decent engine is?

For your commute it sounds perfect

Liampope · 7 Mar 2012 at 17:15

R420LA6X2/4MNA said:
Imo, no, not really mad at all. Yes you can scare yourself silly reading the web about horror storys, and yes they can cripple you if your unlucky.

Accept that you will have to pay out sooner or later and have the ability to pocket it then no problem, that said, I've had fewer issues with my high mile e39 than I ever expected, thus far, no failures just routine consumables....

I've owned 4 BMW's, all old, with a combined mileage of ~ 700k! none has (yet!) broke the bank, all have had charachter (even my 318i!), they all feel relatively solid after a week driving a truck - albeit flimsy by direct comparison!

Knowing how heavy in the pocket for example my e38 728i was, I still want a 740 some day!

You either "get" these and accept the hit in the pocket or you buy something sensible.

Agree totally - of those choices I'd go for a 5 touring without question. You seem to have some petrol in your blood so I'm sure you can see why. You can pick up such a nice example of an E39 and still have some change. Up to you if you choose petrol or a tractor

.

eg:

Tractor

Petrol

I wouldn't go near a Mondeo or a Skoda compared to those.

mike gunnz · 7 Mar 2012 at 17:40

Liampope said:
Agree totally - of those choices I'd go for a 5 touring without question. You seem to have some petrol in your blood so I'm sure you can see why. You can pick up such a nice example of an E39 and still have some change. Up to you if you choose petrol or a tractor .

eg:

Tractor

Petrol

I wouldn't go near a Mondeo or a Skoda compared to those.

Both great looking cars but I'm set on a manual. Are there any issues with owning an automatic of this age?

mike gunnz · 7 Mar 2012 at 18:08

Howard said:
Not really. It's not great in urban environments but then what car with a decent engine is?

For your commute it sounds perfect

Just read your Mondeo post in your sig. Looking forward to taking one for a test drive one now.

[TW]Fox · 7 Mar 2012 at 18:13

Nice budget for an E39 Tourer, most examples will leave you a grand or so change to stick in the bank for dealing with issues and general running costs (Which you will get, mine has generated a grand of expense excluding upgrades in the last month or so).

Definately better to be looking at an E46 or E39 at this money even though it will buy an E60 or an E91 because a mint previous gen model is IMHO a better buy than a bottom of the market newer gen car.

E39 Sport Tourings with manual gearboxes are hilariously rare. There are about 30-40 530i Sport Manual Touring's ever sold in the UK. Almost all are automatic and to be honest even they are hardly common - 450 530i Sport Auto. This may force you to look at the slower yet no cheaper to run 525i. Don't bother with a diesel, just extra risk at this sort of age.

It took me about 3 months to find a decent E39 Touring for my parents. Managed it in the end - a nice '52 530i Sport Auto with BMW warranty.

A curious oddity with E39 Sport Tourings is that they run 235/40/17's all round which means tyres are an absolute bargain - only about 110 quid a corner for decent UHP tyres! Beats 200 quid a corner for rears on the Saloons with 18's (Or £170ish for Saloons with the same design wheels as the Tourings).

As for the Mondeo ST220? An excellent car. It feels like a step down from an E39 for sure - it isnt as well made, etc etc... but it's likely more reliable, the V6 sounds awesome and they are cracking cars. I nearly bought one instead of my E39. I'm glad I didn't but not for any failings the Mondeo had.

mike gunnz · 7 Mar 2012 at 18:22

[TW]Fox;21422606 said:
Nice budget for an E39 Tourer, most examples will leave you a grand or so change to stick in the bank for dealing with issues and general running costs (Which you will get, mine has generated a grand of expense excluding upgrades in the last month or so).

Definately better to be looking at an E46 or E39 at this money even though it will buy an E60 or an E91 because a mint previous gen model is IMHO a better buy than a bottom of the market newer gen car.

E39 Sport Tourings with manual gearboxes are hilariously rare. There are about 30-40 530i Sport Manual Touring's ever sold in the UK. Almost all are automatic and to be honest even they are hardly common - 450 530i Sport Auto. This may force you to look at the slower yet no cheaper to run 525i. Don't bother with a diesel, just extra risk at this sort of age.

It took me about 3 months to find a decent E39 Touring for my parents. Managed it in the end - a nice '52 530i Sport Auto with BMW warranty.

A curious oddity with E39 Sport Tourings is that they run 235/40/17's all round which means tyres are an absolute bargain - only about 110 quid a corner for decent UHP tyres! Beats 200 quid a corner for rears on the Saloons with 18's (Or £170ish for Saloons with the same design wheels as the Tourings).

As for the Mondeo ST220? An excellent car. It feels like a step down from an E39 for sure - it isnt as well made, etc etc... but it's likely more reliable, the V6 sounds awesome and they are cracking cars. I nearly bought one instead of my E39. I'm glad I didn't but not for any failings the Mondeo had.

May well have narrowed it down to the ST220 or the Tourer then...time to reflect on the drive home now.

Hardest part will be exercising patience and restraint and not biting at the first example I see. I'll really need to do my homework.