Need an "old man's" car :(

I think we are going around in circles here, I clearly had a different experience of 5 series than you. I'm sure the OP can do the sums, worth looking at and a test drive if he thinks it will suit him, that's all.
 
Clint_001 said:
I think we are going around in circles here, I clearly had a different experience of 5 series than you. I'm sure the OP can do the sums, worth looking at and a test drive if he thinks it will suit him, that's all.
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You're new here. Let me introduce you to TW[Fox] - the resident wikipedia on all things BMW.
 
Ezah said:
From a quick look at http://www.hanggliding.org it seems you can transport one on almost anything.. so better just to focus on which car you prefer and can afford the running costs of.
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Yeah. I measured my car and it's really not an issue, just mount a ladder on a roof rack and have <1m overhang in front and back, however, I'm just finding long journeys make me feel a bit cramped out, even with the seat right back. It's never been a problem until now as I've always done mostly short trips.

Thanks for all the advice, Mondeo is looking like a good idea as you do get a lot of spec for your money (and I'm really not a badge snob, I just want something practical). What are the 2.0TDCIs like, bulletproof? I'd like to head Fox's comments on the 2.0 petrols as well. Is there anything in particular I should avoid? Anything to look out for servicing history wise? Which spec (Zetec/Ghia? I haven't a clue).

I'd also really appreciate any more input on the Volvos, a mate has one and I thought it seemed like quite a nice drive (as a passenger).

I'll get out and try a few in the coming weeks and see how I feel about it but obviously the more info I'm armed with, the better. I notice there are some 3.0V6 Titanium X estates around that look nice but that may be far from economical to run! :)

Cheers a tonne!
 
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Something else to consider would be the Saab 9-5 Aero estate. Your budget will easily get you something around a 54 plate with cash left over, which could then go towards a sports exhaust, 3.5bar FPR and a stage 3 remap. :)

These are the pick in many ways as the newer ones (but still pre Ednas) generally have lower spec as Saab went through a phase of adding a number of the option packs.
 
With regards to the Volvos, the old S40 is crap to put it bluntly and not that big either. The new S40/V50 (I have a V50) from 2005+ is a totally different car and really rather good, but still quite compact, more like a Focus estate than a Mondeo in size. Weather you can get one of these for 4K now I'm not sure. But they are also not as cheap to run as you might imagine, fuel costs and general fluids are cheap enough are the 4 pots and go up with the 5 cylinder models as you would expect, but any other parts you might need from Volvo are in my experience at least as expensive as BMW, a bit more sometimes, certainly more than Ford. Other than the fact that the 2005+ S40/V50 have a habit of going through wheel bearings rather fast, they are pretty reliable cars. Petrols are typically as problem free as you would expect and the diesels only suffer the same general common rail diesel issues we see on most other cars of a similar age (which can be damned expensive, DPF, Turbos, Injectors, DMF's, Clutchs)

Other than the fact it's better looking at has a nicer interior (that later of which is somewhat spec dependent though) it really holds no advantages over the Mondeo whatsoever ...costs more too.
 
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OK, would something like this be reasonable? Looking at Honest John reviews, it looks like I should be trying to get a 2007 onward model.

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No parking sensors, which would be nice but not essential.
 
I don't know why, but something strikes me as that car being under-valued. I would expect £4k to be mint mk3 Mondeos, especially from a trader.
 
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