Mid-level Executive Cruiser

xsnv

xsnv

xsnv

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london
My first thread on the Motors forum so please be gentle.

I will be buying my first car sometime in January. It will primarily be a weekend / occasional drive to work car. I presently live in London Bridge (soon to be Canary Wharf) and work in Mayfair.

My budget is about £35K which I don't mind paying cash for. I could also look at a lease car but from what i've read the only upside (if you have the cash available for the car anyway) is not having the hassle to sell on.

I'm presently looking at the CLS 350 CDI, the A7 3.0 TDI, the GS360 and the 6 Series GC 640d. I want something comfortable, 'executive' and not so popular

Any other suggestions / thoughts are very much welcome.

Thanks.

D.
 
Why do you want a diesel for occasional and weekend only use?

You could get a very nice 550i or similar for less than this budget, for example. I wouldn't normally recommend such a car on here but I get the impression that if you've got £35k for a car and you live in Canary Wharf and work in Mayfair perhaps car running costs are not so much of an issue :p

I think to be honest with your requirements I would also go with the 6 Series but not a 640d GC, go for a 640i Cab instead. It does everything - seats 4, wafts beautifully, has a fantastic engine and the roof comes off too. Surely the ideal weekend/occasional work car? The early 2011 ones are right in your budget. Whereas I think you might struggle with a 640d GC at this money.
 
[TW]Fox;25432654 said:
Why do you want a diesel for occasional and weekend only use?

You could get a very nice 550i or similar for less than this budget, for example. I wouldn't normally recommend such a car on here but I get the impression that if you've got £35k for a car and you live in Canary Wharf and work in Mayfair perhaps car running costs are not so much of an issue :p

I think to be honest with your requirements I would also go with the 6 Series but not a 640d GC, go for a 640i Cab instead. It does everything - seats 4, wafts beautifully, has a fantastic engine and the roof comes off too. Surely the ideal weekend/occasional work car? The early 2011 ones are right in your budget. Whereas I think you might struggle with a 640d GC at this money.
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Thanks for the advice Fox. Don't be deceived by the locations! Some decently priced flats in Canary Wharf and Mayfair is considered a 'prestigious' location for an office in my line of work.

I Considered the 4 door 'coupes' as I thought them more practical. I'll need to be able to fit a car seat in the back as well. The diesels seem to hold their value much better is why i considered them first.

Thanks again.
 
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The CSL has some REALLY cheap deals going form time to time. Las one i saw was £309 inc VAT for a CLS 350 AMG CDI but I think that has gone now.

The 640D is the best car in your list but as fox says you will need to stretch to around £42k for one but its probably worth the extra money, it's a step above the other cars in your list. If you buy one for £40ish k I think it will hold its value quite well as they list at over £75k for a M-Sport with a few options ticked.

Something like this
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...ywords/gran/make/bmw/model/6_series?logcode=p

this is a good spec and maybe you can get them down 3 or 4k? but new we are 10k over you budget at asking price.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...d/used,nearlynew,new/model/6_series?logcode=p
 
xsnv said:
Thanks for the advice Fox. Don't be deceived by the locations! Some decently priced flats in Canary Wharf and Mayfair is considered a 'prestigious' location for an office in my line of work.

I Considered the 4 door 'coupes' as I thought them more practical. I'll need to be able to fit a car seat in the back as well. The diesels seem to hold their value much better is why i considered them first.

Thanks again.
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None of these cars hold value very well which is why you can buy them for £35k when the cost new was circa £70k. Look how much an A8 is worth now to get an idea of where they are going, the only way is down.

Awesome cars though, I'd be happy with any but I'd really check a 6 cab out - it's got 2 large seats in the back and they are great value with a brilliant engine.
 
Thanks again for the opinions.

Between the CLS and the 640i/d now. Will look for local dealers and have a proper look at both. The CLS being £10K cheaper will probably sway if for me.
 
xsnv said:
Thanks again for the opinions.

Between the CLS and the 640i/d now. Will look for local dealers and have a proper look at both. The CLS being £10K cheaper will probably sway if for me.
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The CLS is £10k cheaper because IMHO it isn't the car the 6 Series is, which you'll find when you look at them both. The question then becomes that although the 6 is better, is it £10k better?
 
xsnv said:
The diesels seem to hold their value much better is why i considered them first.

Thanks again.
Click to expand...

That's a false economy when buying second hand. If the petrol depreciates quicker than the diesel then just spend less than £35k on the petrol equivalent. You will save more money than any equity you have left at the end.
 
Abyss said:
That's a false economy when buying second hand. If the petrol depreciates quicker than the diesel then just spend less than £35k on the petrol equivalent. You will save more money than any equity you have left at the end.
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[TW]Fox;25437148 said:
The CLS is £10k cheaper because IMHO it isn't the car the 6 Series is, which you'll find when you look at them both. The question then becomes that although the 6 is better, is it £10k better?
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Fair points. 10K is about 30% of my initial budget so quite the jump. The 6 will really need to be special.
 
To update the thread...

Travelled a lot more than I anticipated so didn't get round to sorting the car out earlier in the Year. I looked further into the 6 Series GC and went to see one in person at BMW Parklane with the Mrs and she liked it just as much as i did - it's quite the looker.

I've narrowed the list down to three: 640d, 650i and an S7 (refresh due at the end of the year so unlikely but still comparably cheap). I'm going to see the S7 tomorrow and the others over the next week. I'll only be running the car for about a year so depreciating is a large concern but i'm looking into that.

Should have at least one of them by the end of the month :)
 
XE11 said:
at this price range, shouldn't maserati on the list? especially not for mega miles? :D
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You're referring to the Ghibli? Not a fan of its looks.

Havana_UK said:
M5 on a lease deal, surely?

Comfortable? Check
"Executive"? Check
Not so common? Check

Holy*&%*^&£*% fast? Check
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M5 might be a bit too extreme for me - plus i wouldn't trust the Mrs. with it :D
 
S7 tbh. 640d, not a diesel in a weekend/fun car. You want presence, you want noise, you want effortless v8 petrol waft tbh. 640d no matter how refined wont cut the mustard.

650i - more like it, but if the 2 cars were the same price, id go S7.

Im guessing though the S7 is probably 10k more? or put another way, you could save 10k on the 650i. Id hazard a guess the 650i will depreciate more too given its just an engine choice, and the S7 still being so new.

just my 0.02.
 
The S7 is 'just an engine choice' too really, Audi just go in for the bling model names a bit more than BMW do, in much the same way that an Audi S4 was no more than a 335i M Sport alternative.

It's no RS.
 
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