New car dilemma - what should I get?

Pigeon said:
Can you get a reasonable Volvo s40 for that money? That is my possible next car if I suddenly have to change.

Trouble for me with all "new" cars, possibly bought on by this forum is the need for anything more than a banger to have FBMWSH and warranty to avoid the unexpected/expected bills for broken sensors etc. It seems that the last 5-10 years cars have got more little things to string all the performance/mpg improvements together to sell cars. Same with the Volvo and it makes buying slightly older more out of warranty cars quite scary.

I made the decision to stick with my current car and run it to death to not worry about depreciation etc after my round 80mile commute was going to be for more than a few months rather than spend £££ on getting a more unknown replacement. Fortunately I don't need 2 seats let alone 3.
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Full BMW service history???????
 
wonder_lander said:
I think they did them with 16, 17 and 18 so there is at least some choice available.

May suggestion if you are serious is to give one a test drive and see how you get one. The rear seats are perfectly useable and the boot is a decent size.
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I'm considering a 159 as a potential next car.

I can only seem to find old threads/comments when researching online. Can you tell me a bit more about how these cars are aging please?

I've read that the gearboxes are generally on limited time.

Are there many small niggles? Sensors that like to die etc? Interior rattles? I've read that there can be an annoying wind noise that is created by the wing mirror.

I'd be up for putting up with some niggles as they're so much better looking than a Mondeo! Need to test drive both.
 
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Pigeon said:
Can you get a reasonable Volvo s40 for that money? That is my possible next car if I suddenly have to change.

Trouble for me with all "new" cars, possibly bought on by this forum is the need for anything more than a banger to have FBMWSH and warranty to avoid the unexpected/expected bills for broken sensors etc.
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My current car is 15 years old and has done 210k, and still works fine. My other car is 43 years old, and still works fine. I'm well beyond being concerned with a warranty.

I'm going to have a look at these today. Not to buy, but to compare. Fortunately they're all in the same garage, so a good opportunity to plonk my backside in one and feel what they're like.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181298658972?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181294955112?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181271718689?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Must try to avoid spending any money yet!!!
 
sigma said:
I'm considering a 159 as a potential next car.

I can only seem to find old threads/comments when researching online. Can you tell me a bit more about how these cars are aging please?

I've read that the gearboxes are generally on limited time.

Are there many small niggles? Sensors that like to die etc? Interior rattles?

I'd be up for putting up with some niggles as they're so much better looking than a Mondeo! Need to test drive both.
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I went looking for a Mondeo but the 159 external styling stole my heart :D

To be honest alfaowner.com is the best place to ask but both the GT (2006) and 159 (2008) have been solid cars that never generated any rattles.

The GT needed a new EGR valve but that was a 30 min job for even a numpty like me to change. The gear linkage stiffened up but again for a non mechanic I was still able to pop and replace the effected part, clean it up and re-grease it myself.

The GT I took from about 29k miles to 129k miles and the 159 I got with 24k miles and it's now on 55k miles.
 
Bug One said:
My current car is 15 years old and has done 210k, and still works fine. My other car is 43 years old, and still works fine. I'm well beyond being concerned with a warranty.

I'm going to have a look at these today. Not to buy, but to compare. Fortunately they're all in the same garage, so a good opportunity to plonk my backside in one and feel what they're like.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181298658972?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181294955112?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181271718689?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Must try to avoid spending any money yet!!!
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Good to see the GT has rear parking sensors which on such a bulbous back end are a must! I would check that the windows go down on the one touch and come back up again. They can be reset easily enough but it's worth checking. As said before my GT ran on 18's which meant no spare wheel, check there is a spare with that one!

Final thing is stone chips, my GT was peppered on the front end with stone chips due to a) the low nose and b) the soft paint!
 
That Mercedes is a particularly poor car, it's not a 'C Class Coupe' really it's a C Class hatchback, a 3 Series compact rival. It is probably the worst car Mercedes Benz has ever made.
 
wonder_lander said:
I went looking for a Mondeo but the 159 external styling stole my heart :D

To be honest alfaowner.com is the best place to ask but both the GT (2006) and 159 (2008) have been solid cars that never generated any rattles.
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Do you have any gripes with the 159? What would you like to see improved if you had the choice to change things?

Half tempted by the 2.4, I know it will cost more to run but hey, might as well...

Not afraid of DIY but can't be arsed to be trying to fix things every weekend and also I will need to rely on it to get to work. I appreciate that they may be reliable cars but they are getting on a bit now so just trying to judge if they're ticking time bombs or something. Doesn't help that the current car is super reliable.
 
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Well, that was interesting. It's good to see things in the flesh.

The Alfa looked and felt worn. Not a car I can imagine hitting 200k.

The Mercedes was poorly made and very cramped. Even with the seat back, I hit my head on the roof, and rear seat access mechanism isn't good.

The Lexus was lovely though. It all seemed well put together and designed. My only problem is it might have too much performance. Only 45mpg and higher tax. I could get close to that from a petrol.

Hmmm.
 
Lexus was half-heartedly on my list too although not really got as far as researching them.

Did you take it for a drive?
 
sigma said:
Lexus was half-heartedly on my list too although not really got as far as researching them.

Did you take it for a drive?
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No. They were quite busy, and I'd probably be tempted into spending money. I did start it up, edge it forward. Just enough to get a very basic feel for it. It was a nice driving position.
 
Bug One said:
The Mercedes was poorly made and very cramped. Even with the seat back, I hit my head on the roof, and rear seat access mechanism isn't good.
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Told you, it's just rubbish.

The Lexus was lovely though. It all seemed well put together and designed. My only problem is it might have too much performance. Only 45mpg and higher tax. I could get close to that from a petrol.

Hmmm.
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To be honest of the 3 cars you've listed the Lexus would be my choice. I know nothing of the reliability of that model so will discount that from my opinion but from what you've said about your commute it's exactly the sort of thing I'd want to be using for that job.

Sure, it's less economical than the small stuff but you'll be far more relaxed and comfortable each day as a result.

I doubt the tax is even material so I wouldn't be concerned about that. It's not going to be in the £400 bracket.
 
The Lexus is definately now my first choice of out more premium choices.

So the only things now to discount are a more economical, but less luxurious Megane (which I've driven as a hire car, and was very impressed with) - and an A2.

Might ask my neighbours it I can take a nose around their A2.
 
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