Soldato
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In my opinion the 5GT just doesn't have the right image for a chauffeur driven or wedding car.
Rgds
S Class opinions - petrol or diesel?
- Thread starter Ant84
- Start date
In my opinion the 5GT just doesn't have the right image for a chauffeur driven or wedding car.
Rgds
I fully agree the S is a better car, but its more expensive so you end up with a older car for the same money. If it was my own personal car I would probably get a S but as a Taxi I would think the cheaper and newer you get the better.
Wedding car no, but at 15k any car is not really a wedding car I assumed "private hire travel business" = comfortable airport shuttle and that sort of work.
Nothing wrong with using a S-Class for this I was just throwing other ideas his way.
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I tried so hard to like them before paying more money for an older F10 with less kit, but couldnt
Anyone being driven is going to be more concerned with rear seat comfort, space and reliability than the engine..so go for economy and running costs.
Personally I am not sure a pre-facelift last model S class is going to really elevate your business any better than a newer lexus would though.
As example, Dubai has of course a lot of courtesy car and exec limo type services running, and maybe to give you some idea, they use the following:
Emirates Airlines Business/First class: Volvo V70 or Merc E Class (the new W212 has a lot of rear leg room and quite a nice place to be)
Most hotels here use Lexus ES for a courtesy car (not in the UK? maybe a GS then), but the more up market (Atlantis, Burj Al Arab etc) would use 7 Series.. and if its good enough for them,.. A few use S Class, but only current models.
I would be tempted for an XJL though if I needed an LWB car.
Personally I am not sure a pre-facelift last model S class is going to really elevate your business any better than a newer lexus would though.
As example, Dubai has of course a lot of courtesy car and exec limo type services running, and maybe to give you some idea, they use the following:
Emirates Airlines Business/First class: Volvo V70 or Merc E Class (the new W212 has a lot of rear leg room and quite a nice place to be)
Most hotels here use Lexus ES for a courtesy car (not in the UK? maybe a GS then), but the more up market (Atlantis, Burj Al Arab etc) would use 7 Series.. and if its good enough for them,.. A few use S Class, but only current models.
I would be tempted for an XJL though if I needed an LWB car.
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I don't think the current model XJL is any more unreliable than its competitors?
Soldato
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My sample size of 1 disagrees with you. No issues with my XJ - however it is newer than the cars being talked about here.
On the topic of fuel - is LPG still a viable option for the op's sort of issue ? Last time I had a work flight, the airport taxi firm 5 series was an LPG conversion and the driver was very happy with it.
They certainly were crap in the era that my XJ and your old XK was made, but then again the 7s and S classes of that era aren't any better from what I've heard.
With the age of car the OP is looking at, I haven't heard of major electrical problems affecting any brand in particular.
Well after doing a lot of reading about the S Class, I think we're going to go with something else. It's probably the best in its class but I'm very concerned at the amount of massive repair bills people seem to be swallowing on the MB forums and the apparent indifference shown from MB dealers has really put me off.
So far I've considered...
BMW 730Ld (F01)
Jaguar XJ LWB 2.7 TDVi
Audi A8L 4.2 TDi (D3)
The Audi seems to be the one with the least reliability worries of those mentioned. I guess the only concern is whether the car has enough of a prestige factor to make it work as a business proposition. There's a company local to me with four of these cars so I would assume there are no such issues as far as that goes.
So far I've considered...
BMW 730Ld (F01)
Jaguar XJ LWB 2.7 TDVi
Audi A8L 4.2 TDi (D3)
The Audi seems to be the one with the least reliability worries of those mentioned. I guess the only concern is whether the car has enough of a prestige factor to make it work as a business proposition. There's a company local to me with four of these cars so I would assume there are no such issues as far as that goes.
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Associate
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I'd go with the Audi, but consider the 3.0D as well if it has the right spec.
As others have said the passengers wont care about or notice the difference.
As others have said the passengers wont care about or notice the difference.
Yeah I understand that. The F01 is certainly better kitted out, but a lengthy scour of the BMW forums would suggest that reliability post warranty isn't so great. Shame really, I'm a BMW man myself so would have loved one.
That said, I know you're very well up on BMWs so maybe you've got a better idea of general reliability than I have. What are the potential big costs and known failure points on these?
That said, I know you're very well up on BMWs so maybe you've got a better idea of general reliability than I have. What are the potential big costs and known failure points on these?
The S-Class W221 is certainly in my opinion the better car than the F01 7-Series. BMW have never quite managed to get their cars in this segment right. What is it about the reliability which concerns you? I think you perhaps have a skewed picture from the MB forums. There are loads of them around at absolutely huge mileages, they are very popular private hire vehicles.
In the S500 it seems common expensive failure points are the balance shaft and idler gear. In the S320 CDi it would appear they have big problems with oil leaking onto the swirl flaps, complete engine seizures caused by timing chains breaking and some crankshaft issues. The alarming thing is that some of these problems I've read about are occurring on low mileage cars with full MB service history.
Of course both the petrol and the diesel will be affected by failure or wear of some/all of the airmatic suspension system and the struts don't come cheap when they need replacing. Valve body failures in the 7G auto box don't seem to be uncommon, which is another repair well into four figures. This along with various electrical niggles that, in all fairness, you'd expect from most cars this complex.
On the other hand, forums can certainly paint a one sided picture where reliability is concerned. People tend to post when they have a problem rather than when everything is fine, so it can look much worse than it actually is in reality. However, it's always better to go into these things with your eyes open so you know what to look out for.
I'm not expecting any car I buy to have zero issues during ownership but obviously I'm looking to keep that to a minimum if I can.
If I had paid for a 'luxury' class car and an LS pulled up I'd be pretty disappointed. Pretty much only Audi/Merc/BMW and above are suitable.Have you completely discounted a Lexus? They certainly seem to do well in the reliability stakes and many customers will like the understated look of the car