Time to change the S80 - sanity check please?

Participant · 22 Mar 2015 at 22:05

Hi all

I need to change my main family car. The S80 is doing well and I'm pretty happy with it, but I need more boot space as I have two young kids and we tend to take a lot of luggage with us.

I'm thinking about a ~2012 5 series, probably a 530d Touring. My budget is ~£22,000.

My basic plan is to sell the S80 for ~£5k, put down ~£10k cash, and get a two year personal loan for the remaining £7k.

As you can see there are a lot of '~'s in this post, so really I'm asking how this feels to you as an impartial observer?

What I want is a large family car with a bit of a premium feel, comfortable for long drives to the continent with the family etc. I also love the look of the 5 series Touring whereas I'd struggle to love the Superb (sorry Superb fans).

Assuming I can afford my financing option (as well as a warranty I presume I'd need), does this sound rational to you, or should I just get a Skoda Superb for half the money?

Many thanks for any opinions.

rodenal · 22 Mar 2015 at 22:09

The only thing I'd check is that the boot is actually as big as you think it is on the 5.

Its been a long time since I was in an s80 but I remember the boot being absolutely huge and a good shape - even on the touring the 5 series is best described as "big". If its the height that you're after then it'll probably work out, but best check one out just in case

[TW]Fox · 22 Mar 2015 at 22:10

Seems fair enough to me, the only real snag is that a 2012 530d Touring is going to be quite difficult to find for this budget - by 2012 the majority of 530d's registered were M Sport's which are rather more than £22k if you dont want a high miles low spec example.

You might be better off falling back to 2010/11 and picking up a sensible mileage high spec example for your budget.

Isn't it utterly bonkers how much money you need to pay for comparatively old 5 Series :confused:

Dangerous Dave · 22 Mar 2015 at 22:12

You won't get a good spec 2012 530D Touring for 22k, they appear around 25-27k but sell quickly most are 30k.

The cheapest 2012 530D from BMW AUC is currently a 23k SE model without Pro Nav. You will need to go older and higher miles to get a good one for 22k.

George Hincapie · 22 Mar 2015 at 22:40

You are with the right brand already. This is all you'll need: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201410278541517

We have one. We go to France every year to follow the TdF around for 2 weeks. It managed a 10 hr drive to the Pyrenees without a drama. Stupidly comfortable, tons of space for everyone. VEL is expensive, but other running costs are not excessive IMHO.

Havana_UK · 22 Mar 2015 at 22:46

George Hincapie said:
You are with the right brand already. This is all you'll need: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201410278541517

We have one. We go to France every year to follow the TdF around for 2 weeks. It managed a 10 hr drive to the Pyrenees without a drama. Stupidly comfortable, tons of space for everyone. VEL is expensive, but other running costs are not excessive IMHO.

I thought at first you were right...until I clicked the advert. Surely the right solution is a V70 if you're already happy with the S80?

George Hincapie · 22 Mar 2015 at 22:50

Havana_UK said:
I thought at first you were right...until I clicked the advert. Surely the right solution is a V70 if you're already happy with the S80?

Why? I agree it's a valid option, but the XC90 is a more premium choice.

Havana_UK · 22 Mar 2015 at 22:51

George Hincapie said:
Why? I agree it's a valid option, but the XC90 is a more premium choice.

I disagree that's it's more premium, but I concede it's a valid option. It's just different to the V70

kaiowas · 22 Mar 2015 at 22:54

The XC90 is a pretty old design (and was finally updated relatively recently).

My 2008 XC70 (Fundamentally the same car as the S80/V70) looks like a much nicer place to be than that XC90.

I'd say it's worth looking at a V70 if you're happy with the S80 as it's basically the estate version of the same car.

[TW]Fox · 22 Mar 2015 at 23:00

George Hincapie said:
Why? I agree it's a valid option, but the XC90 is a more premium choice.

You have to be joking - it was once a good choice but this is a car which came out in 2003 and is hopelessly out dated and outclassed in the face of more modern alternatives. They've finally replaced it now but it was about 5 years overdue replacement.

This is not really the fault of the XC90, more Volvo for continuing to sell it. It would be like BMW still trying to sell new E60's..

George Hincapie · 22 Mar 2015 at 23:36

No, I'm not joking. It ticks every box the OP mentioned. The XC90 is the family car. I love ours, it's never missed a beat. When it eventually gets swapped, it'll be for a new XC90.

I can see you disagree, that's OK. I expect our perception of what is premium and what we look for in cars are vastly different.

Scania · 22 Mar 2015 at 23:59

I think the OP clearly sees a 5 as a step up in what's premium or not by his prospective outlay, and imo the 5 is a far more "premium" product.

The XC90 is a fine vehicle, don't get me wrong, but it's simply not in the same league as the 5, nor is it in the same class / type of vehicle to the 5.

If I could afford the 5 then if have it in a heartbeat over a Superb, but, a Superb without finance being required to attain it is the sensible option.

Comes down to do you buy cars with your heart or head?

[TW]Fox · 23 Mar 2015 at 08:04

George Hincapie said:
No, I'm not joking. It ticks every box the OP mentioned. The XC90 is the family car. I love ours, it's never missed a beat. When it eventually gets swapped, it'll be for a new XC90.

Every box in the OP is ticked by an E34 5 Series too, but for obvious reasons he isn't going to want that, either.

I can see you disagree, that's OK. I expect our perception of what is premium and what we look for in cars are vastly different.

I'm not saying it wasn't premium once, much that it very much isn't now. It's a car from 13 years ago and it very much shows, look at the interior full of tiny little monochrome LCD displays etc.

It amazes me that Volvo kept making it for as long as they did - it was once a good car in the mid 2000's but the world moved on and Volvo didn't. As a result it's now a terrible place to sink over £20,000.

The new model XC90 will of course be a totally different proposition.

George Hincapie · 23 Mar 2015 at 10:53

[TW]Fox;27812076 said:
Every box in the OP is ticked by an E34 5 Series too, but for obvious reasons he isn't going to want that, either.

I don't know enough about the car you mentioned to say either way; but I know you know BMW so I'll accept you're right.

I'm not saying it wasn't premium once, much that it very much isn't now. It's a car from 13 years ago and it very much shows, look at the interior full of tiny little monochrome LCD displays etc.

Agreed, in comparison with some of the features of comparable rivals (and the replacement) it lacks some of the more advanced safety features and the large colour display.

It amazes me that Volvo kept making it for as long as they did - it was once a good car in the mid 2000's but the world moved on and Volvo didn't. As a result it's now a terrible place to sink over £20,000.

I disagree with that. The fact they didn't release a facelift every 5 minutes just underlines how right they got the design to start with. I love the fact that the appreance hasn't changed. I realise this is personal preference, but it's a beautiful car. It really isn't a bad place to sink £20K - for the OPs needs, it is perfect. It'll do 300,000 miles easily if he looks after it.

The new model XC90 will of course be a totally different proposition.

Agreed, but the new model is also £10K more than the old one. Some rational thought would see you perhaps wait until release and drive a hard bargain for the old model. I think if he can go to a MD with £22K he'll walk away with a low mileage R-Design.

Scania · 23 Mar 2015 at 16:23

Not many cars or SUV's will easily rack up 300k unless they are ran around the clock and serviced without consideration to cost which the vast vast majority are not.

George Hincapie · 23 Mar 2015 at 16:51

Scania said:
Not many cars or SUV's will easily rack up 300k unless they are ran around the clock and serviced without consideration to cost which the vast vast majority are not.

People who own them tend to look after them. If you looked at it from a cost to value perspective alone, then you might be right. I don't and our MD still has owners returning them for annual servicing with 300K miles. The owners don't want to give them up. Mileage will obviously be owner dependant - they don't need to be ran around the clock for that sort of mileage, just lovingly kept for a long time.

Some do far more BTW: http://hortoncars.co.uk/volvos-that-just-keep-going/

[TW]Fox · 23 Mar 2015 at 18:29

Any car will do 300k if you are prepared to put the money into it.

233 · 23 Mar 2015 at 18:52

[TW]Fox;27814993 said:
Any car will do 300k if you are prepared to put the money into it.

Not even major money just routine maintenance and some mechanical sympathy My Mondeo is nigh on 1/4 million miles now only money spent was a suspension refresh as it was feeling a bit soggy origiNal clutch injectors turbo etc

Participant · 23 Mar 2015 at 20:49

Thanks for the replies, very useful.

rodenal said:
The only thing I'd check is that the boot is actually as big as you think it is on the 5.

Its been a long time since I was in an s80 but I remember the boot being absolutely huge and a good shape - even on the touring the 5 series is best described as "big". If its the height that you're after then it'll probably work out, but best check one out just in case

Fair observation. The S80 boot is pretty big, but as ever with a saloon, the shape of the boot is such that it's hard to get some items in and you can't pile things up, as you tend to need to with a family holiday. Also the 5 series has a not insignificant 120 litres of extra space.

[TW]Fox;27811468 said:
Seems fair enough to me, the only real snag is that a 2012 530d Touring is going to be quite difficult to find for this budget - by 2012 the majority of 530d's registered were M Sport's which are rather more than £22k if you dont want a high miles low spec example.

You might be better off falling back to 2010/11 and picking up a sensible mileage high spec example for your budget.

Isn't it utterly bonkers how much money you need to pay for comparatively old 5 Series

Dangerous Dave said:
You won't get a good spec 2012 530D Touring for 22k, they appear around 25-27k but sell quickly most are 30k.

The cheapest 2012 530D from BMW AUC is currently a 23k SE model without Pro Nav. You will need to go older and higher miles to get a good one for 22k.

Yes, they do tend to keep their value very well! OK, so my budget needs to go up or my expectations need to go down. Maybe a 2 litre M sport from 2012? The 530d was just something I fancied, I'm not bothered about speed really as I've got a motorbike for giggles and I doubt the 520d is exactly slow.

Scania · 23 Mar 2015 at 20:53

233 said:
Not even major money just routine maintenance and some mechanical sympathy My Mondeo is nigh on 1/4 million miles now only money spent was a suspension refresh as it was feeling a bit soggy origiNal clutch injectors turbo etc

Your car gets a lot of use, and long distance at that, it's also a business tool and I'm sure regularly serviced.

The majority of cars are not so fortunate and as a concequence, are unlikely to hit such a mileage without needing major work.

High mile cars exist, but the vast vast majority reach no where near 300k before they end up scrapped, this is often down to economic reasons rather than mechanical failure though, something like a gearbox fails, the resulting £1k Bill on a £1k value car deems it beyond repair, which is silly when you think about it but how it's done, over here certainly.